India: the Golden Triangle and Ranthambore Tigers

1. Day 1: Arrive in Delhi

   Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) to your hotel in New Delhi

   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Delhi
   Day 1 details

   Your trip starts at Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL), where we meet you in the arrivals hall and drive you to your hotel in New Delhi, your base for the first two nights. The drive is about 15 to 20 km and can take up to an hour in traffic. Many flights from North America land late at night or very early in the morning, so nothing is planned until the evening: sleep, find the pool if the hotel has one, and let your body catch up with the time change. In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group in the lobby for a short briefing on the ten days ahead: the Taj Mahal sunrise plan, how the Ranthambore game drives work and which parts the forest department decides rather than us, what to wear in mosques and temples, and where the free afternoons fall. Then we sit down together to a welcome dinner of North Indian dishes at a local restaurant.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Welcome dinner

   Free time: Free until the evening briefing

2. Day 2: Old Delhi and the Red Fort

   Jama Masjid, Chandni Chowk and Khari Baoli, then the Red Fort

   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Delhi
   Day 2 details

   We set out early, before the lanes of Old Delhi fill up. Shah Jahan, the emperor who built the Taj Mahal, laid out this walled city in the 1640s, and his great mosque, the Jama Masjid, finished in 1656, is still one of the largest in India. We visit outside prayer times, shoes off, and look across its red sandstone courtyard to the domes and minarets. From the mosque steps we take cycle rickshaws down Chandni Chowk and through the narrow bazaars to Khari Baoli, the wholesale spice market, where sacks of chillies, turmeric and cardamom spill onto the street. Lunch is a street food tasting walk with your guide, at busy stalls chosen for freshness. After a rest at the hotel through the hottest hours, we go back in the early afternoon to the Red Fort, Shah Jahan's palace citadel and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and walk through its marble audience halls and private apartments. The evening is yours.

   Included

   • Jama Masjid
   • Cycle rickshaw ride through Chandni Chowk
   • Khari Baoli spice market
   • Old Delhi street food tasting walk
   • The Red Fort with a licensed local guide

   Easier option: Ride the rickshaw but skip the walk into Khari Baoli: wait at a cafe on Chandni Chowk while the group goes in, then rest at the hotel before the Red Fort.

   Free time: Middle of the day and evening free

   Activity: About 3 hours on foot in the morning in crowded lanes, and about 1.5 hours at the Red Fort. Shoulders and knees covered for the mosque.

   

3. Day 3: Train to Agra, the Taj at sunset

   Morning express train from Delhi to Agra, Agra Fort, then Mehtab Bagh

   • By train
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Agra
   Day 3 details

   No highway today: after an early breakfast we take a morning express train from Delhi to Agra, about two hours on the rails, while our driver takes the main bags by road and meets the train. First stop is Agra Fort, the red sandstone citadel Akbar rebuilt from 1565, where Shah Jahan later added white marble palaces and spent his last years under guard, looking down the Yamuna River towards the Taj. Lunch is on your own near the hotel, then the middle of the day is free to rest. In the late afternoon we cross the river to Mehtab Bagh, a Mughal garden laid out directly opposite the Taj Mahal, and watch the marble change colour as the sun goes down, with far fewer people around than at the main gate. Agra is the one single-night stop on the trip, and this is why it works: you see the Taj twice, at sunset tonight and at sunrise tomorrow, without a second night in the city.

   Included

   • Express train from Delhi to Agra, with station transfers
   • Agra Fort with a licensed local guide
   • Mehtab Bagh at sunset

   Easier option: Skip Mehtab Bagh and rest at the hotel; you see the Taj up close at sunrise tomorrow.

   Free time: Middle of the day free

   Activity: About 2 hours on foot at Agra Fort on stone ramps and steps.

   

4. Day 4: The Taj Mahal at sunrise, then the train to Ranthambore

   Taj Mahal at opening, then by train from Agra to Sawai Madhopur for Ranthambore

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Ranthambore
   Day 4 details

   The alarm goes early, and it is worth it. The Taj Mahal opens about half an hour before sunrise, and we are at the gate before it does, around 6 am in winter, with tickets bought ahead. Walk through the great gateway to the long reflecting pool while the marble turns from grey to pink to white, then circle the tomb Shah Jahan began for Mumtaz Mahal in 1632 and look closely at the flowers inlaid in semi-precious stone. We are back at the hotel for breakfast by about 8:30 and leave around 10. Unless the timetable lets us board in Agra, we drive about an hour to Bharatpur and take an express train south-west to Sawai Madhopur, the railway town at the edge of Ranthambore National Park, about two to two and a half hours on the rails. We reach the lodge in the early to mid afternoon for a late lunch, and the rest of the afternoon is free. In the evening a naturalist briefs the group on the park, its rules and tomorrow's two game drives, before dinner together.

   Included

   • The Taj Mahal at sunrise with a licensed local guide, mausoleum ticket included
   • Train from Agra to Sawai Madhopur, with station transfers
   • Lunch and dinner at the lodge
   • Evening briefing on the park with a naturalist

   Easier option: Sleep in and skip the sunrise visit: you saw the Taj from Mehtab Bagh last night, and you meet the group at breakfast.

   Free time: Late afternoon free at the lodge

   Activity: An early start (around 5:30 am in winter) for the Taj. Door to door, Agra to the lodge takes about four and a half to five hours with station time; we confirm the train and its times when we book. The Taj Mahal is closed on Fridays, so this day never falls on a Friday.

   

5. Day 5: Two game drives in Ranthambore

   Morning and afternoon game drives in Ranthambore National Park

   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Ranthambore
   Day 5 details

   Ranthambore was one of India's first Project Tiger reserves in 1973, a dry forest of dhok trees, lakes and rocky ridges below a tenth-century fort. We go in twice today, at the times animals move most. The morning drive leaves around dawn and lasts about three hours, in six-seat open jeeps with a forest department guide; the park allots each vehicle its zone, so neither we nor anyone else can pick the route. Back at the lodge for a late breakfast, then the middle of the day is free: sleep, read, or swim if the lodge has a pool. The afternoon drive goes out after lunch and returns at dusk. Tigers live here, but no sighting is ever promised, and we will not tell you otherwise. What you will see is sambar and spotted deer, nilgai, langur monkeys, peacocks, mugger crocodiles if the zone includes a lake, and with luck a leopard, sloth bear or striped hyena. Dinner is at the lodge.

   Included

   • Morning game drive in Ranthambore National Park, with park fees
   • Afternoon game drive in Ranthambore National Park, with park fees
   • All meals at the lodge

   Optional experiences

   • A third game drive on the morning of day 6, if permits are available (price confirmed at booking)

   Easier option: Skip the afternoon drive and stay at the lodge.

   Free time: Middle of the day free at the lodge

   Activity: About 3 hours per drive on rough, dusty forest tracks in an open jeep. Mornings in December and January are cold; bring a warm layer, a hat and a scarf for the dust.

   

6. Day 6: Ranthambore Fort, then Jaipur

   Ranthambore Fort, then by road from Sawai Madhopur to Jaipur

   • Drive about 3.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Jaipur
   Day 6 details

   A slower start, then we drive into the forest to Ranthambore Fort, the hilltop stronghold whose walls you saw from the jeeps. It is part of the Hill Forts of Rajasthan UNESCO World Heritage Site, and inside its gates are ruined palaces, step tanks, Jain temples and the Trinetra Ganesh temple, where pilgrims come to leave letters and wedding invitations for the god. Langur monkeys sit on the walls, and from the ramparts you look down over the lakes and the forest of the park. We spend about two hours here, then drive north to Jaipur, about 180 km and three and a half hours of driving, with lunch on the road at a sit-down restaurant halfway. We reach the Pink City by mid-afternoon and check in for three nights. The rest of the day is free; your guide can point you to a rooftop for the evening or a quiet table for dinner.

   Included

   • Ranthambore Fort and the Trinetra Ganesh temple with your guide
   • Lunch on the road to Jaipur

   Easier option: Skip the climb into the fort and wait in the shade at the lower gate, or stay at the lodge for a later start.

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free in Jaipur

   Activity: The walk up into Ranthambore Fort is about 20 minutes on steep stone ramps and steps.

   

7. Day 7: Amber Fort and the City Palace

   Amber Fort at opening, Panna Meena ka Kund, then the City Palace and Jantar Mantar

   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Jaipur
   Day 7 details

   We leave early to be at Amber Fort as it opens, ahead of the tour buses. Raja Man Singh I began the fort in 1592 on a ridge above Maota Lake, and we ride up by jeep rather than on elephants. Inside, the Sheesh Mahal, the hall of mirrors, sparkles with thousands of small pieces of glass, and from the ramparts you see the old walls running over the hills. On the way back we stop at Panna Meena ka Kund, a stepwell with criss-cross stairs on all four sides. Lunch is on your own in town, then the hottest hours are free. In the afternoon we visit the City Palace, where the former royal family still lives in one wing, and next door Jantar Mantar, the stone observatory Sawai Jai Singh II built in the 1720s and 1730s, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with a sundial whose shadow moves visibly as you watch.

   Included

   • Amber Fort at opening with a licensed local guide, jeep ride up to the fort
   • Panna Meena ka Kund stepwell
   • City Palace
   • Jantar Mantar

   Free time: Middle of the day and evening free

   Activity: About 3 hours on foot at Amber Fort on ramps and steps, and about 2 hours in the afternoon.

   

8. Day 8: Hawa Mahal at first light and a home kitchen

   The walled city at first light, the bazaars, and a cooking lesson in a family home

   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Jaipur
   Day 8 details

   The Hawa Mahal, the Palace of Winds, faces east, so its pink front of 953 small windows looks best in the first hour of sun. It was built in 1799 so the women of the court could watch the street without being seen. We see the facade from across the road while the old city is still waking up, with chai from a street stall, then go inside when the doors open at 9 am and look down on the street through the windows ourselves. As the shops open, your guide walks you through the old city's bazaars, Johari Bazaar for jewellers and Bapu Bazaar for textiles and shoes, with no commission shops and no pressure to buy. Late morning we go to a family home for a cooking lesson in Rajasthani dishes, and lunch is what we have made, eaten around the family's table. The afternoon is free: rest at the hotel, go back to a shop that caught your eye, or take the old footpath up to Nahargarh Fort for the sunset over the city.

   Included

   • Hawa Mahal facade at first light, then inside when it opens at 9 am
   • Guided walk through Johari Bazaar and Bapu Bazaar
   • Rajasthani cooking lesson and lunch in a family home

   Optional experiences

   • Hot-air balloon flight over the Jaipur countryside at dawn, October to March, weather permitting (price confirmed at booking)

   Easier option: Join the cooking lesson only, after a slow morning at the hotel.

   More active option: Walk with your guide up the old footpath to Nahargarh Fort, about 45 minutes uphill, for sunset over Jaipur.

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free

   

9. Day 9: Back to Delhi and Humayun's Tomb

   Jaipur to Delhi by road, then Humayun's Tomb

   • Drive about 4.5 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Delhi
   Day 9 details

   A last breakfast in Jaipur, then the road north to Delhi, about 275 km. This is the one day over our four-hour driving guideline: allow four and a half hours of driving, more if Delhi traffic is heavy. We drive rather than take the train so you go door to door with your bags, and we break the journey with a sit-down lunch at about the halfway point. In the late afternoon we stop at Humayun's Tomb, the garden tomb of the second Mughal emperor, finished around 1570 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its red sandstone and white marble dome over a garden cut by water channels is the model the Taj Mahal grew from, and the low sun makes the stone glow. In the evening we sit down together for a farewell dinner.

   Included

   • Drive from Jaipur to Delhi with a lunch stop
   • Humayun's Tomb in the late afternoon
   • Farewell dinner

   Easier option: Skip Humayun's Tomb and go straight to the hotel to rest before dinner.

   Activity: The longest drive of the trip, about 4.5 hours, broken by lunch.

10. Day 10: Qutb Minar and home

    Qutb Minar, then Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL)

    • Breakfast
    Day 10 details

    Your trip ends today, and how the day runs depends on your flight. Many international flights from Delhi leave in the evening or late at night, so the usual plan is a slow breakfast and checkout, then a last visit on the way to the airport: the Qutb Minar in south Delhi, about 73 metres of fluted red sandstone begun around 1199 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Around its base are the ruins of the first mosque built in Delhi and an iron pillar more than 1,500 years old that has barely rusted. From there it is about 15 km to Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL), where your guide sees you to the terminal. If your flight leaves before about 2 pm, we skip the Qutb Minar and take you straight from the hotel to the airport in good time. If you would like to stay longer in Delhi, we can add nights before or after the trip.

    Included

    • Qutb Minar with your guide, for flights after about 2 pm
    • Drop-off at Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL)

    Easier option: Skip the Qutb Minar and rest at the hotel until your airport transfer.

    Activity: Book a flight leaving after about 2 pm to see the Qutb Minar; for international flights allow three hours at the airport.

Wildlife and weather: October to March brings dry, sunny days, warm in October and March and cool in December and January, when early game drives are cold and Delhi and Agra can wake to fog that delays trains and hides the Taj at sunrise. April is hot, often near 40 C by afternoon, and as water holes shrink animals tend to gather near the lakes. Ranthambore's core zones close from 1 July to 30 September for the monsoon, so the trip does not run in those months; the summer heat of May and June is also too much for the full plan.

• Delhi2 nights
• Agra1 night
• Ranthambore2 nights
• Jaipur3 nights
• Delhi1 night