The Golden Triangle at a slower pace: Delhi, Agra and Jaipur

1. Day 1: Arrive in Delhi

   Indira Gandhi International Airport to your hotel in New Delhi

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Delhi
   Day 1 details

   Your trip starts at Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL). We meet you in the arrivals hall, a porter takes your bags, and our driver brings you to your hotel in New Delhi, about 20 km and up to an hour in traffic. This is your base for two nights, in a hotel with a lift. Many long-haul flights land late at night or early in the morning, so the day is yours to sleep, sit in the garden and get over the time change. In the early evening your See Sight Tours trip leader meets the group in the lobby for a short, seated briefing on the week: the one early start at the Taj, what to wear in mosques and temples, how the train days work and where to find a seat at each sight. Then we share a welcome dinner of North Indian cooking at tables, with dal makhani, tandoori breads and slow-cooked curries, and an early night.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL), with porterage
   • Welcome briefing with your trip leader
   • Welcome dinner

   Easier option: Skip the welcome dinner and rest in your room; your trip leader catches up with you at breakfast.

   Free time: Day free to rest until the early evening briefing

   Activity: Under 1 km on foot.

2. Day 2: Old Delhi by rickshaw, Humayun's Tomb

   Chandni Chowk by cycle rickshaw, lunch, a rest, then Humayun's Tomb at 4

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Delhi
   Day 2 details

   No early alarm: we leave the hotel at about 9:30, when Old Delhi is waking up but before the lanes are at their busiest. Shah Jahan, the emperor who built the Taj Mahal, laid out this walled city in the 1640s. We see the Jama Masjid, one of the largest mosques in India, from the foot of its steps (on a Friday, from the street only, as it closes to visitors for the midday prayers), then take cycle rickshaws, two guests to a seat with a hand up, along Chandni Chowk and into the spice lanes of Khari Baoli, so the sights come to you rather than the other way round. Lunch is at a sit-down restaurant, not a street stall. Back at the hotel by 1:30 for a rest through the warmest hours. At about 4 we drive to Humayun's Tomb, finished around 1570 and the model for the Taj. Its gardens are flat, with paved paths and benches, and the low sun turns the red sandstone warm.

   Included

   • Old Delhi by cycle rickshaw: Jama Masjid from outside, Chandni Chowk and Khari Baoli
   • Lunch at a restaurant in Old Delhi
   • Humayun's Tomb in the late afternoon with your trip leader

   Easier option: See Humayun's Tomb from the garden benches; the tomb's terrace is reached by tall steps.

   More active option: Climb the steps into the Jama Masjid courtyard and up to the tomb's terrace with your trip leader.

   Free time: Rest at the hotel from about 1:30 to 4

   Activity: About 2.5 km on foot in short stretches; the rickshaw does most of Old Delhi. On a Friday the Jama Masjid is seen from outside only and the climb is not offered.

   

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

   Morning express train from Delhi to Agra, a free afternoon, then Mehtab Bagh

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Agra
   Day 3 details

   After breakfast we take a morning express train from Delhi to Agra, about two hours in reserved, air-conditioned seats, with a porter for your day bag and your trip leader alongside. We do not use the 6 am departures; ops chooses the train for your start weekday. Your suitcase travels by road with our driver, who meets the train in Agra with the vehicle. Lunch is at the hotel, close to the Taj Mahal, and the afternoon is free: sleep, read or sit by the pool. At about 5 we drive across the Yamuna River to Mehtab Bagh, a Mughal garden laid out exactly opposite the Taj. It is level, with no queue, and from the riverside you watch the tomb turn gold and then grey across the water as the sun goes down. It is a calm first look at the Taj, and a second chance if tomorrow's sunrise is foggy.

   Included

   • Express train from Delhi to Agra in reserved seats, with station transfers and porters
   • Lunch at the hotel in Agra
   • Mehtab Bagh at sunset

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

   More active option: Walk the length of the Mehtab Bagh riverside with your trip leader before sunset.

   Free time: Afternoon free

   Activity: About 1.5 km on foot, all of it level.

   

4. Day 4: The Taj Mahal at sunrise, Agra Fort

   Taj Mahal at opening, a free middle of the day, then Agra Fort

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in Agra
   Day 4 details

   This is the one early start of the trip, because the Taj needs it: the light is soft, the air is cool and the crowds have not arrived. The gates open about half an hour before sunrise. Vehicles are kept away from the monument, so a battery bus takes us from the parking to the East Gate, tickets already bought. A licensed local guide walks you through the great gateway to the reflecting pool, where the marble turns from grey to pink to white, and there are benches along the water. Shah Jahan began the tomb for Mumtaz Mahal in 1632. The mausoleum stands on a raised marble platform reached by steps; go up with the guide or stay in the garden. Back for a late breakfast at about 9:30, then rest until 3. At about 3:30 we visit Agra Fort, Akbar's red sandstone citadel, entered by a long sloping ramp. You see the Diwan-i-Am, the pillared hall of public audience, and look back along the river to the Taj from the white marble terraces. We end the day with dinner together.

   Included

   • Taj Mahal at sunrise with a licensed local guide, mausoleum ticket and battery bus included
   • Agra Fort with a licensed local guide
   • Dinner together in Agra

   Easier option: Stay on the garden benches by the reflecting pool while others go up to the mausoleum; at Agra Fort, wait in the shaded Diwan-i-Am courtyard.

   More active option: Walk the full circuit of the Taj platform, the mosque and the riverside terrace.

   Free time: Late morning and early afternoon free

   Activity: About 3.5 km on foot across the day, with benches at the Taj and seats in the shade at the fort. The Taj Mahal is closed on Fridays, so this day is never planned on a Friday.

   

5. Day 5: Train to Jaipur

   Agra to Jaipur by express train, a free evening in the Pink City

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Jaipur
   Day 5 details

   A road day becomes a train day. The highway from Agra to Jaipur is about 240 km and five hours, too long for this trip, so after a breakfast with no rush we take an express train west, about five hours in reserved, air-conditioned seats with a toilet on board and room to stretch. Ops picks the train for your weekday and we confirm it at booking. The hotel packs lunch for the journey, and your trip leader rides with you while the driver takes the suitcases by road. Out of the window the flat Yamuna plain gives way to the low, rocky Aravalli hills of eastern Rajasthan. A vehicle meets the train in Jaipur and drives you to your hotel, your home for three nights, with a lift and a garden. The rest of the day is free, and we have dinner at the hotel.

   Included

   • Express train from Agra to Jaipur in reserved seats, with station transfers and porters
   • Packed lunch on the train
   • Dinner at the hotel in Jaipur

   Easier option: Stay at the hotel for dinner in your room rather than with the group, and rest after the train.

   More active option: Take an early evening walk in the hotel neighbourhood with your trip leader.

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free

   Activity: Under 1 km on foot, with porters for your day bag at both stations.

6. Day 6: Amber Fort, the City Palace and Jantar Mantar

   Amber Fort at opening, lunch, a rest, then the City Palace and Jantar Mantar

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Jaipur
   Day 6 details

   We leave at about 7:30 to be at Amber Fort as it opens at 8, because by mid-morning the heat and the tour buses arrive together. Raja Man Singh I began the fort in 1592 on a ridge above Maota Lake. A jeep carries us up the hill to the main courtyard, Jaleb Chowk, so there is no climb from the road and no elephant ride. A licensed local guide takes the gentlest way through the courtyards to the Diwan-i-Am, the hall of public audience, and the mirrored Sheesh Mahal, with a seat whenever you want one. On the way back we stop above Panna Meena ka Kund, a 16th century stepwell you see from the top. After lunch together and a rest at the hotel, we start at about 3 at Jantar Mantar, where Sawai Jai Singh II built giant stone instruments in the 1720s and 1730s, before it closes, then walk next door to the City Palace, mostly level courtyards with four painted gates. Times are confirmed with your dates.

   Included

   • Amber Fort at opening with a licensed local guide, jeep up to Jaleb Chowk
   • Panna Meena ka Kund stepwell from the top
   • Lunch together in Jaipur
   • Jantar Mantar
   • City Palace

   Easier option: Stay in Jaleb Chowk, Amber's first courtyard, with a seat in the shade, while the group goes up to the Sheesh Mahal.

   More active option: Walk down from Amber Fort to the road with your trip leader instead of taking the jeep.

   Free time: Rest at the hotel from about 1:30 to 2:45

   Activity: About 3 km on foot in short stretches; the steps inside Amber Fort have a seated alternative.

   

7. Day 7: Hawa Mahal and block printing in Bagru

   The Hawa Mahal in the morning sun, a block printing workshop in Bagru, a free afternoon

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Jaipur
   Day 7 details

   The Hawa Mahal, the Palace of Winds, faces east, so its pink honeycomb front of 953 small windows is at its best in the morning. We arrive at about 8:30, with the sun already on it and the bazaar still quiet, and look across the road from a seat with a cup of chai. It was built in 1799 so the women of the court could watch street life without being seen. Then we drive about an hour to Bagru, a village known for hand block printing with natural dyes and mud resist. A family of printers shows how a block is carved and stamped, and you print a piece of cloth yourself, at a table with a chair. Nothing is for sale unless you ask. We have lunch in Bagru and drive back to Jaipur; the afternoon is free for the pool, a nap or the bazaars, and in the evening we celebrate at a farewell dinner.

   Included

   • Hawa Mahal in the morning, from across the road
   • Block printing workshop in Bagru, printing your own cloth
   • Lunch in Bagru
   • Farewell dinner

   Optional experiences

   • Nahargarh Fort at sunset, by vehicle to the ridge above the city, with your trip leader

   Easier option: Watch the printers at work from a chair rather than printing yourself.

   More active option: Walk the bazaars behind the Hawa Mahal with your trip leader before the drive to Bagru.

   Free time: Afternoon free

   Activity: About 2 km on foot. The drive is two one-hour legs, to Bagru and back.

   

8. Day 8: Fly back to Delhi

   Jaipur Airport to Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) by domestic flight

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast
   Day 8 details

   No five-hour road back to Delhi: we drive about 30 minutes to Jaipur Airport and you fly to Delhi in about an hour. Ops books the flight around your onward one, so it lands at Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) at least four to five hours before an international departure. Many long-haul flights leave Delhi in the evening or late at night, so the usual plan is a slow breakfast, a free morning and a midday or early afternoon flight. In Delhi our representative meets you and, if your flight home leaves from a different terminal, takes you across to it. If your flight leaves early in the day, or you would like to stay on, ask us to book an extra night in Jaipur or Delhi. Your trip leader stays with the group until you check in for the Jaipur flight, and helps with wheelchair assistance at the airport if you would like it.

   Included

   • Transfer to Jaipur Airport
   • Domestic flight from Jaipur to Delhi
   • Meet and assist at Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL)

   Easier option: Ask for wheelchair assistance at both airports and wait in the lounge area rather than the gate.

   Free time: Morning free before the flight

   Activity: Airport walking only; wheelchair assistance can be booked at both airports.

Wildlife and weather: October to March is the season: dry, sunny days, warm in October and March and cool in December and January, when Delhi and Agra nights get cold and a warm layer is needed for the Taj sunrise. In December and January morning fog can hide the Taj at dawn; we wait on the benches for it to lift, and the Mehtab Bagh sunset the day before is your second view. Fog can also delay trains and flights in those months, and we build in time. April to June is very hot, and the July to September monsoon is humid, so we do not run the trip then.

• Delhi2 nights
• Agra2 nights
• Jaipur3 nights