The India travel specialists · London
Golden Triangle — 5 nights through Delhi, Agra and Jaipur.
Three cities, one road, and a car that is yours for the whole week. Delhi gives you Mughal domes and a market you end up walking through sideways. Agra gives you the Taj Mahal, which does not disappoint, and a red fort most people have never heard of until they are standing in it. Jaipur gives you a fort up on a ridge and an eighteenth-century observatory built as a yard full of stone instruments. The distances are honest about themselves: 204 km to Agra, another 238 km on to Jaipur, and a longer run back to Delhi at the end.
Nobody is going to pretend this is a restful itinerary. You will be up early more than once, two of the drives are five and six hours, and between April and June the middle of the day is hard work in a way that photographs never show. Travel it between October and March, though, and it is about as good a first week in north India as exists. You come home having seen the three places everyone asks you about.
One private car and driver for all six days. No internal flights and no trains - the whole route is by road.
The courtyard of Jama Masjid holds a crowd and still feels empty, and the steps down from it put you straight into Chandni Chowk. Walk it or take a rickshaw through the lanes, where the shops are sorted by trade rather than by anything a map would recognise. It is loud, close, and the part of Delhi people remember.
You come in through the gateway and the whole building appears at once, which is the point of building it that way. The marble changes colour through the afternoon, from white to something closer to cream. Closed on Fridays, so the day moves if it has to.
Akbar built a capital here, used it for fourteen years and left. What remains is red sandstone courtyards, a mosque, and the marble Tomb of Salim Chisti with its carved screens. Because almost nobody stays the night, you tend to have the place in a pause between coach parties.
The fort sits above a lake on the ridge outside Jaipur and the approach is a long ramp up to the main gate, done by elephant when they are running and by jeep when they are not. Inside there are mirrored halls and a garden laid out in the middle of a water tank. Go early; it fills up by mid-morning.
October to March. November to February are the most comfortable, though Delhi and Agra can be cold and foggy first thing in December and January. April to June is hot, and July to September brings the monsoon.
Arrive Delhi
You are met in the arrivals hall and driven to your hotel. Rooms are available from 1400, so a morning landing may mean an hour in the lobby with a coffee before you can get at a shower.
Delhi
Jama Masjid first, then Chandni Chowk on foot or by rickshaw. Humayun's Tomb and Qutub Minar take up the afternoon, with the Red Fort, India Gate and the President's House seen from the car as you cross the city.
Delhi to Agra
204 km / 4 hrs
You break the drive at Sikandra, where Akbar is buried under a gatehouse covered in inlaid stone. Agra Fort in the afternoon, then the Taj Mahal, which is closed on Fridays. If your dates land on one we move the day round.
Agra to Jaipur via Fatehpur Sikri
238 km / 5 hrs
Fatehpur Sikri is a whole Mughal capital that was abandoned after fourteen years and never really reoccupied, so the courtyards are empty in a way few sites in India are. You see Akbar's residential complex, the mosque and the Tomb of Salim Chisti, then carry on to Jaipur.
Jaipur
Up early for Amber Fort, with an elephant ride up to the gate when elephants are available and a jeep when they are not. The rest of the day is the City Palace, the stone instruments of Jantar Mantar, and Hawa Mahal with its honeycomb of small windows.
Jaipur to Delhi
275 km / 6 hrs
The longest drive of the trip, straight through to Delhi international airport for your flight home. Allow for traffic on the Delhi side and take something to read.
We price the land arrangements and your flights together, then come back with one number. No deposit is taken on the call and nothing is booked until you say so.
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No. The from-price is land only: hotels, breakfasts, the car and driver, and the guided sightseeing listed. We quote UK flights separately and book them under ATOL 74904, so you see both figures before you commit to either.
Yes. British passport holders need an Indian visa, arranged before travel and at your own cost. It is not included in the tour price. We will tell you what the itinerary needs from the application, but the application itself is yours to make.
It is. Agra Fort and Sikandra stay open, so if your dates put a Friday on the Agra day we rearrange the order rather than drop the Taj. Tell us your preferred dates and we will check before anything is confirmed.
October to March. November to February are the most comfortable, with cool mornings and warm afternoons, though Delhi and Agra can be genuinely cold and foggy early in the day in December and January. April to June is hot, and July to September brings the monsoon.
No. Elephant numbers at the fort are limited and rides stop once the day's quota is used, so the ride is subject to availability. When elephants are not running you go up by jeep, which is included and takes the same route.
Three travelling days: four hours to Agra, five to Jaipur with Fatehpur Sikri on the way, and six back to Delhi at the end. The other three days are in and around one city. The driving is on main highways rather than back roads, but it is still a fair amount of sitting.
Prices shown are the supplier’s published “from” price for the land arrangements only, per person on a twin-share basis, and vary by date, hotel grade and party size. International flights are quoted separately. The route map is an illustration of the order of stops, not an accurate map. Patel Travel is ATOL 74904 and IATA accredited. Tours are operated by our ground partner in India; your confirmation will state who is responsible for your booking.
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