Golden Triangle 5 Day Tour

Your driver meets you at the airport, railway station or hotel and the day is spent in Delhi. New Delhi first: Qutub Minar, Humayun's Tomb and India Gate, with a drive past Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Parliament buildings. After lunch, Old Delhi: the Red Fort (closed on Mondays), Jama Masjid and Raj Ghat, with a cycle-rickshaw ride through Chandni Chowk if time allows. Overnight in Delhi.

•   Leave Delhi after breakfast on the Yamuna Expressway; Agra is about 3 hours away.
•   Check in at the hotel and have lunch.
•   Afternoon at Agra Fort, the red sandstone fort from which Shah Jahan looked out at the Taj Mahal in his last years.
•   Itimad-ud-Daulah, the small marble tomb on the east bank of the Yamuna that is often called the Baby Taj.
•   Sunset at Mehtab Bagh, the garden directly across the river from the Taj Mahal.
•   Evening free for the marble-inlay and leather shops around Sadar Bazaar.
•   Overnight in Agra.

Sunrise entry at the Taj Mahal, before the tour groups arrive and while the marble is still cool underfoot. The monument is closed on Fridays; if your third day falls on one, the visit moves to the afternoon of Day 2. Return to the hotel for breakfast, then drive west. About 40 km out is Fatehpur Sikri, Akbar's abandoned capital, where an hour covers the Buland Darwaza, the mosque and the palace courtyards. Continue to Jaipur, a total drive of about 4 to 5 hours, and check in. Dinner at leisure; Chokhi Dhani on the outskirts is an option if you want Rajasthani food with folk music.

Start with Amber Fort, about 11 km north of the city, stopping on the way to photograph Jal Mahal in the middle of Man Sagar Lake. Back inside the walled city, the City Palace and its museum, then Jantar Mantar, the eighteenth-century observatory next door, and the facade of Hawa Mahal from the street. The afternoon is open for Johari Bazaar and Bapu Bazaar, which are the places for block-printed textiles, lac bangles and gemstones. End at Nahargarh Fort on the ridge above the city for sunset. Overnight in Jaipur.

After breakfast the drive back to Delhi takes about 5 hours, arriving early afternoon. Your driver drops you at the airport, railway station or hotel in Delhi or the NCR with Progressive Tours and Travels cab rental services. If your flight is late in the day, a stop at Neemrana Fort on the way can be added.