Golden Triangle and Royal Rajasthan

Your driver meets you after you clear the airport and takes you to the hotel.

• There is nothing planned beyond rest, a shower and a quiet dinner, since many international flights land at night or in the early morning.
• If you arrive in the afternoon, the guide can offer an easy hour, such as a drive along the avenues of Lutyens' Delhi, or a short walk in Lodhi Garden among the old Sayyid and Lodi tombs.
• The full day of sightseeing is tomorrow.
• Ask the driver anything about the days ahead, and drink plenty of water.
• Delhi can feel loud and warm on arrival; a cool room and an early night reset most people.

Spend the day with your guide in both halves of the capital.

• Morning is for Old Delhi: a cycle rickshaw ride through Chandni Chowk, a look into the Jama Masjid courtyard and the Red Fort from outside.
• Then the car carries you south to Humayun's Tomb, where the Mughal garden tomb stands among lawns and water channels, and onward to the Qutub Minar, a tall sandstone tower surrounded by ruins of the first Delhi sultans.
• Lunch is somewhere simple and clean.
• In the afternoon pass the India Gate and Rashtrapati Bhavan, and, if you like, step into the Sikh temple at Bangla Sahib, where the kitchen feeds thousands.
• Cover your head there and remove shoes.
• The evening is free.

After breakfast you drive south-east to Agra, roughly four hours on the expressway with a tea stop.

• The road is smooth and the landscape flat.
• You reach Agra around midday and check in, and after a rest the guide takes you to Agra Fort, a red sandstone palace beside the river.
• The audience halls, the marble Moti Masjid and the Jahangir courtyard tell the story of three emperors.
• Later you cross the river to Mehtab Bagh to see the Taj Mahal from a distance at sunset, when the dome changes colour.
• The Taj itself is left for the morning.
• It is closed on Fridays, so we plan the dates to avoid that.
• Dinner is early, because tomorrow starts soon after dawn.

Reach the Taj Mahal at opening, while the marble is cool and the light is soft.

• The guide walks you through the gateway and along the water channel, explaining the inlay work and why the four minarets lean slightly outward.
• Allow around two hours.
• After breakfast you leave Agra for Jaipur, with a stop at Fatehpur Sikri, the red sandstone city Akbar built and then left.
• The guide takes you through the Jama Masjid and the Buland Darwaza.
• Lunch follows on the highway.
• The drive from Agra to Jaipur is roughly five hours in all with the stop.
• In December and January fog can slow the morning.
• You reach Jaipur in the evening, so keep the rest of the day light and have dinner in the hotel.

Start the day at Amber Fort, set high above Maota Lake.

• Walk up the old ramp or take a vehicle, and enter through the Ganesh Gate to the courtyards and the Sheesh Mahal, with its ceiling of tiny mirrors.
• In the late morning the guide brings you to the City Palace, a mix of Rajput and Mughal design that is still partly a royal home, and the Jantar Mantar observatory.
• After lunch the old city waits: the Hawa Mahal from the street, the Johari bazaar and the lanes of the cloth printers.
• If you like, visit a family workshop to see block printing or gem cutting.
• Return to the hotel to rest, then have a relaxed dinner.
• Tomorrow is a shorter drive, so this evening can be unhurried.

Leave after a late breakfast, and drive west for roughly three and a half hours via Ajmer to Pushkar, a small town on a sacred lake.

• The road climbs a low ridge before dropping into a basin.
• After lunch the guide takes you to the ghats, where pilgrims bathe and priests perform rituals.
• The Brahma Temple, one of very few dedicated to the creator god, stands just off the lake, and the guide explains the story behind it.
• Pushkar is a holy town, so meat, eggs and alcohol are not sold in the centre, and shoes come off near the ghats.
• Stay for the evening arati as lamps are floated on the water, then enjoy a vegetarian dinner.
• It is a gentle, slower day after Jaipur.

After a morning walk through Pushkar's bazaar, where silver, textiles and prayer beads are sold, you drive to Jodhpur, roughly three and a half to four hours.

• The road crosses open plains with scrub and small villages.
• Your driver stops for tea, and lunch is in Jodhpur itself.
• In the afternoon check in and rest, then the guide takes you for a first look at the city.
• Mehrangarh Fort is visible from almost everywhere, lit after dark, and the old town below is painted in shades of blue.
• A walk through the lanes near the clock tower gives you a taste of the Sardar Market, where spice, textiles and sweets are sold.
• Dinner on a rooftop terrace with a view of the fort is a good way to end the day.

Visit Mehrangarh Fort in the morning, when the stone is cool.

• The fort sits on a cliff above the city, and your guide leads you through the palace rooms, the carved sandstone windows and the cannon terraces, with views over the blue houses below.
• Then visit Jaswant Thada, a white marble memorial peaceful in midday light, and Umaid Bhawan Palace from the outside.
• After lunch you can explore the Toorji Ka Jhalra stepwell near the clock tower, or take a gentle walk through the old town, where doorways are painted pale blue.
• Late afternoon is free for rest or a visit to a textile shop.
• Dinner is relaxed.
• Jodhpur is dry and warm for most of the year, so carry water and a hat.

Leave early for a long but varied day.

• The road runs south-east into the Aravalli hills, and after roughly three to four hours you reach Ranakpur.
• The Jain temple here is built of pale marble, with carved pillars and domed ceilings, in a quiet wooded valley.
• The guide explains the carvings, and visitors remove shoes and leather, and cover shoulders and knees.
• Lunch is nearby.
• From Ranakpur, Udaipur is roughly two and a half hours through forested hills, and you arrive in the evening.
• In total this is a six to seven hour travel day.
• Check in, rest and enjoy a dinner near the lake.
• Tomorrow is a whole day in the city.

Udaipur has a softer feel than the other cities, with white palaces reflected in the water.

• Start at the City Palace, where courtyards, balconies and painted rooms look out across Lake Pichola, and the guide explains the Mewar dynasty.
• Walk to the Jagdish Temple and the lanes around it, which are full of silver shops and miniature painters.
• After lunch, visit Saheliyon ki Bari, a garden of fountains and lotus pools.
• In the late afternoon, take a boat on the lake.
• The palaces look best from the water just before sunset, and the guide sets the timing to the season.
• Dinner can be on a rooftop.
• A shawl is useful, since the lake breeze cools quickly after dark.

Today is a slower day beyond the city.

• Drive north to Eklingji and Nagda, two groups of old temples in the hills, which are quiet and pleasant before midday.
• The guide explains their history and architecture.
• You can continue to Haldighati if you wish, the pass where Maharana Pratap made a famous stand against the Mughal army, or return to Udaipur for Shilpgram, a crafts village that shows regional dress and building styles.
• Lunch is on the road.
• The afternoon is free: you might rest, shop in the lakeside lanes, or simply sit by the water.
• If you prefer a different excursion, such as a cooking session or a longer countryside outing, it can be discussed when we plan.

The final morning is easy.

• If your flight is later, spend an hour by the lake or in the City Palace shops.
• The driver takes you to Udaipur airport, roughly forty minutes away, or to the station if you travel by train.
• He helps with bags and waits until you are checked in.
• Flights are not included, so book your onward flight when your plan is confirmed, and allow a comfortable margin for security.
• If you continue to Mumbai, Delhi or another city, we can plan checkout and breakfast around the flight.
• Thank you for travelling the long road with us; it has been an eventful journey through the royal cities of Rajasthan.