Golden Triangle, Jodhpur and Udaipur

Your driver meets you on arrival and brings you to the hotel, where you can freshen up.

• After a rest your guide takes you to Old Delhi.
• You ride a cycle rickshaw through the narrow lanes of Chandni Chowk, past spice sellers and sweet shops, then walk up to the Jama Masjid, the great red mosque built by Shah Jahan.
• Shoulders and knees must be covered, and a scarf helps.
• From there the car carries you to Humayun's Tomb, an early Mughal garden tomb, and past India Gate.
• If you land late, the plan shrinks to a short drive and a quiet dinner.
• Delhi traffic thickens in the evening, so the guide plans around it.
• Tomorrow is a morning drive to Agra, so go to bed early and drink plenty of water.

After breakfast you leave Delhi on the expressway, and the road to Agra takes roughly four hours with a tea stop.

• Check in at midday and rest through the heat.
• In the afternoon your guide leads you through Agra Fort, a red sandstone palace-fortress with marble pavilions and long river views toward the Taj.
• Next comes Itimad-ud-Daulah, a small marble tomb with fine inlay that is sometimes called the baby Taj, and then, near sunset, Mehtab Bagh across the river, where you see the Taj Mahal from a distance as the colour softens.
• The monument itself waits for tomorrow morning.
• The Taj is closed on Fridays, so we plan the dates to avoid that day.
• Eat early and rest, since the morning starts soon after dawn.

Reach the Taj Mahal soon after it opens.

• At that hour the white marble is cool and the light is soft.
• Your guide walks you down the central water channel to the platform, explains the inlay and the minarets, and leaves you time to sit and watch.
• After breakfast you set out for Jaipur.
• A stop at Fatehpur Sikri, the abandoned red sandstone capital of Akbar, takes about two hours with the guide and breaks the road well.
• Lunch follows on the highway.
• The remaining drive is roughly three and a half hours, so you reach Jaipur in the early evening.
• Depending on your energy you can walk to the old city for a first glance at the Hawa Mahal, or simply rest.
• Wear comfortable shoes for tomorrow.

Start early at Amber Fort, on its ridge above Maota Lake.

• The courtyards are cool in the morning, and the guide leads you through the audience hall and the Sheesh Mahal, whose ceiling is set with tiny mirrors.
• You can walk up or take a vehicle.
• Back in the city, visit the City Palace, where parts are still a royal home, and the Jantar Mantar observatory with its huge stone instruments.
• Lunch is in the old city.
• In the afternoon, you can stroll through the bazaars where block-printed textiles, jewellery and leather shoes are made, or visit a workshop to see how the cloth is printed.
• The Hawa Mahal is best from the street in late sun.
• The evening is free, and Jaipur has good restaurants for a relaxed dinner.

Today is mostly on the road.

• The drive from Jaipur to Jodhpur takes roughly five to six hours, heading south-west across drier, more open country.
• Your driver stops once for tea and again for a lunch break, and the landscape changes to scrub, low hills and long straight roads.
• If you want a break, the Ajmer area is a natural place to stop.
• You reach Jodhpur in the afternoon and check in.
• Mehrangarh Fort looms over the old city, lit at night, and the guide points out the blue-painted houses below it.
• Evening is for a short walk near the clock tower market, where spices, textiles and sweets are sold, or for a quiet dinner and early rest after the long drive.

Visit Mehrangarh Fort in the morning, while the ramparts are cool.

• It rises about a hundred metres above the plain, and the guide walks you through the palace rooms, the gun platforms and the courtyards with their carved stone screens.
• The view from the walls shows the blue-washed houses of the old town.
• Next stop is Jaswant Thada, a white marble cenotaph just below the fort, peaceful and photogenic in midday light.
• After lunch you can walk down through the old lanes to the clock tower and Sardar Market, which is lively and fragrant with spice.
• Umaid Bhawan Palace can be viewed from outside.
• The late afternoon is free, and the guide can suggest a rooftop restaurant with a fort view.

Today is a long drive, so leave early.

• The road runs south-east through the Aravalli hills, and the main stop is Ranakpur, roughly three to four hours from Jodhpur.
• The Jain temple there is made of pale marble with more than a thousand carved pillars, no two exactly alike, and the guide explains its sculpture.
• Visitors remove shoes and leather items, and shoulders and knees must be covered.
• Lunch can be taken nearby.
• The remaining road to Udaipur runs through forested hills, roughly two and a half hours, and you arrive in the evening.
• The total travel day is long, around six to seven hours with stops, but the scenery is gentle.
• Check in and take dinner somewhere quiet near the lake.

Udaipur is the softest of the cities on this route, with white palaces on the edge of Lake Pichola.

• Begin at the City Palace in the morning, a complex of courtyards, balconies and painted rooms that overlooks the lake, and let the guide explain the Mewar dynasty.
• Walk down to the Jagdish Temple, then wander the nearby lanes for miniature paintings and silver.
• After lunch, visit Saheliyon ki Bari, a small garden with fountains, and later take a boat on Lake Pichola, which shows the palaces from the water just before sunset.
• Boat timings follow the light, so the guide fits them to the season.
• Dinner can be at a rooftop restaurant with a view over the lake.
• Take a shawl, since evenings on the water are cool.

This last morning is open.

• If your flight is later, you might return to the lakeshore for a walk or visit a miniature painting studio near the City Palace.
• The driver takes you to Udaipur airport or station for your onward journey, a transfer of roughly forty minutes to the airport, and helps with bags.
• Flights are not included in our journeys, so book your onward flight once the plan is confirmed.
• If you continue to Delhi, Mumbai or elsewhere, we can arrange the timing of checkout around your flight.
• Allow a comfortable margin for security, and keep a small amount of water with you.
• We hope you enjoyed the long road across Rajasthan.