Golden Triangle with Rishikesh

Your driver meets you at the airport and takes you to your hotel.

• After a rest, your guide begins with Old Delhi: Jama Masjid, then a cycle rickshaw through Chandni Chowk, with its spice sellers, sweet shops and tangled wires.
• The Red Fort can be added, but it is closed on Mondays.
• Lunch is at a restaurant the guide trusts.
• In the afternoon the car takes you to Humayun's Tomb, a quiet garden tomb that came before the Taj, and then past India Gate and the government quarter.
• Wear shoes that slip off easily and carry a scarf for the mosque.
• If you land late at night, the city tour begins after a rest the next morning.
• Dinner is near the hotel, and the evening is early, since tomorrow is a drive to Agra.

After breakfast you leave Delhi on the expressway toward Agra, a drive of roughly three and a half to four hours.

• Your driver stops at a clean rest area halfway for tea.
• In Agra you check in, rest and then visit Agra Fort, the red sandstone fortress on the river, in the afternoon.
• Your guide shows you the audience halls and the marble pavilions with their views toward the Taj.
• Next comes Itimad-ud-Daulah, the small marble tomb across the river, whose inlay is best studied in the softer late light.
• The Taj Mahal is saved for sunrise, and it is closed on Fridays, so we plan the dates around that day.
• Have dinner early and set the alarm for before dawn.

You reach the Taj Mahal gate as it opens at sunrise.

• Your guide takes you into the garden and onto the marble platform while the building moves from grey to pink to white.
• The first hour is the quietest, and the inlay is clearest in the low light.
• In December and January fog may flatten the view, and your guide will say so honestly.
• Back at the hotel for breakfast, then drive to Jaipur, about four and a half to five hours.
• Stop at Fatehpur Sikri, Akbar's abandoned red sandstone capital, to see the Jama Masjid and the Buland Darwaza.
• Lunch is on the road.
• Arrive in Jaipur by late afternoon.
• Check in, rest and take a short walk if you feel like it.
• Expect a long but comfortable day.

Start early at Amber Fort, a hilltop fortress of sandstone and marble above a lake.

• Your guide walks you through the courtyards and into the Sheesh Mahal, the mirrored hall, before the crowds build.
• Stop briefly at Jal Mahal for a photograph on the way back.
• Visit the City Palace and Jantar Mantar next, in the late morning, with a brief look at the street front of Hawa Mahal.
• Lunch is at a local restaurant.
• Then the drive to Delhi, roughly five to six hours with a break at a roadside restaurant.
• You reach Delhi in the evening, check in near the airport or in the city, and have dinner.
• Wear comfortable shoes and carry water.
• Tomorrow is another early start toward the mountains, so pack tonight and rest.

Leave Delhi after an early breakfast and drive north toward Rishikesh, roughly five to six hours depending on traffic leaving the city and on the road near Haridwar.

• The plains are green with sugarcane and wheat, and the air begins to cool as you approach the foothills.
• Your driver stops for lunch on the way.
• You arrive in Rishikesh in the afternoon and check in.
• Rest briefly, then your guide takes you to Triveni Ghat for the evening Ganga aarti, a gentler affair than in Varanasi, with lamps, singing and bells beside the fast, clear river.
• Sit on the steps and watch the light fade.
• Dinner is vegetarian, as in most of the town.
• The mood is calm, and the water is cold even in summer.

A slow day.

• After breakfast your guide walks you across Laxman Jhula, the suspension bridge over the Ganges, and through the lanes on either side, past small cafes, ashrams, bookshops and shops selling beads and shawls.
• Bring modest clothing and shoes that slip off, since temples and ashrams ask you to remove them.
• Lunch is by the river.
• In the afternoon, rest, or take the car a short way up the valley for a view of the hills.
• A yoga or meditation class can be discussed when we plan, but nothing is fixed in advance.
• White-water rafting is available on the river in season, but is not part of the journey.
• In the evening, return to the ghat if you wish.
• The day is unhurried.

After breakfast and a last walk beside the river, you leave Rishikesh for Delhi, about five to six hours by road.

• Your driver stops for lunch at a reliable restaurant on the way.
• The road passes through Haridwar and across the plains, and traffic thickens as you approach the city.
• Your driver delivers you to the international airport or to your hotel in Delhi, depending on your plans, leaving a comfortable margin.
• Flights are not included in the journey, so please share your departure time with us in advance, and we will plan the day backward from it.
• If your flight is late at night, an early start is not necessary.
• We hope the mountains were a calm end to the road.
• Safe travels, and keep in touch.