The Mughal trail

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

• After you rest, the day begins with Humayun's Tomb, the second Mughal emperor's resting place and the first great garden tomb in India.
• Your guide explains how its symmetrical garden and double dome influenced the Taj Mahal a century later.
• Nearby, the quieter tomb complexes of Sunder Nursery and Isa Khan can be added if you have energy.
• Lunch is at a restaurant your guide suggests.
• In the afternoon the car passes India Gate and the government quarter, then settles in for the evening.
• If you land at night, the day is simply arrival and sleep, and we start with Humayun's Tomb tomorrow instead.
• Wear shoes that come off easily, and bring a hat for the open lawns.

This day is about Shah Jahan's walled city.

• Begin at the Red Fort, the sandstone palace-fortress that was his seat of power, with the audience halls, the pavilions and the museum rooms.
• It is closed on Mondays, so we swap this day with another if needed.
• Next, the car drops you near the Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India, where you climb the steps and look across the old city.
• Your guide then leads you on foot into the lanes of Chandni Chowk for a short, guided walk and a snack stop.
• A rickshaw ride is optional.
• After lunch, rest at the hotel.
• The old city is crowded and loud, so go in the morning, carry little and keep your phone zipped away.

After breakfast, you drive south to Agra on the expressway, roughly three and a half to four hours with a coffee break.

• This is the same route the Mughal court once travelled when it moved between its two capitals.
• You reach Agra around lunchtime.
• After a rest, the afternoon begins with Agra Fort, the red sandstone fortress where Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan ruled.
• Your guide takes you through the audience halls, the Moti Masjid and the balconies from which the Taj is visible across the river.
• Shah Jahan spent his last years here in confinement, looking toward the tomb he had built.
• Late afternoon light on the red walls is excellent for photographs.
• Dinner is at the hotel, and an early night prepares you for tomorrow.

Leave the hotel before sunrise so you reach the Taj Mahal as it opens.

• Tickets are arranged for you.
• Your guide leads you through the gateway and explains how the garden, the tomb, the minarets and the mosque were planned as a single design.
• The white marble changes from grey to gold to white as the light grows.
• Stay for a while after sunrise, when the crowds have thinned.
• Return to the hotel for breakfast and a rest.
• Late morning, visit Itimad-ud-Daulah, the small inlaid tomb across the river that Mughal historians see as a forerunner of the Taj.
• Fog can hide the sunrise in December and January.
• The Taj is closed on Fridays, so a Friday arrival means we reorder the days.

The morning drive takes you roughly an hour west to Fatehpur Sikri, the city Akbar built and abandoned within a few years.

• Your guide walks you through the palace courtyards, the Diwan-i-Khas with its carved central pillar and the great Jama Masjid, where the white marble tomb of Sheikh Salim Chishti sits in the courtyard.
• Plan about two hours, and avoid touts at the entrance by staying with your guide.
• Lunch is back in Agra.
• In the afternoon visit Sikandra, Akbar's own tomb, set in broad gardens where deer wander.
• The red sandstone gateway is the finest part.
• Return to the hotel in time for a quiet evening, or take a short walk to shop for marble inlay.

After a slow breakfast, your driver takes you back to Delhi, roughly three and a half to four hours on the expressway.

• If time allows, a last stop at a marble inlay workshop in Agra can be arranged, where craftsmen use techniques inherited from Mughal artisans.
• We time the drive to your departing flight or onward train, and leave a comfortable margin for traffic on the approach to the city.
• If you are staying another night in Delhi, your driver takes you to the hotel instead and your guide can suggest a quiet evening.
• Whichever you choose, the driver is with you from the hotel door to the terminal, and he will help with luggage at the curb.