Delhi, Agra, Ranthambore & Jaipur
On arrival in Delhi, you’ll be met by our executive and chauffeur and transferred to your hotel for a two-night stay in the capital of India. Spend the remainder of the day recovering from jetlag with a leisurely swim in the hotel pool. If energy levels permit, you may wish to visit the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, an atmospheric Sikh shrine in the late afternoon. Just let us know and we’ll arrange it for you.
Gurudwara Bangla Sahib: Made of white marble and crowned by a gilded onion dome, the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib and shimmering pool inside it are places of great sanctity for Indian Sikhs, and offer the most atmospheric introduction possible to the capital. The complex in its present form dates from the late-18th century and was constructed at a place associated with the eighth Sikh Guru, Har Krishnan. At a Langar, or ‘canteen’, in the temple, visitors and devotees are fed nourishing, free meals of chapatis and black dal by volunteers. If you’re lucky, you may see groups of Akalis, members of a Sikh warrior sect, dressed in traditional ceremonial garb.
Enjoy the evening and relax at the hotel. Overnight stay at a hotel in Delhi.
A full-day’s sightseeing today starts with a cycle-rickshaw ride of Old Delhi, typically including the Jama Masjid mosque. In the afternoon, visit Lutyen’s imperial capital, Humayun’s Tomb, and the spectacular Qutb Minar complex on the southern outskirts.
The narrow lanes of Old Delhi once formed the hub of the Mughal capital, formerly known as ‘Shajahanabad’ after the great Emperor Shah Jahan. An obligatory stop should be the splendid Jama Masjid mosque, whose giant white domes dominate the skyline of the old city.
After Jama Masjid visit, enjoy the rickshaw ride at bylanes of Old Delhi. From here we proceed to Raj Ghat to visit the cremation place of Mahatma Gandhi.
From Raj Ghat head into the colonial haunts of New Delhi including Lutyan’s grand architectural masterpieces designed to overwhelm and subdue the locals. We also visit Humayun’s Tomb, one of India’s greatest early Mughal buildings, which stands in manicured gardens a little further south and may be visited en route to the iconic Qutb Minar victory tower on Delhi’s southern outskirts, the day’s final stop.
Overnight stay at a hotel in Delhi.
After breakfast, drive to Agra to visit the city’s Mughal Fort and nearby markets, followed by a sunset tour of the Taj. Reach Agra, check – in at the hotel and here we will stay for one night.
Shah Jahan, the emperor who created the Taj Mahal, was imprisoned towards the end of his life by his son, Aurangzeb, in the gilded splendour of the Mughals’ great fortress-palace overlooking the Yamuna River – your first sightseeing stop of the day. Through its finely carved pillars and cusp-arched windows you’ll be able to savour the same romantic views as the ailing ruler enjoyed. On the opposite bank, the Itimad-ud Daulah tomb encloses the remains of his Prime Minister, or ‘Wazir’. The mausoleum’s famously intricate inlay work foreshadowed that of the Taj, which you’ll visit towards the end of the afternoon, when the changing light transforms the marble surfaces from a pale ochre to orange and crimson.
Overnight stay at a hotel in Agra.
Drive in the morning to Ranthambore, pausing on the way to visit one of India’s most impressive stepwells. You’ll arrive in the Rajasthani capital around mid-afternoon.
Just off the main Agra–Jaipur highway, the magnificent stepwell at Abhaneri is your stop of the day. Comprising 3,500 carved steps spread over thirteen storeys, the well is the deepest and most intricate of its kind in India.
After stepwell at Abhaneri, continue the drive to Ranthambore. Here we will stay for two nights to explore the Ranthambore National Park.
Everyone wants to see a tiger when touring India, but Ranthambore is a place where by chance or your good luck to sight a tiger on a lakeside domed pavilion or against the backdrop of the ruined fort of Chauhan’s Kingdom.
Overnight stay at a resort in Ranthambore.
Enjoy morning and evening game drives in Ranthambore National Park in search of the elusive Royal Bengal tiger. Other animals include leopard, sloth bear, sambar deer, chital, nilgai, black buck, langur and macaque.
Overnight stay at a resort in Ranthambore.
Enjoy a morning game drive. After breakfast, drive to Jaipur also known as “Pink City” and is the capital of state Rajasthan.
Most tourists prefer to spend the rest of the day relaxing by their hotel on arrival in Jaipur, but when suitably refreshed we recommend an evening visit to Birla Temple. Here in Jaipur, we will stay for two nights.
Overnight stay at a hotel in Jaipur.
Enjoy a full day’s sightseeing in Jaipur today, beginning with a trip out to Amber, followed by the Hawa Mahal, Jantar Mantar Observatory and world-famous City Palace museum.
Perched on the rim of a dramatic escarpment, Amber Fort retains some of the finest interiors surviving from the 16th and 17th centuries in India, notably a glittering ‘Hall of Mirrors’, or ‘Sheesh Mahal’, lined with intricate mosaics where the Maharaja and his consorts would enjoy music and poetry recitals.
Jaipur itself is a swirl of life and colour, and its numerous Rajput monuments and markets provide the focus for the rest of the day. You’ll begin at the famous City Palace Complex, which includes the much photographed ‘Hawa Mahal’, or ‘Palace of Winds’, a five-storey façade of elaborately screened windows from where the women of the royal household used to watch processions in the streets below. Treasures from the royal household are proudly displayed in the old pillared assembly halls below, and include jewels, weapons and regalia from Jaipur’s 18th-century heyday.
By late afternoon you will return to the hotel and relax.
Overnight stay at a hotel in Jaipur.
You’ll have time for a final stroll around Jaipur’s old city before driving to Delhi in the afternoon, where you’ll check in to a hotel near the airport ahead of your departure the following day.
With our executive, transfer by the vehicle to New Delhi International Airport for your return or onward flight.