Golden Triangle Express: 5 Days

Welcome to India. Our representative meets you at Delhi airport or railway station with a traditional garland welcome and escorts you to your hotel in a private air-conditioned car. After a long journey, the rest of the day is yours to rest and adjust to the new time zone. If you arrive early and feel like stretching your legs, take a gentle evening walk around Connaught Place, the elegant colonnaded circle at the heart of New Delhi, with its cafes, bookshops and busy street life. Your tour manager will brief you on the days ahead.

Spend the morning on Delhi's essentials with your guide. Visit Humayun's Tomb, the 16th-century Mughal garden tomb that inspired the Taj Mahal, and the Qutub Minar, a soaring tower of carved red sandstone begun around 1200. Drive past India Gate, the war memorial, and Rashtrapati Bhavan, the president's palace. After lunch, travel to Agra on the smooth Yamuna Expressway and check in to your hotel. The evening is free, or you can head to Mehtab Bagh, a Mughal garden across the river, to watch the sun set behind the Taj Mahal.

Rise early to see the Taj Mahal at sunrise, when the crowds are thinner and the white marble turns from grey to rose and gold. Your guide explains the story of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal and the skill of its inlay work. After breakfast, visit Agra Fort, the red sandstone Mughal citadel on the river. Then drive to Fatehpur Sikri, Akbar's abandoned 16th-century capital, to see the Buland Darwaza, the Panch Mahal and the shrine of Sheikh Salim Chishti. Continue to Jaipur for the night.

Start early at Amber Fort, the hilltop palace of the Kachwaha rulers above Maota Lake, riding up to the ramparts by jeep. Explore its courtyards and the Sheesh Mahal, a hall lined with thousands of tiny mirrors. Pause for photos at Jal Mahal, the palace in the lake. In the afternoon, visit the City Palace, still home to the former royal family, and Jantar Mantar, the 18th-century observatory of giant stone instruments and a UNESCO site. See the honeycomb facade of Hawa Mahal, then browse the bazaars for block prints, gems and blue pottery.

Enjoy a relaxed final morning in Jaipur. Jaipur is famous for its crafts, so this is a good time for last shopping: block-printed textiles in Bapu Bazaar, silver and gems in Johari Bazaar, blue pottery and the quilts of Sanganer. Or simply enjoy a slow breakfast at your hotel. After lunch, drive back to Delhi, about five to six hours along the highway, with a tea stop on the way. You are dropped at Delhi airport for your onward flight or at your hotel, bringing your Rajasthan journey to a close.