Classic Golden Triangle: Delhi, Jaipur & Agra

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.

Begin in Old Delhi at Jama Masjid, one of India's largest mosques, built by Shah Jahan in the 1650s, then take a cycle-rickshaw through the crowded lanes of Chandni Chowk, a 17th-century bazaar of spices, silver and sweets. Drive past the red sandstone walls of the Red Fort and pause at Raj Ghat, the simple memorial to Mahatma Gandhi. In the afternoon, explore New Delhi: Humayun's Tomb, the Mughal garden tomb that inspired the Taj Mahal, and the 73-metre Qutub Minar, begun around 1200. End with a drive past India Gate and the grand government buildings of Lutyens' Delhi.

After breakfast, leave Delhi and drive south-west through the farmland of Haryana and into Rajasthan, with tea stops along the way. Arrive in Jaipur, Rajasthan's capital, founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II and laid out on a grid inspired by ancient Indian planning. The old city's buildings were painted pink to welcome the Prince of Wales in 1876, earning it the name Pink City. Check in and spend the evening at leisure, or visit Birla Mandir, a white marble temple to Vishnu and Lakshmi that glows beautifully after dark.

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.

After breakfast, drive east towards Agra. On the way, stop at Fatehpur Sikri, the red sandstone city Emperor Akbar built as his capital in the 16th century and abandoned soon after. Walk through the Buland Darwaza, the towering Gate of Victory, see the Panch Mahal and the courts where Akbar met his nobles, and visit the white marble shrine of the Sufi saint Sheikh Salim Chishti. Arrive in Agra in the afternoon. In the evening, watch the sun set over the Taj Mahal from Mehtab Bagh, the Moonlight Garden across the Yamuna.

See the Taj Mahal at sunrise, the quietest and most beautiful time of day, when the marble changes colour with the light. Return to the hotel for breakfast. Then visit Agra Fort, the red sandstone citadel where Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son and looked out at the Taj in his last years, and Itmad-ud-Daulah, the jewel-like marble tomb known as the Baby Taj. In the afternoon, drive back to Delhi on the Yamuna Expressway. You are dropped at the airport for your flight or at your hotel.