Golden Triangle and Kerala Tour: 17 Days of the Taj Mahal, Backwaters and Beaches

Arrive in Delhi

Your driver meets you outside the arrivals hall at Indira Gandhi International Airport with a sign bearing your name and takes you to your hotel. Bank ATMs and mobile phone counters are in the arrivals area if you need rupees or a local SIM; your driver will wait. The drive in is a first look at New Delhi's wide, tree-lined avenues.

After a long flight, the best plan for the first day is very little. Check in, rest and adjust to Indian time; staying awake until a normal bedtime helps with jet lag. If you land early and feel fresh, an easy walk in Lodhi Garden, where 15th- and 16th-century tombs of the Sayyid and Lodi sultans stand among lawns and old trees, is a gentle introduction to the city.

Keep the first dinner simple. Delhi is known for rich North Indian cooking such as dal makhani and tandoori kebabs; for the first few days, stick to freshly cooked hot food and bottled or filtered water.

Your coordinator in Mumbai will call or message to welcome you, confirm tomorrow's start time and answer any questions.

• ArrivalMeet and greet at the airport; private transfer to your hotel
• AfternoonRest, or an optional walk in Lodhi Garden
• EveningFree, with an early night before tomorrow's sightseeing

OvernightDelhi. See the hotel options below.

Old and New Delhi with your guide

Start in Old Delhi, the walled city built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the 17th century. Climb the steps of the Jama Masjid, one of India's largest mosques, then take a cycle-rickshaw through Chandni Chowk, a tangle of lanes selling silver, saris, sweets and spices. Walk on to Khari Baoli, the great spice market, and pass the red sandstone walls of the Red Fort.

After lunch, cross into New Delhi. Humayun's Tomb, finished around 1570, is the garden tomb that inspired the Taj Mahal and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Continue to the 73-metre Qutub Minar, begun around 1200 and also UNESCO listed, then drive along Kartavya Path past the President's House to India Gate.

For a quieter moment, add Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, the Sikh temple whose community kitchen serves free meals to thousands of visitors daily.

Wear clothes that cover shoulders and knees and shoes that slip off: they come off at the Jama Masjid and the gurudwara, where heads are also covered (scarves are provided). The Red Fort is closed on Mondays, so your guide plans around it. Old Delhi is the place to try street food with your guide, from stuffed parathas to hot jalebis.

• MorningJama Masjid, cycle-rickshaw through Chandni Chowk, the spice market and the Red Fort
• AfternoonHumayun's Tomb and the Qutub Minar
• EveningIndia Gate, then dinner at leisure

OvernightDelhi.

To Agra via Akbar's tomb at Sikandra

After breakfast, drive south to Agra on the Yamuna Expressway. Just before the city, stop at Sikandra to see the tomb of Akbar, the greatest of the Mughal emperors, set in a vast walled garden where blackbuck and langur monkeys roam. Akbar began the tomb himself, and his son Jahangir completed it around 1613. Its gateway, inlaid with white marble patterns, is a preview of what was to come at the Taj.

Check in to your hotel in Agra and rest. In the late afternoon, if you have energy, visit the tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah, the Baby Taj, on the far bank of the Yamuna; its delicate stone inlay was the first of its kind in Mughal India.

Your guide will confirm the plan for tomorrow's early start at the Taj Mahal, which is closed on Fridays. Before dinner, try petha, Agra's translucent sweet made from ash gourd, sold all over the city.

• MorningDrive to Agra, stopping at Akbar's tomb at Sikandra
• AfternoonCheck in and rest
• Late afternoonOptional visit to the Baby Taj

OvernightAgra, 2 nights.

The Taj Mahal at sunrise and Agra Fort

Your guide collects you before dawn so you enter the Taj Mahal as the gates open, 30 minutes before sunrise. Built by Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal and completed in 1653, it shifts from grey to pink to dazzling white as the sun rises. Take your time in the gardens and on the river terrace; this is the quietest hour of the day.

After breakfast and a rest, explore Agra Fort, the red sandstone citadel that was the Mughal emperors' main residence until the court moved to Delhi in 1638. Inside are white marble halls of audience and the Musamman Burj, the tower where Shah Jahan is said to have spent his last years looking at the Taj.

At sunset, cross the river to Mehtab Bagh for the view of the Taj reflected in the Yamuna. In the evening, your guide can recommend a restaurant for Mughlai food, the rich cooking of the old court.

• SunriseThe Taj Mahal as the gates open
• MiddayAgra Fort
• SunsetThe Taj from Mehtab Bagh across the river

OvernightAgra.

Fatehpur Sikri and on to Jaipur

After breakfast, drive west to Fatehpur Sikri, the city Emperor Akbar built in red sandstone in the 1570s and abandoned within a few decades. With your guide, walk through the palaces of his queens, the Diwan-i-Khas with its carved central pillar, and the great Jama Masjid entered through the 54-metre Buland Darwaza. Look for the five-storey Panch Mahal, an open pavilion built to catch the breeze, and, in the mosque courtyard, the white marble tomb of the Sufi saint Salim Chishti, where visitors tie threads to the carved screens as they make a wish. Go early, as there is little shade.

Continue into Rajasthan, the land of the Rajput kings. If you would like a stop on the way, the Chand Baori stepwell at Abhaneri is a short detour, its thousands of steps cut in a perfect geometric pattern.

Arrive in Jaipur in the late afternoon and settle into your hotel for three nights. If you have energy, take an evening walk to see the old city's gates lit up, or try Rajasthani dishes such as dal baati churma for dinner.

• MorningFatehpur Sikri with your guide
• AfternoonDrive to Jaipur, with an optional stop at the Chand Baori stepwell
• EveningFree in Jaipur

OvernightJaipur, 2 nights.

Amber Fort and the Pink City

Drive out early to Amber Fort, the hilltop palace of the Kachwaha rulers and part of the UNESCO-listed Hill Forts of Rajasthan, before the heat and the tour buses arrive. Walk up through its courtyards to the Sheesh Mahal, the Hall of Mirrors, whose ceilings are set with thousands of tiny mirrors that sparkle in the light of a single flame. We take you up by jeep, not by elephant. On the way back, stop to photograph the Jal Mahal floating in Man Sagar Lake.

In the afternoon, explore the walled old city, founded in 1727 and painted pink in 1876 to welcome the Prince of Wales. See the honeycomb façade of the Hawa Mahal, the Palace of Winds; the City Palace, still home to the former royal family, where two enormous silver urns stand in the hall of private audience; and the Jantar Mantar, an 18th-century observatory with a giant stone sundial and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

End with an hour in Johari and Bapu bazaars for jewellery, textiles and block prints, or watch the sunset from Nahargarh Fort above the city. For a snack, try pyaaz kachori, a spiced onion pastry, or ghewar, a honeycomb-like sweet.

• MorningAmber Fort and the Hall of Mirrors; photo stop at the Jal Mahal
• AfternoonHawa Mahal, City Palace and the Jantar Mantar
• EveningOld city bazaars, or sunset from Nahargarh Fort

OvernightJaipur.

Fly south to Kerala

Fly from Jaipur to Kochi, connecting via Delhi or Mumbai, or drive back to Delhi for a direct flight, depending on the day's schedules. It marks the shift from the deserts, forts and palaces of the north to the green, tropical south. If your flight leaves late, you may have time for a quiet last breakfast and a walk in your hotel garden before your driver takes you to Jaipur airport.

Keep a small bag with essentials, medicines and a change of clothes with you in case of a long connection. As you land in Kochi, you will feel the difference at once: warmer, more humid air, coconut palms and water everywhere. Swap your layers for light cotton.

Your Kerala driver meets you at Kochi airport, about 40 km from Fort Kochi, and takes you to your hotel in the old harbour quarter, a drive of about an hour and a half. If you arrive in time, walk along the seafront to watch the Chinese fishing nets at sunset, as teams of fishermen lower and raise the great cantilevered nets. Have a first Kerala dinner of fish in a coconut and kokum curry, or appam with a mild vegetable stew.

• MorningTransfer to Jaipur airport
• DayFlight to Kochi
• EveningFort Kochi seafront and the Chinese fishing nets
• DinnerKerala seafood or appam with stew

OvernightFort Kochi, 2 nights.

Fort Kochi, Jew Town and a Kathakali performance

Fort Kochi is small and flat, and the best way to see it is slowly, on foot, in the cooler morning. Walk with your guide to St Francis Church, where Vasco da Gama was first buried in 1524; the Santa Cruz Basilica, with its painted ceilings; and lanes of Portuguese and Dutch houses now filled with cafés and galleries.

Continue to Mattancherry and Jew Town, home to one of India's oldest Jewish communities. See the Paradesi Synagogue, built in 1568, with its blue and white Chinese floor tiles and Belgian glass lamps, and browse the antique and spice shops, where the air smells of pepper and ginger. The Mattancherry Palace, built by the Portuguese for the Raja of Kochi, has some of the finest Hindu murals in Kerala. The synagogue is closed on Fridays, Saturdays and Jewish holidays and the palace on Fridays, so we plan the day around them. Shoes come off and photography is not allowed inside the synagogue.

In the evening, watch a Kathakali performance, Kerala's classical dance drama, in which the dancers tell stories from the epics through facial expression and hand gestures. Arrive early to see them apply their elaborate make-up.

• MorningFort Kochi: St Francis Church and the Santa Cruz Basilica
• AfternoonJew Town, the Paradesi Synagogue and Mattancherry Palace
• EveningKathakali performance

OvernightFort Kochi.

Up into the tea hills of Munnar

Drive east into the Western Ghats. The road climbs through rubber and spice plantations, past waterfalls such as Cheeyappara and Valara, into Munnar, a former British hill station at about 1,600 metres, wrapped in emerald tea estates.

The last stretch winds up through many hairpin bends, so take a travel-sickness tablet if you need one. On the way, you can stop at a spice garden to see cardamom, pepper and cinnamon growing, and, as you near Munnar, the first tea estates appear, with pickers working along the steep, clipped rows. Your driver will stop at viewpoints for photographs.

Check in to your resort among the tea gardens and enjoy the cool air and the views. Evenings in Munnar can be chilly, especially from December to February, so have a warm layer handy. With a cup of fresh local tea, try pazham pori, ripe banana fritters, a favourite Kerala teatime snack. Munnar town is small and busy, and most resorts are a short drive outside it, which makes for quiet evenings.

• DayDrive to Munnar via spice plantations and waterfalls
• AfternoonOptional spice garden stop and tea estate viewpoints
• EveningFree at your resort

OvernightMunnar, 2 nights, at a resort among the tea estates.

Tea gardens and Eravikulam National Park

Walk through the tea plantations with a guide, learning how the leaves are plucked by hand, then visit the Tata Tea Museum to see how tea is processed, from withering and rolling to drying, and taste the local blends. The museum is closed on Mondays.

Later, visit Eravikulam National Park, home to the endangered Nilgiri tahr, a mountain goat found only in the Western Ghats, and to the high grasslands below Anamudi, the highest peak in South India. Visitors ride the park's own buses up to the viewing area at Rajamalai, then walk along a paved road, so the effort is low. Go as early as you can: mist often rolls in by midday and queues build at weekends. The park closes for the tahr's calving season, usually in February and March.

If you have time, stop at Mattupetty Dam or the viewpoint at Top Station on the Tamil Nadu border. Munnar is also known for home-made chocolate and fresh cardamom, sold in small shops in town.

• MorningTea plantation walk and the Tata Tea Museum
• AfternoonEravikulam National Park and the Nilgiri tahr
• OptionalMattupetty Dam or Top Station

OvernightMunnar.

To Thekkady and the spice forests

Drive south through the hills, past tea estates giving way to cardamom plantations shaded by tall forest trees, to Thekkady on the edge of Periyar Tiger Reserve. The road is narrow and winding but rarely busy, with views across the Cardamom Hills and small towns where the morning's harvest is sorted and dried. Your driver can stop at a viewpoint or a roadside tea stall on the way.

Arrive in time for lunch. Thekkady and its small neighbouring town, Kumily, sit right at the park gate, and the main street is lined with spice shops selling cardamom, pepper, cloves and vanilla, as well as tea, coffee and Ayurvedic oils. Prices are usually fixed and quality is good, but it pays to compare.

Check in to your lodge among the spice gardens. In the evening, you can watch a Kalaripayattu performance in Kumily, Kerala's ancient martial art, said to be one of the oldest in the world, or a short Kathakali show. Otherwise, enjoy a quiet dinner of Kerala vegetable curries and appam, and an early night before tomorrow's dawn boat safari.

• DayDrive through cardamom country to Thekkady
• AfternoonKumily's spice shops
• EveningOptional Kalaripayattu martial arts show

OvernightThekkady, 2 nights, at a spice-garden lodge near Periyar Tiger Reserve.

Periyar Lake and a spice plantation

Start early with a boat safari on Periyar Lake, a reservoir in the heart of the tiger reserve, created in 1895. Dead trees still stand in the water, and wild elephants, gaur, sambar deer and otters are often seen along the shoreline in the morning. Tigers live here but are rarely seen. The first boat of the day is the best, for wildlife and for soft light on the water. Wear muted colours, and bring binoculars and a warm layer for the early start.

Later, walk through a working spice plantation with a local guide to see how cardamom, black pepper, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves are grown, and buy fresh spices to take home. Many plantations end the walk with a cup of cardamom tea, and some offer short Kerala cooking demonstrations if you ask in advance.

If you would like more time in the forest, the park runs guided nature walks and bamboo rafting with local tribal guides; tell us in advance so we can book. Otherwise, rest at your lodge in the afternoon, when the heat and the birdsong both settle.

• MorningBoat safari on Periyar Lake
• AfternoonSpice plantation walk
• OptionalGuided forest walk or bamboo rafting

OvernightThekkady.

A night on a houseboat in the backwaters

Drive down from the hills to Alleppey (Alappuzha), the gateway to Kerala's backwaters, a network of lakes, canals and rivers running parallel to the coast. Around midday, board your private kettuvallam, a traditional rice barge converted into a houseboat with bedrooms, a deck and your own crew. The name means a boat of knots: the hulls were traditionally made of wooden planks tied together with coir rope.

Cruise slowly along palm-lined canals and across Vembanad Lake, past paddy fields below water level, village churches and temples, and people washing, fishing and paddling canoes. Kingfishers, egrets and cormorants are easy to spot from the deck. Your cook prepares Kerala meals on board, with fish curry, vegetable dishes and fresh coconut; tell the crew if you prefer milder spicing.

By local rules, houseboats moor for the night in the early evening. Watch the sunset from the deck, then sleep surrounded by the quiet of the water. On most boats the air conditioning runs only at night, so bring a hat and sunscreen for the deck, and insect repellent for the evening.

• MorningDrive to Alleppey
• MiddayBoard your private houseboat
• AfternoonCruise through the backwaters and across Vembanad Lake
• EveningSunset and dinner on deck

OvernightOvernight aboard a private houseboat on the Alleppey backwaters, all meals included.

Down the coast to the beach at Kovalam

Disembark from your houseboat after breakfast and drive south along the coast to Kovalam, a string of crescent-shaped beaches near Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Kerala's capital. The highway runs past coconut groves, painted churches, temples and fishing villages, and passes through Kollam, an old port at the southern end of the backwaters. Your driver will stop for coffee or a light lunch on the way.

Check in to your beachfront hotel and spend the afternoon by the sea. Kovalam has three main beaches separated by rocky headlands: Lighthouse Beach, the liveliest, with a promenade of cafés and shops; Hawa Beach next to it; and the quieter Samudra Beach to the north. The sea can be rough, with strong currents, so swim only where lifeguards are on duty and the flags allow.

Watch the sunset from Lighthouse Beach, where the red-and-white striped lighthouse stands on the headland; it is usually open to visitors in the afternoon, and the climb gives a wide view along the coast. In the evening, choose fresh seafood grilled to order at one of the beachfront cafés.

• MorningDisembark and drive to Kovalam
• AfternoonBeach time
• SunsetLighthouse Beach
• EveningSeafood dinner by the sea

OvernightKovalam, 3 nights, at a beachfront hotel.

A beach day

A free day along Kovalam's coastline, with its crescent-shaped beaches, palms and wooden fishing boats pulled up on the sand. Lighthouse Beach, the busiest, is overlooked by the red-and-white striped Vizhinjam lighthouse; climb it in the late afternoon for a view along the coast. Hawa Beach and Samudra Beach, to the north, are usually quieter.

Swim only in the patrolled areas between the lifeguard flags, as currents can be strong. The sun is fierce from late morning, so the best times on the sand are early and late in the day. At lunch, try fresh seafood from a beach café: fish cooked in banana leaf (meen pollichathu), prawns fried with coconut and curry leaves, or a simple Kerala fish curry with red rice.

If you would like a short outing, visit the fishing harbour at Vizhinjam in the early morning, when the boats come in with their catch, and the small 8th-century rock-cut cave shrine nearby. Or take a boat through the backwaters at Poovar, about 45 minutes south, where the Neyyar river meets the sea beside a long sand bar; the boat glides past mangroves and coconut groves to a golden beach.

• MorningBeach, or an early visit to Vizhinjam harbour
• MiddaySeafood lunch by the sea
• AfternoonOptional boat trip at Poovar's estuary
• SunsetVizhinjam lighthouse

OvernightKovalam.

A last day by the sea

A final relaxed day at the coast. Many guests book an Ayurvedic massage at the hotel spa, Kerala's speciality: perhaps abhyanga, a full-body massage with warm herbal oils, or shirodhara, in which a slow stream of warm oil is poured across the forehead. Take it easy afterwards, as the oils are meant to be left on for a while, and drink plenty of water.

If you would like to see Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala's capital, about 30 minutes away, visit the Napier Museum, an 1880s building in the Indo-Saracenic style with Kerala-style gabled roofs, set in gardens with the Sree Chitra art gallery nearby. Then see the Kuthiramalika Palace near the Padmanabhaswamy Temple, built by Maharaja Swathi Thirunal and named for the carved wooden horses that line its eaves. Museums here are usually closed on Mondays.

The Padmanabhaswamy Temple itself is open only to Hindus, with a strict dress code: men wear a mundu and go bare-chested, women wear a sari or long skirt. You can still see its tall gopuram from the tank outside. Back in Kovalam, spend a last evening watching the sunset from the beach.

• MorningAyurvedic massage at the hotel spa
• AfternoonOptional visit to Thiruvananthapuram's Napier Museum and Kuthiramalika Palace
• EveningSunset on the beach

OvernightKovalam.

Fly home from Trivandrum

Depending on your flight time, have a last swim or a slow breakfast of appam, puttu and Kerala coffee, and finish your packing. Many flights from Trivandrum leave very early or late at night; if yours does, ask us about a late check-out.

Your driver transfers you to Trivandrum International Airport, about 15 km away, for your onward or departing flight. Aim to arrive about three hours before an international departure. Trivandrum has direct flights to the Gulf, Singapore, Colombo and major Indian cities, with easy connections to the US, the UK and Australia.

• MorningFree; last swim or breakfast
• DepartureTransfer to Trivandrum airport