Golden Triangle and Varanasi Tour: 9 Days of Delhi, Agra, Jaipur and the Ganges

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: the fort and the Taj at sunset

After breakfast, drive south to Agra on the Yamuna Expressway, one of India's fastest highways, arriving in time for lunch. The road runs straight across the flat farmland of the Yamuna plain, past wheat and mustard fields and brick kilns, with clean rest stops for coffee on the way.

In the afternoon, explore Agra Fort, the red sandstone citadel of the Mughal emperors and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Akbar began it in the 1560s, and his grandson Shah Jahan added white marble palaces and halls of audience. Your guide shows you the octagonal tower where, by tradition, Shah Jahan spent his last years gazing at the Taj Mahal. If time allows, stop at the tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah, the Baby Taj, a jewel box of inlaid marble built in the 1620s by the empress Nur Jahan for her father.

At sunset, walk in Mehtab Bagh, the Moonlight Garden on the far bank of the Yamuna, for the classic view of the Taj across the river. Before dinner, try petha, Agra's translucent sweet made from ash gourd, sold all over the city.

• MorningDrive from Delhi to Agra
• AfternoonAgra Fort, and the Baby Taj if time allows
• SunsetThe Taj Mahal from Mehtab Bagh

OvernightAgra, a short drive from the Taj Mahal.

The Taj Mahal at sunrise, then Jaipur

Your guide collects you before dawn so you are at the gate when the Taj Mahal opens, 30 minutes before sunrise. Built between 1632 and 1653 by Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, the marble changes from grey to pink to white as the light rises. The first hour is the quietest of the day. Look closely at the flowers of inlaid semi-precious stone, and at the Koranic inscriptions around the arches, which grow larger as they rise so that they appear the same size from the ground.

Back at the hotel for breakfast, then drive west into Rajasthan. Stop at Fatehpur Sikri, the red sandstone capital Emperor Akbar built in the 1570s and abandoned soon afterwards, and walk through its palaces, courtyards and the great mosque behind the Buland Darwaza, the Gate of Victory. In the mosque courtyard, visitors tie threads to the marble screens of the Sufi saint Salim Chishti's tomb as they make a wish.

Continue to Jaipur, arriving in the late afternoon. With time and energy, make a short detour to the Chand Baori stepwell at Abhaneri, thousands of steps in a perfect geometric pattern.

• SunriseThe Taj Mahal with your guide as the gates open
• Late morningFatehpur Sikri, Akbar's abandoned capital
• AfternoonDrive to Jaipur, with an optional stop at the Chand Baori stepwell

OvernightJaipur. See the hotel options below.

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 to the Ganges for the evening aarti

After breakfast, your driver takes you to Jaipur airport for your flight to Varanasi. Your Varanasi driver meets you on arrival for the drive into the city, about 45 minutes to an hour.

Check in and rest. Cars cannot enter the oldest lanes near the river, so the last stretch to some riverside hotels is on foot or by cycle-rickshaw, with porters for your bags. The lanes are narrow, busy and shared with cows, scooters and pilgrims, so wear comfortable closed shoes and let your guide set the pace.

In the early evening, walk with your guide to Dashashwamedh Ghat for the Ganga aarti, when young priests in saffron robes offer fire, incense and flowers to the river to the sound of bells, conch shells and chanting. Arrive early for a good place on the steps. The ceremony starts soon after dark and lasts about 45 minutes. Keep a close hand on your bag in the crowd, and politely decline anyone offering a paid blessing. Afterwards, try a Banarasi lassi, thick and served in a disposable clay cup.

• MorningFlight from Jaipur to Varanasi
• AfternoonCheck in near the ghats and rest
• EveningThe Ganga aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat with your guide

OvernightVaranasi, 3 nights, on or near the ghats.

Dawn on the river, the old city and Sarnath

Meet your guide before sunrise and board a rowing boat for the hour Varanasi is most famous for. As the sun rises over the far bank, pilgrims bathe and pray on the ghats, washermen beat laundry on the stones, and smoke rises from Manikarnika, the main cremation ghat. Cameras go away there; your boatman will tell you when.

After breakfast, walk the narrow lanes of the old city with your guide, past tiny shrines, sweet shops and the approach to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, one of the holiest temples to Shiva. Phones and bags are not allowed inside, so most guests see it from the new corridor outside.

In the afternoon, drive to Sarnath, where the Buddha gave his first sermon after his enlightenment, about 2,500 years ago. See the great Dhamek Stupa, the ruins of ancient monasteries and the museum, which holds the Lion Capital of Ashoka, India's national emblem.

• DawnRowing boat along the ghats
• MorningWalk through the old city lanes
• AfternoonSarnath: Dhamek Stupa and the archaeological museum

OvernightVaranasi.

Silk weavers and the aarti from the water

Spend the morning with a family of Banarasi silk weavers in one of the city's weaving neighbourhoods. Watch the handlooms clatter as gold and silver threads are woven into the brocade saris brides across India wear on their wedding day. There is no pressure to buy.

Banaras has been a centre of silk weaving for centuries, and its brocades are prized for their fine floral and paisley patterns. Look for the difference between a handloom and a power loom, which your hosts will gladly explain.

Keep the afternoon free to rest, read, or sit on the ghats and watch cricket games, boat traffic and holy men. Varanasi is also a city of classical music, and your guide can suggest a lassi shop or a small music performance if you would like more. For a snack, try tamatar chaat, a spiced tomato dish found mainly in Banaras.

In the evening, watch the Ganga aarti again, this time from a boat on the river, as hundreds of leaf-boat lamps float past on the current. You can float one yourself.

• MorningVisit a Banarasi silk weaving family
• AfternoonFree to rest or explore the ghats
• EveningThe Ganga aarti from a boat on the river

OvernightVaranasi.

Fly to Delhi and home

After breakfast, fly from Varanasi to Delhi to connect with your international flight. Allow at least four hours between flights, and more if your onward airline uses a different terminal.

If your flight leaves later in the morning, there may be time for a last walk along the ghats at first light. The drive to the airport takes about an hour, so we time the pickup carefully.

If you are travelling on within India, we can book a direct flight from Varanasi to Mumbai, Bengaluru or Kolkata, or add Khajuraho's temples on the way back.

• MorningTransfer to Varanasi airport and flight to Delhi
• AfternoonConnect with your flight home