India – The Golden Triangle and Wildlife

Day 1: Arrival in Delhi
On arrival in Delhi, you will be greeted and escorted by our representative and transferred to your hotel. Overnight at hotel.

Delhi is a city that bridges two different worlds. Old Delhi, once the capital of Islamic India, is a labyrinth of narrow lanes lined with crumbling havelis and formidable mosques. In contrast, the imperial city of New Delhi, created by the British Raj, is composed of spacious, tree-lined avenues and imposing government buildings. Delhi has been the seat of power for about a millennium, seeing many different rulers and empires. Throughout its history, the city has been built, destroyed, and rebuilt several times over. Interestingly, a number of Delhi’s rulers played a dual role, first as destroyers and then as creators.

Day 2: Delhi
After breakfast, enjoy a full day of sightseeing in Delhi, including the following:

Red Fort: The Red Fort, Shah Jahan’s elegant citadel in red sandstone, was built on the western bank of the river Yamuna. Shah Jahan began construction on the fort in 1638 when he shifted the capital from Agra to Delhi. The red sandstone walls of the massive Red Fort rise 33 meters above the clamor of Old Delhi as a reminder of the magnificent power and pomp of the Mughals. Inside is a treasure trove of buildings, including the Drum House, the Hall of Public and Private Audiences, the Pearl Mosque, Royal Baths, and Palace of Color. (Closed on Mondays.)

Jama Masjid: This great mosque of Old Delhi is the largest in India, with a courtyard capable of holding 25,000 devotees. Building began in 1644 and ended up being the final architectural extravagance of Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor who built the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort. This highly decorative mosque has three great gates, four towers, and two 40-meter-high minarets constructed of strips of red sandstone and white marble. The interior of the prayer hall is divided into aisles by arches. The walls and floors are constructed of marble inlay panels.

Raj Ghat: A memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, this black marble platform marks the spot of Mahatma Gandhi’s cremation on January 31, 1948, a day after his assassination. It is left open to the sky while an eternal flame burns perpetually at one end. It is located on the banks of the river Yamuna in Delhi on the ring road, officially known as Mahatma Gandhi Road. A stone footpath flanked by lawns leads to the walled enclosure that houses the memorial.

India Gate (photo stop): At the center of New Delhi stands the 42-meter-high India Gate, an archway in the middle of a crossroad, which resembles the Arc de Triomphe in France. The India Gate commemorates the 70,000 Indian soldiers who lost their lives fighting for the British Army during World War I, and there is a memorial with the names of more than 13,516 British and Indian soldiers killed in the Northwestern Frontier in the Afghan war of 1919. Under the arch, a structure called the Amar Jawan Jyoti commemorates the losses of Indian armed forces in the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971.

Government Buildings (drive past): New Delhi houses several government buildings and official residences reminiscent of British colonial architecture. Today you will be taken past a few of them, such as The Parliament House, designed by Baker, and the Rashtrapati Bhavan (Presidential Residence), which was designed by Lutyens and combines eastern and western styles.

Humayun’s Tomb: Probably one of the most innovative and experimental monuments of its time, this magnificent garden tomb is the first substantial example of Mughal architecture in India, incorporating Indo-Islamic architectural styles. It was built in 1565, nine years after the death of Humayun, by his senior widow Bega Begam. Inside the walled enclosure, the most notable features are the garden squares (Charbagh) with pathways and water channels and a centrally located mausoleum topped by a double dome.

Qutub Minar: A soaring 73-meter-high tower of victory, built in 1193 by Qutab-ud-din Aibak, this tower has five distinct stories. Each story is marked by a projecting balcony and tapers from a 15-meter diameter at the base to just 2.5 meters at the top. The first three stories are made of red sandstone; the fourth and fifth stories are marble and sandstone. At the foot of the tower is the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, the first mosque to be built in India. A seven-meter-high iron pillar stands in the courtyard of the mosque. It is said that if you can encircle it with your hands while standing with your back to it, your wish will be fulfilled.

Overnight at the hotel.

Day 3: Delhi – Agra
After breakfast, drive to Agra. Standing on the right bank of the river Yamuna, Agra was once the seat of the Mughal rulers, the zenith of art, and the site of an enshrined romance. A town famous for its beautiful medieval monuments, it has been endowed with some of the loveliest buildings in the world, thanks to its Mughals’ passion for building. Arrive in Agra and transfer to your hotel.

In the afternoon, visit Agra Fort. The great Mughal Emperor Akbar commissioned the construction of Agra Fort in 1666 AD, though additions continued to be made until the time of his grandson Shah Jahan. The forbidding exteriors of this fort hide an inner paradise. There are a number of exquisite buildings like Moti Masjid, a white marble mosque akin to a perfect pearl, as well as Diwan-I-Am, Diwan-I-Khaas, and Musamman Burj, where Shah Jahan died in 1666. Other treasures found here include Jahangir’s Palace, Khaas Mahal, and Shish Mahal. The massive Agra Fort is 2.5 kilometers long and is considered the predecessor of Delhi’s Red Fort. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 4: Agra – Bharatpur
Awake early in the morning to see the Taj Mahal at sunrise (closed on Fridays.) A poignant song of marble, the Taj Mahal stands serene and awesome on a raised marble platform by the banks of the Yamuna. The most extravagant monument ever built for love, this is a tribute to the timelessness of love and art. One of the seven modern wonders of the world, the Taj Mahal expresses Emperor Shah Jahan’s affection for his queen Mumtaz, who died giving birth to their 14th child. The Taj was constructed from 1631 to 1653 by workers who were gathered from all over the country and from central Asia. About 20,000 people were recruited to translate this dream into reality. The main architect was Isa Khan, who was brought from Iran.

After your sunrise viewing, return back to the hotel for breakfast. Check out and drive to Bharatpur, visiting Fatehpur Sikri en route. The beautiful and deserted medieval city was built by Akbar the Great in the 16th century to serve as the capital of his vast empire. The complex consists of religious, residential, and administrative buildings. The Mosque is considered a copy of the Mosque at Mecca and is quite elegant, containing elements of Hindu and Persian design. Housed here is the Shrine of Sheikh Salim Chisti, considered one of the greatest Sufi saints of the Muslim world.

After your visit, transfer to Bharatpur railway station and connect with the Kota Jan Shatabadi train to Sawai Madhopur. On arrival at Sawai Madhopur Station, transfer to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Day 5: Ranthambore
This morning, enjoy an early game drive to the national park in an open canter (mini truck). Enter a dry deciduous forest, replete with several lakes, rivulets, and a magnificent ancient fort overlooking the park. Keep an eye out for waterfowl, raptors, and a great variety of other birds. The bodies of water here are also home to marsh muggers, turtles, and pythons. In addition, the park has an abundant population of sambhar, cheetal, and nilgai. In the afternoon, set out for another game drive in an open canter.

Ranthambore National Park is one of the largest and most famous national parks in North India. It is named after the historic Ranthambore Fort, which is found within the park. The park covers an area of 392 square kilometers. Bound on the north by the Banas River and on the south by the Chambal River, Ranthambore lies at the edge of a plateau. There are several lakes here, and it is home to a variety of plants and animals. However, Ranthambore’s pride is its population of tigers prowling in their own natural habitat. You can also see leopards, striped hyenas, chital, chinkara, sambhar deer, langurs, civets, macaques, sloth bears, black bucks, Indian wild boar, five-striped palm squirrels, Indian flying foxes, mongoose, and more. A visit to Ranthambore National Park can surely be a rewarding experience for all wildlife enthusiasts.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 6: Ranthambore – Jaipur 
After breakfast, drive to Jaipur. Maharaja Jai Singh II built Jaipur in the 18th century; it is a planned city built with ancient Hindu rules, the colonial capital of a richly colorful state. In 1853, the whole city was painted pink to welcome the visit of Prince Albert. Jaipur is the biggest manufacturing center for marble statues of Hindu and Jain deities. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel for overnight.

Day 7: Jaipur
After breakfast, enjoy sightseeing in Jaipur. Your day will include:

Amber Fort by Elephant/Jeep (one way): Set in picturesque and rugged hills, the Amber Fort is a fascinating blend of Hindu and Mughal architecture. Constructed by Raja Man Singh I in 1592 and completed by Mirja Raja Jai Singh, the fort was built with red sandstone and white marble. Amber is a classic and romantic fort-palace with a magnificent aura. The interior walls of the palace depict expressive painting scenes with carvings, precious stones, and mirrors settings. Despite its beauty, the fort was built mainly as a stronghold against warring enemies, with heavily structured walls which were able to defend the residents within.

Hawa Mahal Palace (drive past): The poet king, Sawai Pratap Singh, built this Palace of Winds. It is easily the most well-known landmark of Jaipur and is also its icon. A five-story building overlooking the busy bazaar street, it is a fascinating example of Rajput architecture and artistry with its 953 delicately honeycombed pink sandstone windows, known as jharokhas. This structure was originally intended to enable the ladies of the royal household to watch everyday life and processions in the city, while themselves remaining in veiled comfort.

City Palace: Located in the heart of the walled city, the City Palace Complex gives you an idea about the forward-thinking nature of Jaipur’s founder, Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh. He left behind a legacy of some of the most imposing and magnificent architecture in the city. Some of the city’s structures were also built by later rulers; the palace is a blend of Mughal and Rajput architecture, and the ex-royal family still lives in part of the palace.

Jantar Mantar: The Jantar Mantar is a collection of architectural astronomical instruments, built by Maharaja Jai Singh II between 1727 and 1734. It was modeled after the one which was built for him at Delhi. He had a total of five such facilities constructed at different locations, including the ones at Delhi and Jaipur. The Jaipur observatory is the largest and best-preserved of the five, and has been included on the World Heritage List as “an expression of the astronomical skills and cosmological concepts of the court of a scholarly prince at the end of the Mughal period.”

Overnight at the hotel.

Day 8: Jaipur – Delhi
After breakfast, drive to Delhi. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel for check in and overnight.

Day 9: Departure from Delhi
Today you will be transferred to the airport to board your flight back home, carrying sweet memories with you.

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