From Delhi/Agra: Taj Mahal, Agra Fort & Fatehpur Sikri Tour

Sunrise, and then two more UNESCO sites

The Taj at sunrise is the version worth getting up for, and twelve and a half hours is what it takes to pair that with the fort and Fatehpur Sikri in the same day.

Before dawn

Pickup from your hotel or the airport in Delhi, then the Yamuna Expressway with an empty road.

The Taj at first light

Gates open half an hour before sunrise. The marble goes grey, then pink, then white as the sun clears the far bank of the Yamuna; in December and January there is mist on the river behind the dome.

Your guide will tell you the story of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, and then show you the parts that outlast the story — the calligraphy cut in increasing sizes so it reads uniformly from the ground, the pietra dura inlay of dozens of stones per flower, the minarets tilted outward so an earthquake would take them clear of the tomb, and Shah Jahan's own cenotaph, the single thing in the building placed off-centre.

Agra Fort

Akbar's red sandstone stronghold of 1565 with his grandson's marble palaces inside, and the Musamman Burj — the octagonal tower where Aurangzeb imprisoned that grandson for the last eight years of his life, within sight of the tomb he had built.

Fatehpur Sikri

Forty kilometres west. Akbar built it in 1571 and left it fourteen years later when the water failed, which is why it stands complete.

The Buland Darwaza, 54 metres of victory gate. The Panch Mahal, five open storeys stepping back as they rise. The Diwan-i-Khas with its single carved central pillar. And the marble dargah of Salim Chishti, still hung with threads tied by people asking for children.

Four options

From Agra with car and guide; from Delhi with car and guide; or either of those with entrance fees and meals included.

The Taj is closed on Fridays. Twelve and a half hours is a real day — pack accordingly.