3-Day Delhi, Agra and Jaipur Tour - India Golden Triangle

Three days is the minimum, and it works

Delhi, Agra and Jaipur form a rough triangle of about 700 km. Three days gives each city one proper day and puts the driving between them rather than inside them, which is the difference between a tour and a blur.

If you have a week, take longer. If you have three days, this is the right shape for them.

Day one: Delhi

Old Delhi — Jama Masjid, India's largest mosque, and a cycle rickshaw through Chandni Chowk, which is the only sane way to travel that street.

New Delhi — India Gate on Rajpath, Humayun's Tomb, the 1560s Mughal garden tomb that set the template for the Taj sixty years later, and Qutub Minar, 73 metres of 12th-century brick with the famous non-rusting iron pillar in its courtyard.

Day two: Agra

Early down the expressway. The Taj Mahal with a licensed guide — the calligraphy cut larger as it rises so it reads evenly from the ground, the pietra dura flowers of dozens of inlaid stones, the minarets tilted outward to fall clear of the tomb.

Then Agra Fort, and the Musamman Burj where Shah Jahan died a prisoner looking at his own wife's tomb.

Day three: Jaipur via Fatehpur Sikri

Fatehpur Sikri on the road — Akbar's capital of 1571, abandoned after fourteen years and preserved intact because of it.

Then Jaipur: Amber Fort on its ridge, the City Palace, Jantar Mantar, and the Hawa Mahal facade of 953 windows.

Four options

Private car, driver and guides with your own accommodation, or the same with three, four or five-star hotels included.

Practical

The Taj is closed on Fridays, which determines how the three days are ordered. Entrance fees are separate unless your option covers them — budget roughly ₹2,600 a head for the major sites across the three cities.