Delhi: 4-Day Golden Triangle & Ranthambore Tiger Safari Tour

Four days, and a tiger reserve in the middle

The shortest itinerary that fits Ranthambore in honestly. It works because the park sits between Agra and Jaipur, so the safari costs one night rather than a detour.

Day 1: Delhi, then Agra

Pickup from your hotel, airport or railway station.

Old and New Delhi in a morning: Jama Masjid, India's largest mosque; Raj Ghat, where Gandhi was cremated in 1948 and the flame has burned since; India Gate on Rajpath; and Qutub Minar, begun 1193, the tallest brick minaret in the world, with the iron pillar in its courtyard that has stood 1,600 years without rusting.

A drive past Rashtrapati Bhavan, then the Yamuna Expressway south.

Day 2: Agra, then Ranthambore

The Taj Mahal at sunrise — the gates open half an hour before the sun and the marble runs grey to pink to white with a fraction of the mid-morning crowd.

Agra Fort, and the Musamman Burj where Aurangzeb imprisoned his father for the last eight years of his life, the Taj visible along the river.

Then Fatehpur Sikri on the road south — Akbar's capital of 1571, abandoned after fourteen years when the water failed.

Day 3: the safari

Early morning or afternoon, in an open gypsy (six seats) or canter (twenty), on a zone the forest department allocates. Nobody chooses their zone.

Ranthambore covers 1,300 square kilometres of dry forest around a tenth-century hill fort that still stands inside the reserve. Around seventy tigers live here and they are unusually habituated to vehicles, which gives the best odds in north India — though it is wildlife and nobody can promise you one.

Certain regardless: sambar, chital, nilgai, langur and crocodiles at the lakes.

Day 4: Jaipur, then Delhi

Amber Fort, the City Palace, Jantar Mantar, the Hawa Mahal, and the drive back.

Practical

Ranthambore closes 1 July to 30 September. Permits are limited — book early. The Taj is closed on Fridays.