Delhi: 6-Day Tour of Agra, Jaipur, and Neemrana

The Golden Triangle with a fort to sleep in

The difference between this and every other six-day triangle is the last stop. Neemrana Fort-Palace was built in 1464 on a hillside in Alwar district and restored over decades into a hotel that occupies twelve tiers cut into the rock. Staying in it is a genuinely different thing from photographing forts all week.

Delhi

Jama Masjid, the rickshaw run through Chandni Chowk, India Gate, Humayun's Tomb — the 1560s Mughal garden tomb the Taj descends from — and Qutub Minar.

Agra

The Taj Mahal at sunrise, when the marble runs grey to pink to white and the crowd is thin. Then Agra Fort, and the Musamman Burj where Aurangzeb imprisoned his father for eight years with the Taj in view along the river.

Fatehpur Sikri on the road west: Akbar's capital of 1571, abandoned after fourteen years when the water gave out, which is why it stands intact.

Jaipur

Amber Fort on its ridge, the City Palace, Jantar Mantar and the Hawa Mahal, plus time in the bazaars around Johari and Tripolia.

Neemrana

On the Delhi–Jaipur highway, about two hours from either. The fort steps down the hillside in twelve levels of courtyards, hanging gardens and open pavilions, and the views run out across the plain from every terrace.

There is a stepwell in the village below — Neemrana Baoli, nine storeys and largely empty of visitors — and the property runs one of India's longest zip-line circuits across the ravine beside the fort, if that appeals.

Mostly, though, it is a place to sit still on the last night of a busy week.

Practical

Private air-conditioned car and driver throughout, local guides for the sightseeing, and the Neemrana stay included.

The Taj is closed on Fridays, which sets how the days fall.