From Delhi : 6 Days Golden Triangle Tour With Pushkar

The triangle, and then a town with one Brahma temple in it

Pushkar is the reason to take this version. It sits around a lake in the Aravallis, and Hindus hold that the lake formed where Brahma dropped a lotus — there are perhaps a dozen Brahma temples in the world, and this is the principal one.

Day 1: Delhi

Met on arrival. Jama Masjid, Raj Ghat where Gandhi was cremated, India Gate, Parliament House and the President's Residence from the road.

Then two UNESCO sites: Humayun's Tomb, the 1560s Mughal garden tomb that the Taj descends from, and Qutub Minar, begun 1193, with the iron pillar that has stood over sixteen hundred years without rusting.

Days 2–3: Agra

The Taj Mahal at sunrise, and Agra Fort with the Musamman Burj where Shah Jahan spent his last eight years imprisoned by Aurangzeb, the Taj visible along the river.

Fatehpur Sikri on the drive west.

Day 4: Jaipur

Amber Fort, the City Palace, Jantar Mantar and the Hawa Mahal, with an evening in the bazaars.

Days 5–6: Pushkar

Fifty-two ghats ring the lake, and pilgrims bathe at them at dawn. The Brahma temple is 14th century on a much older site.

Savitri Temple on the hill above gives you the whole lake and town, up a long staircase or by cable car — best at sunrise.

The town is strictly vegetarian and alcohol-free within its limits: no meat, no eggs, no alcohol. Enforced rather than encouraged.

The camel fair falls in Kartik, usually November, when fifty thousand animals and a quarter of a million people arrive at once.

One warning worth taking: men at the ghats will offer a "Pushkar passport" blessing and then demand a large donation. A firm, polite no is all that is needed.

Five options

Guide only; car and guide; or with three, four or five-star hotels.

The Taj is closed on Fridays.