From Delhi: All Inclusive Multi-Days Golden triangle Tour

Three days or four, and the difference between them

Both versions cover Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. The fourth day is what turns a sprint into a trip — usually it buys a full second day in Jaipur, which is the city that most rewards it, or a slower Agra with the Baby Taj and Mehtab Bagh added.

If your dates allow four, take four.

Delhi

Red Fort, Shah Jahan's walled capital of 1638 — the Chatta Chowk bazaar, the Diwan-i-Am, and the Diwan-i-Khas whose inscription still claims that if there is a paradise on earth, it is here. Closed Mondays.

Qutub Minar, 73 metres of 12th-century brick with the iron pillar that has stood 1,600 years without rusting.

India Gate and the drive down Rajpath past Parliament.

Agra

The Taj Mahal, begun 1632 by Shah Jahan after Mumtaz Mahal died. Your guide covers the calligraphy cut larger as it rises so it reads evenly from the ground, the pietra dura of dozens of stones per flower, the minarets tilted outward to fall clear of the tomb, and the single deliberate asymmetry.

Agra Fort, with the Musamman Burj where Aurangzeb imprisoned his father for eight years, the Taj visible along the river.

Fatehpur Sikri on the road to Jaipur — Akbar's capital of 1571, abandoned after fourteen years and standing whole.

Jaipur

Amber Fort above Maota Lake, Jal Mahal from the causeway, the City Palace, Jantar Mantar and the Hawa Mahal.

Three options

Three days without accommodation; three days with car, guide and tickets; or four days with car, guide and tickets.

The ticket-inclusive versions are worth the arithmetic — about ₹2,600 a head across the three cities for a foreign adult.

The Taj is closed on Fridays.