Golden Triangle Tour

Late evening arrive Delhi International airport. Where you be met & welcomed in traditional Indian way with fresh flower Garlands and then transferred to your Hotel. Overnight at the Hotel

Morning: : Breakfast at the Hotel. Later proceed for the city tour of Old Delhi. The tour of Old Delhi starts with the visit of Red Fort. This palace citadel was built Shah Jehan in 1648 and was a veritable city within a city. When Shah Jehan transferred his capital from Agra to Delhi he built the Red Fort as his residential palace as well as his military fortress. The fort is a complex of marble buildings with balconies, filigreed windows, massive red sandstone walls, ramparts and gateways. The most elegant building is the DIWAN I KHAS or the Hall of Private Audience. From the Red Fort you will take a cycle rickshaw to Chandni Chowk or the Moonlit Square. It is a medieval area in which you will recognize not just Cairo or Istanbul, but also Chester and Heidelberg. This is perhaps one of the Delhi’s most populated areas and the largest marketplace - jewelers, spice merchants, food vendors, money lenders, shopping arcades, workshops as well as residences, are crammed here. Within this area is the British built Town Hall, the St. James Church built by colonel Skinner in the early 19th century, the old St. Stephens college and the office of the state department of Archeology with a colonnaded facade going back to the 19th century when it was the British Residency. Afternoon: Tour of New Delhi. The tour starts with a drive to Raisina Hill. Visit the Viceroy’s House (now the residence of President of India) and Lutyen’s magnum opus. It is larger than Versailles and architecturally is a fusion of Indian and Western design. Within the courtyard is the 145 feet high Jaipur column, a symbol of victory designed by Lutyen. Lutyen created masterpiece - the 250 acre Mughal Gardens on the grounds of the Rashtarpati Bhavan, which at one time required the care of 418 men and the great Vice Regal Palace required a staff of 2000. At the foot of Raisina Hill is the India Gate, a war memorial arch which Luyten built in honor of 60,000 soldiers who died in World War -I. It is also inscribed with the names of some 13,000 Indian and British soldiers missing presumed dead. Next to it is Luyten last Imperial monument he built, a stone canopy in which he placed the marble statue of King George V after his death in 1936. Proceed to Parliament House, which the Luyten built in a circular coliseum design. It was here that the constitution of Independent India was drafted. Drive to Humayuns Tomb which is perhaps the finest Mughal building in Delhi. The tomb stands on a raised platform and is built of red sandstone. The construction of the tomb was completed in 1565. The tomb stands in a well-laid out Mughal Garden. Proceed to Qutub Minar complex, which is Delhi’s Eiffel Tower, its Statue of Liberty and Nelson Column. Visit the mosque, mausoleums and ruins of forts that lie around it including the Iron Pillar which is Delhi’s totem pole 24 feet high, made of 99% steel and which has stood for 1600 years without a speck of rust on it. Overnight at the Hotel

Morning : Break fast at the Hotel. Later drive to Jaipur on the way you can see numerous villages and the farmers cultivating their farms. Afternoon arrive Jaipur. Check into your Hotel. Rest of the day at leisure for own activities. Overnight at the Hotel

Morning : Breakfast at the Hotel. Later proceed for a tour of Amber Fort. About 11 Kms from Jaipur is Amber, the former capital of Jaipur state stunningly situated on a hillside and overlooking a lake which reflects its terraces and ramparts. Ascend the hill on elephant back. Construction of the palace - fortress began in 1592 by Raja Man Singh, the Rajput commander of Akbar’s army. It was later he extended and completed by Jai Singh. An imposing stairways leads to the “Hall of Public Audience ” which has a double row of columns and latticed galleries. Next to the hall is the Kali Temple whose entrance doors are made of silver. Walk over the Hall of Victory, noted for it’s inlaid panels and glittering mirror ceiling. On the opposite side is the “Hall of Pleasure ” with an ivory - inlaid sandalwood door. The “Hall of Private Audience ” is decorated with delicate murals. But the jewel of the fort is the “Hall of Mirrors ” whose interior is encrusted with tiny mirrors. With doors closed and candle lit, it is like being inside a vast twinkling diamond, The oldest part of the palace are the apartments of Raja Man Singh, where each of his dozen wives had a separate suite.
Afternoon: City tour of Jaipur. The city is a living testament to one of the most remarkable men of his age - Jai Singh II, he was an extremely talented politically as well as on the battlefield. Indulging in his passion for science and the arts resulted in the creation of Jaipur. However, much of the pinkness of the city goes to the credit of Maharaja Mansingh who dressed up the city in the symbolic welcoming colour when the prince of Wales, later Edward VII visited Jaipur in 1876. A tour of the city visiting the City Palace and Museum comprising of several courtyards, gardens and buildings and is a blend of Rajasthani and Mogul architecture. The former Maharaja still lives in part of the palace. The museum has an extensive collection of art, carpets, enamelware, old weapons, miniature paintings, an armory of guns and swords, costumes and dresses of the former Maharajas and Maharanis of Jaipur. On display are 2 huge silver vessels, which have found their way into world record of being the largest single pieces of silver in the world. A former Maharaja used them to carry his drinking water to England a he was a devout Hindu. Adjacent to the city palace is the observatory built by Jai Singh in 1728, who had a passion for astronomy. Stop at the Hawa Mahal or the Palace of Winds built in 1799. It is a stunning example of Rajput artistry and was originally built to enable ladies of the royal household to watch the everyday life in the streets below through the delicately honeycombed sandstone windows. Overnight at the Hotel

Morning breakfast at the Hotel. : Later proceed to Agra via Fatehpur Sikri. Visit Fatehpur Sikri, which is perched atop a rocky ridge. Fatehpur Sikri is the work of one man - it was vigorous city built with inspiration and genius by a king who had not yet turned 28 - the Emperor Akbar. Unfortunately, at that time Akbar had no son and heir to his vast empire. He visited several holy men and shrines to seek blessings for the birth of a son, but in vain - till one day he visited the saint Salim Chisti who predicted the birth of a son. Akbar quickly built a few royal palaces close to the saint’s hermitage and the queen who had just conceived moved in. Thus was born Mohammed Salim named after the saint. Akbar was so overjoyed that he decided to move his court from Agra to Fatehpur Sikri in gratitude. Fatehpur Sikri - the “ City of Victory ” was thus built as an affirmation of faith, hope and of joy. But 15 years later this dream city with lofty mosque, pleasure pavilions, sunken gardens and multi level courts was abandoned. Many believed that due to shortage of water the city was abandoned, another reason was that Akbar found it impractical to maintain 2 establishments - at Agra and at Fatehpur Sikri - simultaneously. Walking through the Fatehpur Sikri’s empty palaces, one cannot but be transported back 400 years, and visualize the glory and the splendor that must have existed. Continue your drive to Agra. Arrive Agra and check into your Hotel. Later proceed for Half-day tour of Agra, the city of the Moguls made famous by Emperor Akbar. Visit Agra Fort - Emperor Akbar started its construction in 1565 when he was just 23 years of age. Within the fort are several fascinating buildings - the Pearl Mosque built of marble, the Hall of Public Audience where the famous “peacock throne” was kept, the Octagonal Tower, the Jehangir Palace built by Akbar for his son Jehangir and the Khas Mahal, a beautiful white marble structure used as a private palace. Overnight at the Hotel

Early morning : Breakfast at the Hotel. Later proceed to visit the world famous monument of LOVE “The Taj Mahal” often described as the most extravagant monuments ever built for love. It took 22 years for the Taj Mahal to be built and in total 20000 people worked on the Taj. Several experts contributed to the designing of the Taj Mahal such as Frenchman Austin of Bordeaux and the Italian Veroneo of Venice. The Taj Mahal is amazingly graceful from almost any angle. The semi-precious stones inlaid the marble in beautiful designs are through a process called “pietra dura ”. If time permits visit Dayal Bagh. Dayal Bagh is a very special place where a monument is being built since 1911 and which is dedicated to a saint who died in the last century. It will take another 25 tears before this masterpiece is completed. It is made entirely of marble with intricate carvings. No visit to Agra is complete without a visit to Dayal Bagh
Afternoon drive to Delhi. Arrive Delhi in the evening and straightaway go to International airport for your flight back home.