The Golden Triangle links three former imperial capitals across the plains of north India, and it remains the most legible first route through the country. Mughal Delhi, the marble of Agra and the rose-pink courts of Jaipur sit within a few hours of one another, joined by a fast train and a well-worn highway. Over six days you move from the layered chaos of a capital that has been rebuilt seven times, to the single most photographed tomb on earth, to a walled desert city painted terracotta for a visiting prince. See the full itinerary.
From the same hand-researched library as our India itinerary. Last reviewed 2026-08-21.
India's capital is really two cities stitched together: the dense Mughal warren of Old Delhi around the Red Fort, and the wide colonial avenues of Lutyens' New Delhi. Between them sit World Heritage tombs, Sufi shrines and one of the country's great museum collections, making it the natural place to read the whole sweep of Indian history before heading south.
Agra was the Mughal capital at the empire's zenith, and it holds three of its greatest monuments within a few kilometres of the Yamuna. A single well-planned day covers the Taj Mahal at sunrise, the sprawling riverside fort and the jewel-box tomb that rehearsed the Taj's marble inlay, before you carry on west.
The capital of Rajasthan was planned in 1727 on a strict grid and later washed terracotta pink to welcome a royal visitor, giving the walled Pink City its name. Two days let you climb to the amber ramparts of Amer, wander the astronomical instruments of the Jantar Mantar and shop the bazaars for block prints, jewellery and blue pottery.
Museums, parks, and neighborhoods are on the full India itinerary, sequenced into a realistic day-by-day plan with transport between cities.
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