Itinerary for the Golden Triangle in India

Today I want to share my itinerary for the Golden Triangle in India with you. Consisting of Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur, this famous travel route is a great one to cover on a trip to Southeast Asia.

My most recent adventure was a very last-minute trip to India. Two weeks before I left, I bought a plane ticket and wrangled a visa from the Indian visa office in London.

I booked seven trains and three flights. I found hotels, packed, and made sure I wasn’t forgetting anything. With all that done, I jetted off to Delhi in a comfy seat on a 747 thanks to a last-minute upgrade to business class.

I was off to explore Delhi, Agra, and Rajasthan on a three-week trip. The first part of it included an itinerary for the Golden Triangle in India. Here’s how it went.

Golden Triangle: Delhi

When I landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, I took a taxi to my hotel, The Imperial. The historic luxury hotel was the perfect place to stay in the city.

During my two days in Delhi I had time for plenty of sightseeing, several good meals, and visits to vibrant, colorful markets.

I hired a taxi and hit up the main sights, including the Jama Masjid, which is the largest mosque in Asia, and the Red Fort, an impressive collection of palace and military buildings surrounded by a crimson-hued wall.

In Old Delhi I sat in a cycle rickshaw in traffic that could only be termed chaotic.

Everything from buses to tuk-tuks to taxis to elephants, cows, sheep, dogs, pigs, and people sifted past me without regard to my or my rickshaw’s personal space. I was in India. There was no personal space.

I visited Raj Ghat, the memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, as well as the Gandhi Museum where he lived and was assassinated in Delhi.

Speaking of death, I went to Humayun’s Tomb, a Taj Mahal-esque complex, as well as India Gate and its memorial.

I visited Rashtrapati Bhavan (the president’s residence), the Baha’i Lotus Temple, and several markets, including the bright and bustling Dilli Haat.

I departed Delhi having absorbed both the stunning historical monuments and the frenetic, bustling energy that would propel me through the rest of my itinerary for the Golden Triangle in India.

Golden Triangle: Agra, Taj Mahal, and Fatehpur Sikri

After visiting Delhi, I took a train to Agra. The journey was long and plagued by delays, but I got there in the end. I checked into my hotel, the Trident Agra, and got ready for the next leg of my trip.

Agra is home to the most stunning mausoleum I’ve ever seen. Shah Jahan’s tribute to his favorite wife (and his own megalomania, to be sure) is more awe-inspiring in real life than in the most impressive photograph ever taken.

I got to the Taj Mahal just before sunrise to make sure I had the best light for photography.

Fending off rickshaw drivers, camel-wielding touts, and children trying to sell me everything from Taj Mahal snow globes to Taj Mahal postcards, I bought my ticket, stood in line, and waited to see the white-marbled beauty.

My first glimpse of the Taj Mahal came through the entry gate. Even in the haze of dawn, the marble shimmered pink and yellow. It amazed me that a building dedicated to death looked so completely alive.

As the sun rose, I walked around the grounds, taking more and more photos of the Taj Mahal and exploring the oft-forgotten buildings that make up the rest of the complex.

Tearing myself away, I spent the rest of the morning exploring Fatehpur Sikri, a whimsical former city that served as the capital for a hot minute during the reign of a capricious Mughal emperor.

The design was gorgeous, with its latticed windows and huge open spaces.

I tried to ignore the tout that was giving me an unwanted tour of the place as I walked around taking pictures and trying to remember what my guidebook said about each of the buildings.

In the late afternoon I swung back through Agra to visit Agra Fort, a place that gave me a vague sense of deja-vu after the Red Fort in Delhi.

This one had a view of the Taj Mahal, though, so it won for best rust-colored fort in the Golden Triangle.

Even more than that, its design and detailing were stunning, and I couldn’t help but think how different it was from its contemporaries in Europe.

After the fort, my driver refused to take me anywhere except a marble table-top factory belonging to his “friend”. I declined. He suggested a shop owned by his “cousin”. While I admired his perseverance, I had no interest.

I tried one last time to get him to take me to see the Baby Taj Mahal, another tomb in Agra, but eventually gave up and returned to my hotel to pick up my bags and head to the train station.

It was time to visit the last destination on my itinerary for the Golden Triangle in India: Jaipur.

Golden Triangle: Jaipur

One thing I learned on my trip to India is that all trains run at least an hour late, even if they’re running on time when they leave the station.

Somewhere along the line time seems to warp and no matter how fast a train is moving, an extra hour or two sneaks its way into the journey.

My train from Agra to Jaipur was no exception. What was supposed to be a four-hour train ride ended up being a six-hour train ride.

My hotel’s driver made sure to mention how long he had been waiting at the station when I met him at the exit, too.

The following day I took a car up to Amber Fort high on the hill above Jaipur. The fort was beautiful with its honey-colored walls, brilliant mirrored pavilion, and views of Jaipur below.

A Bollywood movie was being filmed there, so part of the fort I originally thought was real turned out to be a set, complete with fake walls and silk palm trees that I had taken for the genuine article at first glance.

After exploring for a while, I headed into the fabled Pink City of Jaipur (which is more orange than pink in my opinion).

I visited the city palace and the Jantar Mantar, a giant astrological observatory that looked more like a contemporary sculpture garden than a set of vehicles to determine the movements of the celestial realm.

After the Jantar Mantar, I picked my way through a busy street market to get a glimpse of the Hawa Mahal, or Palace of the Winds.

The building was intended to let women practicing purdah, or seclusion, see what was going on outside.

In the late afternoon and evening, I sat down to read next to the larger-than-life chess set at my hotel, which was housed in a former palace.

After a leisurely dinner (one of the few on the trip that involved a glass of wine), I talked on the phone with my boyfriend and called it a night.

I fell asleep dreaming of hilltop forts, dazzling city palaces, and the Taj Mahal. I woke up refreshed and ready for the next leg of my journey through India: Ranthambore National Park.