Arrive into Delhi today, be transferred to your hotel  and enjoy a free evening to relax.

This morning after breakfast, join your experienced local guide on an exciting half day tour of Delhi. Visit historic Jama Masjid and drive past the Red Fort. Experience the narrow winding lanes best traversed by cycle-rickshaw; they house some of the oldest trading establishments and inhabitants of the Old City.

Later, drive past the Rashtrapati Bhavan (Presidential Palace) and the secretariat buildings, the impressive Rajpath and World War I memorial arch; the India Gate. Later visit Delhi’s most beautiful monument; the Humayun’s Tomb. On the way back to the hotel, notice the contrasting architectural styles, introduced by colonial rulers, mirroring styles from across Europe and adapted to India.

Continue onto Agra this evening, home to the Taj Mahal.

Start the day with a sunrise visit to the Taj Mahal. The stunning mausoleum immortalized the name of Shah Jahan’s last wife Mumtaz Mahal, “light of the palace”. Built by artisans from neighbouring Islamic countries as well as India, it is aptly described by the poet laureate Tagore as “A tear on the face of eternity”. Decorated with a mosaic of semi-precious stones and Persian calligraphy recreating verses from the Koran, the mausoleum is an important place of pilgrimage as the empress died in childbirth, making her a martyr. At dawn the marble structures glow and gently change colour as the sky brightens.

After returning to the hotel to freshen up and for breakfast, visit mighty Agra Fort. Richly decorated with marble and mosaic, it was in part of this fort-palace that Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal in homage to his wife, spent the last years of his life, imprisoned by his son. The quarters where he was confined have a magical view of the Taj Mahal across the river Yamuna. Enjoy free time to wander the intriguing streets and lane ways of Agra’s old city.

This afternoon stop at Fatehpur Sikri as you continue onto Jaipur.  Fatehpur Sikri was built by the Mughals in the 15th century and abandoned within 20 years due to a lack of the water, the ornate buildings and palaces are remarkably well preserved, they offer a somewhat eerie in sight into the grandeur of the Mughal Empire at its peak.

Continue on to Jaipur.

Spend today exploring the ‘Pink City’ and its historical significance in the region. Start at magnificent Amber Fort, strategically positioned on a hilltop, home to vast halls and the famous entirely mirrored room ‘Sheesh mahal’.

In the afternoon visit the sprawling City Palace, a superb marriage of Rajput and Mughal architecture. The seven storied Chandra Mahal (Moon Palace) is a sprawling complex with multiple courtyards, public buildings, astronomical observatory and zenana mahals (harems).  From the City Palace you enter the extraordinary “Jantar Mantar”, an astronomical observatory built in 1827. Instruments resembling massive futuristic structures are actually highly sophisticated instruments which are accurate even today.

Finally, drive though the busy streets for a photography stop at Hawa Mahal, the ornate pink façade an icon of the city. The five storied high ‘screen’ composed of projected windows and balconies protected by fine latticed screens, was designed to enable the ladies of the harem to observe the lively street scenes of the city from a position of privacy.

Enjoy free time this evening.