Morning sightseeing of Old Delhi. Drive past the magnificent Red Fort, – a marvel in red sandstone, built on the banks of River Yamuna by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. Visit Raj Ghat (memorial to Mahatma Gandhi), Jama Masjid, – The largest mosque in India. A cycle rickshaw ride through Chandni Chowk, once an imperial avenue of Mughal Royalty which today is the busiest commercial area of the city. Enjoy rickshaw ride in the narrow lanes of Chandni Chowk. Also visit Gandhi Museum.

Afternoon sightseeing of New Delhi: Visit the 12th century Qutab Minar, gracefully hand-carved for its entire height of 234ft, and the iron pillar, which has withstood the ravages of time and not rusted even after 1500 years, the mausoleum of emperor Humayun. Drive past India Gate (memorial to the Indian army soldiers who died in the World War I) the Rashtrapati Bhavan (formerly the viceroy’s residence) and the Parliament House.

Overnight at hotel.

Morning drive to Agra. On arrival check in at hotel.

It was the Taj Mahal which ultimately put Agra, its hometown on the global map.  It is an epitome of Mughal architecture of the 16^th & 17 centuries of the then capital of the Mughal dynasty of India. Agra holds a special significance for the Mughals in the many of the firsts: Emperor Barber, the founder of the dynasty laid out the first formal Persian gardens on the banks of the river Yamuna.  Down the lineage the 3^rd Emperor & grandson of the founder Barber, Emperor Akbar, conceptualized & laid the foundation of the gigantic Red Fort. His successors Emperors Jahangir & Shah Jahan took the construction further adding the rose-red palaces, courts and gardens, the marble mosques, palaces and pavilions for the public & private audiences.

Afternoon visit of Taj Mahal – the world-famous Taj Mahal built by Shah Jahan in 1560 in memory of his queen Mumtaz Mahal to enshrine her mortal remains. The architecture marvel is perfectly proportioned masterpiece fashioned from white marble that stand testimony to the skill of 20,000 craftsmen brought together from Persia, Turkey, France and Italy and who took 17 years to complete this ‘Love poem in Marble’.

Later visit the Agra Fort, built alongside the Yamuna River stretching almost 2.5 km. The fort’s colossal double walls rise 20 m in height and measure 2.5 km in circumference. The fort is surrounded by a moat. The lofty battlements of the Agra Fort cast its protective shadow over the far stretching mansions of nobles and princes built along the riverfront.

Overnight at hotel.

Morning drive to Jaipur enroute visiting Fatehpursikri. The ‘ghost’ yet the City of Victory or Fatehpur (victory) Sikri (city), as it translates to in Persian, sounds paradoxical now.  Approximately 30 miles west of Agra, Fatehpursikri was built by Emperor, Akbar between 1571 and 1573 AD but was later abandoned. The reasons of abandonment of this once & till today a beautiful capital city are many & debatable by the modern-day historians.

Post visit drive to Jaipur. On arrival check in at hotel.

Was built in the 18^th century by Maharaja Jai Singh II. It is a planned city built with ancient Hindu rules as the colonial capital of a richly colourful state. It was made attractive with the pink wash – a traditional colour of welcome in 1853 in honour of the visit of Prince Albert. 

Overnight at hotel.

Morning Amber Fort with an Elephant ride. Amber is a classic, romantic Rajasthani fort Palace. The rugged, time-ravaged walls of the Fort may not look beautiful from the outside, but the interior is a virtual paradise. Miniatures painted on the walls depict hunting and war scenes, apart from festivals. Precious stones and mirrors are embedded into the plaster. Inside the Fort visit the Jag Mandir or the Hall of Victory. Inside the Jag Mandir is the famed Sheesh Mahal – a room with all the four walls and ceiling completely embedded with glittering mirror pieces, which were specially imported from Belgium during that period. En route to Amber Fort, you will have a brief photography stop at Hawa Mahal – the Palace of Winds.

Afternoon city tour begins with a visit to the Maharaja’s City Palace, the former Royal residence, part of it converted into a museum. A small portion is still used by the Royal family of Jaipur. Built in the style of a fortified campus, the palace covers almost one-seventh in area of the city. One of the major attractions in the museum is the portion known as Armory Museum housing an impressive array of weaponry-pistols, blunderbusses, flintlocks, swords, rifles and daggers. The royal families of Jaipur once used most of these weapons. Later visit the Jantar Mantar, which is the largest stone and marble crafted observatory in the world. Situated near the gate of the city palace, the observatory has 17 large instruments, many of them still in working conditions.

Evening we attend an `aarti’ (prayer ritual) ceremony at Birla Mandir (modern Hindu temple).

Overnight at hotel.

Our services end this day in Jaipur with an in time assisted departure transfer to the airport to connect flight for onwards journey.