Taj Mahal and Palaces Extension

4/18-4/21: Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur, India

Begin your tour in Delhi, capital city of independent India which rewards the determined sightseer with more than a thousand monuments. Travel to Agra to reminisce the days of Mughal Empire in India. Admire the brilliant 16^th and 17^th century architecture of the Agra Fort and get amazed by the stunning grandeur of the iconic Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world. Continue your journey to discover the proud and valorous regal splendor of Jaipur amongst its magnificent forts and palaces, mansions and landscaped estates.

4/18:

After breakfast at the hotel, proceed for guided tour of Old Delhi. Your guided tour of Old Delhi in the morning will focus on magnificence of Jama Masjid and a pedi-cab ride through Chandni Chowk with its busy bazaars with narrow streets. Each lane specializes in a commodity: Khari Baoli is famous for its spices, Dariba Kalan for is the lane of jewellers and silversmiths while Kinare Bazaar sells a bewildering array of tinsel sequins. In the afternoon, you’ll be driven to Agra where you’ll check into your hotel for the evening.

4/19:

Early morning (to ensure the best light) you will visit the Taj Mahal. Often cited as the most beautiful building in the world as well as being one of the world’s seven wonders, the exquisite Taj Mahal is as immaculate today as when it was first constructed. It is arguably at its most atmospheric during sunrise and we recommend an early start to be first through the doors. Return to the hotel for a late breakfast.

After breakfast at the hotel, visit the impressive Agra Fort. Hand in hand with the Taj Mahal is the Agra Fort, undoubtedly one of the most impressive forts built by the Mughals. Where the Taj Mahal is about love and romance, the fort is about dominance and valour, a show of the might of the Mughals. More a walled city than fort, being 2.5 kms in circumference, the sheer scale of the fort is what astounds. Courtyard after courtyard built of sandstone and marble, this fort has been a military fortress, palace and prison. Later in the afternoon, drive to Jaipur.

4/20:

After breakfast at the hotel, visit the Amber fort for guided tour of the Fort which stands boldly on a hill, overlooked by the less visited Jaigarh Fort. A journey through the fort showcases the extravagant lives of the Maharajas as well as fascinating architectural features and provides wonderful photo opportunities. Later, proceed for city sightseeing tour visiting City Palace complex, part of which is still the residence of the former ruling family. Built almost three hundred years ago for the rulers of Jaipur state, it is the heart of the bustling walled city. Here you will find palaces, pavilions, gardens and temples as well as an impressive museum and a Krishna Temple still visited every day by hundreds of devotees. Within City Palace Complex also visit the Jantar Mantar, a still accurately functioning astronomical observation site built by Rajput king Sawai Jai Singh II and completed in 1734. Its 20 structures are marvels of sculptural beauty designed as “instruments for measuring the harmony of the heavens,” and exude a grandeur and fascination that should not be missed. Visit from outside the whimsical Hawa Mahal “Palace of Winds” erected in 1799 to enable the veiled ladies of the harem to observe unnoticed the lively streets below.

4/21:

Start early morning with local market walk in Jaipur.  Jaipur morning market walk offers a vivid opportunity to get to grips with life in India. Morning market walk begins with the phool mandi or flower market. Here, you’ll immediately be confronted with a riot of colors, sounds and smells, with beautiful wafts of jasmine, roses and marigolds filling the air around you, while merchants haggle with their customers. Many of the flowers you’ll encounter are merely heads which are used in Hindu prayer ceremonies and to decorate the home. Continue to the almost chaotic vegetable market, and the sensory overload heightens further. Fresh, colourful produce surrounds you – from the familiar (tomatoes, onions, potatoes) to the more exotic (bottle gourd, chillies, capsicum). Ladies whoosh by carrying big pots of the stuff on their heads.

Another stop on our Jaipur morning market walk is the milk market. Here, you’ll see merchants who’ve travelled in from a 50km radius from their farms to sell their milk, unpasteurized and collected the very same morning from their cows and buffalos.

Return to hotel for breakfast.

Later drive to Delhi and transfer to Roseate House close to the airport. Wash and change rooms will be booked for you and will be available for you until departure.

Later transfer to the international airport to board your flight back home. (Reporting time at the airport for international flight is at least 3 hours prior to flight departure time).

Cost is for twin-shared booking / double-occupancy.