A Northern India Triangle
Taj Mahal in Agra
The focus for my November trip this year was to finally tackle a visit to Bhutan but as planning continued to evolve, additional stops in India and Nepal elbowed their way in. Once the trip was fully planned out, I had built a triangle of flying first to Delhi, then to Nepal, on to Bhutan, then back to Delhi to connect back to the States and with the first flight leg taking us on United to Delhi as a stopover point, I had planned another triangle tour in India going from Delhi to Agra to Jaipur then back to Delhi.
To begin, let’s start with November not being the time to visit Delhi due to this being burning season for the rice farmers surrounding Delhi. As our plane approached, you could already see the haze begin to materialize and this only worsened throughout our time in India becoming international news as to how hazardous it was to breathe. I highly caution against vising Delhi during this time of year for anyone with respiratory complications as the air would likely cause complications from the hazardous levels of smoke. We had formed congestion and irritated eyes over the course of three days and we do not have respiratory issues.
From a planning standpoint, the itinerary I tackled is a part of many preplanned 3 day or 4 day private tours offered, many on Viator, but I had hired a driver through a friend in Delhi and provided a list of places to stop each day and the hotels we were planning to stay at in each city. This would have normally cost us about $700 - $1500 booking as a planned tour, largely varying in price whether they include hotels, but we only spent $350. The hotel cost was not included in this which I had arranged the accommodations myself and kept to around $100 - $150 per night.
When we landed in Delhi, it was already night and I had booked a night at the Le Meridien New Delhi since it was near most of the landmarks I planned to tackle the next day with our driver. Booking an Uber from Delhi airport to the hotel was quite simple and there are organized queues beyond the terminal exit and short walk. Just follow the signs “app based taxi” and you will find it.
Pro Tip: If you plan to rely only on wifi during your trip and avoid the spend of an international data plan, you must get a wifi code at a terminal kiosk either before you take the escalator down into the customs area near where they have the manual inbound forms or after customs in the baggage claim area. You simply scan your passport in the kiosk and it prints out a code to use for login. This will help if you plan to take an Uber from the airport because there is no free without this code and no kiosks once you exit baggage claim.
India Gate
Day One of India Tour - Delhi
The driver arrived to retrieve us at 730a and he took directly to India Gate which was a short distance from the hotel. As you can see from the photos, the smoke lingered throughout the day which caused us to rush through the sites in Delhi in an effort to limit our time outdoors. India Gate is located on the eastern end of the Rajpath and is a war memorial dedicated to the troops of British India who died during the wars of 1914-1919. There is also no cost to visit.
Pro Tip: Early morning is recommended if you want to capture India Gate without all the crowds as the Rajpath where it sits becomes quite crowded during the late afternoon into the evening hours.
The second stop on our Delhi day was Humayun’s Tomb which was built built in the 1560’s for the Mughal emperor and costs around $7 per person to visit depending on exchange rate. There is a higher cost for foreigners to visit sites in India as you will notice different prices for Indians versus foreigners but this usually comes with a different line with prioritized entry for foreigners which is helpful since some sites have lengthy queues for Indian citizens.
Qutub Minar
The final stop was Mehrauli Archaeological Park which houses the famous Qutub Minar. The Qutub Minar is a sandstone minaret that was constructed in 1192 and is only a piece of the larger park which houses multiple other historically significant structures and ruins but the Qutub Minar provides for some good imagery. Following this we departed Delhi and took on the roughly 4 hour drive to Agra.
Day Two of India TOur - Agra
In Agra, we stayed the night at the Courtyard Agra which was a nice hotel and we received a room upgrade due to our loyalty status at Marriott. Oddly there were a couple power outages during the night but this didn’t seem to be something unexpected when we inquired about them later with our driver.
In the morning, we headed to the lobby to meet our driver at 6am because the plan was to be at Taj Majal for sunrise which also turned out to be most peoples plan due to internet recommendation. In the lobby we were introduced a guide who said he would be our guide for the day throughout Agra. This was unexpected because we hadn’t planned on having a guide and was going to navigate Agra’s sites ourselves but our guide proved helpful on more than one occasion throughout the day and most of the guides in Agra work for tips so it up the visitor to determine the amount they want to pay at the end of the day. This goes without saying that a tour guide will incorporate stops in one or two shops into the itinerary because the tour guide will also receive some residual income based on what you spend in these stores but this can often be avoided if you explicitly say you do not want to stop at shops and especially if you volunteer that the tip will be more if they avoid them. We didn’t think to say this since we hadnt expected a tour guide to begin with so we encountered stops in a jewelry shop and a stone artwork shop.
As we pulled up to the Taj Mahal grounds crowds of tourists were already descending on the main entry gate so our tour guide took us to a side entry gate and navigated us around the crowds already queued up to the front of the entry and continued to push us through so were able to enter relatively quickly as the sun was rising.
Pro Tip: Tickets for most of the sites we visited can be purchased in advance from ASI website but requires you to know the general timing when you will be visiting based on morning or afternoon entries. Due to this and knowing that changes often occur in India we only purchased our tickets for the Taj Mahal + Mausoleum in advance since we knew we would be there in the morning and having tickets already prevented further delay in entering.
Once you enter the main grounds, you will navigate through a courtyard where photographers mill around hoping to sell “professional” photo packages to tourists as they prepare to enter the main Taj Mahal area. We declined and continued walking but a photographer still found us as we began taking our own photos from the garden area and offered to take a few photos without a package with the option to buy only the ones we liked for 100 rupees for each print with digital so we agreed. The photo session began to take on a life of its own as the photographer marched us through several key spots for photos and poses.
Taj Mahal, Agra
We eventually abandoned the photo session and thanked the photographer since we wanted to focus on taking our own pics. This was another moment where our tour guide stepped in to assist and maneuvered us out of the situation as the photographer kept insisting on taking “one more”.
Walking around the Taj Mahal complex felt like something out of movie due to surreal nature of the building and touring the mausoleum inside was equally as cool. Upon entering the Taj Mahal you are required to either remove your shoes and put on shoe covers which our tour guide had them on hand for us to use. No photography is allowed inside the actual complex and there was oddly two moving lines around the circular inside exiting the same place you enter. When inside you can provide a tip to the attendants working inside and they will sing your name into the dome of the mausoleum which was another experience we wouldn’t have been aware of had it not been for our tour guide.
As we wrapped our tour of the Taj Mahal complex, we were given the option to either go back to our hotel to take advantage of the provided breakfast or to just continue on and find a place to eat. We opted for the latter since we had already checked out of our hotel not thinking about returning for breakfast. Once we ate and made another quick pitstop to fuel my coffee addiction, we made our way to the tomb of Itmad-Ud-Daulah which is also known as the “baby Taj”. The tomb is located on the other side of the river from the larger Taj Mahal and was constructed from 1622 to 1628. The crowds were extremely light here as most people seem to only be in Agra for the Taj Mahal and this was good relief from the crowds experienced earlier at the Taj Mahal.
Agra Fort, Agra
Our final stop in Agra was the Agra Fort which was equally as impressive and was the housing complex for the rulers in the Mughal Dynasty in the 1500s. Touring around the complex provided for some historical knowledge about the area and also some good views of th In e Taj Mahal on a clear day. We then wrapped up our tour of Agra and drove around 4 hours to Jaipur for the last city in our India adventure.
Day Three of India Tour - Jaipur
In Jaipur we stayed at the Marriott Jaipur which was the best of the hotels we stayed at in India. The hotel was exquisite and the provided breakfast buffet was full of different stations with different types of food ranging from a pancake and waffle station to stations for traditional Indian faire. There was also a large pool we had tempted to try after some days of driving but quickly discovered it is not heated so that was cut short.
As we started our day Jaipur, we headed to the Palace of the Wind which is a place that appears quickly when searching Jaipur online. As we arrived, our guide for the day mentioned it is best to visit the Wind Palace early in the morning because you can stop your vehicle near it but later in the day the street becomes a no stopping zone so you will need to park further away and walk to it.
Palace of the Wind
Jaipur, India
After a quick photo, we jumped back in the car and headed to the Amber Fort. Amber Fort, also known as Amer Fort, is a stunning historical landmark to witness located just outside Jaipur, Rajasthan. Built in the 16th century by Maharaja Man Singh I, it showcases a blend of Hindu and Mughal architectural styles. The fort is perched on a hill, offering scenic views of the surrounding Aravalli Hills and the serene Maota Lake. Once you get to the area near the fort there are few ways to get up the hill to the grounds. One way is riding an elephant, another is in the back of a jeep which most organized tours do, but we drove up the back road and were able to get dropped off at the back entrance. As you enter the main courtyard, this is where everyone congregates before exploring as all main entry points are into this area known as Jaleb Chowk. This area was primarily used for parades and it will seem like one is occurring as a stream of colorful elephants stroll in the main gate carrying all the tourists.
Amber Fort
Within the fort there are a number of areas to explore which can fill a good amount of time. The more important ones are as follows:
Sheesh Mahal (Mirror Palace): A dazzling hall adorned with intricate mirror work that reflects light beautifully.
Ganesh Pol: An ornately decorated gateway leading to the private quarters of the fort.
Diwan-i-Aam (Hall of Public Audience): A grand space where the king addressed his subjects.
Sukh Niwas (Hall of Pleasure): Known for its ancient cooling system, perfect for Jaipur's hot summers.
After exploring the fort we headed back to our hotel for some relaxation with the long drive back to Delhi the next morning which ended our time in India as we headed onward to Nepal.
