After breakfast, meet with your fellow travellers in the hotel lobby for a day of exploration, in search of Delhi’s best eats. Start the morning with a visit to Jama Masjid, a red sandstone and marble mosque in the heart of Old Delhi. When the ‘Friday Mosque’ mosque’s construction was ordered by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the mid-17th century, the city was already named Shahjahanabad in his honour.
Later, hop on an e-rickshaw and explore some of Delhi’s oldest streets in Chandni Chowk, an ancient market district that’s been trading since Shah Jahan’s time. Take a brief stop at Khari Baoli, Asia’s largest spice market, populated with sacks of herbs and spices, and bronze pots filled with lentils.
Unpack Old Delhi’s reputation for good food on a walking tour of the city’s best street foods. Graze your way through nankhatai (Indian shortbread biscuits), daulat ki chaat, aloo subzi, kuremal’s kulfi (Indian Ice-cream), Jain fresh fruit sandwiches and plenty of parantha – Punjabi flatbread stuffed with everything from mashed potato and herbs to paneer cheese and lamb.
Your tour finishes with lunch at UNESCO-awarded Dharampura Haveli, a traditional Indian mansion popularised during the time of the Mughals. Here, you’ll savour a chef’s tasting menu inspired by Chandni Chowk’s street food. After lunch, it’s back to the Old Delhi streets for a visit to the Raj Ghat, a memorial complex built in honour of Mahatma Gandhi.
Return to the hotel for a few hours of leisure before your welcome dinner at INJA. Since opening in 2023, this house of fusion has quickly become one of Delhi’s hottest new restaurants, blending Japanese technique with Indian tradition. Tonight’s menu highlights may include shrimp tempura served with fermented mango achar pickles, katsu sandos with vindaloo curry sauce and maki sushi rolls stuffed with fried gobi cauliflower and crispy curry leaves.
Taj Hotels five-star stay
After breakfast at the hotel, meet in the lobby for a day exploring New Delhi.
Set out on each of the following guided experiences:
- Spirit of New Delhi Tour: Witness some of the city’s best sights by coach, including India Gate, Parliament House and President’s House, before arriving at the Qutab Minar. Raised by sultan Qutb-ud-din Aibak in the late 12th century to commemorate his victory over the Hindu Tomar Rajput dynasty, the medieval Persian minaret stands over Delhi’s oldest walled city, Lal Kot.
- Cooking Class at Saffron Palate: Learn to cook like a local. Saffron Palate’s emphasis on traditional, home-cooked Indian cookery has led it to become a long-time favourite for travellers. Held in the chef’s family home, today’s 90-minute hands-on demonstration is an approachable introduction to a few of India’s favourite plates that you can replicate at home. Menus vary by season, but commonly include butter chicken, tikka masala and biryani.
- Lunch at Cafe Lota: Head to Delhi’s National Crafts Museum for lunch at Cafe Lota. The restaurant’s menu celebrates India’s diverse culinary heritage, from Himachal Pradesh’s lesser-known micro-cuisines in the far north to yoghurt and cashew-based curries from Rajasthan. A special lunch menu, curated for this tour, lets you taste your way across the subcontinent.
- Gurdwara Bangla Sahib Sikh Temple: Visit New Delhi’s Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, one of the country’s famed Sikh gurdwaras (houses of worship), known for hosting a langar, or community kitchen, that feeds up to 40,000 pilgrims a day.
Dinner tonight is at the Taj Palace, New Delhi’s celebrated onsite restaurant LOYA. Offering an authentic taste of North India’s cuisine, LOYA’s regional-focused menu ranges from the Himalayas to Kashmir.
Saffron Palate cooking class
Taj Hotels five-star stay
After breakfast, meet your fellow travellers in the hotel lobby for your journey to Agra – approximately four-hours southeast by coach – where the legacy of the Mughal Empire is still visible today.
Enjoy the afternoon at your leisure, or alternatively take a sunset tour of Itmad-ud-Daulah, the first Mughal tomb to be built entirely out of marble and known locally as ‘The Baby Taj’. After, head to the Taj Mahal viewpoint to admire the sun.
Dinner tonight is at PESHAWRI, a fine-dining establishment dedicated to the flavours of India’s northwest frontier. The restaurant is owned by the same chefs behind Delhi’s renowned Bukhara restaurant, and both venues are committed to preserving the art of tandoor cooking.
Taj Hotels five-star stay
Wake before dawn for a must-see experience, watching the Taj Mahal lit by the rising sun. Constructed entirely out of white marble, it took 20,000 craftsmen twelve years to complete.
Return to the hotel at approximately 9am for breakfast, departing at approximately 11am for the five-hour journey westward to Ranthambore National Park, stopping for lunch along the way.
Once a royal hunting ground of the Maharajas, Ranthambore National Park is now a vast wildlife reserve wedged between the Aravalli and Vindhya hill ranges and famous for its Royal Bengal tiger population. See the hilltop Ranthambore Fort, built in the 10th century, and its Trinetra Ganesh Temple within.
Check in to your park accommodation – boutique hotel Taj Sawai, Ranthambore. With just 56 rooms and suites, the hotel delivers an intimate stay near to Ranthambore National Park.
Taj Hotels five-star stay
Taj Mahal sunrise visit
Rise early for a sunrise safari and another chance of sighting the elusive Royal Bengal tiger. Take an adventure in an open-air vehicle in search of wild animals, from leopards resting in the shade to rare birdlife and monkeys.
Returning to your hotel for breakfast, you can enjoy the morning and afternoon at leisure. Make the most of an hour or two spent by the hotel’s central pool or enjoy a treatment at the J Wellness Pavillion before your included lunch.
In the evening, embark on another game drive. Accompanied by an expert naturalist guide, venture into the wilderness in search of Royal Bengal tigers, striped hyenas, sambar deer, jackals, sloth bears and various bird species.
Return to the Taj Sawai for dinner and an evening at leisure.
Taj Hotels five-star stay
Rise early and embark on an optional hike to Ranthambore Fort, home to countless ruins.
After lunch at the hotel, journey approximately four hours to Jaipur. The capital of a desert state, Rajasthan, Jaipur is often called the ‘Pink City’ due to its rose-coloured buildings. It’s the result of Maharaja Ram Singh ordering most of the buildings painted pink – long considered the colour of hospitality in India – to honour the arrival of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, in 1876.
Check in to Taj Amer, Jaipur, offering views over the region’s ancient Aravalli Range. The evening is at your leisure, but we recommend making a reservation at one of the hotel’s onsite restaurants, including all-day dining eatery Shamiana, Chinese imperial-themed restaurant House of Ming or sushi-meets-cocktail-bar House of Nomad.
Taj Hotels five-star stay
After breakfast, meet in the lobby for a day exploring Jaipur.
Set out on each of the following guided experiences:
- Soul of Jaipur Walking Food Tour: Walk through Jaipur’s old city, beginning with a trip to a local vegetable, fruit and flower market. Visit some of the city’s best eateries, including the original Lassiwala – serving clay mugs filled with lassi, a yoghurt drink popular throughout India – and taste kota kachori, or sweet and spicy deep-fried snacks.
- Lunch at Dera Mandawa: Join a hands-on cooking class at Dera Mandawa, a heritage hotel originally built to house royal emissaries when they came to attend court in Jaipur. Learn about authentic family recipes, traditional Indian masalas (spice blends) and bati baking. Try a local delicacy: jungli maans, a centuries-old mutton curry developed for stranded hunters.
- High Tea at Dzurt Patisserie: Sit down to a French patisserie high tea at Dzurt Patisserie and Cafe, with varied macarons and petit fours.
- Patrika Gate Photo Stop: Stop for a photo opportunity at Patrika Gate, built in modern times to honour the seven original gates that led to the walled city of Jaipur.
Return to the hotel for time at leisure before dinner at Samode Haveli. The traditional Indian mansion, arranged around garden courtyards, was originally built centuries ago as a residence of the rulers of Samode. Once a small town on the outskirts of Jaipur, it is still occupied by their descendants, who have converted their palace into a boutique luxury hotel.
Taj Hotels five-star stay
Enjoy breakfast at the hotel before a tour of Amber Fort, perched on a small hill just outside of the city. An extensive palace complex built almost entirely out of red sandstone and marble, the fortress stands as an example of combined Mughal and Rajput architectural innovation, looking out over Maota Lake.
Continue to Jal Mahal, the Floating Palace, set in a garden estate at the centre of Man Sagar Lake.
Tucked away in Johri Bazaar, or ‘Jeweller’s Market’, surrounded by stone-setters, carvers, textile houses and master craftsman, your lunch is served at The Johri. Expect a seasonally focused menu of vegetarian dishes ranging from watermelon salads topped with tandoori-spiced fruits and fresh mint to pan-fried potato croquettes served with parmesan cream.
After lunch, stop for a quick photo at Hawa Mahal, called ‘The Palace of Winds’, built to allow ladies of the royal court to observe processions without being seen by the public.
Your final sightseeing stop for the day is Jantar Mantar, an astronomy observatory built in the early 18th century. The observatory was used to accurately calculate the time of day, functioning as a large sundial.
On your return from the observatory, enjoy a few hours at leisure before dinner. Tonight, you’ll join your tour companions for one final farewell dinner together, celebrating with a royal thali at the historic Raj Palace.
Take your seat in the Swapna Mahal, a grand dining room originally built to imitate the houses of the French and English nobility. Here, you’ll be served the Maharani Thali, or ‘Queen’s Platter’, traditionally consisting of various small dishes designed by the empire’s Ayurveda-trained chef-doctors.
Taj Hotels five-star stay
Rise early and enjoy one final breakfast in Jaipur before your included return flight to Delhi International Airport (DEL) and your ownward journey.
Departure & Transfers:
Checkout on your final day is at 12pm. Please book your flights to depart after 6pm from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL). Transferes to Jaipur International Airport (JAI) are included in your tour, and your itinerary concludes upon arrival at Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL).