Golden Triangle with Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary Tour

Welcome to India! On arrival at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, our representative will wait for you outside the customs gate and will accompany you to your air-conditioned vehicle at the nearest parking lot. You shall be transferred to Delhi hotel for overnight stay.

Guided sightseeing tour of Delhi will commence soon after breakfast. Laxmi Narayan Temple will be the first attraction to be visited. It is beautiful temple built in conventional Nagar style of temple architecture, hallmark of north Indian temples. Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, a Sikh temple, and its customs will enthrall you.

Begin exploration in Old Delhi with a visit to the Jama Masjid, the royal mosque built by the Mughal ruler, Shah Jahan in 1656 AD. The mosque is one of the largest in the world - the main hall can accommodate about 20,000 people. Try a cycle rickshaw ride through the narrow alleys of Chandni Chowk, the main market of Old Delhi that houses spice, jewelry, garments shops. Visit Raj Ghat, monument dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi (father of the Nation). Hereinafter, enjoy the guided visit to India Gate, President House, Parliament House (all these three from a distance only) and Qutub Minar. Overnight stay is scheduled in Delhi hotel.

After breakfast, depart for Agra. On arrival at Agra , visit the tomb of It-mad-ud-Daula , father of Queen Nur Jahan. Also called Baby Taj, it is a two-storey tomb with mosaics of embedded semi-precious gems. Thereafter, you will be directly taken to the Taj Mahal . The Taj Mahal is often called 'poetry in stone'. If so, the mausoleum is a love poem, created by the Mughal ruler Shah Jahan for his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It took 22 years to complete and was designed and engineered by the Persian architect Ustad Isa.

After visiting Taj Mahal, check in at the hotel. Relax and have lunch. Post-lunch, visit Agra Fort , one of the three UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Agra. Agra Fort, an imposing two-miles long structure with red sandstone ramparts, houses palaces, halls used in the past for public audiences and mosques. The fortress presents a good sampling of Islamic and Hindu architectural styles. It was built by the third Mughal ruler, Akbar. Successive additions were made to the fort by his son Jahangir and his grandson Shah Jahan.

If you are a photography aficionado, you can be taken to Mehtab Bagh across the River Yamuna to capture in your camera the beauty of Taj Mahal at the time of sunset. Overnight stay is scheduled in Agra hotel .

After breakfast, head towards Keoladev Bird Sanctuary in Bharatpur in Rajasthan. On the way to Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, visit Fatehpur Sikri, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The red sandstone city was built by Akbar as its capital and the palace as a residence in the late 16th century. It is a real fairytale city, still in excellent condition. It is not difficult to imagine what court life must have been in the days of its greatness.

After visiting Fatehpur Sikri, continue your drive to Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary. On arrival at Keoladev National Park, check in at the forest resort / lodge. After lunch, proceed on a manually-pulled rickshaw ride with a naturalist. The sanctuary is home to more than 230 species of birds like Cranes, Pelicans, Geese, Ducks, Eagles, Hawks, Shanks etc. Its floral and faunal diversity is appreciably pleasing. One can easily spot boar, nilgai, chital, sambar etc. Overnight stay is scheduled in Bharatpur hotel.

Early in the morning, again proceed on for exploring deeper places in the sanctuary on rickshaw, obviously with a naturalist. Return to jungle resort to have breakfast, check out and depart for Jaipur. Jaipur, "The City of Victory", is also known as the pink city of Rajasthan. Jaipur is capital of the desert state. On arrival at Jaipur, check in at the hotel. Early in the evening, witness the ‘aarti’ ceremony at Govind Dev Ji Temple. Overnight stay is scheduled in Jaipur hotel.

Today start the day with a visit to the magnificent Amber Fort, arriving on the back of an elephant (subject to availability). Amber Fort is known for its unique and breathtaking artistic style, masterfully blending Hindu and Muslim elements (Mughal). Visit of the halls, rooms and corridors of the building, famous for the excellence of its design. Inside the complex is Ganesh Pol, the imposing entrance entirely painted with images of the elephant-headed god, Lord Ganesh. The fully perforated windows offer views from different points and shimmering mirror chips are set within the walls of Sheesh Mahal.

After visiting Amber Fort, drive back to Jaipur city. On the way, stop at Jal Mahal to have few beautiful photographs of picturesque monument. The city tour continues with a stop to photograph the Hawa Mahal or Palace of the Winds. Its facade is probably the most photographed in Jaipur, with its richly carved wooden windows, designed so that the ladies of the palace could watch the streets being unnoticed. Continue to the City Palace Museum , which has a valuable collection of antiques, costumes and armor of the Kachhwaha Rajput kings, including swords of different shapes and sizes with preciously chiseled handles. The next visit is to the Jantar Mantar Observatory, a UNESCO World Heritage Site: an astronomical and astrological observatory built in stone by Maharaja Jai Singh in 18th century.

After lunch, explore exceptionally colourful market of Jaipur. It’s sheer pleasure to visit shops selling jewelry, carpets, garments, leather goods, handicrafts etc. Overnight stay is scheduled in Jaipur hotel.

After breakfast, depart for New Delhi. On arrival at national capital, you will be transferred to airport to board flight for your onward destination.