India Itinerary: A 5-Day Sample Plan and How to Build Your Trip

Quick answer: The classic 5-day Golden Triangle: Old and New Delhi, the Taj Mahal at sunrise with Agra Fort, the ghost city of Fatehpur Sikri en route to Jaipur, Amber Fort and the Pink City, then bazaars and the loop back to Delhi.

Day 1 — Old & New Delhi

Five days, one country-sized appetizer: the Golden Triangle. Start in Delhi with both of its personalities. Morning in Old Delhi: the great Jama Masjid mosque (small camera fee), then a cycle-rickshaw plunge through Chandni Chowk‘s bazaar arteries — wedding cards, silver, chilies — with a paratha stop in the century-old fried-bread lane. Afternoon in New Delhi’s calm: Humayun’s Tomb (about ₹600 foreign entry), the red-sandstone dress rehearsal for the Taj, and a drive past India Gate and the Lutyens boulevards. Evening: dinner in Hauz Khas or Connaught Place, and an early night — the Triangle runs on dawn starts. Use prepaid taxis or ride apps; agree everything before moving.

Day 2 — Delhi to Agra: the Taj

Train or drive to Agra (the Gatimaan/Vande Bharat expresses take about 100–110 minutes; the expressway about 3.5–4 hours). Check in, drop bags and see the Agra Fort first (about ₹650): the red-sandstone imperial city where Shah Jahan spent his last years imprisoned with a marble view of his masterpiece — which is exactly the right foreshadowing. Then the main event at golden hour OR save it for sunrise tomorrow: the Taj Mahal (about ₹1,100–1,300 foreign entry incl. mausoleum; closed Fridays) — sunrise wins for the mist, the pink light and the thin crowd. Evening: mughlai food and a rooftop with a Taj silhouette. Sleep fast.

Day 3 — Fatehpur Sikri to Jaipur

If you saved it: Taj at dawn — queue at the east gate before opening, walk it in the first hour, thank yourself forever. Then road-trip toward Jaipur (about 4–5 hours) with the essential stop at Fatehpur Sikri (about ₹610), Akbar’s perfectly preserved red-sandstone capital, abandoned after fourteen years when the water ran out — a Mughal ghost city with the colossal Buland Darwaza gate and the marble tomb of the saint who promised Akbar an heir. Optional second stop: the stepwell at Abhaneri, a 1,200-year-old geometric wonder. Roll into the pink-walled old city of Jaipur by evening; dal baati churma or laal maas for dinner introduces Rajasthan’s spice register.

Day 4 — Jaipur: Amber & the Pink City

Jaipur’s big day. Morning at Amber Fort (about ₹550; go at opening), the honey-stone hill palace of mirrored halls and elephant-scale courtyards — walk or jeep up; please skip the elephant rides. Photo stop at Jal Mahal, the palace floating in Man Sagar lake, on the way back. Afternoon inside the Pink City: the City Palace (from about ₹700), the astronomical instruments of UNESCO-listed Jantar Mantar (about ₹200) — sundials the size of buildings, accurate to seconds — and the honeycomb facade of Hawa Mahal, best photographed from the cafe terraces opposite. Sunset option: Nahargarh Fort’s ramparts over the pink grid. Lassi in a clay cup somewhere in between.

Day 5 — Bazaars & the Loop Home

Last morning in the bazaars: Johari for gems and bangles, Bapu for textiles and juttis (embroidered slippers) — haggle cheerfully, pay fairly, and remember block-printed fabric packs flat. Coffee or one more kachori, then close the triangle: drive back to Delhi (about 5–6 hours on the expressway) or take the train, aiming for an evening flight out — or fly directly from Jaipur’s airport and skip the road entirely. If energy allows a final Delhi stop, Qutub Minar‘s 73-meter victory tower (about ₹600) sits conveniently airport-side. Five days barely lifts India’s lid — but the Triangle explains, faster than anywhere, why people spend lifetimes going back.