Golden Triangle
Delhi - Agra - Jaipur - Delhi

Destinations Covered

• Delhi
  
  Geographically as well as historically, Delhi consists of seven distinct cities, built through the ages by various rulers as their capitals.
  
  New Delhi , an orderly plan of wide roads lined with sturdy colonial buildings, was established as the capital of the British Raj in 1911, and has continued as the capital of independent India.
  
  Old Delhi , Shah Jahan's seventeenth-century capital of Shahjahanabad , is quintessentially Indian. The traditional lifestyle of its predominantly Muslim population has changed little in over two hundred years.
  
  The other 5 capitals are mostly ruins today, with a mix of forts, palaces, tombs, pillars and mosques serving up a smorgasbord of architectural offerings.
   

• Agra
  
  Agra is, of course, home to the magnificent Taj Mahal, one man's monumental testimony to love. 20 years in the making, it was b uilt by the Mughal Emperor (and prolific builder) Shahjahan, in memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died at the age of 39, giving birth to their 14th child. 20,000 workers and artisans laboured to give form to this poem in marble.
  
  As the once- capital of the Mughal dynasty, Agra is full of monuments dating back to the 16th and 17th century. The Agra Fort represents architecture during the periods of 3 Mughal emperors: Akbar, Jehangir and Shah Jahan. Back in those times, it cost the royal exchequer a tidy Rs 3.5 million. Made of red sandstone, it established the model for all the Mughal forts that followed, most notably the Red Fort in Delhi
   

• Fatehpur Sikri
  
  The perfectly preserved city of Fatehpur Sikri was built by Mughal Emperor, Akbar, as a gesture of gratitude to the Sufi saint, Sheikh Salim Chisti, who predicted that the (then) childless emperor would have 3 sons. For 14 years it served as Akbar's capital, and was then inexplicably abandoned. It's red sandstone structures blend the Islamic architecture of Afghanistan and Persia with the more florid ornamentation of the Hindu and Buddhist styles. At the heart of the phantom city is the marble shrine of Sheikh Salim Chisti, a major Sufi shrine and place of pilgrimage.
   

• Jaipur
  
  The capital of the desert state of Rajasthan, also called the Pink City, Jaipur is named after the astronomer prince who founded it, Sawai Jai Singh. It was India's first planned city, and is designed in accordance with the principles embodied in the ancient Indian treatise on architecture, the Shilpa Shastra (Vaastu). Jai Singh had a passion for art and the city's attractions reflect this.
  
  Jaipur is a walled city, surrounded by a wall having seven gates, built to protect it from invading armies and lurking wild animals. The Amber Fort, located on the hills just outside Jaipur, is the erstwhile capital, from where the Jaipur royal house held court for seven centuries.