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Golden Triangle, India 🇮🇳

by
Hoptale traveler profile
winnie

For a first time visit to India, golden triangle is the natural choice. It’s a famous tourist circuit in a shape of a triangle that connects the national capital Delhi, Agra (where Taj Mahal is), and Jaipur.

friends
1st visit
wedding

map

map

itinerary

itinerary

itinerary Halo
highlights

highlights

gallery

gallery


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Day 1 Itinerary

Places visited:

Wedding Ceremony - Part 1
Wedding Ceremony - Part 1
Wedding Ceremony - Part 1
Wedding Ceremony - Part 1
Wedding Ceremony - Part 1
Wedding Ceremony - Part 1
Wedding Ceremony - Part 1

Wedding Ceremony - Part 1

trip-journal-location
Kolkata

Day 2 Itinerary

Places visited: Hyatt Regency

Wedding Ceremony - Part 2
Wedding Ceremony - Part 2
Wedding Ceremony - Part 2
Wedding Ceremony - Part 2
Wedding Ceremony - Part 2
Wedding Ceremony - Part 2
Wedding Ceremony - Part 2
Wedding Ceremony - Part 2
Wedding Ceremony - Part 2
Wedding Ceremony - Part 2
Wedding Ceremony - Part 2
Wedding Ceremony - Part 2
Wedding Ceremony - Part 2

Wedding Ceremony - Part 2

If you haven’t been to an Indian wedding, then you are missing out big time. We experienced a festive and sumptuous 3-day wedding of our friend in Kolkata before our golden triangle tour of India.

Hyatt Regency

trip-journal-location
Kolkata

Day 3 Itinerary

Places visited: Victoria Memorial

Victoria Memorial
Victoria Memorial
Victoria Memorial
Victoria Memorial
Victoria Memorial
Victoria Memorial
Victoria Memorial
Victoria Memorial
Victoria Memorial

Victoria Memorial

Didn’t have too much time for sightseeing in Kolkata due to all the wedding activists. Victoria Memorial was a relic from the colonial period under the Britain Raj.

Wedding Ceremony - Part 3
Wedding Ceremony - Part 3
Wedding Ceremony - Part 3
Wedding Ceremony - Part 3
Wedding Ceremony - Part 3
Wedding Ceremony - Part 3
Wedding Ceremony - Part 3
Wedding Ceremony - Part 3
Wedding Ceremony - Part 3
Wedding Ceremony - Part 3
Wedding Ceremony - Part 3
Wedding Ceremony - Part 3
Wedding Ceremony - Part 3

Wedding Ceremony - Part 3

trip-journal-location
New Delhi

Day 4 Itinerary

Places visited: Radisson Blu Marina Hotel Connaught Place - New Delhi

Radisson Blu Marina Hotel Connaught Place

New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi

New Delhi

We planned a packed day of sightseeing in Delhi: Airport - Quran minar - Bhai house of worship - Humayun’s tomb - Rajghat - Jama masjid - Redfort - hotel. Unfortunately some of us got food poisoned so ended up spending the whole day resting at our hotel. Seriously do not eat anything raw or drink from anything other than western-brand bottle water.

Took a few random street shots here and there. Our overall impression of Delhi was pretty poor.

trip-journal-location
Agra

Day 5 Itinerary

Places visited: Taj Mahal - Taj Mahal - Agra Fort

Driving to Agra
Driving to Agra
Driving to Agra
Driving to Agra
Driving to Agra
Driving to Agra
Driving to Agra

Driving to Agra

The best way to see the "golden triangle" is to hire a car with local driver. Don’t just rent a car and drive yourself. There are no defined lanes on the streets of India. And you had to constantly manouver around rickshaws, people, cows, goats, and monkeys in the middle of streets.

Depends on the comfort level of the car, it typically costs $50-100 per day to hire a car + driver. We got ours from indianprivatedriver.com and our driver, Chaman, was really awesome!

Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal was really impressive in person. The love story behind it was also very inspiring. However, its opulent structure and ornate design present such a contrast with the proverty spotted throughout this country.

Visitor have to take off shoes to go inside. If you don’t want to run the risk of shoes being stolen, you can also buy shoe covers there.

Agra Fort
Agra Fort
Agra Fort
Agra Fort
Agra Fort
Agra Fort
Agra Fort
Agra Fort
Agra Fort
Agra Fort
Agra Fort

Agra Fort

We encountered a lot of beggars throughout our trip in India. But it got even worse outside the Agra Fort. We were chased by a group of child beggars. If you give money to one, ten more would come after. Even when we returned to our car, we had to lock the doors and fully close all the windows. They were so aggressive that they sourrounded our car and kept banging at the windows. We would have been really scared if we hadn’t been with our local driver.

Driving to Jaipur
Driving to Jaipur
Driving to Jaipur
Driving to Jaipur
Driving to Jaipur
Driving to Jaipur
Driving to Jaipur
Driving to Jaipur
Driving to Jaipur

Driving to Jaipur

trip-journal-location
Jaipur

Day 6 Itinerary

Places visited: Hawa Mahal - Amber Fort - Amber Fort - Amber Fort - Jal Mahal

Hawa Mahal
Hawa Mahal
Hawa Mahal
Hawa Mahal
Hawa Mahal
Hawa Mahal
Hawa Mahal
Hawa Mahal
Hawa Mahal

Hawa Mahal

Amber Fort
Amber Fort
Amber Fort
Amber Fort
Amber Fort
Amber Fort
Amber Fort
Amber Fort
Amber Fort

Amber Fort

Elephant Ride up Amber Fort
Elephant Ride up Amber Fort
Elephant Ride up Amber Fort
Elephant Ride up Amber Fort
Elephant Ride up Amber Fort
Elephant Ride up Amber Fort
Elephant Ride up Amber Fort
Elephant Ride up Amber Fort
Elephant Ride up Amber Fort
Elephant Ride up Amber Fort
Elephant Ride up Amber Fort
Elephant Ride up Amber Fort
Elephant Ride up Amber Fort

Elephant Ride up Amber Fort

This was probably our favorite experience on the whole tour - riding up Amber Fort on the back of elephants.

Amber Palace
Amber Palace
Amber Palace
Amber Palace
Amber Palace
Amber Palace
Amber Palace
Amber Palace
Amber Palace
Amber Palace
Amber Palace
Amber Palace
Amber Palace

Amber Palace

A must-see in Jaipur! The palace consists of grand halls, lush gardens, and several open courtyards. The structures have beautiful designs both on the inside and outside. Views are amazing too as the palace sits on top of a hill.

Jal Mahal
Jal Mahal
Jal Mahal
Jal Mahal
Jal Mahal

Jal Mahal

trip-journal-location
Jaipur

Day 7 Itinerary

Places visited: Devi Niketan Heritage Hotel - A Wandertrails Stay - City Palace - Jaipur

Devi Niketan Heritage Hotel - A Wandertrails Stay
Devi Niketan Heritage Hotel - A Wandertrails Stay
Devi Niketan Heritage Hotel - A Wandertrails Stay
Devi Niketan Heritage Hotel - A Wandertrails Stay
Devi Niketan Heritage Hotel - A Wandertrails Stay

Devi Niketan Heritage Hotel - A Wandertrails Stay

After staying at very western hotels in Kolkata and Delhi, we chose to have a different experience in Jaipur. This hotel is run by a retired Indian admiral in his own residence so it’s more like a B&B. We had a very comfortable stay and felt connected with the local culture through the admiral and his staff.

One interesting thing was on our day of departure, we wanted to take a photo with the admiral and invited our driver, Chaman, to join us too. Chaman insisted on taking the photo for us instead of joining us. He told us afterwards that the old class system in India is still prevalent today and he thought it would be disrespectful for him to appear in the same photos with the admiral, who was two classes above him. We were shocked and sad to hear such an archaic system still has this kind of impact in the 21st century.

City Palace Jaipur
City Palace Jaipur
City Palace Jaipur
City Palace Jaipur
City Palace Jaipur
City Palace Jaipur
City Palace Jaipur
City Palace Jaipur
City Palace Jaipur
City Palace Jaipur
City Palace Jaipur
City Palace Jaipur
City Palace Jaipur

City Palace Jaipur

Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur

Jaipur

Our schedule was more relaxed in Jaipur. We enjoyed walking around and capturing moments of daily life of the local people.

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