29 Best things to see & do in India’s Golden Triangle

One of the world’s most beautiful buildings is not merely an exquisite tomb but a monument to love. The Taj Mahal was completed after two decades’ labour in 1653 by the great Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan to entomb his wife, Mumtaz.

It stands at the head of formal gardens by the Yamuna River. The combination of milky-white marble (much of it inlaid with semi-precious stones, a technique known as pietra dura), a great bulbous dome and four slender minarets lend the mausoleum an astonishing almost ethereal beauty.

Admire it at your leisure – its well-kept gardens coax lingering, relaxed visits.

Few other animals have quite captured the imagination as the Bengal tiger. India’s national animal since 1973, it’s one of two subspecies that once roamed widely from eastern Russia and Turkey to Indo-China. India’s 3,000-odd tigers are scattered among around 50 reserves and, for visitors, Ranthambore in Rajasthan is among the most famous and popular.

Formerly a royal hunting ground, Ranthambore’s pretty forests and appealingly rugged hillsides also boast water bodies and a picturesque 13th-century fortress. Game drives are particularly enjoyable and sightings are reliably good – but not guaranteed.

Pre-Independence Rajasthan, or ‘Land of the Princes’, comprised an intricate patchwork of princely states. Numerous maharajas’ palaces and forts still dot the landscape and among the most famous is 16th-century Amber (also known as Amer), a huge fortress-palace cresting a stark ridge above Amer village near Jaipur.

Enclosed by kilometres of walls snaking across the surrounding hills, at its heart the huge complex comprises audience halls, pavilions, royal ‘apartments’ and courtyards that collectively blend Hindu and Mughal motifs and architecture. Part-marble interiors boast decorative paintings, mirrored-glass mosaics and coloured glass. It’s a great place to wander and explore.

Delhi’s largest historic monument was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the 1640s, and the massive sandstone walls still bristle with crenellations between the elegant cupolas. Within lies a 250-acre complex of gardens, audience halls, pavilions, royal apartments and a small white-marble mosque.

Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the fort personifies the scale and power of the dynastic Mughals whose three-century reign profoundly influenced the history and culture of North India.

Founded in the 1520s by Babur, a warrior chieftain from present-day Uzbekistan and a descendant of Timur (or Tamerlane), the Mughal Empire quickly dominated most of north, central and even a swathe of south India for two centuries, before limping into terminal decline for a third.

At its height, the Mughals effectively ruled most of India, from present-day Pakistan all the way east to Assam, and from Kashmir in the north to parts of Tamil Nadu in the south.

Its military prowess, efficient administration and generally outward-looking embrace of existing elites and cultures helped generate prosperity, while its emperors patronised painting, literature and textiles.

But it’s their grand architecture, including some of India’s most iconic monuments such as the Taj Mahal, that have proved their most enduring and tangible legacy.

Its capital shifted between Delhi, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri and Lahore (Pakistan), and it is these destinations which today boast virtually all of the Mughals’ finest monuments.

When Maharaja Jai Singh II shifted his capital from Amber in around 1727, he laid the foundations for a meticulously planned city – Jaipur. City Palace lies at the heart of the Old City, a stirring complex of palaces, halls, courtyards and pavilions embodying the power and stature of one of Rajasthan’s leading royal families.

The glitz and glamour are tempered by various displays, from a quirky collection of carriages and palanquins to an astonishing armoury.

Completed by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1573 on the site of a ruined fortification, Agra Fort bears a striking resemblance to Delhi’s Red Fort.

Massive, rust-red sandstone walls of around two and a half kilometres enclose 94 acres, its eastern flank overlooking a bend in the Yamuna River and within sight of the Taj Mahal.

It’s the south-eastern section, behind the Amar Singh gate entrance, that holds the most interest: gardens, open-sided audience halls, pavilions and royal apartments plus a couple of dainty mosques.

Infamously imprisoned by his own son, it was from here that emperor Shah Jahan spent his final days gazing across at his beloved Taj.

The intricate lattice-screened and salmon-pink facade of the Hawa Mahal, or the ‘Palace of Winds’, is probably the most iconic image of Jaipur, Rajasthan’s capital.

Constructed in 1799 as an extension of the maharaja’s City Palace, it was designed to permit ladies of the royal court to see the comings and goings of the outside world without themselves being seen by strangers. This tradition of purdah – essentially female seclusion – was strictly observed by the royals.

Its hundreds of tiny arched windows and niches with decorative dome-like mouldings and balcony-like brackets are rather fetching. The entire mahal is reputedly shaped like the god Krishna’s crown. Surprisingly, there’s not much to see behind the facade.

The ‘Raj’ refers to Britain’s formal rule over India from 1859 until independence in 1947. Yet Britain’s involvement dates back to the East India Company’s (EIC) first toehold in the subcontinent in 1608, when its ships docked in Surat (in Gujarat state), followed by more trading posts in Chennai and Kolkata.

Gradually eclipsing their Portuguese and Dutch rivals, King Charles II granted the EIC powers to acquire territory, form armies and essentially become a colonial government.

By the 1770s the EIC had financial troubles, and its controversial bailout by the British government converged with a realisation that its power and influence was underpinned by corruption, cronyism, plunder and greed. Things came to a head with the so-called Indian Mutiny of 1857, when its own Indian soldiers rebelled.

In the wake of this disastrous episode, the British government stepped in, bringing much of the EIC’s holdings under Crown control. In 1877 Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India; the legacy of her rule endures India’s legal and administrative systems.

Rather more tangible for visitors is its public, often grand, architecture. New Delhi was a Raj creation, many cities still have ‘cantonments’ (or garrison neighbourhoods) and the Himalayan foothills are dotted with ‘hill stations’ where the Brits could escape the worst of the pre-monsoon heat.

In the late 1500s, the Mughal Emperor Akbar constructed a new capital near Agra – Fatehpur Sikri.

The Mughals’ first planned city was monumental in scale and design, and notable for the mastery and finesse of its predominantly red sandstone architecture. The city’s rather abrupt abandonment after fifteen years remains a mystery, though a lack of water is usually cited as the cause.

Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the atmospheric ‘ghost city’ provides a fascinating and unique insight into the Mughal court. Huge colonnaded courtyards, lofty audience halls, a treasury and royal apartments skilfully blend Muslim and Hindu traditions – in keeping with Akbar’s enlightened perspective.

Thanks largely to its luxury hotels, Delhi’s food scene is as varied and cosmopolitan as you’ll find anywhere in India.

North Indian cuisine – Punjabi in particular – is ubiquitous in Delhi. Typically dominated by rich meat and vegetable dishes using clarified butter, or ghee, as a base for their sauces, they’re accompanied by a range of leavened and unleavened breads such as chapatis, rotis and naan. A healthier option is meat cooked in a clay oven, or tandoor, with its distinctive spices and flavour.

Carnivores might also embrace ‘frontier (as in the Northwest Frontier of present-day Pakistan) cuisine’ with its simple rustic style and predominance of tandoor-cooked kebabs.

Chaat, or savoury snacks, are served from an array of hand carts, stalls and eateries across the city. This ever-popular tasty ‘street food’ typically encompasses combinations of potatoes, dal, chickpeas and fried dough garnished with onions, spices, curd and sauces. Perhaps the only downside is that delicate stomachs might struggle with the hygiene.

Five years in the making with a vast workforce, the huge Akshardham Temple complex was completed in 2005 by the Swaminarayan sect of Hinduism. Drawing on the venerable traditions of temple architecture, colossal amounts of carving were augmented by spacious parkland and gardens.

Yet it’s more than just a temple – a musical fountain, animatronic displays and a ‘Hall of Values’ aims to distil the wisdom and spirituality of India in a kind of cultural campus, all infused with Swaminarayan’s philosophy.

It was built according to ancient Hindu texts, which describe specific methods for constructing Hindu temples. 7,000 artisan sculptors and thousands of volunteers helped build the vast building, adorned with thousands of intricate carvings including sages, rishis, devotees and playful elephants.

When Maharaja Jai Singh founded his new capital in the 1720s, its grid plan helped make it a commercial centre, too, with particular trades congregating in their own little enclaves.

In downtown Jaipur, stretching from Sanganeri Gate towards the Palace of the Winds, Johari is its principal gem and jewellery centre. For all its multifarious arts and crafts, the city is renowned above all for its jewellery industry and the arcaded shop-fronts that line the busy main thoroughfare are largely given over to it.

Filled with hole-in-the-wall workshops and industrious craftsmen perched on their haunches with braziers, burrs and sanding files, its side streets and lanes are even more interesting.

Constructed by King Chanda in the 8th or 9th century, this baori, or ‘step well’, is a superb example of medieval engineering designed to ‘harvest’ water.

With around 3,500 steps, and thirteen ‘floors’ with decoratively carved balconies, the well’s geometry is both beautiful and functional – users could access water easily as levels fell with the approach of summer and even seek relief from the sun and heat.

Once fairly common across Rajasthan and Gujarat (though rarely as elaborate), many ancient step wells have fallen into disrepair – if not obscurity – and few remain in use today.

Though unused, Abhaneri (also known as Chand Baori) remains in particularly good condition and is one of the best examples of a step well in the whole of India; a bewitching combination of awe-inspiring architecture and medieval ingenuity.

Completed in 1656 and still among India’s largest and most beautiful mosques, the Friday Mosque, or Jama Masjid, was yet another of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan’s great projects (which climaxed in the Taj Mahal).

With a huge courtyard, a great bulbous dome and a pair of slender striped minarets, its graceful form is enhanced by the decorative interplay of sandstone and marble. Pivotal to the character and atmosphere of Old Delhi, it’s often full to capacity – around 25,000 – during Friday morning prayers.

For a small fee you can climb one of the minarets. Although the narrow stairwell is claustrophobic, there are stunning views over the courtyard across Old Delhi to the Red Fort.

Casting the curatorial net to embrace not just modern India but the wider subcontinent and parts of its immediate hinterland, this excellent museum provides a fine overview of several millennia of the region’s arts and history.

While its main strength is an array of sculpture depicting the vast pantheon of Hindu gods and goddesses, exhibits encompass Silk Road artefacts, various schools of miniature painting, tribal arts and crafts, weaponry, textiles and jewellery.

The museum also houses the Sacred Relics of Buddha (5th-4th century BC), unearthed in Uttar Pradesh, and an exceptional collection of rare musical instruments from the 15th to 19th centuries.

Commonly referred to as ‘Bollywood’ and mainly centred on Mumbai, the Indian film industry is huge and probably the world’s largest. Its staple themes of romance and melodrama are famed above all for their elaborate, frequently surreal, song-and-dance sequences. In this ever-popular genre, reality and pure escapism live side by side, one blending into the other. Seeing a Bollywood movie is thus an authentically ‘Indian’ experience.

If you only venture into one Indian cinema, this should be it. Opened in 1976, it immediately became a landmark for its size and design – a flamboyant confection of late art deco style with lobby chandeliers, ornamental ceilings and floral scent piped through the air-conditioning. Seating is divided into Pearl, Ruby, Emerald and Diamond zones reflecting its owners’ gem dealing business which helped fund its construction.

Although movies are not in English, Bollywood stories are usually very easy to follow, and simply sitting among an all-Indian audience, who tend to clap, cheer and sing their way through movies, is an experience in itself.

A little west of Agra Fort and seemingly loomed over by the striking minarets of the Friday Mosque (Jami Masjid), Kinari’s tangle of streets and lanes hosts one of the city’s most enjoyable markets.

There’s likely been a bazaar here since Mughal times and its staple products are no longer merely fabrics and embroidery. These days you can find all manner of brass-ware, jewellery, marquetry and marble along with cosmetics, perfume and decorative knick-knacks. It’s popular with locals and tourists, although – fabric aside – probably not the place for high-end craftsmanship or ‘antiques’.

Built in the late 1500s as a mausoleum for the Mughal emperor Humayun, this Persian-inspired confection of sandstone and marble laid the foundations for a style that reached its apogee in the Taj Mahal. Set atop an imposing arcaded plinth, it’s a profoundly elegant and atmospheric monument.

Like the Taj Mahal, this tomb is also a ‘monument to love’, built at great expense by Humayun’s second wife nine years after his death.

The surrounding formal gardens, with their shallow water channels and features, are integral to the site’s appeal and make for one of Delhi’s loveliest and most tranquil havens.

Sometimes referred to as the ‘baby Taj’, this outstanding 17th-century noble’s tomb with formal gardens showcases the kind of pietra dura inlay on white marble that reached its apogee with the Taj Mahal.

The former bungalow residence of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is now a slightly macabre museum. Assassinated here in 1984 by her bodyguards, even that very spot remains spotted with blood.

Formerly a palace belonging to the Maharaja of Jaipur, the gallery is now a superb repository of Indian paintings, sculpture and even photography.

A little-visited lakeside summer resort and palace complex that was built in 1772 for the Jat kings of Bharatpur, as a luxurious retreat. Its architecture fuses Mughal and Rajput styles.

For a thoroughly earthy and immersive experience of Old Delhi, hire a cycle rickshaw to take you there and navigate the backstreets and lanes of one of the city’s most atmospheric, if not chaotic, areas.

Despite the clamour and congestion, it’s a vibrant friendly place and a fascinating way to reach the Red Fort and/or the Friday Mosque (Jama Masjid).

Rickshaws weave their way through the chaotic traffic, squeezing through the tightest gaps, so keep knees and elbows in at all times. It can be a little nerve-wracking at first, but the drivers are experienced and know what they’re doing.

In south Delhi, near Humayun’s Tomb, compact Nizamuddin is an earthy, almost medieval neighbourhood of tight lanes and jumbled houses. At its heart stands the 16th-century tomb-shrine of a 13th-century Sufi saint. It’s a particularly sacred place for Muslims, especially those drawn to the Sufi tradition, where devotional music and song play a significant role in spiritual life.

Most evenings (Thursdays are the most charged) see groups of qawwals, or bards, and musicians gathered to sing qawwalis (hymns) in the shrine’s courtyard. It’s a memorable experience; enthusiastic audiences are almost intoxicated by performances and for many outsiders, too, it seems to reinforce the strange power of music to ‘connect’ in unexpectedly profound ways.

Among Delhi’s quietest and leafiest parks, Lodi Gardens contain several 15th- and 16th-century tombs and monuments, most relating to the Afghan Lodi dynasty, which was eventually replaced by the Mughals.

Over 350 species of migratory birds winter in this former royal hunting ground,  formerly known as the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary. Spread over thirty square kilometres, it’s classified as an internationally important wetland that’s also home to resident species.

A small, part-ruined medieval ‘ghost-town’ – reputedly one of India’s most haunted places – in picturesque countryside near Sariska Tiger Reserve.

Elephants feature prominently in Indian culture and design, from Ganesh, the ubiquitous ‘elephant god’, to architectural & decorative motifs. But for the tiger, it would probably be the national animal.

Yet all is not well with India’s elephant population. Whether used in temples to bestow blessings, for tourist rides (for example at Amber Fort near Jaipur) or for circuses, many end up being exploited and abused.

The ECCC and its hospital look after and rehabilitate captive pachyderms, as well as educating visitors on the importance of elephant conservation.

Located near the Yamuna River and surrounded by farmland, over twenty well-fed elephants are free to roam, enjoy water pools and live as ‘natural’ a life as possible despite their domestication.