ADHVAN representative will be meeting you upon arrival at the airport and transfer to the hotel. Check-in and relax.

DELHI, the capital of India has a great historical background. It was ruled by some of the most powerful emperors in Indian history. The history of the city is as old as the epic Mahabharata. The town was known as Indraprastha, where Pandavas used to live. In due course eight more cities came alive adjacent to Indraprastha. Delhi has been a witness to the political turmoil for over five centuries. It was ruled by the Mughals in succession to Khiljis and Tughlaqs. In 1192 the legions of the Afghan warrior Muhammad of Ghori captured the Rajput town, and the Delhi Sultanate was established (1206). The invasion of Delhi by Timur in 1398 put an end to the sultanate; the Lodis, last of the Delhi sultans, gave way to Babur, who, after the battle of Panipat in 1526, founded the Mughal Empire. The early Mughal emperors favoured Agra as their capital, and Delhi became their permanent seat only after Shah Jahan built (1638) the walls of Old Delhi. In the year 1803 AD, the city came under the British rule. In 1911, British shifted their capital from Calcutta to Delhi. It again became the center of all the governing activities. But, the city has the reputation of over throwing the occupants of its throne. It included the British and the current political parties that have had the honor of leading free India.

Overnight will be in Delhi.

Have breakfast at the hotel.

Start for a guided tour of Delhi.

Jama Masjid This great mosque of Old Delhi is the largest in India, with a courtyard capable of holding 25,000 devotees. It was begun in 1644 and ended up being the final architectural extravagance of Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor who built the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort.

Humayun’s Tomb It was built in 1565 A.D. nine years after the death of Humayun, by his senior widow Bega Begam. Inside the walled enclosure the most notable features are the garden squares (chaharbagh) with pathways water channels, centrally located well proportional mausoleum topped by double dome.

There are several graves of Mughal rulers located inside the walled enclosure and from here in 1857 A.D.; Lieutenant Hudson had captured the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah II.

Qutab Minar is a soaring, 73 m-high tower of victory, built in 1193 by Qutab-ud-din Aibak immediately after the defeat of Delhi’s last Hindu kingdom. The tower has five distinct storeys, each marked by a projecting balcony and tapers from a 15 m diameter at the base to just 2.5 m at the top. The first three storeys are made of red sandstone; the fourth and fifth storeys are of marble and sandstone. At the foot of the tower is the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, the first mosque to be built in India. An inscription over its eastern gate provocatively informs that it was built with material obtained from demolishing ’27 Hindu temples’. A 7 m-high iron pillar stands in the courtyard of the mosque. It is said that if you can encircle it with your hands while

Standing with your back to it your wish will be fulfilled.

Then visit the Lotus Temple located in south of Delhi. This temple is built in the shape of a lotus flower and is the last of seven Major Bahai’s temples built around the world. Completed in 1986 it is set among the lush green landscaped gardens.

Also drive past India Gate, the Parliament building and the Rashtrapathi Bhawan (the President’s residence).

Overnight will be in Delhi.

By road 235 km in 04 hrs

Enjoy the breakfast at the hotel.

Drive to Agra. Arrive and check-in at the hotel.

Agra has a rich historical background, which is amply evident from the numerous historical monuments in and around the city. The earliest reference for Agra comes from the epical age, when Mahabharata refer Agra as Agravana. In the sources prior to this, Agra has been referred as Arya Griha or the abode of the Aryans. The first person who referred Agra by its modern name was Ptolemy.

Though the heritage of Agra city is linked with the Mughal dynasty, numerous other rulers also contributed to the rich past of this city. Modern Agra was founded by Sikandar Lodhi (Lodhi dynasty; Delhi Sultanate) in the 16th century. Babar (founder of the Mughal dynasty) also stayed for sometime in Agra and introduced the concept of square Persian-styled gardens here. Emperor Akbar built the Agra fort and Fatehpur Sikri near Agra. Fatehpur Sikri remained his capital for around fifteen years after which the city was left isolated in mysterious circumstances. Jahangir beautified Agra with palaces and gardens despite spending most of his time in Kashmir with which he was passionately attached.

Agra came to its own when Shahjahan ascended to the throne of Mughal Empire. He marked the zenith of Mughal architecture, when he built the Taj in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. In his later years, Shahjahan shifted his capital to the new city of Shahjahanabad in Delhi and ruled from there. Shahjahan was dethroned in 1658 by his son, Aurangzeb who imprisoned him in the Agra Fort. Aurangzeb shifted the capital back to Agra till his death. After the death of Aurangzeb, Mughal Empire could not touch its peak and many regional kingdoms emerged. The post-Mughal era of Agra saw the rule of the Jats, Marathas and finally the British taking over the city.

Later proceed for the Taj Mahal sightseeing.

Taj Mahal was known as the tomb of Begum Mumtaz Mahal. Actually this was the title conferred on the first lady, which means “the exalted of the Palace” and whose actual name was Arjumand Banu Begum. Mumtaz Mahal died on June 17, 1631. The whole nation and Mughal Empire was shrouded in grief on the death of this noble lady. Shah Jahan soon announced a memorial to be erected for the Begum and invited designs and layouts from famous architects. Innumerable designs were presented to the Emperor but he one finally selected was that of Ustad Isa Khan Effendi. On her death Mumtaz Mahal was first buried in Burhanpur. Six months later, her remains were temporarily reburied in a garden on the Bank of river Jamuna. The remains of Mumtaz was finally buried inside Taj Mahal. After the death of Shah Jahan on 1st February,1666,  he was also buried beside Mumtaz in the Taj Mahal. The end of Shahjahan brought a golden chapter of Mughal Empire to a close, which portrayed magnificence, colour and elegance of those days. He left his memory behind in the Taj Mahal which serves as a pleasant symbol of dedicated love, conjugal harmony and mutual respect of two lovers. The Taj Mahal is unparalleled in beauty. Millions of people have visited it since centuries, but none has had doubts regarding its all round supremacy. Their methods of compliments are varied but emotions behind them are essentially the same. Shah Jahan by constructing the world famous Taj Mahal has made this period of Mughal history immortal in the minds of art lovers.

Overnight will be in Agra.

Have relaxed breakfast at the hotel.

Start for a guided tour of Agra.

Agra Fort is also known as Lal Qila. It is about 2.5 km northwest of its much more famous sister monument the Taj Mahal. The fort can be more accurately described as a walled palatial city Agra Fort built by Akbar In Red Sandstone when he was through with the consolidation of his power after accession to power in 1654. Agra Fort worked both as a military strategic point as well as the royal residence. Ever since Babur defeated and killed Abraham Lodi at Panipat in 1526, Agra played an important center of Mughal Empire it was in a ruined condition and Akbar decided to make it his capital and arrived in Agra in 1558 Akbar had it rebuilt with red sandstone Architects laid the foundation and it was built with bricks in the inner core with sandstone on external surfaces. Some 1,444,000 builders worked on it for eight years completing it in 1573.

Itmad-Ud-Daulah’s Tomb is as interesting as the life of the person for whom it was built. Mirza Ghiyas-ud-din was a poor merchant and lived in Persia. While on his was to India for business, his wife gave birth to a baby girl. As th family was extremely poor and had nothing to eat, the parents decided to abandon the child. However, the wails of the baby girl forced the parents to come back and take her with them. The baby girl brought a strok of good luck to her parents, for Ghiyas Beg found a caraven the straightaway took him to the court of the great Mughal Emperor, Akbar. In the course of time, Ghiyas Beg rose to become a minister and a trusted treasurer in Akber’s court. After Akber’s death in 1605, his son Jahangir became the Mughal emperor, who made Ghiyas Beg his chief minister or Wazir. Ghiayas Beg’s daughter grew up to be a beautiful lady and come to be known as Mehr-un-Nissa or the sun of womankind. In the course of time, the fame of her beauty spread. She was married off, but she soon became a widow. She returned to the court of Jahangir where he father was employed. Emperor Jahangir fell in love with her and married her. She soon became a powerful personality in Jahangir’s court and was called Mur Mahal, the light of the palace, and Nur Jahan, light of the world. When Ghiyas Beg died in 1622, Nur Jahan undertook the project to build his mausoleum. Later she built the tomb of her husband (in a similar style) in Lahore. Nur Jahan had a brother whose daughter was married to Jahangir’s son, Shahjahan. She was known as Mumtaz Mahal in whose memory Shahjahan built the world famous Taj Mahal.

Sikandra Located centrally in the square plan, at the junction of four causeways dividing the garden into four quarters, the main tomb building has five storeys built in the shape of a truncated pyramid. It stands on a high stone platform. There are massive iwans in the centre of all sides that are as high as the tomb and have beautiful panels adorned with inlaid mosaic work. Inlaid arabesque work graces its spandrels, semi-soffits boast of paintings and turrets have chevron designs. They are crowned by white marble chhaparkhat with eight pillars. The mortuary chambers are on the ground floor. The vestibule leading to the Akbar’s tomb is decorated with floresque, arabesque and calligraphic designs. The chamber itself is simple and paved with stone. The other chambers entomb graves of Aram Banu and Shukru-n-nisa (daughters of Akbar), Zebu-n-nisa (daughter of Aurangzeb) and Sulaiman Shikoh (son of Shah Alam). The first storey houses a large platform and corridors roofed by stone arches in each façade. The second storey is built of red sandstone and has arched verandah with twenty-three bays. These bays are crowned by cupolas and white marble pyramidal roofs decorated with glazed tiles arranged in geometrical designs. The third and fourth storeys follow similar plans, though they reduce in size with the ascending storeys. The fifth and the top most storey is entirely in white marble and has no roof. It has delicate marble screens as its walls.

Overnight will be in Agra.

By road 240 km in 05 hrs

Have breakfast at the hotel.

Proceed to pink city – Jaipur en-route visiting Fatehpur Sikri.

Fatehpur Sikri is a wonderful and interesting history related to the origin of Fatehpur Sikri. The Mughal emperor Akbar had many wives but had no heir. The desire for a son led him to many holy men and finally to the renowned Sufi Saint Sheikh Salim Chisti who lived in an isolated cave near Sikri. The saint blessed Akbar and soon a son was born to him. The emperor named his son Salim after the saint and erected the grand Jami Masjid near the saint’s dwelling. According to the legends if Akbar had to be blessed by a son, a sacrifice was to be made of a very dear one. The saint’s son volunteered to be sacrificed so that the heir to the throne could be born. To the west of the mosque lie two empresses, one of the saint and the other of the saint’s infant son. And thus Salim was born to the empress, Mariam-uz-Zamani on 30^th August 1569 and the emperor vowed to build a great city; thus emerged the splendid city of Fatehpur Sikri on a stony ridge. This city was built during 1571 and 1585. But due to shortage of water, the Mughal emperor abandoned the city and within 20 years shifted the capital of Lahore.

Have a refreshment stop at Bharatpur and enjoy lunch.

Later continue the journey to Jaipur. Reach and check-in at the hotel.

Jaipur capital of Rajasthan, Jaipur was built in 1727 AD by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II. It is from his name that the city extracts its name. Jaipur happens to be the first planned city of India. Maharaja Jai Singh, who was only 11 years old, came into power after the demise of his father Maharaja Bishan Singh. Kachwaha Rajputs, who came into power in 12th century, are said to be Jai Singh’s ancestors. Their rivalry with Sisodia Rajputs, rulers of Mewar, helped them in their alliance with Mughals. Mughals too helped the Kachwaha Rajputs against Sisodia Rajputs, resulting in Kachwahas attaining a reputed place in Rajasthan. They ruled the kingdoms of Mewar (Udaipur) and Marwar (Jodhpur) from the glorious Amber Fort. Jai Singh supported Aurangzeb’s son Azam Shah in the battle of succession, which created unrest among people. But Azam Shah lost this bid to throne to his brother Bahadur Shah. Azam Shah then demanded the removal of Jai Singh from the throne. With the ally of Mughals, Jai Singh brought himself back to power. The kingdom flourished in his reign and Jai Singh built his capital around Amber Fort and Jaipur was eventually developed as India’s first ever planned city by chief architect from Bengal, Vidhyadhar Bhattacharya. Vidhyadhar Bhattacharya, following the principles of Shilpa Shastra (the science of Indian architecture), and referencing the ancient Indian knowledge on astronomy, further developed and discussed the plan with Jai Singh. It is said that the foundation of the city was laid down on 18th November 1727 by Jai Singh himself. It took minutely plans strategies and 4 years for the city’s major places-the roads, the square, palaces and the fortification of the boundaries-to come to form. After the death of Jai Singh in 1744, his sons fought for power and without a king, the city became open to intrusion by neighboring states. Rajputs and Marathas took over most of Jaipur. Later in 1876, Maharaja Ram Singh adorned the city in pink colour, which is supposed to be associated with hospitality, to welcome the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) to the city; and thus it acquired the name Pink City. Ramgarh Lake was also built by Maharaja Ram Singh to provide water to the budding and prospering city. In 1922, the throne was taken over by Man Singh II, and it was at that time, buildings like secretariat, schools, and hospitals were built. After India got independence, Jaipur merged with Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Bikaner to form the largest state of India with Jaipur as its capital.

Overnight will be in Jaipur.

Start for a guided tour of Jaipur after breakfast.

Amer Fort: The Amer Fort, situated in Amber, 11 kilometers from Jaipur, is one of the most famous forts of Rajasthan. Amer, originally, was the capital of the state before Jaipur. It is an old fort, built in 1592 by Raja Man Singh. This fort is also very popularly known as the Amer Palace. The Amer Fort was built in red sandstone and marble and the Maotha Lake adds a certain charm to the entire Fort. Though the fort is quite old and may even look so from the outside, it is beautiful on the inside and boasts of various buildings of prominence like the ‘Diwan-i-Aam’, the ‘Sheesh Mahal’ and even the ‘Sukh Mahal’. The Amer Fort has influences of both Hindu and Muslim architecture. This fort also has the ‘Shila Devi’ Temple and the ‘Ganesh Pol’ which is a gate that leads to the private palaces of the kings. The Amer Fort has many pavilions and halls of great interest and other popular attractions.

City Palace: Located in the heart of the Pink City Jaipur, the City Palace was where the Maharaja reigned from. This palace also includes the famous ‘Chandra Mahal’ and ‘Mubarak Mahal’, and other buildings which form a part of the palace complex. The palace is located towards the northeast side of central Jaipur and has many courtyards and buildings. The palace was built between 1729 and 1732 AD by Sawai Jai Singh II. He ruled in Amer and planned and built the outer walls of the palace and later rulers added to the architecture of this palace. These additions have been known to take place right up to the 20th century. The urban layout of the city of Jaipur was commissioned to Vidyadhar Bhattacharya and Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob. The architectural styles are largely based on a fusion of Rajput, Mughal and European styles. Today, the ‘Chandra Mahal’ has been turned into a museum which is home to unique handcrafted products, various uniforms of the rulers and many more things pertaining to the royal heritage of the City Palace.

Hawa Mahal: The renowned ‘Palace Of The Winds’, or Hawa Mahal, is one of the prominent tourist attractions in Jaipur city. Located in the heart of Jaipur, this beautiful five-storey palace was constructed in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh who belonged to Kachhwaha Rajput dynasty. The main architect of this palace built of red and pink sandstone, is Lal Chand Ustad and the palace is believed to have been constructed in the form of the crown of Krishna, the Hindu god. Considered as an embodiment of Rajputana architecture, the main highlight of Hawa Mahal is its pyramid shape and its 953 windows or ‘Jharokhas’ which are decorated with intricate designs. The main intention behind the construction of the Mahal was to facilitate the royal women and provide them a view of everyday life through the windows, as they never appeared in public. Read further to know more about Hawa Mahal, its history, architecture and its visiting hours.

Jantar Mantar: There are plenty of observatories all over the world, but the Jantar Mantar is considered to be one of the largest observatories ever built. Combining religion, science and art, the Jantar Mantar is the name given to a series of five, magnificent structures built in Jaipur, New Delhi, Ujjan, Varanasi and Mathura. Jaipur was the seat of Maharaja Jai Singh II during the 1720’s and this is when this magnificent structure was built here. The Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is considered to be the largest of the five observatories and also houses the world’s largest sundial. The Universe and the Cosmos have always been of interest to man, and it was this interest that compelled the Maharaja to build an astronomical observatory. The term ‘Jantar Mantar’ is derived from the Sanskrit terms ‘Yantra’ and ‘Mantra’ meaning ‘instruments’ and ‘formula’ respectively. The term ‘Yantra’ was replaced with ‘Jantar’ which means ‘magical’. The Jantar Mantar houses various architectural and astrological instruments that have caught the interests of astronomers, historians and architects around the world.

After sightseeing, you will be free to visit local markets.

In evening, An Aarti is a prayer ceremony and a fundamental part of Hindu culture. Representing the elements of fire, earth, water and air as well as the senses, the priest has a tray with a diya (lamp), offerings of food, water, flowers, incense and a small bell.  An ‘Aarti lamp’ is passed around a deity and is generally accompanied by the singing of songs in praise of that particular god. In doing so, the plate or lamp is supposed to acquire the power of the deity which is then passed around the people when the priest circulates the plate or lamp to all those present. The ceremony ends with everyone sharing the food which has been offered to the Gods.

Overnight will be in Jaipur.

By road 260 km in 5.5 hrs

Delhi – departure

 After breakfast at the hotel, proceed to Delhi by road.

Reach Delhi and as per your flight timings, you will be transferred to Delhi airport to take flight back home / onward destination with pleasant memories of your tour.

END OF THE JOURNEY