14 Days Classic North India — Delhi, Agra, Jaipur and Rajasthan

The classic two-week North India trip combines the Golden Triangle (Delhi, Agra, Jaipur) with the Rajasthan circuit (Pushkar, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Udaipur). Together they cover the Mughal heartland, the most photographed monument in India, and the great Rajput fort cities of the western desert — the standard "first visit to India" trip extended to do justice to Rajasthan rather than rushing through it.

At a glance

Total days: 14 (13 nights)
Route: Delhi → Agra → Jaipur → Pushkar → Jodhpur → Jaisalmer → Udaipur
Distance: ~1,800 km (most by road, with one overnight train Jaisalmer → Udaipur)
Best season: October–March. April–June is brutally hot (45+ °C in the desert); July–September is monsoon.
Visa: standard tourist e-Visa works fine.
Permits: none required. Pre-book the Taj Mahal and Ranthambhore safaris if you add the latter.

Day 1 — Arrive Delhi

Most international flights land at IGI Terminal 3 in the morning. Drop bags, beat the jet-lag with a walk.

Afternoon: India Gate and the Rajpath promenade; tea at the Imperial Hotel for the colonial atmosphere.
Evening: dinner in Khan Market or Connaught Place.

Stay: Delhi.

Day 2 — Delhi: Old Delhi and New Delhi

A full sightseeing day.

Morning: Old Delhi — start at Jama Masjid (India's largest mosque, 1656); cycle-rickshaw or walk through Chandni Chowk; lunch at Karim's for the famous Mughlai food.
Afternoon: Red Fort (Lal Qila) — Shah Jahan's 1648 capital fort. Allow 2 hours.
Evening: Humayun's Tomb (UNESCO, the prototype for the Taj) at sunset.

Stay: Delhi.

Day 3 — Delhi to Agra (via Qutb Minar)

Quick morning sights in Delhi, then south.

Morning: Qutb Minar (UNESCO, 1199, India's tallest brick minaret) — about an hour.
Late morning: drive to Agra via the Yamuna Expressway (200 km, ~3 hours), or take the Gatimaan Express train (100 minutes).
Afternoon: Agra Fort (UNESCO).
Evening: sunset view of the Taj Mahal from Mehtab Bagh across the river.

Stay: Agra.

Day 4 — Taj Mahal sunrise + Fatehpur Sikri

The big day in the Mughal heartland.

Pre-dawn: Taj Mahal at sunrise — gates open at sunrise; the marble takes the early light beautifully. Pre-book tickets via the ASI portal. Allow 3 hours including the queue.
Late morning: drive to Fatehpur Sikri (UNESCO, 40 km west of Agra), the briefly-occupied Mughal capital built by Akbar in 1571. Allow 1.5 hours.
Lunch: in Fatehpur Sikri or back in Agra.
Afternoon: rest, or visit Itmad-ud-Daulah ("Baby Taj"), the smaller white-marble tomb that prefigured the Taj's style.

Stay: Agra.

Day 5 — Agra to Jaipur (via Abhaneri)

The drive west into Rajasthan, with one of India's finest stepwells along the way.

Morning: drive to Abhaneri — the Chand Baori stepwell (3,500 steps in a perfectly geometric inverted pyramid, 9th century), one of the most spectacular stepwells in India. About 1.5 hours from Agra.
Lunch: in Bharatpur or on the road.
Afternoon: continue to Jaipur (220 km from Agra). Check in by late afternoon.
Evening: Johari Bazaar in the old "Pink City" walled town — jewellery, bandhani textiles, and the legendary LMB sweet shop (1727).

Stay: Jaipur.

Day 6 — Jaipur: Amber Fort and the Pink City

The full Jaipur day.

Morning: Amber Fort (Amer) — the hilltop Rajput palace 11 km north. Allow 2.5 hours. The elephant rides up are widely controversial and best avoided.
Late morning: Jal Mahal photo stop on the way back.
Lunch: at LMB in Johari Bazaar or Niros on MI Road.
Afternoon: City Palace (Maharaja's residence and museum), Jantar Mantar (UNESCO 18th-century astronomical observatory), and a photo stop at Hawa Mahal.
Evening: sunset at Nahargarh Fort above the city for the Pink City panorama.

Stay: Jaipur.

Day 7 — Jaipur to Pushkar

A short, easy drive into the desert.

Morning: if anything's left in Jaipur — the Albert Hall Museum or shopping at Anokhi for Rajasthani block prints.
Late morning: drive to Pushkar (145 km, ~3 hours).
Afternoon: check in. Pushkar Lake — the sacred lake at the centre of town with 52 ghats around the perimeter. The Brahma Temple here is one of the very few Brahma temples in India.
Evening: sunset at the lake. The bazaar lanes around the temple are full of music shops, leather, and textiles.

Stay: Pushkar (the Pushkar Resorts at the edge of town, or one of the lakeside heritage havelis).

Day 8 — Pushkar to Jodhpur

The drive west into proper desert country.

Morning: sunrise on Pushkar Lake.
Late morning: drive to Jodhpur (200 km, ~4.5 hours).
Afternoon: check in. Mehrangarh Fort if you arrive in time for the late-afternoon entry; otherwise wander the Blue City below the fort, the Sardar Market clock tower area, and the Toorji ka Jhalra stepwell.
Evening: rooftop dinner with the lit Mehrangarh as the backdrop.

Stay: Jodhpur.

Day 9 — Jodhpur

The full Jodhpur day.

Morning: Mehrangarh Fort — one of the most spectacular forts in India, perched on a 125 m sandstone cliff. Allow 3 hours including the museum (excellent audio guide), the courtyards, and the viewpoints.
Lunch: in the old city below.
Afternoon: Jaswant Thada (the white-marble cenotaph next to the fort), then Umaid Bhawan Palace — the Maharaja's 1944 art-deco palace, with the museum wing open to the public.
Evening: wander the Blue City lanes; dinner at Indique or Hanwant Mahal.

Stay: Jodhpur.

Day 10 — Jodhpur to Jaisalmer

The long drive across the Thar.

Morning: drive to Jaisalmer via Pokhran (290 km, around 5–6 hours).
Late afternoon: arrive. Walk into the Jaisalmer Fort (Sonar Quila) — one of the very few living medieval forts in the world. Sunset from one of the gate areas.
Evening: dinner at a rooftop restaurant — eat outside the fort by preference (the conservation issues with hotels and restaurants inside the fort are real). See our Jaisalmer travel guide for the full sustainability case.

Stay: Jaisalmer outside the fort.

Day 11 — Jaisalmer havelis and the desert camp

City and desert.

Morning: the carved sandstone merchant havelis — Patwon-ki-Haveli (the most spectacular), Salim Singh-ki-Haveli, Nathmal-ki-Haveli.
Late morning: Gadisar Lake at the south edge of town.
Lunch: quick early lunch.
Afternoon: drive to the Sam dunes (45 km west) for a camel safari at sunset. Most operators include a folk music dinner in a desert camp.
Overnight: stay at the desert camp.

Day 12 — Desert morning, train to Udaipur

The long transition south.

Morning: sunrise at the dunes, breakfast at the camp, drive back to Jaisalmer. Stop at Kuldhara, the abandoned village 18 km out, on the way.
Afternoon: lunch in Jaisalmer; final shopping (mirrored embroidery, camel-leather goods, silver jewellery — but watch the heavy commission economy in the fort lanes).
Evening: board the Jaisalmer–Udaipur Express (departs Jaisalmer around 22:00, arrives Udaipur around 09:00 next morning). Sleeper or AC class. Or take a road transfer via Jodhpur if you'd rather avoid the train.

Overnight: train.

Day 13 — Udaipur: City Palace and Lake Pichola

The "City of Lakes" and the most romantic stop on the trip.

Morning: arrive Udaipur. Check in at a lakeside hotel (the heritage havelis around Lake Pichola are the experience). Late breakfast.
Late morning: Udaipur City Palace — the largest royal palace complex in Rajasthan, with the museum wing covering Mewar dynasty history. Allow 2.5 hours.
Lunch: at one of the lakeside restaurants on the Lal Ghat strip.
Afternoon: Jagdish Temple (1651, in the centre of the old town); shop in Hathi Pol for Rajasthani miniature paintings.
Sunset: boat trip on Lake Pichola including a stop at Jag Mandir Island Palace. The light on the City Palace from the water is spectacular.
Evening: dinner at Ambrai (lakeside, with the City Palace lit across the water) or one of the rooftop restaurants in the old town.

Stay: Udaipur.

Day 14 — Udaipur, then home

A morning to finish, then fly out.

Morning: Sajjangarh Monsoon Palace above the city for the panorama (sunrise is best); or Saheliyon-ki-Bari ("Garden of the Maidens") — a gentle morning walk around fountains and lotus pools.
Late morning: brunch back at the hotel; check out.
Afternoon: fly out from Udaipur (UDR) — direct flights to Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. Or train back to Delhi (overnight).

Practical notes

Heat: even in October–March, midday in the desert is intense. Hat, sunscreen, water bottle.
Driving distances: Rajasthan distances are real. A car-and-driver for the whole 14 days is the easiest way to manage; budget for around 8 hours of driving on the Pushkar–Jodhpur–Jaisalmer leg.
Hotels: all stops on this route have heritage hotels in former palaces or havelis — they are the experience and worth the splurge. The Welcomheritage and Neemrana groups, plus Aman, Oberoi and Taj, all have flagship Rajasthan properties.
Dress code at the temples and forts: modest dress is expected; covered shoulders and legs. Shoes off at temple entrances.
Photography: no photography inside the inner sanctums of temples; some palace museums charge a camera fee. Drone use is restricted across most of Rajasthan; do not fly without local permission.

Variations

Add Varanasi (16 days): insert a 3-night Varanasi visit between Delhi and Agra (overnight train, then early-morning Ganga aarti and the boat ride from the ghats; day trip to Sarnath where Buddha gave his first sermon). Adds the Ganga and the spiritual heart of north India.
Add Ranthambhore (16 days): insert two safari nights at Ranthambhore between Agra and Jaipur for a real chance at a tiger — see our 7 Days Golden Triangle Plus for the safari logistics.
Add Mount Abu (16 days): insert two nights at Mount Abu between Udaipur and Jodhpur for the Dilwara Jain Temples and the only Rajasthan hill station — see our Mount Abu travel guide.
21 days: combine this with a Himalayan add-on (Delhi → Shimla → Manali → Spiti) at the end, or with a Madhya Pradesh segment (Khajuraho temples + Bandhavgarh tiger reserve).

Related guides

Agra travel guide →
Taj Mahal Entrance Fee →
Jaipur travel guide →
Jaisalmer travel guide →
Mount Abu travel guide →
7 Days Golden Triangle Plus → (the shorter version)
7 Days in the Rajasthan Desert → (the desert-only version)
All India Travel Itineraries →