- DAY 1 & 2 – Agra and the Taj Mahal
- DAY 3 to 5 – Jaipur and Amber
- DAY 6 – Pushkar, the holy city
- DAY 7 – Return to Delhi
With just one week to visit the main tourist places of Rajasthan, we decided to go for the famous “Golden Triangle” itinerary and we also included the holy city of Pushkar as we had enough time for it. “In this article, you can learn”7 Days in Rajasthan “Let’s start:
Agra
Having planned to visit the Indian capital at the end of our stay, we did not linger when we arrived in Delhi. Barely landed, we took a taxi out of the airport for Agra located just over three hour drive from the capital. Agra has no charm. The city is spread out and it is necessary to resort to tuk-tuks to move from one place to another.
The main interest of Agra? The Taj Mahal of course! The famous mausoleum is dedicated to love. From 8:30 a.m., the crowd rushes to discover this marvel. So to avoid it, we get up at dawn on Tuesday, March 8 to enter the enclosure. And there, bad surprise: it’s cold, it’s gray and the mist covers everything. Annoyed, after two hours in the cold, we decide to leave the enclosure and take refuge in a cafe to have breakfast.
However, on March 8, the entrance to each national monument is free for women! We will finally discover the Taj at the end of the day. Entrance to the Taj Mahal is usually through two gates: the West Gate and the East Gate. To book a hotel, I advise you to look for it around the East Gate because the tuk-tuks have a well-established organization: each squares its perimeter! Around the East gate, you will also find many hotels, restaurants, and shops while the West gate offers a more “gloomy” side.
One day is enough to discover the city and its main monuments. The Agra Fort is an unmissable building. Long colonnades, shimmering white marble temple, view of the Taj Mahal… You get lost in the maze of its different courtyards. Despite the crowd, it is always possible to find yourself alone in a corridor and enjoy the place. At the end of the day, and in order to take a step back, ask a tuk-tuk to take you to Mehta Bagh Park. From there, you can enjoy the sunset over the Taj Mahal and the river flowing below.
Jaipur, Two Days In The Pink City
Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan. The city, repainted in pink to impress Prince Albert during his tour of India in 1876, is extensive but offers many opportunities for excursions and discoveries. Two days to visit the city and its surroundings are more than enough. Jaipur is dense. Behind the ramparts of the old town, merchants’ shops line the road: spices, fabrics, copper or leather…
The traffic is chaotic and you have to get used to it: cross the road, without doubt, take a break while a tuk-tuk, a taxi or a bicycle does not pass then resume its journey to reach the other bank. The star of Jaipur? This is it: the Palace of the Winds, a huge openwork facade that allowed the courtesans of the Maharajas to observe life outside the palace without being seen.
The best spot to observe the Palace of the Winds? The rooftops are located on the other side of the street which is accessed by a small door between two merchant shops. Our hotel, the Shakun Hotel, was outside the Old City near M.I. Road, one of Jaipur’s main thoroughfares.
What did we prefer? Discover the city by bike in the early morning and reach the Amber Fort several kilometers from the city center. Near the Amber Fort, you will also find a step well, Panna Meena Ka Kund, seen and reviewed on Instagram for its warm accents. Today, however, it is impossible to take photos of yourself on its ocher steps without having first purchased image rights from the Indian government.
Pushkar And Its Sacred Lake
Pushkar is one of India’s top pilgrimage sites dedicated to the Lord Brahma and thousands of devotees gather on the shores of his holy lake right in the middle of the city center. It was a stopover on the road between Jaipur and Jodhpur and one night there is enough to capture the atmosphere of this city famous for its huge camel fair organized every year in November.
Pushkar is a city where we found a lot of serenity and after the hustle and bustle of Jaipur, it did us a world of good! The city center is closed to cars even though scooters and tuk-tuks keep turning. What do we prefer? Take off our shoes to walk the shores of the sacred lake and land on its Ghats to observe the Hindu celebrations and the sunset. After spending our time traveling by tuk-tuk in Jaipur and Agra, it did us a lot of good to be able to get around on foot!
Pushkar also surprised us a lot because the city is the haunt of hipsters from all over the world. It is both a surprise and a disappointment. At the end of the day, tourists invest the Ghats to juggle or play the hoop…
Pushkar is therefore very touristy but the prices of hotel nights and restaurants are very affordable given the throngs there. Many long-distance travelers stay in Pushkar for an indefinite period. We finally got into the game and for one evening, we enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of the city. However, it is not a must in Rajasthan.
To enjoy a little more Pushkar and its calm, get up early! Hindu celebrations take place daily on the shores of the lake at 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. In the early morning, the city is still asleep. You will only come across a few Indians busy sweeping their doorsteps or men on bicycles delivering huge cans of milk.
