After your airport welcome and check-in, you explore Old Delhi on foot: the Mughal-era Red Fort, the vast Jama Masjid, and a cycle-rickshaw ride through the spice-scented lanes of Chandni Chowk.

New Delhi's ceremonial axis follows, India Gate and the Rajpath, a drive past the colonial government buildings, and Humayun's Tomb, the architectural rehearsal for the Taj Mahal, if time allows.

A morning run down the Yamuna Expressway brings you to Agra by lunchtime and your hotel check-in.

In the late afternoon you visit the Taj Mahal at sunset, when the marble warms to amber and gold, a quieter, softer alternative to the sunrise crush, with your guide unpacking the love story and the flawless Mughal symmetry.

Optional evening: a rooftop dinner with a floodlit Taj view, or the 'Mohabbat the Taj' heritage show.

The morning starts at the red-sandstone Agra Fort, the Mughal seat of power where Shah Jahan spent his final years gazing at the Taj across the Yamuna.

You then drive to Jaipur via UNESCO-listed Fatehpur Sikri, Akbar's perfectly preserved abandoned capital of red sandstone.

Reaching Jaipur by late afternoon, you visit the City Palace and its museums, still the residence of the erstwhile royal family.

Your final morning is the Amber Fort, with its Sheesh Mahal mirror hall and ramparts above Maota Lake (jeep ascent included).

Back in the Pink City you photograph the Hawa Mahal and browse the bazaars for block-print textiles, blue pottery and gemstones.

By afternoon your chauffeur drives you back to Delhi in time for your onward flight.