You are met inside Delhi (DEL) arrivals with fast-track assistance and driven to a landmark five-star such as The Taj Mahal Hotel on Mansingh Road, in the heart of Lutyens' Delhi.

The rest of the day is yours to settle in, shake off the flight and dine at leisure, a deliberately soft opening before the circuit begins.

A private historian-guide leads a curated day across the capital: the Mughal grandeur of Humayun's Tomb and the Red Fort, the quiet of Lodhi Gardens, and the ceremonial sweep of New Delhi past India Gate.

In the evening you dine privately at a heritage residence, an intimate introduction to the old aristocratic Delhi that public restaurants never show.

A morning run down the Yamuna Expressway brings you to Agra and a Taj-facing suite at a hotel such as The Oberoi Amarvilas, where every room looks onto the mausoleum.

In the softer afternoon light your guide walks you through the Taj Mahal, the story of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, the pietra dura inlay and the flawless symmetry, at an unhurried, private pace.

You return to the Taj Mahal at first light, the least crowded, most photogenic hour, when the marble shifts from rose to pearl.

The drive to Jaipur pauses at UNESCO-listed Fatehpur Sikri, Akbar's perfectly preserved red-sandstone ghost capital.

By evening you check into a palace hotel such as Rambagh Palace, the former residence of the Maharaja of Jaipur, set in 47 acres of gardens.

A full private day in the Pink City: the honey-stone Amber Fort with its Sheesh Mahal mirror hall, the royal City Palace, and the Jantar Mantar observatory.

Where the season allows, the evening is arranged around Jaipur's great sporting tradition, a polo match or an elephant/heritage experience, followed by dinner at the palace.

A short private flight carries you south to Udaipur, Rajasthan's most romantic city, cradled by the Aravalli hills and its lakes.

You are boated across Lake Pichola to an island palace hotel such as the Taj Lake Palace (Jag Niwas), a floating white-marble vision that appears to rise from the water.

The morning explores the vast City Palace complex rising above Lake Pichola, the Jagdish Temple and the Saheliyon-ki-Bari gardens with your private guide.

As the light fades you take a butler-served sunset cruise past Jag Mandir island, one of the circuit's quiet, unforgettable set-pieces.

The scenic drive north pauses at Ranakpur, whose 15th-century Jain temple is a forest of 1,444 individually carved marble pillars, no two alike.

You arrive in Jodhpur at a hotel such as Umaid Bhawan Palace, the sandstone Art Deco palace that is still partly the Maharaja's family home, set high above the Blue City.

A private tour of the mighty Mehrangarh Fort, rising sheer 120 metres above the city, with its palaces, courtyards and the marble memorial of Jaswant Thada nearby.

In the afternoon you head into the surrounding countryside on a private safari to a Bishnoi village, for a glimpse of rural Rajasthani life and a desert sunset.

You cross deeper into the Thar Desert to Jaisalmer, the remote Golden City built entirely of yellow sandstone.

The night is spent under canvas at a luxury tented camp near the dunes, private, richly furnished tents with proper beds and en-suite bathrooms, far from any town glow.

You explore Jaisalmer Fort, one of the world's few still-inhabited forts, with its Jain temples, carved havelis and lanes of daily life inside the walls.

At day's end you drive out to the Sam Sand Dunes for a camel ride and a golden desert sunset, followed by folk music and dinner back at camp.

A long, open desert drive brings you to Bikaner, a former caravan city on the old silk-and-spice routes.

You check into a heritage hotel near Junagarh Fort, an unusual fort in that it was never conquered, its interiors intact with painted halls, lacquer work and gilded chambers.

The morning visits the extraordinary Karni Mata 'Rat Temple' at Deshnoke, where thousands of sacred rats are revered, followed by a heritage walk through Bikaner's old havelis.

In the afternoon a private flight returns you to Delhi and your luxury hotel for the final chapter of the circuit.

A relaxed day in the capital with a personal stylist, moving between the designer boutiques of Khan Market, DLF Emporio and Mehrauli's ateliers for textiles, jewellery and couture.

Everything is private and unhurried, with lunch woven in and your car and butler on hand throughout.

The penultimate day is deliberately gentle: a long spa morning and time at leisure to let the journey settle.

In the evening we host a private celebratory dinner to close the circuit, a fitting send-off after sixteen days across royal Rajasthan.

After a relaxed breakfast you are escorted to Delhi airport with fast-track assistance for your onward international flight.

Late check-out or a day-use room can be arranged if your flight departs late, just ask.