Delhi Golden Triangle 6 Day Itinerary
Six days completes the Agra-Jaipur loop from the 5-day itinerary, then adds a long Delhi-based day trip north to Rishikesh or Haridwar. It is a genuinely full week’s worth of movement packed into six days. For the loop without this add-on, see the 5-day itinerary ; to give this same detour a proper overnight instead of rushing it, see the 7-day itinerary .
Book these before you go:
- Gatimaan Express to Agra Cantt and Vande Bharat Express back from Jaipur, both through IRCTC
- A private driver package for the Agra to Jaipur leg via Fatehpur Sikri, and again for the Rishikesh/Haridwar day
- Taj Mahal e-ticket via the official ASI portal
- Jaipur hotel for two nights near the walled Pink City
| Day | Focus | Distance/train time from Delhi |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delhi, arrival and light orientation | Base city |
| 2 | Agra, Taj Mahal and Agra Fort | ~230km, ~1h40-2h each way |
| 3 | Agra to Jaipur via Fatehpur Sikri, by car | ~243km, ~6-8h with the stop |
| 4 | Jaipur, Amber Fort and City Palace | Full day in Jaipur |
| 5 | Jaipur, Hawa Mahal, then return to Delhi | ~280-300km back, ~3h37m by train |
| 6 | Rishikesh or Haridwar, a long day trip | ~230-255km, ~3.5-5h each way by car |
Day 1: Delhi, just enough
Land at Indira Gandhi International and take the Airport Express Metro into New Delhi Railway Station, about 20 minutes for 60 rupees, skipping anyone offering a taxi or hotel unprompted in arrivals. Base yourself near Connaught Place or Paharganj. If you have the afternoon free, Humayun’s Tomb or the Lotus Temple make a light first stop; the full Delhi guide covers the rest of the city for later. Confirm tomorrow’s Gatimaan booking tonight.
Day 2: Agra, the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort
The Gatimaan Express leaves Hazrat Nizamuddin at 8:10am, into Agra Cantt by 9:50am. Foreigner entry to the Taj runs 1,100 rupees plus 200 rupees for the mausoleum, book online through the ASI portal ahead of time. Agra Fort afterward runs roughly 650 rupees for foreigners, worth the extra hour. Stay the night in Agra since tomorrow continues straight to Jaipur by road rather than back through Delhi.
Day 3: Agra to Jaipur via Fatehpur Sikri
Hire a car in Agra, or use a private driver package already covering this leg, and drive the 243km to Jaipur on NH21. Break at Fatehpur Sikri, Akbar’s abandoned capital, built and deserted within about 15 years over a water shortage; foreigner entry runs 550 rupees online or 600 at the gate, and an hour or two covers the Buland Darwaza and Jama Masjid inside (current hours on UP Tourism ). The full drive with the stop runs 6 to 8 hours, so leave Agra mid-morning.
Day 4: Jaipur, Amber Fort and City Palace
Amber Fort opens at 8am, go before the tour buses; foreigner entry runs 500 rupees. The City Palace in the afternoon, 700 rupees for foreigners, is still partly home to Jaipur’s royal family and the better of the city’s two palace stops. Check rates on Booking.com if two nights here are not booked yet.
Day 5: Hawa Mahal, Jal Mahal, and the return to Delhi
Hawa Mahal is worth the ten-minute photo from across the street, foreigner entry is 200 rupees. Jal Mahal is another viewpoint stop rather than a ticketed one. The 2-day composite ticket at 1,000 rupees for foreigners covers both plus Amber Fort, City Palace, and Jantar Mantar if you have not bought them separately. Catch the afternoon Vande Bharat Express back to Delhi, about 3 hours 37 minutes, and rest that evening before an early departure tomorrow.
Is it worth doing Rishikesh or Haridwar as a single-day add-on?
Only if you accept a genuinely long day. Both sit 230 to 255km from Delhi, 3.5 to 5 hours each way by car, and the one daily train to Haridwar takes close to 7 hours, which rules it out for a same-day trip. The payoff, the evening Ganga Aarti, is real, but this is the most tiring day of the whole six.
Day 6: Rishikesh or Haridwar, a long day trip
Leave Delhi by 6am to give yourself a real day at the other end. Haridwar’s Har ki Pauri ghat hosts the evening Ganga Aarti around sunset, thousands of floating lamps and a chanting crowd along the riverbank, genuinely one of the more moving public rituals in the country. If Rishikesh interests you more, Ram Jhula and Laxman Jhula sit a short 20 to 45 minute drive further upriver, with yoga studios and riverside cafes replacing Haridwar’s temple-town intensity. Either way, plan the drive back to Delhi for that night, or better, treat this leg as worth its own overnight; the 7-day itinerary does exactly that.
Should you skip Rishikesh and Haridwar entirely on a 6-day trip?
If a long, tiring travel day sounds worse than an extra relaxed morning in Delhi, yes, skip it. The Agra-Jaipur loop alone is a complete, satisfying Golden Triangle trip on its own, and this add-on is a genuine bonus, not a requirement.
Build a two-hour buffer into the drive back from Rishikesh or Haridwar, evening traffic on the NH34 approaching Delhi is unpredictable and a missed flight is a worse outcome than a shorter Ganga Aarti visit.