Golden Triangle holidays

Think of the Golden Triangle as a piece of Toblerone, solid and sublime, packed with legendary flavours. Cultural heritage is, of course, the honeycomb here, as you travel through periods of princes and palaces, Mughals and Maharajahs, each trying to outdo the other in terms of architecture, fortitude and craftsmanship. Thankfully, many of the great sites are in the safe hands of UNESCO for all to enjoy. Travel through not only great cities but also through time, seeing influences from the Mughal Empire, the Rajput royals and the British Empire. Cultural influences are everywhere, from the Chandni Chowk market in New Delhi to the Johari Bazaar in Jaipur, homestays in rural Rajasthan to heritage hotels overlooking the Taj Mahal.

If your holiday coincides with one of India’s famous festivals then your cultural experience will go off the scale. So will the crowds, but you just have to go with the flow. In fact, that is one of the big secrets of being able to truly immerse yourself in Indian culture in the Golden Triangle: look past the dust and the noise, crowds and cacophonies, and enter the otherworldliness of it all. In a world that is still deeply informed by religion, politics and heritage, you will be buzzing around that honeycomb.

Architecture is high on the list for anyone visiting the Golden Triangle. Mughal marvels include the world famous Taj Mahal and Agra Fort in Agra, the Red Fort and Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi and the impressive Buland Darwaza gateway at Fatehpur Sikri. The Mughals certainly liked their masterpieces to mark their presence. In Rajasthan, you enter the regal world of Rajputana architecture, famous for splendid interiors and intricate details. The Amber Palace in Jaipur with its geometric and detailed ethnic influences is one of the finest. The blue and golden interiors of Jaipur’s City Palace are exquisite as are the marble columns and geometric windows of Hawa Mahal Palace.

Colonial architecture has a somewhat different feel to it in the Golden Triangle at sites such as Delhi’s Sansad Bhavan, Connaught Place, India Gate, and Rashtrapati Bhavan. The latter is the President’s residence, but was built for the British Viceroy in 1911, when the capital was moved from then Calcutta to Delhi.