When you arrive in Delhi, you’ll be collected by your private driver and taken to your hotel. You can choose from either a hotel situated about half an hour’s drive from the airport or a charming hotel in Central Delhi, and ideal base to explore both the spice markets of Chandi Chowk and the modern bars of Connaught Place. Here, you can catch your breath and rest after your flight. In both hotels, you’ll have a comfortable room with a private en-suite bathroom.

Today you'll be transferred to Jaipur by air-conditioned car, a trip which takes around 5 hours. The Pink City is a fantastic place to kick off a trip in India and during your two nights here you can relax, acclimatise, and explore. There is so much to see in this elegant and astonishing city that you could spend weeks here without getting bored. Jaipur centre is a lively mass of saris, saddhus, holy cows, spice markets, street vendors, camel carts, elephants, beggars, rickshaws, temples, forts and palaces.

In Jaipur, you’ll stay in a cosy family hotel for a firsthand experience of typical Indian hospitality. Breakfast is served in the romantic English tea garden and the family will go out of their way to make your stay as enjoyable as possible. The rooms here are tastefully furnished in traditional Indian-style and several have four-poster beds.

Today, you’ll take a guided tour of this remarkable city, visiting the City Palace, the Observatory and the fairy-tale Palace of the Winds (Hawa Mahal). In the afternoon, you’ll visit the imposing Amber Fort that lies just outside the city limits. From the battlements of the Amber Fort, you’ll have a wonderful view of the rocky hills and the smaller walls and forts constructed by the Rajputs and the Mughals in the area.

The City Palace and the Palace of the Winds both stand in the ancient quarter of the city. The City Palace has several beautiful museums with fascinating collections. If you see the flag flying, it means that the Maharaja is in residence. The Palace of the Winds is a world-famous, pyramid-shaped building with dozens of windows. This is where the women of the royal harem could watch the processions in the street below, unseen by the masses.

This morning, you'll leave Jaipur and head east towards Galta, a secluded mystical spot that will leave a lasting impression on you. The Monkey Temple here is a pilgrimage site that attracts flocks of brightly-robed devotees every day. The stream that trickles out of the rocks here is reputed to be water from the holy River Ganges, although this is geographically impossible. People bathe and sing on the steps (ghats) that lead down into the pools. Their voices echo through the rocky gorge, which opens into a wider valley dotted with temples that have been overrun with monkeys. This is an exhilarating sight.

After Galta, you’ll drive for another three hours before arriving in Bharatpur. This is a fascinating waterworld, criss-crossed by all sorts of dykes. Maharajas of the historic Singh family used this region as their hunting grounds, and the scenery is breathtaking. If you like, you can pedal through Bharatpur on a ‘sturdy’ Indian bike (cycle hire costs arouond £1.50).

There are hundreds of rare birds in the Bharatpur wetlands, such as the rare Siberian crane. Currently, there are several tigers here, originally from Ranthambore National Park, which pounce on the waterfowl as they doze. It’s unlikely that you’ll see this in action, but keep your eyes peeled all the same.

A few kilometres further on, you’ll come to stunning Fatehpur Sikri. The great ruler Akbar set up his capital here, and built a grand city, but after only 40 years the water supply became too difficult to maintain in this dry area, so all of the inhabitants packed up and moved on. They left behind a phenomenal collection of grand temples and palaces, with the ruins of old houses standing between them. Now it is an atmospheric ghost city, full of green parrots and monkeys.We’ll arrange for a guide to lead you through the forgotten city, and tell you the stories behind the monuments.

After visiting Fatehpur Sikri, you’ll drive on to Agra, where you’ll arrive at the Lamba family home. Here, you can experience the warmth of a true Indian family, who will go out their way to make you feel at home. Mr Lamba is a retired army officer with plenty of incredible tales to tell. Of course, if you would prefer to stay in a hotel rather than a family home, we can book a hotel for a small extra charge.

You'll have breakfast this morning in the garden at the Lamba family home. Afterwards, you’ll set off to visit another two breathtaking sites. In the early morning, you’ll be taken to the Taj Mahal, a highlight of any trip to India. Standing serenely in the first light of the morning, we are sure that this stunning building will surpass all your expectations. It is one of the few buildings in the world that has the ability to move people. It was built by Shah Jahan as a token of his love for his deceased wife, and is undoubtedly the most romantic burial site in the world. After this, you’ll head for Agra Fort. This huge but restrained structure seems to be immersed in a dreamy atmosphere when it’s bathed in the golden light of late afternoon, which slants through the pillars and galleries. From its majestic walls and through its arches, you can see the Taj Mahal, just as Shah Jahan would have done centuries ago, when he was imprisoned here by his son. Return to the guest house by lunch. Rest of the afternoon at leisure.

This evening, we will arrange a taxi from your hotel in Agra to the railway station, for the overnight train to Varanasi. The station platform will be a chaotic jumble of businessman, suitcases, children, monkeys and dogs. At every stop, station vendors will wander through the train at every station, shouting loudly as they sell samosas, pakoras, and sweet masala chai. You’ll be immediately popular with the locals, who love speaking to foreigners and will happily offer you any food that they have brought aboard. It is an eye-opening and rewarding experience that really will immerse you in the true India.

After about 8 hours (give or take – you’re on India time now) you’ll arrive in the holy city of Varanasi. You’ll be collected by your driver at the station and taken to your hotel, a smart little establishment in the leafy Cantonment area, just north of Varanasi's railway station. This 3 star hotel has well furnished rooms with Indian art on the walls and a green themed restaurant which serves good Indian, Chinese and Western food. There is also a subterranean bar which can be enjoyed here.

The next two days are completely free for you to explore at your own pace. The Ganges is flanked by a series of ghats – broad stone staircases leading down to the water – that stretch into the horizon. You can stroll along the traffic-free ghats, and attend the evening prayer ceremony on the main ghat where flower candles are set afloat on the river.

Life and death rubs shoulders here like nowhere else on earth, and the experience is very inspiring. Watching a cremation take place on the ‘burning ghats’ is something that you will remember forever. Next to the cremation ghat, you’ll find kids playing cricket, cows nosing through rubbish, and women beating laundry on rocks.

Equally, you could take a city tour through the twisting alleyways of Varanasi, sneaking past the dozing cows, or take an excursion to Sarnath – a holy place for Buddhists - 10 km from Varanasi. It was here that Buddha gave his first lecture. After his enlightenment in Bodhgaya, Buddha came to Sarnath to preach about the Middle Way of reaching Nirvana. After this, the religious ruler Ashoka built an enormous stupa (temple) and several Buddhist monasteries to commemorate the teaching. Each Buddhist country in the world now has its own temple, which often makes the place feel like a World Expo is being held there. You can get to Sarnath by auto rickshaw in about 20 minutes or, if you would prefer, we can arrange a private car to take you there.

Today your time is your own, but we can highly recommend a boat trip on the Ganges at dawn. This is an extremely special experience and you cannot help but soak up the intensely spiritual atmosphere. You’ll float past pilgrims from all walks of life as they perform their ritual bathing before sunrise, and religious chanting will drift to your ears over the water. In the afternoon, you can choose to visit the Bharat Mata Temple and Varanasi University, or simply to relax. At the end of the day, we will arrange a transfer to the railway station for the overnight train to Delhi (departs at 6.45pm).