Richseen Private Journeys · India

India: Palaces, Forts, and Royal Rail

Royal Heritage — Delhi · Rajasthan · Agra
7 Days · 6 Nights
From USD 15,000+ per person
"The Maharajas' Express — India's royal heritage, experienced at the pace and standard the subject demands."
The Journey

Palaces,
Forts, and Rail

Rajasthan is the India that the imagination constructs before experience corrects it — and on this occasion, the imagination is substantially accurate. The pink sandstone of Jaipur's old city, the blue-painted houses of Jodhpur below the Mehrangarh Fort, the white marble pavilions of Udaipur reflected in the waters of Lake Pichola: these are images that have been circulating in European consciousness since the British arrived in the eighteenth century and found a civilisation that had been building palaces longer than most European nations had existed as coherent political entities. The Mughal and Rajput traditions of royal architecture — the forts, the palaces, the step-wells, the garden tombs — represent an extraordinary accumulation of aesthetic intelligence concentrated in a relatively compact geographical area.

The Maharajas' Express — operated by IRCTC in association with Cox & Kings — is the most awarded luxury train in Asia and one of the finest in the world. Named after the Maharajas of Rajasthan whose palaces the route visits, it carries 84 guests across 23 cabins and 2 presidential suites in interiors that draw on the decorative traditions of the royal courts: inlaid woodwork, hand-woven fabrics, gilded mirrors. The train is a palace in motion — and the logic is deliberate, since several of the stations at which it stops are the forecourts of actual palaces.

This seven-day itinerary frames the train journey between Delhi and Agra. One night at The Oberoi New Delhi — the hotel that has set the standard for luxury in the Indian capital since 1965 — provides the prelude. Three nights aboard the Maharajas' Express cover Rajasthan from Jaipur to Jodhpur to Udaipur. And one night at The Oberoi Amarvilas in Agra — the only hotel in the world built to face the Taj Mahal, every room positioned with a view of the monument — provides the conclusion that no journey to northern India can honestly avoid.

Signature Moments

Six Encounters
with Royal India

The Maharajas' Express is a palace in motion — and the logic is deliberate, since several of the stations at which it stops are the forecourts of actual palaces.

01
The Maharajas' Express — Asia's Most Awarded Luxury Train
84 guests, 23 cabins, 2 presidential suites — inlaid woodwork, hand-woven fabrics, and gilded mirrors drawn from the decorative traditions of the Mughal and Rajput royal courts.
02
Jaipur — Pink Sandstone and the Amber Fort
The Amber Fort at first light before the tour coaches arrive, the City Palace whose courtyards accumulate three centuries of Rajput ceremonial intelligence, and the Hawa Mahal's 953 latticed windows designed for royal women to observe the street unseen.
03
Jodhpur — Mehrangarh Fort Above the Blue City
The most dramatically positioned fort in Rajasthan — rising 125 metres above the blue-painted houses of the old city, whose indigo walls have been the subject of European fascination since the East India Company first sent painters here.
04
Udaipur — White Marble Pavilions on Lake Pichola
The City Palace reflected in the lake, the Lake Palace Hotel appearing to float above the water at the centre of Pichola — the image of Rajasthan that most closely matches the imagination's expectation, and which still exceeds it.
05
The Oberoi Amarvilas — Every Room Facing the Taj
The only hotel built to face the Taj Mahal, every room positioned with the monument in view — the most deliberately considered single hotel location in the world, for a monument that rewards this kind of consideration.
06
Taj Mahal at Dawn — The Light for Which It Was Designed
The white marble changing colour from grey to pink to brilliant white as the sun rises over the Yamuna — experienced from the gardens before the day's visitors arrive, in the conditions Shah Jahan intended when he positioned the tomb to face east.
Curated Highlights

What Defines This Journey

01🚂
Maharajas' Express — Asia's Most Awarded Train
84 guests. 23 cabins and 2 presidential suites. Interiors drawn from the decorative traditions of the Rajput royal courts: inlaid woodwork, hand-woven fabrics, gilded mirrors. The most awarded luxury train in Asia — named for the rulers whose palaces line its route — and the most appropriate vehicle for understanding what those palaces were built to express.
02🏰
Mehrangarh Fort — Jodhpur's Defining Monument
The Mehrangarh Fort rises 122 metres above the blue city of Jodhpur — the most dramatically positioned fort in Rajasthan, begun in 1459 by Rao Jodha and expanded by every subsequent ruler of Marwar. Its seven gates, its museum of Rajput artefacts, and the view across 150,000 blue-painted houses from its ramparts constitute one of the most extraordinary urban experiences in India.
03💎
Udaipur — The City of Lakes
Udaipur is the most romantically conceived city in India — a collection of white marble palaces reflected in the waters of Lake Pichola, built by the Maharanas of Mewar over four centuries and maintained with the aesthetic consistency of a civilisation that took beauty as a governing principle. The Lake Palace hotel, floating in the centre of the lake; the City Palace complex above the eastern shore; the Jagdish Temple at the city's heart.
04🕌
Taj Mahal — The Oberoi Amarvilas View
The Taj Mahal at dawn from The Oberoi Amarvilas — the only hotel in the world built with every room oriented toward the monument, 600 metres from the entry gate. The view from the terrace at first light, before the day visitors arrive, is the Taj Mahal at its most comprehensible: the white marble changing colour from grey to pink to white as the sun rises over the Yamuna River behind it.
05🎨
Jaipur — The Pink City's UNESCO Heritage
The walled city of Jaipur — UNESCO World Heritage since 2019 — was built in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II on a grid plan derived from Sanskrit texts on urban planning. The Amber Fort above the city; the Hawa Mahal's 953-windowed facade; the Jantar Mantar astronomical observatory: a city built by a ruler who was simultaneously a military commander, an astronomer, and an architect of extraordinary ambition.
06⚖️
Cultural Depth — Royal Heritage Throughout
The Oberoi New Delhi for the capital's most considered luxury. The Maharajas' Express for the royal heritage of Rajasthan at its most immersive. The Oberoi Amarvilas for the Taj Mahal at the correct distance and the correct hour. Three addresses; one coherent arc through the cultural legacy of northern India's most significant royal traditions.
Sample Itinerary

Key Moments & Movements

Rajasthan operates best between October and March — when the temperature is manageable and the light is at its most extraordinary. November for the post-monsoon clarity; January for the coolest temperatures and the Jaipur Literature Festival; February for the Jodhpur RIFF music festival. Summer is available for those who understand that 45°C provides its own understanding of why the palaces were built with such thick walls.

Every Richseen journey is individually crafted. Your private consultant will tailor each day to your preferences, pace, and passions.

Day 1
Delhi Arrival — The Oberoi
Private transfer from Indira Gandhi International Airport to The Oberoi New Delhi — positioned on Dr Zakir Hussain Marg in the diplomatic enclave, with views across the Delhi Golf Club gardens and the most considered service operation in the Indian capital. Evening: the Lodhi Gardens for the particular atmosphere of Mughal-era tombs in a public park at dusk, or the Khan Market neighbourhood for the restaurants and wine bars that represent contemporary Delhi at its most relaxed.
The Oberoi New Delhi
Day 2
Delhi / Embark Maharajas' Express
Morning in Delhi — the Humayun's Tomb complex in the early light, when the Mughal garden geometry is visible without the midday crowds; or the Qutb Minar compound, where the earliest Islamic architecture in India stands alongside the remnants of the Hindu and Jain temples from whose stones it was partially constructed. Afternoon: private transfer to Delhi Safdarjung Railway Station and embarkation aboard the Maharajas' Express. Welcome ceremony; drinks in the lounge car; departure into the Rajasthan dusk.
Maharajas' Express
Day 3
Jaipur — The Pink City
Morning arrival at Jaipur. Shore excursion to the Amber Fort — the hilltop palace-fort above the city, built by Raja Man Singh I in 1592 and expanded over three generations, with its Sheesh Mahal mirror room and its elephant-width rampart roads. The walled city of Jaipur: the Hawa Mahal's extraordinary windowed facade, the Jantar Mantar astronomical instruments that Maharaja Jai Singh II built to a scale that required a separate building for each calculation. Lunch at one of the haveli restaurants within the old city walls. Return aboard the Maharajas' Express as the pink sandstone of the city walls turns gold in the late afternoon light.
Maharajas' Express, Jaipur
Day 4
Jodhpur — The Blue City and Mehrangarh
Morning arrival at Jodhpur. The Mehrangarh Fort — 122 metres above the city, the most dramatically sited fort in Rajasthan, with seven gates each marked by the handprints of the queens who committed sati at this threshold as their husbands rode to battle. The museum within the fort contains the finest collection of Rajput palanquins, weapons, and miniature paintings outside a national museum. Descent through the blue city: the indigo-painted houses that give Jodhpur its colour, originally the mark of Brahmin households, now covering the entire old city in a consistency that is most comprehensible from the fort above. Return aboard the train for dinner as the sun sets behind the fort ramparts.
Maharajas' Express, Jodhpur
Day 5
Udaipur — Lakes, Palaces, and Mewar
Morning arrival at Udaipur. The City Palace complex — the largest palace complex in Rajasthan, built by the Maharanas of Mewar over four centuries on the eastern shore of Lake Pichola, with its succession of courtyards, towers, and terraces that each ruler added without disturbing the coherence his predecessors had established. Boat excursion on Lake Pichola: the Lake Palace hotel on its island, the Jag Mandir pavilion, and the view back toward the City Palace from the water that makes Udaipur the most-photographed city in India. The Jagdish Temple; the Bagore Ki Haveli for the Mewar folk performance at sunset. Return aboard the Maharajas' Express for the final evening on the train.
Maharajas' Express, Udaipur
Day 6
Agra — The Oberoi Amarvilas
Disembarkation at Agra Cantonment Station and transfer to The Oberoi Amarvilas — 600 metres from the Taj Mahal entry gate, the only hotel in the world built with every room oriented toward the monument. Afternoon visit to the Taj Mahal: the world's most recognisable building, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983, built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan between 1632 and 1643 as a mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal — twenty-two years of construction, 20,000 workers, and the complete creative resources of the Mughal empire at its height. Return to the hotel for sunset from the terrace. The Agra Fort in the late afternoon: the red sandstone fort from which Shah Jahan spent the last eight years of his life imprisoned, looking south toward the white marble monument he had built for his wife.
The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra
Day 7
Departure — The Taj at Dawn
Dawn visit to the Taj Mahal from The Oberoi Amarvilas — the monument at first light, before the day visitors arrive, when the white marble moves through its colour sequence from grey to pink to white as the sun rises over the Yamuna River. Private transfer to Agra Cantonment Station or Agra Airport for onward journey. The Taj Mahal is visible from the road until the highway turns north toward Delhi and the Yamuna floodplain absorbs the landscape.
Luxury Stays

Where You Rest Matters

Diplomatic Enclave, New Delhi, India
Delhi — 1 Night
The Oberoi New Delhi
Dr Zakir Hussain Marg, New Delhi, India
The hotel that has set the standard for luxury in the Indian capital since 1965 — positioned in the diplomatic enclave with views across the Delhi Golf Club gardens. The Oberoi service philosophy, applied to a building that has been hosting heads of state, business leaders, and the discerning traveller for six decades without losing the quality of attention that made its reputation.
Delhi to Rajasthan to Agra, India
In Transit — 3 Nights
Maharajas' Express
Delhi · Jaipur · Jodhpur · Udaipur · Agra
84 guests in 23 cabins and 2 presidential suites — interiors drawn from the decorative traditions of the Rajput royal courts: inlaid woodwork, hand-woven fabrics, gilded mirrors. The most awarded luxury train in Asia, named for the rulers whose palaces it visits, operating at the standard that the subject demands. Five restaurant and bar cars; a spa; butler service throughout.
Taj Mahal View, Agra, India
Agra — 1 Night
The Oberoi Amarvilas
600 metres from the Taj Mahal, Agra, India
The only hotel in the world built with every room oriented toward the Taj Mahal — 600 metres from the entry gate, with the monument visible from the terrace, the pool, and every suite window. Mughal-inspired architecture; fountain courts; the Oberoi service standard applied to the most significant address in India. The Taj Mahal at dawn from the terrace: the journey's defining image.
Exclusive Experiences

Moments Designed for You

🕌
Wonder
Taj Mahal at Dawn — Before the Crowds
The Taj Mahal at first light — the white marble moving through its colour sequence from grey to pink to white as the sun rises over the Yamuna River, the reflecting pool aligned with the monument's axis, and the silence of a site that requires no commentary to communicate its significance. From The Oberoi Amarvilas terrace, 600 metres from the gate: the correct distance at the correct hour.
🏰
Fort
Mehrangarh — 122 Metres Above Jodhpur
The Mehrangarh Fort commands the most dramatic position of any fort in Rajasthan — 122 metres above the blue city, approached through seven gates each bearing the history of the battles that required it. The museum within holds the finest collection of Rajput palanquins and miniature paintings outside a national museum; the view from the ramparts encompasses the entire blue city and the Thar Desert beyond.
🚣
Lake
Lake Pichola Boat Excursion — Udaipur
A boat excursion on Lake Pichola — the lake that the Maharanas of Mewar created by damming the Berach River in the fourteenth century, and around which four centuries of palace architecture has subsequently been arranged. The Lake Palace hotel floating on its island; the Jag Mandir pavilion; and the view back toward the City Palace that makes Udaipur the most romantic city in India.
🌟
Observatory
Jantar Mantar — Jaipur's Astronomical Instruments
The Jantar Mantar in Jaipur — nineteen astronomical instruments built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II between 1724 and 1735, each designed to a scale that required a separate building for its primary function. The Samrat Yantra sundial is accurate to two seconds; the Jai Prakash Yantra can locate the position of celestial bodies to the nearest degree. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2010; the most precise pre-telescopic observatory ever constructed.
Visual Journey

Through the Lens

Begin Your Story

Craft Your
Private Journey

Every detail — from your first evening in Delhi to your final dawn above the Taj Mahal — is composed entirely around you. Speak with your dedicated Richseen journey consultant today.

From USD 15,000+ per person

Request This Journey