#NInjaVerdict: India Golden Triangle Tour

Is visiting the Taj Mahal on your bucket list?
For many people, the most photographed monument in the world is a must-see. Maybe you’d love to go, but find the idea of travelling to India intimidating, or worry that it will be too expensive.

G Adventures have the answer! Their “Golden Triangle” tour, which they describe as a ‘short but spicy journey’ will take you to three key city destinations – Delhi, Agra (home of the Taj Mahal) and Jaipur – and provide a taste of rural Rajasthan, over just eight days.

If you’ve never been to India before, this well-planned itinerary is a perfect taster, covering the main landmarks in the area while giving a good insight into local history, architecture and culture, and all at an affordable price.

You might think that a fully-guided tour is not for you. I can assure you that G Adventures tours are far from the ‘sleeping pensioners on coaches’ cliché – though we did have a couple of pensioners in our group of 11, and we did travel on a very comfortable bus, they were more likely to be found on a bike ride through Jaipur at dawn, at a cooking class run by wonderful women, or being taught Bollywood dance moves with a local teacher (all actual activities we took part in) than snoozing!

These tours aren’t just for solo travellers either – we had groups of friends and married couples in addition to those who were there on their own.
I travelled to Delhi in October, after the monsoon season had ended and before winter begins. We all know that summer in northern India regularly sees highs of over 40 degrees, but you may be less aware that winter can be very cold. The transitional months of October and November see much more manageable temperatures of 25 – 30 degrees.

My flight from Dublin (via Istanbul) arrived in the early hours of the morning and I was collected from the airport by a driver from the G Adventures-supported Women with Wheels, a non-profit project which provides a livelihood for local women who lack financial opportunities. After grabbing a few hours’ sleep, I went to meet our guide, Jai Shukla. I later found out that they prefer to be called ‘CEOs’ – Chief Experience Officers.

Although the tour didn’t officially start until 6pm, he had kindly offered to meet me that morning after I asked for information on sights I could see that day which wouldn’t overlap with those we would see on our official tour. I was expecting a few pointers before I went to look for them on my own accompanied by a
maps app. In fact, Jai provided me and some of my fellow guests with a full itinerary for the day, and even organised taxis with drivers who would wait for us at each stop. Like everything on the tour, this was of course optional, but it was a fantastic introduction to the city – and a chance to meet some of the others in my group.

The itinerary for the whole trip was superbly planned out, though very busy – don’t go away with G Adventures and expect to have lots of downtime! Of course, you will see all the famous sites and monuments would expect – Delhi’s Humayan’s Tomb, Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib and Jama Masjid; Agra’s Taj Mahal, ‘baby Taj’ and Fort; Jaipur’s City Palace, Hawa Mahal and Amber Fort – however, what makes this tour different are the bits in between the sightseeing stops.

The Taj Mahal is absolutely stunning, as you would hope, but the night before we went to visit we saw it at sunset from a nearby rooftop, with a cold beer and no other tourists around. Monkeys danced over the nearby rooftops as black kites and fruit bats soared through the air above us. This is the kind of experience that can only be made possible by someone with extensive local knowledge, and is why having a tour guide right on hand in India is such a valuable resource. Other unforgettable moments included sunset yoga; a sunrise bike ride through the quiet countryside after a night spent in tented accommodation listening to monkeys and jackals in the distance, and a tour of old Delhi with Jafar, a former street kid who had been helped into education by the Salaam Baalak Trust, one of many non-profit organisations G Adventures supports through its charitable partner, Planeterra.

For me, Jai – the CEO – was the key reason why my trip to India with G Adventure was so successful. At our welcome meeting he told us that he was available to help us 24/7, and would do his very best to facilitate any request we had. He also told us that there was no such thing as a stupid question, which was lucky, as we had many of them and he took the time to answer every single one. Jai really looked after us – he made sure we were where we should be at the right time; sorted all tips for the many guides, drivers and porters who crossed our path during the trip; talked us through Indian history and culture; translated when necessary and even checked that we were eating properly by providing fruit on our long bus journeys!

You might be concerned about the infamous ‘Delhi belly’ but having a local guide means that your food choices will be much safer. I absolutely love Indian food and I am glad to say that this trip more than delivered on the culinary front – Jai only took us to restaurants where hygiene standards were high. I would have been too worried about the potential consequences to sample street food on my own – but thanks to him, I had the best samosa, kachori and pakora I have ever tried!

The G Adventures Golden Triangle Tour delivers exactly what it promises. Don’t expect high-end luxury (though all accommodation was clean and reasonably comfortable), and embrace the sensory overload – the sights, sounds and smells of chaotic Delhi in particular – and you will have a rich and varied experience. I met a really fantastic group of like-minded people, all keen to say ‘yes’ to as many challenges and adventures as they could squeeze into the short time we were together.

Why not visit your LOCAL NInja travel agency and ask them to plan your next NInja adventure to India and a G Adventures Tour – you can contact them via Holiday NInja – CLICK HERE – and we can easily make that connection for you!!