India is the trip most Nepalis think they already know. You have watched the films, you have probably crossed at Sunauli or Birgunj, someone in the family has been to Banaras for a puja. Then you stand inside the Taj Mahal gardens at six in the morning while the marble turns from grey to pink, and it turns out you did not know it at all.
This is our route for the Golden Triangle (Delhi, Agra, Jaipur) with Varanasi added, written for travellers from Nepal. Foreign readers: most of it applies to you too, except the bit about not needing a visa.
Before you leave Kathmandu
No visa. Nepali citizens do not need a visa for India and can stay and travel freely.
But you do need ID, and the right kind. To fly into India, a Nepali citizen needs either a valid passport or a Nepali citizenship certificate. Take the original, not a photocopy, and a couple of copies besides. Hotels in India will ask for ID at every check-in, and so will monuments for the discounted ticket. Your passport is the least troublesome option. Children travelling without a passport need their own identity documents; check with us or the airline before booking.
Money. Nepali rupees are not accepted in India. Carry Indian rupees, observing Nepal Rastra Bank’s current limits on Indian notes, and set up UPI or a card for larger payments where you can. Small change matters for rickshaws, chai and shoe-minders at temples.
SIM card. A local Indian SIM needs paperwork. Most of our guests rely on hotel Wi-Fi and their guide for the first day, then sort it out in Delhi.
Delhi: eat first, sightsee second
Delhi is not a city that rewards rushing. Give it two days.
Old Delhi is the part that stays with people. Jama Masjid, the lanes of Chandni Chowk on a cycle rickshaw, spice sellers in Khari Baoli where the air makes everyone sneeze. Eat here. The parathas fried in ghee in the lane named after them, kebabs near the mosque, jalebi straight from the pan, a cold lassi when your feet give up. Our guides know which stalls are worth the queue.
New Delhi is wider and greener: Humayun’s Tomb (go late afternoon, and you will see where the Taj got its ideas), Qutub Minar, India Gate in the evening when families come out for ice cream.
Honest note: Delhi traffic will cost you an hour every day. Plan for it and you will be calmer.
Agra: the Taj Mahal, properly
Go at sunrise. The gates open about half an hour before sunrise, and the first hour is when the light is soft, the crowds are thinnest and the heat has not yet arrived. By ten it is a different, hotter, louder place.
A few things worth knowing:
- The Taj Mahal is closed on Fridays. Plan your Agra day around it. More than one trip has been rearranged in a hurry over this.
- Nepali citizens, along with other SAARC and BIMSTEC nationals, pay a reduced entry fee, well below the foreigner rate. Entering the main mausoleum costs a little extra. Carry your passport or citizenship to qualify.
- Only small bags are allowed in. Food, tripods and large bags are not.
- Agra Fort, across the river, is often rushed. Do not rush it. From its balconies you can see the Taj in the distance, which is how Shah Jahan saw it in his final years.
Most people go quiet in front of the Taj. You will understand why.
Jaipur: forts and the colour pink
Jaipur is the friendliest of the three cities and the easiest to love. Amber Fort sits on its hill with long walls running along the ridges like a small Great Wall. Go in the morning. The Mirror Palace inside glitters when a guide holds up a light. Below in the old city, the Hawa Mahal is best seen from a rooftop cafe across the street, with a cup of chai.
Then Jantar Mantar, the giant astronomical instruments, and the City Palace. Shop for block-printed cotton and blue pottery, and bargain gently. If Rajasthan gets under your skin, our Royal Rajasthan tour continues to Udaipur, Jodhpur and the desert.
The classic three-city loop is our Golden Triangle tour of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur.
Varanasi: the reason many Nepalis go
For a lot of our Nepali guests, Kashi is the heart of the trip and the triangle is the extra. There are direct flights from Kathmandu, so you can also visit on its own.
Do two things here. First, the evening Ganga aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat: young priests in matching dress swing heavy brass lamps in unison, conch shells sound, bells ring, and thousands of people sit on the steps and on boats in the river. Watch it once from the ghat and once from a boat if you can. Arrive early for a decent spot.
Second, a boat ride at dawn, when pilgrims bathe, the light comes up over the river and the city is at its most beautiful. You will pass Manikarnika, the cremation ghat, where fires burn day and night. Please do not photograph the cremations. Your guide will explain what you are seeing.
Then walk the galis, narrow, confusing and full of cows, to Kashi Vishwanath. Leave phones and bags in lockers outside and expect a queue. Our Varanasi spiritual journey covers all of this at an unhurried pace.
Train or car?
Both work, and we often mix them.
- Train is the better choice for Delhi to Agra, where the fast trains take less than two hours and avoid the highway, and for Delhi to Varanasi, where the Vande Bharat express makes a day journey of what used to be an overnight one. Book early; good trains sell out, especially around Indian festivals.
- Car with driver is easier for Agra to Jaipur, with a stop at Fatehpur Sikri or the Abhaneri stepwell on the way, and for families with elderly parents or a lot of luggage.
In December and January, morning fog across north India regularly delays trains and flights by hours. Build in slack, and do not book a tight connection home.
When to go (and when not to)
October to March is the season. Days are warm, evenings cool, and December and January nights can be properly cold in Delhi and Agra, so bring a jacket.
April to June is brutal. Temperatures regularly pass 45°C in Delhi, Agra and Varanasi. We gently talk people out of it.
July to September is the monsoon: greener, humid, with some flooded lanes, and high water on the Ganga can move the aarti to higher steps.
If you would like help planning dates, trains or the Varanasi add-on, WhatsApp or call us on +977 9851141663, or email peacejourneytravel@gmail.com. Drop by the office in Thamel too; we are always happy to talk about India over tea.
