How To Reach Golden Triangle (India)

The Golden Triangle, named for the triangle that the cities of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur form when plotted on the map, is a famed tourist circuit in India. With rapid modernisation happening in this democracy, the infrastructure and road-rail-air networks are also developing at a superhuman pace. Where there were fewer airports and rugged roads once upon a time, there is such smooth connectivity that you wouldn't even feel fatigued to have traveled all day. The National and State Highways are also well developed, especially around India's capital - Delhi. How to reach the Golden Triangle? It is rather easy; as easy as hopping onto a flight!

The Indira Gandhi International Aiprort of Delhi and Jaipur International Airport are your landing spots when coming in from abroad. The Indira Gandhi International Airport of Delhi is the biggest airport of India and handles major traffic everyday. Some of the major international airlines plying are Etihad, British Airways, Gulf Airways, Lufthansa, Oman Air etc. Being the Indian capital, Delhi receives flights from all major destinations of the world including London, New York, Melbourne, Paris, Rome, Kuala Lumpur, Istanbul, Dubai, Muscat and many more. The Jaipur International Airport in comparison is smaller and receives flights from only a few International destinations like Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Muscat, Bangkok etc. 

Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Airport in Agra is a domestic airport combined with a military airbase and only caters to domestic flights. You can come here by a connecting flight from Delhi or Jaipur. Many famous Indian airlines operate on these routes including Jet Airways, Air India, Spicejet, Indigo, Go Air etc. 

If you book well in advance, you may also get heavy discounts on these tickets. Ideally, you must fly down to Delhi, spend 2 days exploring its wonders, then take a road trip to Agra for 2 days and 2 nights; and from there head to Jaipur for another 2 or 3 days by air or rail.

The Northern and Western Railways ply along the Golden Triangle routes. Rajdhani Express is one of the fastest trains on Delhi-Jaipur route. Ajmer Shatabdi is also an express train and covers the distance between these two cities in 4 hours 20 minutes. You will also find trains from Delhi to Agra but we advise you take the road for this short trip. 

There are many railway stations in different areas of Delhi like the Old Delhi Station, New Delhi Station, Hazrat Nizzamuddin Railway Station, Delhi Sarai Rohilla Railway Station etc. So make sure to check where your train is departing from in advance. The same goes for Agra, with Agra Cantt, Raja ki Mandi, Agra Fort, Agra City, Idgah and Yamuna Bridge railway stations. Jaipur Junction is also a big railway station but it is the only one in the city. 

Seats in the Indian Railways need to be booked well in advance because the trains are almost always full, especially in the tourist season and summer and winter vacations. Therefore we suggest you plan your itinerary and don’t leave the transport arrangements to chance.

Delhi to Agra is a great road journey, with the Yamuna Expressway in place. You will get a glimpse of the mighty Yamuna River, over which this bridge passes. Agra is 233 km away from Delhi and it typically takes you 4 hours to cover this distance. 

Delhi to Jaipur is 281 km and takes about 5 hours to cover. You can hire outstation Ola cabs or taxis or private cars. If you want to experience the Indian buses, there is Rajasthan-run state buses called RSRTC or private Volvo buses which are more comfortable.

Agra to Jaipur is 238 km and takes a little over 4 hours to cover. Again, the RSRTC  (Rajasthan) as well as UPSRTC (Uttar Pradesh) consist of the local, state run buses while many private ones ply too. Local taxis, cabs, vans etc are also available on hire. Do check for comparative prices before hiring though.