The Circuit Behind India's Luxury Trains

Look at the itineraries of almost every luxury train in north India and you will notice a pattern. Whatever the train, whatever the season, the journey tends to pass through a familiar set of places: Delhi, Jaipur, Ranthambore and Agra, often with Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer or Varanasi added on. There is a reason for this, and understanding it will help you choose a train, or decide to travel the route yourself.

This piece looks at that core circuit, what each stop offers, and how it fits together. As of March 2022, luxury train operators are working to resume journeys after a long pandemic suspension. Please confirm schedules and itineraries with the operator before booking anything else.

Why this circuit

The logic is simple. Delhi is the gateway, with the busiest international airport in the country. Jaipur, Agra and Delhi form the so-called Golden Triangle, the most visited tourist circuit in India, and the distances between them are manageable by rail overnight. Ranthambore, between Jaipur and Agra in rail terms, adds wildlife to forts and monuments. Together they offer a week of variety without long daytime transfers, which is exactly what a luxury train is designed to provide.

The railway itself is part of the reason. The main lines connecting these cities are well established, and trains can travel at night while guests sleep, arriving in a new city in time for breakfast and the day’s excursions.

Delhi: departure

Most journeys begin at Safdarjung or another Delhi station with a ceremonial welcome: garlands, music and a first look at the carriages. Many guests arrive a day or two early to see the city, and it is worth doing so.

If you have a day, focus on Old Delhi: the Red Fort, the Jama Masjid and the lanes of Chandni Chowk. Add Humayun’s Tomb, the elegant Mughal garden tomb that many consider a forerunner of the Taj Mahal, and you will have seen the threads that the rest of the trip picks up.

Jaipur: the pink city

Jaipur is the heart of almost every Rajasthan train itinerary. The city was founded in the eighteenth century by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II and laid out on a planned grid, unusual for its time. Its old city walls and bazaars are painted in the terracotta pink that gives the city its nickname.

Standard train excursions include the Amber Fort on its ridge above Maota Lake, the City Palace, still partly home to the former royal family, and the Jantar Mantar, Jai Singh’s astronomical observatory, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Hawa Mahal, the Palace of Winds, with its honeycomb facade, is best seen from the street opposite in the early morning.

If you travel independently, give Jaipur at least two days. The city rewards slow walking, and the bazaars, from textile block printers to gem cutters, are a world of their own.

Ranthambore: the tiger interlude

Ranthambore National Park, near Sawai Madhopur, is one of the best places in India to see a wild tiger. The park’s dry deciduous forest is scattered with lakes and ruins, and the tenth-century Ranthambore Fort, part of the UNESCO-listed Hill Forts of Rajasthan, rises above it.

Trains typically schedule an early morning safari here. Sightings are never guaranteed, and the park’s core zones are usually closed during the monsoon, roughly from July to September, so check seasonal dates. Even without a tiger, the landscape, the birds and the deer around the lakes make the visit worthwhile.

Independent travellers can reach Sawai Madhopur by regular train from Jaipur, Delhi or Mumbai, and safari permits are booked through the official forest department system. Book early in peak season.

Agra: the finale

For many itineraries, Agra is the climax. The Taj Mahal, built by Shah Jahan in memory of Mumtaz Mahal in the seventeenth century, needs no introduction, but it still surprises almost everyone who sees it. Visit at sunrise if you can, when the marble shifts from grey to pink to white.

Agra Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in its own right, deserves more time than it usually gets. Across the river, the Mehtab Bagh gardens offer a quieter view of the Taj. Many trains also stop at Fatehpur Sikri, Akbar’s short-lived red sandstone capital, on the way.

Note that the Taj Mahal is usually closed to general visitors on Fridays. Train itineraries take this into account; independent travellers should too.

Common extensions

Different trains add different places to this core. Rajasthan-focused journeys often include Udaipur, the city of lakes; Jodhpur, beneath the Mehrangarh Fort; Jaisalmer, the golden fort in the Thar Desert; and Chittorgarh, with its vast hilltop fortress. Some routes add Bharatpur’s Keoladeo National Park, a UNESCO-listed wetland known for its birds. Journeys heading east may include Khajuraho’s temples and Varanasi on the Ganga.

These extensions change the character of the trip. A desert-heavy itinerary feels very different from a temple-heavy one, so read the route carefully before choosing.

Doing it yourself

You do not need a luxury train to travel this circuit. India’s regular rail network connects all of these places, and the Shatabdi and other express trains make the main legs comfortable. A self-planned trip can be slower, more flexible and much cheaper, though it requires more organisation and lacks the curated excursions and dining.

A sensible independent version might look like this:

Two days in Delhi.
A morning train to Jaipur and three days there.
Train or road to Sawai Madhopur for two nights and two safaris.
Train to Agra for two days, including sunrise at the Taj.
Return to Delhi.

Choosing your season

The circuit is at its best between October and March, when days are warm and nights are cool. Luxury trains generally run in this window, and many pause in the hot summer months. Spring brings rising temperatures by April, and the monsoon brings rain and the closure of wildlife core zones.

The point of the circuit

This route is popular for good reasons. It packs a huge amount of Indian history, from Mughal tombs to Rajput forts, into a compact geography, and adds a chance to see a tiger in between. Whether you travel it in a royal saloon or a regular chair car, it remains one of the great journeys in the country, and it explains why India’s luxury trains run where they do.