A Glimpse of India by Train

India’s capital and home to an estimated 20 million people is a compelling mix of ancient and modern, it holds the vestiges of at least seven great civilisations from Afghan mausolea crumble on traffic roundabouts; millennia-old fort walls stand next to eight-lane expressways; and Sufi shrines huddle beside concrete flyovers. More amazing still is the fact that so many cultural transmissions from Delhi’s past eras endure.

The most evocative place to gets one’s bearings has to be the Jama Masjid, the magnificent sandstone and white-marble ‘Friday Mosque’ constructed by Emperor Shah Jahan in Old Delhi. Climb one of its minarets for a matchless view over the surrounding roofscape to the ramparts of the Red Fort, where the Mughals held court in a hidden world of cusp-arched pavilions and pillared audience halls.

Although you will have seen countless photographs of it, nothing can fully prepare you for the jaw-dropping grandeur of the Taj Mahal, which looks at its most ethereal early in the morning. Savour the effect of the soft, saffron-coloured sunlight on the marble surfaces, which will be shining brightly by the time you head back to train.

A welcome respite from the city’s frenzied streets is traffic-free Fatehpur Sikri, an hour’s drive southwest, where Akbar erected a new capital from finely carved sandstone in the late-16th century. A series of interlocking courtyards, overlooked by onion-domed royal apartments and pillared walkways, forms the heart of this long deserted palace complex, which the Mughals abandoned because of water shortages after only sixteen years.

Ranthambore our next stop nestles at the foot of a dramatic hill crowned by a ruined fortress, like a scene from Kipling’s ‘Jungle Book’. Expanses of grassland, marsh, lakes and mixed deciduous forest enfold the rocky plateau – perfect terrain for tiger and the herds of sambar deer and other animals they prey on. Just over 60 big cats currently prowl the park and your chances of a sighting a very good. Apart from tigers, Ranthambore also supports thriving populations of leopard, sambar and chital deer, nilgai (black buck), bears, crocodiles, and two species of monkey. Safaris are conducted in open-topped Jeeps. 

Perched on the rim of a dramatic cliff, Amber Fort retains some of the finest interiors surviving from the 16th and 17th centuries in India, notably a glittering ‘Hall of Mirrors’, or ‘Sheesh Mahal’, where the Maharaja and his consorts would enjoy music and poetry recitals. Jaipur itself is a swirl of life and colour, and its numerous monuments and markets provide the focus for the rest of the day. You’ll begin your afternoon’s tour at the famous City Palace complex, which includes the much photographed ‘Hawa Mahal’, or ‘Palace of Winds’, a five-storey façade of elaborately screened windows from where the women of the royal household used to watch processions in the streets below.