A Summer Holiday in India

Chanakyapuri is one of the most affluent neighbourhoods of south Delhi and is where the majority of foreign embassies, consulates and high commissions are located. The enclave is one of broad, tree-lined avenues and green spaces that are at their most fragrant and striking in the monsoon period. A recommended acclimatiser once you’ve rested is a visit the Safdarjung’s Tomb, a couple of blocks from your hotel. Set in a classic, Persian-style ‘charbagh’ garden, the mausoleum is crowned with a trio of red- and grey-striped sandstone domes that look at their best after a rain shower. Flanked by mature palms, the pathways leading to and from the monument will also be full of water at this time of year, reflecting the extravagant 18th-century stonework to magical effect.

Formerly known as Shahjanabad, ‘Old Delhi’ is the warren of twisting, narrow streets immediately west of the Red Fort, where the Mughal emperors founded their walled capital in the 17^th century. It is among the most densely populated, labyrinthine and extraordinary urban areas on the planet, and one full of fascinating reminders of past ages. Foremost among them is the resplendent Jama Masjid, a huge mosque constructed at the height of Mughal power from a striking blend of creamy white marble and elegantly carved sandstone. The main courtyard is large enough to accommodate 3,000 worshippers and is prettiest in the soft light of early morning.

After visiting the mosque, jump in a cycle rickshaw with your guide for a tour of Old Delhi’s narrow, twisting lanes, or ‘gullis’, as the local population prepares for the day’s trading. Most of the district’s shops are tiny, hole-in-the-wall affairs. They offer a bewildering array of goods, from hand-made books to milky sweets and silver jewellery.

Once the heat has subsided around 4pm, you could venture to the southern fringes of the city to see the ancient Qutb Minar complex, a collection of monuments dating from the early Sultante period of the 12^th century. India’s second most visited monument after the Taj Mahal, its centrepiece is huge, 72-metre (240-foot) victory tower, whose construction in 1192AD officially marked the start of Muslim rule in India. A short drive away, the tomb of the Sufi saint Hazrat Khwaja Qutubuddin is a wonderfully atmospheric shrine, still visited in large numbers by pilgrims from across the country. Time your trip to be here on a Thursday evening and you stand a chance of catching a performance of devotional music and song by a traditional Qawwali troupe.

As well as holding one of India’s most beautiful Indo-Islamic tomb complexes, Lodi Gardens is a lovely place for a stroll in the early morning, when local people come here to practise yoga against the evocative backdrop of crumbling onion domes and ornate 15^th-century Islamic calligraphy.

On the banks of the Yamuna river, Agra Fort was where the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, creator of the Taj Mahal, was imprisoned at the end of his life by his son, Aurangzeb. He is said to have spent his last years gazing wistfully downriver at his wife’s white marble tomb from a gilded pavilion high on the ramparts. You’ll enjoy your first of two visits to the Taj around sunset time, when, if you’re lucky, the monsoon clouds will part, bathing the richly decorated stonework in exotic light.

The east bank of the Yamuna is idea for sunrise visits to the Taj, especially during the monsoons, when the former Mughal gardens are bursting with plant life, birds and butterflies. The view of the mausoleum looming in ethereal fashion from the riverside is only marginally less iconic than the one from its approach.

Fatehpur Sikri, the former capital of Emperor Akbar, was built at lavish expense at end of the 16^th century but only occupied for sixteen years, when the court decamped moved to Lahore. Today, the finely carved, dark-red sandstone buildings remain in fine condition and vividly evoke the opulence of the Mughal era. Among many highlights are the Diwan-i-Khas audience hall, with its richly decorated throne pillar, the beautiful Tomb of Sheikh Salim Chishti (a revered Sufi mystic) and Buland Darwaza gateway.

Perched on the rim of a dramatic escarpment, Amber Fort retains some of the finest interiors surviving from the 16^th and 17^th centuries in India, notably a glittering ‘Hall of Mirrors’, or ‘Sheesh Mahal’, lined with intricate mirror mosaics where the Maharaja and his consorts would enjoy music and poetry recitals. Anyone interested in traditional Rajasthani textiles will also enjoy a visit to the Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing, located in a beautifully restored haveli in Amber village.

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 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.

If one city in India could be said to epitomize the romance of the monsoons, it’s Udaipur, capital of the Sisodia Dynasty. Under royal patronage, a famous school of miniature painting evolved here in the 17^th and 18^th centuries, and one of its major subjects were scenes of Rajput royalty enjoying the sensuous pleasures of the rainy season, from music recitals in their ornamental palace gardens, to the more intimate joys of coupling al fresco by moonlight!

The backdrops for the miniatures – the lakeside palaces of the Maharana of Udaipur and associated nobility – remain the city’s main attractions. You’ll be able to enjoy a fine view of them from the water, most likely will gilt-edged cauliflower clouds amassed over the Aravalli mountains to the south.

Few palaces in India can rival the opulence of the Maharana of Udaipur’s residence, whose sumptuously decorated apartments, halls, terraces and gardens make the most of the glorious views across the water to the distant desert hills. A superb collection of treasures – many of them gifts from visiting dignitaries – are on display on the royal museum.

During the monsoons, the Queens and consorts from the palace would often spend time in the Saheliyon-ki-Badi, a lovely garden focussed on an ornamental lotus pond from which fountains spray graceful domed pavilions with water – a heavenly spectacle.

Dating from the 8^th century, but substantially rebuilt in the 15^th, the Hindu shrines at Eklingji are a true gems of medieval Indian architecture. Every inch of their surface is embellished with ornate stone carving, while the elegantly tapered sanctuary towers seem to mirror the rise and fall of the surrounding hills, which at this time of year are carpeted in greenery.

Return to Udaipur around mid-morning for a spot of R&R by the poolside, or some souvenir shopping if preferred. Later, drive out to Sajjan Garh, better known as the ‘Monsoon Palace’, which crowns the top of Bansdara Peak on the outskirts of Udaipur. Erected in the 19^th century, the white marble building was intended as a retreat where the royal family could enjoy the monsoon clouds swirling around the hilltop – a scene frequently depicted in miniature paintings from the period. It rests on ornately carved pillars, and centres on a delightful courtyard giving access to dozens of inner chambers with pretty projecting balconies (‘jharokas’) yielding fabulous views over the city and its lakes.

The hotel you’ll be staying in on your final night is located in Gurugram, around 30km from Delhi but convenient for the international airport. Ultra-modern and affluent, the city is India at its most go-ahead and contemporary, with literally hundreds of skyscrapers erected over the past decade. Should you wish to venture out of your hotel for one last spot of shopping, you’ll be spoiled for choice in its many mega malls!