Self-Launched India & Nepal: Golden Triangle to the Himalayas

Land at Delhi (DEL) and get to your hostel in the backpacker hub of Paharganj or Majnu ka Tila using the Airport Express metro (approx £2) or a pre-paid taxi/ride-share (approx £4-6). Settle in, swap money, buy a local SIM (Airtel/Jio, approx £3-4 with data), then walk the Main Bazaar for dinner. Book your onward train now: Delhi–Agra, or use the fast Gatimaan/Vande Bharat service.

🚌Airport Express metro or taxi, approx £2-6

🛏Hostel dorm in Paharganj or Majnu ka Tila (~£8-12)

• →Airport Express metro into the city
• →Main Bazaar evening wander
• →Buy local SIM and set up UPI/train bookings

Rather than a coached city tour, join a small-group walking tour of Old Delhi (GetYourGuide/GuruWalk, approx £10-15) covering Chandni Chowk, spice market and Jama Masjid. Hop a cycle-rickshaw through the lanes (approx £2), see Raj Ghat and India Gate, and try street food — parathas in Chandni Chowk and chaat. Optional afternoon: Qutub Minar and Humayun's Tomb (combined tickets approx £8).

🚌Metro and cycle-rickshaw, approx £4

🛏Hostel dorm, Delhi (~£8-12)

• →Old Delhi guided walking tour
• →Chandni Chowk cycle-rickshaw ride
• →Jama Masjid and Raj Ghat
• →Street-food crawl

Take an early Vande Bharat/Gatimaan train from Hazrat Nizamuddin or New Delhi station to Agra Cantt (approx 1h40, £7-12). Check into a guesthouse in Taj Ganj. Visit Agra Fort (approx £6) and time the Taj Mahal for golden hour (entry approx £11, plus £2 for the main mausoleum). Note the Taj is closed Fridays. Evening rooftop view of the Taj over chai.

🚌Vande Bharat train approx £7-12

🛏Budget guesthouse/hostel, Taj Ganj (~£10-15)

• →Train to Agra
• →Agra Fort
• →Taj Mahal at sunset

Hire a shared taxi or take a bus to Fatehpur Sikri (approx 1h, £1-2 entry), the abandoned Mughal capital of red sandstone, then continue to Abhaneri to descend into Chand Baori, one of India's deepest stepwells. From here catch a bus or shared cab on to Jaipur (approx 3-4h, £4-6). Arrive in the Pink City and settle into a hostel near MI Road or Bani Park.

🚌Shared taxi and bus, approx £6-8

🛏Hostel dorm, Jaipur (~£8-12)

• →Fatehpur Sikri palaces
• →Chand Baori stepwell
• →Overnight bus/taxi transfer to Jaipur

Take a local bus or auto-rickshaw to Amber Fort (entry approx £6), then walk down to the mirror-lined Sheesh Mahal and the stepwells at Panna Meena ka Kund. Back in the city see Hawa Mahal, Jantar Mantar and the City Palace (approx £7 combined). Optional: an evening cooking class with a local family (approx £18-24, bookable via GetYourGuide/Cookly).

🚌Local bus and auto-rickshaw, approx £3

🛏Hostel dorm, Jaipur (~£8-12)

• →Amber Fort
• →Hawa Mahal and City Palace
• →Panna Meena ka Kund stepwell
• →Optional Jaipur cooking class

Take it slower: a heritage walk through the old city with a local historian (GetYourGuide, approx £12-18), browse Johari and Bapu bazaars for textiles and gemstones, and visit the Albert Hall Museum (approx £2). Join the optional evening aarti at Govind Dev Ji temple. Grab an overnight train to Varanasi only if you've added an extension — otherwise prepare for the flight/overland leg north.

🚌Auto-rickshaw, approx £3

🛏Hostel dorm, Jaipur (~£8-12)

• →Heritage walking tour
• →Bazaar shopping
• →Albert Hall Museum
• →Temple aarti

Take a train or AC sleeper bus back to Delhi (approx 4-5h by train, £4-8; buses run overnight). Use the afternoon for anything you missed or relax. If continuing to Nepal, book your onward leg now — either a cheap Delhi–Kathmandu flight (approx £70-110) for later in the trip, or look up the Gorakhpur/Sunauli overland route if you prefer slow travel.

🚌Train or AC bus approx £4-8

🛏Hostel dorm, Delhi (~£8-12)

• →Train/bus back to Delhi
• →Rest and re-plan onward Nepal leg

Fly Delhi–Kathmandu (approx 1h40, £70-110) — flights are frequent and usually the cheapest and easiest option. Land at Tribhuvan Airport, get a Nepali SIM and change money in Thamel, and check into a hostel in the backpacker heart of Kathmandu. Evening walk around Thamel and Durbar Marg for momos and dal bhat.

🚌Delhi–Kathmandu flight approx £70-110

🛏Hostel dorm, Thamel (~£6-10)

• →Flight to Kathmandu
• →Thamel evening wander
• →Nepali SIM and money exchange

Explore Kathmandu Durbar Square and the Kumari Ghar on foot (approx £5 entry). In the afternoon climb the steps to Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple), the hilltop Buddhist stupa with sweeping valley views (approx £2). Consider a guided small-group walk (GetYourGuide, approx £10-15) for the stories behind the carvings. Lunch of momos and chatamari in Thamel.

🚌Walking and local taxi, approx £3

🛏Hostel dorm, Thamel (~£6-10)

• →Kathmandu Durbar Square
• →Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple)
• →Optional guided heritage walk

Walk clockwise around Boudhanath stupa, one of the largest in the world and the heart of Tibetan Buddhist Kathmandu (approx £2 entry). Book a guesthouse room at a monastery such as Kopan or a Boudhanath monastery guesthouse (approx £15-25) — join the monks' evening chanting and take tea with the resident community. Explore the surrounding Tibetan carpet and thangka shops.

🚌Local taxi/bus, approx £4

🛏Monastery guesthouse (~£15-25)

• →Boudhanath stupa kora
• →Monastery guesthouse overnight
• →Evening chanting ritual
• →Thangka and carpet browsing

Visit the Tibetan refugee craft settlement at Tashiling/Jawalakhel to watch carpets and handicrafts being made. Then cross the river to Patan (Lalitpur) for its Durbar Square and Golden Temple (approx £4 entry), and finish at Pashupatinath's riverside ghats for the evening aarti. This covers the monastery-visit and Tibetan-community highlights in one independent day.

🚌Local bus and taxi, approx £5

🛏Hostel dorm, Kathmandu (~£6-10)

• →Tashiling Tibetan refugee settlement
• →Patan Durbar Square
• →Pashupatinath ghats and aarti

Take a tourist bus from Kathmandu to Pokhara (approx 6-7h, £9-14) or a short domestic flight (approx £55-80). Arrive on the shores of Phewa Lake, check into a lakeside hostel, and relax with a mountain-view dinner. Rent a bike or hire a boat for tomorrow's exploring if you're keen.

🚌Tourist bus approx £9-14

🛏Lakeside hostel (~£6-10)

• →Bus to Pokhara
• →Phewa Lake sunset
• →Lakeside evening

Take a shared jeep or taxi up to Sarangkot before dawn for the Himalayan sunrise over the Annapurna range (approx £6-10 shared, £1 viewpoint fee) — one of the north's classic panoramas. Back down, visit Davis Falls, Gupteshwor Cave and the World Peace Pagoda (hike or boat-and-climb). Evening: lakeside restaurants and a Free Walking Tour of Pokhara's old town.

🚌Shared jeep/taxi to Sarangkot, approx £6-10

🛏Lakeside hostel (~£6-10)

• →Sarangkot sunrise
• →World Peace Pagoda
• →Davis Falls and caves
• →Pokhara lakeside evening

Travel by bus from Pokhara to Sauraha, the gateway village to Chitwan (approx 4-5h, £5-8). Check into a budget jungle lodge or guesthouse in Sauraha (approx £10-20) and arrange tomorrow's park activities through your lodge or Sauraha guide offices. Evening: Tharu cultural dance and dinner by the river.

🚌Local bus approx £5-8

🛏Budget jungle guesthouse, Sauraha (~£10-20)

• →Bus to Sauraha
• →Tharu cultural performance
• →Evening riverside walk

Full day in Chitwan National Park (entry approx £15 for foreigners, plus activity costs). Take a jeep safari to look for greater one-horned rhinos, spotted deer, monkeys, crocodiles and — if you're lucky — a tiger. Add a dugout canoe trip on the Rapti River and a jungle walk with a licensed guide (approx £25-45 for the day). Ethical jeep/walk safaris only — skip elephant-back riding.

🚌Shared jeep in-park, approx £20-30

🛏Budget jungle guesthouse, Sauraha (~£10-20)

• →Jeep safari in Chitwan
• →Dugout canoe on the Rapti River
• →Guided jungle walk
• →Birdwatching

Travel back to Kathmandu by tourist bus (approx 5-6h, £8-12). With a final afternoon in the capital, revisit anything you loved — Bhaktapur, a cooking class for Nepali momos, or last-minute shopping in Thamel for pashminas and singing bowls. Optional farewell dinner of Newari cuisine.

🚌Tourist bus approx £8-12

🛏Hostel dorm, Kathmandu (~£6-10)

• →Bus to Kathmandu
• →Optional momo cooking class
• →Thamel shopping

Final morning for thukpa or coffee before heading to Tribhuvan Airport. Pre-paid airport taxi from Thamel costs approx £4-6 and should take 20-40 minutes depending on traffic. Optional add-on: pre-dawn Everest scenic flight from Kathmandu (approx £160-190) if you want a Himalayan finale before you fly home.

🚌Airport taxi approx £4-6

🛏None (departure day)

• →Optional Everest scenic flight
• →Airport transfer and departure