Golden Triangle Yoga and Ayurveda Retreat

Day 1: Arrival in Delhi

Our representative meets you at Delhi airport and transfers you to your hotel. The rest of the day is free. If you arrive by afternoon or early evening, visit Akshardham Temple. This grand Hindu temple complex built from pink sandstone and white marble features 234 carved pillars, 9 ornate domes and over 20,000 statues. The complex is beautifully lit after sunset. Note that cameras are not allowed inside.

Overnight in Delhi.

Day 2: Full Day Delhi Sightseeing

After breakfast, your full day Delhi tour begins across Old and New Delhi. Start at Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India, built by Shah Jahan in 1656. Then board a private pedal rickshaw for a ride through the narrow lanes of Chandni Chowk, one of Asia’s oldest and liveliest markets. Visit Red Fort, the great Mughal citadel built in red sandstone that served as the center of Mughal power for over 200 years. Continue to Raj Ghat, the serene memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, and then to Humayun’s Tomb, the first great Mughal garden tomb in India and the direct design predecessor of the Taj Mahal.

In the afternoon, head through New Delhi. Visit India Gate, the war memorial at the heart of the capital. Explore Qutub Minar, the 72-meter 12th-century brick tower with extraordinary medieval stone carvings. End at the Lotus Temple, a peaceful Bahai House of Worship shaped like a blooming flower surrounded by quiet gardens.

Overnight in Delhi.

Day 3: Delhi to Agra

After breakfast, your driver takes you to Agra via the Yamuna Expressway. The drive takes 3 to 4 hours. On arrival, check into the hotel.

In the afternoon, visit Agra Fort, a massive UNESCO World Heritage Site on the banks of the Yamuna built by Emperor Akbar in 1565. Your guide walks you through Jahangir’s Palace, the Khaas Mahal, Diwan-i-Aam and Diwan-i-Khas. The most moving spot is the Musamman Burj tower where Shah Jahan spent the last eight years of his life under house arrest, looking at the Taj Mahal through a small mirror. He died here in 1666.

After Agra Fort, visit the Tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah, the Baby Taj. Built entirely in white marble with intricate pietra dura stone inlay, this beautiful tomb on the Yamuna bank is widely considered the direct architectural predecessor of the Taj Mahal.

End the afternoon at Mehtab Bagh for a sunset view of the Taj Mahal from across the Yamuna River. The white marble at sunset turns amber and the entire monument glows against the evening sky.

Overnight in Agra.

Day 4: Taj Mahal at Sunrise and Drive to Jaipur via Fatehpur Sikri

Wake up before dawn. Drive to the Taj Mahal and enter as the gates open at sunrise. The white marble in the first morning light shifts from pale silver to soft pink to warm gold. The garden is quiet and almost entirely to yourself. Your guide walks you through the full complex including the interior of the mausoleum where the cenotaphs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal rest behind extraordinary marble screens inlaid with precious stones.

After the visit, return to the hotel for breakfast and check out. Drive toward Jaipur with a stop at Fatehpur Sikri, Emperor Akbar’s abandoned Mughal capital built in red sandstone in the 1570s. Visit Buland Darwaza, one of the tallest gateways in the world, along with Jodha Bai Palace, Diwan-i-Khas, Diwan-i-Aam and the white marble Tomb of Sheikh Salim Chisti. Continue to Jaipur and check into the hotel.

Overnight in Jaipur.

Day 5: Full Day Jaipur Sightseeing

After breakfast, your full day Jaipur city tour begins. Jaipur, the Pink City, is the capital of Rajasthan and one of the most visually rich cities in Asia. Founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, its distinctive terracotta pink old city gives it a warmth and character that is immediately recognizable.

Begin at Amber Fort, the magnificent hilltop Rajput fortress above Maota Lake. Inside, the Sheesh Mahal or Mirror Palace, covered in thousands of tiny mirror fragments, is extraordinary. Walk through Ganesh Pol and the royal chambers. An optional elephant ride up the slope is available.

Visit Hawa Mahal, the Palace of Winds, the five-story facade with 953 small latticed windows. Explore City Palace in the heart of the old city, including Chandra Mahal, Mubarak Mahal and the museum of royal costumes and weapons. Walk to adjacent Jantar Mantar, the open-air astronomical observatory where enormous stone instruments still measure solar time accurately.

Spend the late afternoon in Jaipur’s bazaars shopping for gemstone jewelry, block-printed textiles and blue pottery.

Overnight in Jaipur.

Day 6: Jaipur to Rishikesh

After breakfast and checkout, begin the drive from Jaipur to Rishikesh. The journey takes 7 to 8 hours via Delhi and the Himalayan foothills. As you travel north the landscape gradually changes from flat plains to rolling hills. The air becomes noticeably cooler and cleaner as you approach Rishikesh.

Rishikesh sits where the Ganga flows out of the Himalayan mountains, cold, clear and fast-moving. The mountains surround the town on three sides and give it a contained, peaceful energy unlike any city you have visited so far on this trip.

Check into your hotel or ashram. In the evening, walk to the ghats for the Ganga Aarti at Parmarth Niketan. As the sun sets behind the mountains, priests in saffron perform the fire ceremony to the river with oil lamps, flowers and devotional music. Hundreds gather on the ghats every evening for this ritual and the energy of it is something genuinely powerful.

Walk across Ram Jhula or Laxman Jhula and explore the temples and ashrams on both banks of the river.

Overnight in Rishikesh.

Day 7: Yoga and Meditation in Rishikesh

This day is entirely for stillness and inner practice.

Begin at 5:30 AM with a guided morning meditation session by the River Ganga. Sitting beside the river in the early morning with the mountains still in shadow and the sound of water all around you is a setting for meditation that is genuinely hard to find anywhere else in the world.

After meditation, your yoga session begins with an experienced instructor. Sessions cover pranayama breathing techniques, asana practice and foundational meditation methods. Whether you are a complete beginner or someone with an existing practice, the instruction is adapted to your level.

After breakfast, the rest of the day is yours. Visit Parmarth Niketan, Sivananda Ashram or Omkarananda Ashram to experience different approaches to yoga and spiritual practice. Browse the local markets for Rudraksha beads, Ayurvedic oils and herbal products. In the evening, attend the Ganga Aarti once more and simply sit on the ghats and let it settle around you.

Overnight in Rishikesh.

Day 8: Rishikesh to Alleppey, Kerala

After a final morning yoga session and breakfast, check out and transfer to Dehradun or Delhi airport for your flight to Cochin, Kerala. Our representative will receive you at Cochin airport and drive you to Alleppey, approximately 55 kilometers from Cochin, taking about 1.5 hours.

Why Alleppey for Ayurveda?
Alleppey, also known as Alappuzha, is widely regarded as the best destination in Kerala for authentic Ayurveda treatment. The town sits on the edge of the Kerala backwaters, a vast network of interconnected lakes, rivers, canals and lagoons. The climate here is warm, humid and deeply restorative. The Ayurveda wellness resorts in and around Alleppey use traditional Kerala methods, locally grown herbs and treatments that have been refined over centuries. Away from the noise of cities, surrounded by water and coconut palms, Alleppey is the ideal environment for your body to rest and heal properly.

Check into your Ayurveda resort and meet your resident Ayurvedic doctor for your initial wellness consultation. The doctor will assess your Prakriti, your individual body constitution, and design a personalized treatment plan for the next three days.

Overnight in Alleppey, Kerala.

Day 9: Ayurveda Day 1 in Alleppey

Each morning begins with gentle yoga or pranayama breathing practice followed by a light herbal breakfast prepared according to your body type and the dietary guidelines of your Ayurvedic doctor.

Today’s treatment session includes Abhyanga, one of the most fundamental and widely used treatments in classical Ayurveda. Two trained therapists work together in a synchronized rhythm, applying warm medicated herbal oil over the entire body using specific strokes designed to improve blood circulation, loosen accumulated toxins in the tissues and calm the nervous system. The warmth of the oil, the rhythm of the strokes and the medicinal herbs absorbed through the skin create an effect that most guests describe as deeply different from any ordinary massage they have experienced before.

After the treatment, rest quietly. Ayurveda specifically asks you not to rush or exert yourself after a session so the body can properly absorb the oils and the therapeutic effect can settle in fully.

In the afternoon, take a guided walk through a traditional Kerala spice garden nearby. Kerala is one of the world’s most important spice-growing regions and the gardens here grow cardamom, black pepper, turmeric, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon. Your guide will explain how each plant is used in Ayurvedic medicine and why. Walking through these gardens gives you a living, fragrant picture of the botanical foundation of everything you are receiving in your treatments.

Dinner is prepared according to your Ayurvedic diet plan using fresh local produce, lentils, herbs and gently spiced dishes that support your body’s natural balance. Most guests notice by the second day that they are sleeping better and feeling lighter.

Overnight in Alleppey.

Day 10: Ayurveda Day 2 in Alleppey

Begin again with morning yoga or pranayama and herbal breakfast.

Today’s primary treatment is Shirodhara, one of Ayurveda’s most distinctive and deeply calming therapies. You lie comfortably on the treatment table while a thin, continuous stream of warm medicated oil is poured slowly and rhythmically over the center of your forehead for 30 to 45 minutes. The effect on the nervous system is extraordinary. Most people fall into a deep state of relaxed awareness somewhere between waking and sleep. Shirodhara is particularly effective for stress, anxiety, disturbed sleep patterns, mental fatigue and headaches. Many guests report feeling a noticeable shift in mental clarity even after a single session.

Your doctor may also recommend Pizhichil today, a treatment in which the entire body is bathed in a continuous stream of warm medicated oil poured by two therapists working together. This treatment is traditionally used to improve joint and muscle health, increase flexibility and deeply nourish the tissues. It is one of the most luxurious and powerful treatments in the Kerala Ayurveda tradition.

After your treatments, rest in the resort gardens or by the water’s edge. In the evening, attend a Kathakali performance at a nearby cultural center. Kathakali is the classical dance drama of Kerala in which performers use elaborate costumes, vivid face paint and highly precise body movements and facial expressions to tell stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Watching a Kathakali artist apply their makeup alone takes over an hour and is worth watching in itself. The performance that follows is vivid, dramatic and completely unlike anything else you have seen on this trip.

Overnight in Alleppey.

Day 11: Kerala Backwaters Houseboat and Departure Preparation

After morning yoga and breakfast, board a traditional Kerala houseboat for a day on the Alleppey backwaters. The Kerala backwaters are a vast network of lakes, rivers, canals and lagoons stretching along the coastline. The traditional houseboat, called a kettuvallam, is built from bamboo, coir and local timber and fitted with comfortable seating, a small kitchen and a covered deck.

For hours you drift quietly through the backwater landscape, past small fishing villages on the water’s edge, local fishermen casting their nets, birds landing on the banks and coconut palms lining every stretch of water. There is nothing you need to do except sit and watch. Lunch is served fresh on the houseboat with Kerala fish curry, rice and simple vegetable dishes that are delicious and completely in tune with the Ayurvedic food you have been eating all week.

Return to the resort in the late afternoon for a final Ayurveda treatment session and a quiet last evening in Alleppey. Pack your bags and get a good night’s rest before tomorrow’s departure.

Overnight in Alleppey.

Day 12: Alleppey to Cochin Airport and Departure

After breakfast and hotel checkout, your driver takes you from Alleppey to Cochin International Airport, approximately 1.5 hours. From Cochin you can fly directly to your home country or connect via Delhi for your onward international flight.

Twelve days ago you arrived in Delhi. You have since stood in front of the Taj Mahal at sunrise, walked through Mughal and Rajput history across three cities, meditated by the River Ganga in the Himalayan foothills and spent four days being genuinely cared for by one of the world’s oldest traditions of medicine and healing. You leave carrying something from all of it.

Tour Ends. Departure from Cochin Airport.