Overview
India's food story does not begin in a restaurant. It begins in the chaos.
In Old Delhi's Khari Baoli - the largest spice market in Asia - the chili dust hits you before you see a single stall. That first "Achoo!" is not an accident. It is India saying hello.
From there, the journey moves through five cities and five entirely different ways of eating. Jaipur, where Rajput royalty turned scarcity into sophistication - where the same pot of Laal Maas has been simmering, in one form or another, since the maharajas fed their hunting parties. Agra, where Shah Jahan's court refined Mughal cuisine to its peak, and where the marble of the Taj turns pink at 6am for anyone willing to arrive before the crowds. Lucknow, the city of Nawabs, where a kebab made from 160 spices melts before you can chew it - and where the man who invented it had one hand, which is why the kebab is called Tunday.
And finally Varanasi - the oldest living city on earth, where the food is not refined at all, where Kachori Gali serves the same piping-hot breakfast it has served for a century, and where the last thing you taste before you leave is a Banarasi paan wrapped by a man whose family has been wrapping them since before your grandfather was born.
This is not a tour about fine dining. It is a tour about what food reveals - about history, about class, about faith, about a civilization that has been feeding itself and everyone who visited for five thousand years.
Ten days. Five cities. One country's culinary soul - eaten from street level, exactly as it was meant to be.
Duration
10 Days, 9 Nights
Language
English
Price
US$160Tour Price: From US$ 143 per person per day · Based on 2 persons · Accommodation, breakfast, transport - all food costs - Internal flights & train fares included
Duration: 10 Days / 9 Nights
Cities : Delhi · Jaipur · Agra · Lucknow · Varanasi
Transport: Private AC car in all cities + trains between cities + Delhi Metro on Day 2
Included Meals : Daily breakfast + cooking class dinner Jaipur + Lucknow culinary walk meals + Varanasi food walk meals
Activity Level : Moderate — food walks, market walks, cooking class, one dawn Taj visit, Ganga boat rides
Group Type : Private - your group only
Flight Included : Varanasi to Delhi economy flight (Day 10) included
Starts: Delhi - pickup from airport or hotel
Ends: Delhi airport — connect to onward flight
|
Group Size |
Per Person Total (10 Days) |
Per Person Per Day |
|
2 Persons |
US$ 1435 |
US$ 143 |
|
4 Persons |
US$ 1148 |
US$ 115 |
|
6+ Persons |
US$ 1109 |
US$ 111 |
The larger your group, the better the value - bring family or friends and everyone travels for less.
Includes accommodation, daily breakfast, private AC vehicle, all meals - internal flights - train fares as per itinerary, cooking class charges and food walk costs. International flights not included. Single supplement available on request.
- Food lovers who want to understand North India through what it cooks and why - not just what it looks like.
- Travellers who have done the Golden Triangle before and want a completely different angle on the same cities.
- Those who want a private, unhurried journey with a car and guide to themselves - not a group bus.
- Anyone who has ever eaten Indian food at home and wants to stand in the place where those flavours come from.
- This tour works equally well for first-time India visitors and those returning for their third or fourth trip.
BEST — OCTOBER TO MARCH
Comfortable weather across all five cities. The dawn Taj visit and Varanasi boat rides are most pleasant in cool weather. December–January bring the best street food season in North India.
SPECIAL — NOVEMBER TO FEBRUARY, VARANASI
Malaiyo — the seasonal whipped cream sweet of Varanasi — is only available in these months. If tasting it matters to you, plan your visit accordingly. It disappears when the weather warms.
PLAN AHEAD — HOLI, JAIPUR
Holi in Jaipur is extraordinary but the Lucknow culinary walk is not available on Holi day. If you want both, TTI adjusts the timing to avoid the conflict. Book early.
AVOID — MAY TO JULY
North India's summer is intense — Delhi, Agra and Lucknow reach 45°C. The dawn Taj visit is still manageable but food walks in the afternoon heat are uncomfortable. October to March strongly preferred.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Five cities, one journey — Delhi's spice chaos to Varanasi's sacred ghats
- Food walks, cooking classes, street food tastings & Ganges boat ride — all included
- In Old Delhi, "Achoo!" — chili dust at Khari Baoli hits before you see a single spice
- In Jaipur, cook Laal Maas in a royal kitchen — then eat what you made for dinner
- In Agra, the Taj marble turns pink at dawn — arrive before 6am before the crowds
- In Lucknow, Tunday kebabs made with 160 spices since the Nawab's era
- In Varanasi, dawn on the Ganges, incense in the air and Banarasi paan to finish
- Your guide, your car, your pace — North India Food Tour your way
Travel Itinerary
Arrival → Transfer to hotel → Check in → Evening at leisure
Arrive in New Delhi and transfer to your hotel. Check in - standard check-in is 12 noon. The evening is yours. If you arrive with energy, Delhi's neighbourhood food streets are open late and the city's street food is available twenty steps from most hotels. Tomorrow the real journey begins. Tonight, just arrive.
TTI Insider: If you land in the evening and want one first taste of Delhi before Day 2, ask your TTI driver to take you to Khan Market or Lajpat Nagar on the way to the hotel. Both are neighbourhood food streets that give you Delhi's evening food culture without the intensity of Old Delhi - a good first night warm-up before Chandni Chowk tomorrow morning.
Metro to Chandni Chowk → Khari Baoli spice market → Old Delhi food lanes → Evening superfast train to Jaipur
Board the Delhi Metro at 9am to Chandni Chowk. Your food journey starts at Khari Baoli - "Achoo!" - chili dust announces you before you see a single stall.
Walk the spice lanes, the paratha galis, the jalebi shops that have been frying since before your grandparents were born. Evening - superfast train to Jaipur. Overnight Jaipur.
TTI Insider: At Khari Baoli, stand at the entrance for thirty seconds before walking in — the smell builds in layers. Cumin first, then coriander, then something deeper and hotter you cannot immediately identify. That sequence is the smell of six hundred years of spice trade. Your guide will name every layer. Pay attention — this is the foundation of everything you will cook and eat for the next nine days.
Amber Fort → Sheesh Mahal → Rawat Kachoris → Street food lunch → Royal cooking class dinner
Morning at Amber Fort - the Sheesh Mahal mirror hall is extraordinary at any light. Street food lunch — Chole Bhatura, Pyaz ki Kachori, jalebi, gulab jamun. Then the cooking class: a mauli bracelet tied on your wrist before you begin - the sacred thread Hindus wear before ceremony. You cook Laal Maas, Gatte ki Khichdi, fresh chapatis. Dinner is what you made. Overnight Jaipur.
TTI Insider: Before the cooking class lunch - go to Rawat Mishthan Bhandar for their kachoris. Every person born in Jaipur will tell you this is the one. The kachori here is different in texture from what you will eat at lunch - thinner shell, drier filling, a completely different bite. Eating both on the same day is the best way to understand what makes Rawat's version worth the detour.
Govind Devji Temple Dawn Aarti → Flower market → Hawa Mahal → City Palace → Evening leisure
Dawn aarti at Govind Devji Temple - worshipped by Jaipur's royal family since the 18th century, one of the most attended Krishna aartis in Rajasthan. Then the flower market where turbaned traders sell roses and marigolds by the kilo. Hawa Mahal and City Palace.
Evening free - Jaipur's bazaars and food streets are yours to explore independently. Overnight Jaipur.
TTI Insider: The Govind Devji Temple dawn aarti draws a crowd that is almost entirely local - not tourists. The energy in the hall at 5:30am, when the curtain opens and the crowd surges forward, is the same energy this temple has had for 250 years. Come without a camera agenda. Just stand in it.
Abhaneri Stepwell → Fatehpur Sikri UNESCO site → Arrive Agra
Drive to Agra with two stops. Abhaneri - a 9th-century stepwell with 3,500 geometric steps descending to water, in a village almost nobody visits despite it being one of the most visually extraordinary structures in Rajasthan.
Then Fatehpur Sikri - Akbar's abandoned Mughal capital, built in red sandstone, empty since 1585. Arrive Agra by evening. Overnight Agra.
TTI Insider: At Abhaneri, walk down to the lowest level of the stepwell - most visitors photograph from the top and leave. At the bottom, looking up at 3,500 steps rising geometrically above you on three sides, the scale becomes something completely different. The temperature at the bottom is also 6–8 degrees cooler than the surface. The stepwell was built as a water reservoir and a cool retreat - both functions still work.
Taj Mahal Before 6am → Agra Fort → Deviram Sweets → Sadar Bazaar food street
Arrive at the Taj before 6am — the white marble turns soft pink before the crowds arrive, before the tour buses, before the noise. This is the only time the Taj is quiet. Later - Agra Fort.
Evening: Deviram Sweets for bedai with potato curry and saffron lassi - the breakfast Agra wakes up to every morning. Then Sadar Bazaar for momos, golgappas and kulfi. Overnight Agra.
TTI Insider: At Deviram Sweets, order the saffron lassi in a clay kulhad - the earthen cup changes how the lassi tastes, adding a faint mineral note. The shop has been here for generations and the recipe has not changed. The bedai - a deep-fried bread stuffed with spiced lentils - is served hot from the oil. Eat it immediately. It is a completely different experience at room temperature.
Morning train to Lucknow → Tunday kebabs → Idris Biryani → Rahim's Pasanda → Nihari Gosht · Kulfi
Morning train to Lucknow - the city of Nawabs, where Awadhi cuisine was refined to its greatest form. Arrive and begin the culinary walk through legendary eateries — Idris Biryani, Rahim's Pasanda Kebab, Nihari Gosht, and Tunday kebabs made with 160 spices since the Nawab's era. Kulfi to finish.
Not available Sundays, Muslim holidays or Holi - TTI confirms availability at booking. Overnight Lucknow.
TTI Insider: The Tunday kebab - do not chew it. Place it on your tongue and let it dissolve. It will. The 160 spices include raw papaya as a tenderiser, which breaks down the meat fibres completely before cooking even begins. The name "Tunday" means one-armed in Urdu - the kebab was invented by Haji Murad Ali, who had one hand, for the toothless Nawab Wajid Ali Shah. A kebab that dissolves was not laziness. It was royal hospitality.
Morning train to Varanasi → Check in → Dashashwamedh Ghat at dusk
Morning train to Varanasi - one of the world's oldest living cities.
Arrive and check in. By evening, make your way to Dashashwamedh Ghat for the Ganga Aarti - bells, conch shells, seven flames raised to the river as the city darkens around you.
After ten days of food and movement across North India, Varanasi receives you differently. The city knows you have been travelling. Overnight Varanasi.
TTI Insider: Arrive at Dashashwamedh Ghat 40 minutes before the aarti. The 20 minutes before the ceremony begins — when the priests are taking their positions and lighting the first lamps - has a quality of anticipation that is almost as powerful as the aarti itself. Sit at the water's edge, not on the upper steps. The closer to the river you are, the more you feel it.
Dawn boat ride → Kachori Gali → Kashi Chaat → Blue Lassi → Banarasi paan → Sarnath
Dawn boat ride at Dashashwamedh Ghat as the city wakes on the water. Then Varanasi's food walking tour — Kachori Gali for piping-hot kachoris with potato curry; Kashi Chaat Bhandar for papdi chaat; Blue Lassi Shop for rabri malai lassi; Keshav Tambul Bhandar for Banarasi paan.
Afternoon — Sarnath, where the Buddha delivered his first sermon. Overnight Varanasi.
TTI Insider: At the Blue Lassi Shop — the shop has no sign in English, just a blue-painted façade and a constant queue. Koreans found it first, told each other, and for a decade it was half-full of Korean travellers who had come specifically for the lassi. Nobody knows exactly how the word spread. Order the rabri malai version — it is thicker, richer and available only in the morning before it runs out. If it is November to February, ask if malaiyo is available anywhere nearby — a seasonal Varanasi sweet made from whipped cold cream that disappears when the weather warms. It is the most ephemeral thing you will eat on this entire trip.
Breakfast → Transfer to Varanasi Airport → Flight to Delhi → Onward Connection
After breakfast, transfer to Varanasi airport for your included flight to Delhi. Connect to your onward international or domestic flight. Ten days. Five cities. Every meal a different conversation with the same country. You leave knowing that Indian food is not one thing - it is five hundred years of history served on a plate, and you have tasted a significant portion of it.
TTI Insider: Varanasi airport is small and manageable - plan to arrive 90 minutes before departure. The airport has a small shop selling Banarasi silk, Banarasi paan masala and local snacks. If you did not buy paan masala in the city, this is your last chance. The GI-tagged Banarasi paan masala is also available vacuum-packed for travel — ask at the shop.
North India Food Adventure Tour
10 Days - Delhi to Varanasi through five cities, five food cultures and one country's culinary soul
10 Days / 9 Nights Private Car + Trains Old Delhi Spice Walk Jaipur Royal Cooking Class Lucknow Tunday Kebabs Varanasi Food Walk Ganga Aarti
You began in a spice market where the chili dust made you sneeze. You ended in a city where the last thing you tasted was a paan wrapped by a family that has been wrapping them for generations.
Ten days. Five cities. Five hundred years of culinary history — eaten from street level, exactly as it was meant to be.
TTI Tours
Every tour is private. Every group is yours alone. We know which stall in Kachori Gali opens first, which Lucknow eatery is closed on which day, and when to arrive at the Taj so the marble is still pink. That is the knowledge you are booking.
📱 WhatsApp: +91 93100 54485
✉️ Email: info@tti.tours
🌐 www.travelindiatourindia.com
GST invoice provided for all bookings ·
CF-530, 5th Floor, U:Fairia Mall Sector-16B, Greater Noida Pin 201318
INCLUDED
- 9 nights accommodation in standard hotels [Hotel Upgrades Available]
- All airport arrival and departure transfers.
- Private car services in entire tour plan with driver at all places.
- Daily Breakfasts at all the hotels
- Train fare for all the sectors as per tour plan
- Delhi Metro fare — Day 2 Chandni Chowk visit
- Sightseeing tours as per tour itinerary
- Cooking class with Dinner in Jaipur
- Heritage Rickshaw Tour in Jaipur as per tour plan
- Lucknow Food / Culinary Walking Tour
- Morning boat ride on River Ganges, Varanasi
- Varanasi Food / Culinary Walking Tour
- Sarnath Excursion from Varanasi
- Internal flight fare in economy class for Varanasi - Delhi sector only
- All applicable taxes and service charges and
- All road taxes, government taxes and driver allowances.
- Price calculated at US$ 1430 per person for 10 days based on a group of 2 travelling together. Price per person reduces further as group size increases. Contact TTI for a customised quote.
EXCLUDED
- Medical and insurance of any kind.
- Any meals ( Unless specified )
- Any monuments fees ( Can be arranged on clients requests ).
- Any thing which is not written under ” Inclusions ” headings
- Any expenses arising out of unforeseen circumstances like flight delay/cancellation/hike in fare, strike or any other natural calamities
- Personal nature Expenses i.e. Telephone Calls, Laundry, Soft / Hard Drinks, Meals, Tipping etc.
- Camera Fees at Monuments.
Frequently Asked Questions
Mostly yes — Delhi, Jaipur and Agra have outstanding vegetarian street food traditions and the cooking class in Jaipur can be entirely vegetarian. The Lucknow culinary walk is the one day where vegetarian options are more limited — Awadhi cuisine is primarily meat-based. TTI will identify the best vegetarian alternatives in Lucknow and ensure you have a full experience. Tell us at booking.
It varies city by city. Delhi street food ranges from mild to very hot depending on what you order — your guide will advise. Jaipur's Laal Maas is traditionally very hot — the cooking class chef adjusts heat levels to your preference. Lucknow's Awadhi cuisine is aromatic and complex but not especially hot. Varanasi street food is mostly mild. Your guide will manage spice levels throughout — just tell them your tolerance on Day 1.
Nothing at all. The entire tour is designed to teach you as you eat. Your guides in each city explain the history, the technique, the ingredients and the stories behind every dish before you try it. By Day 10 you will know more about North Indian food than most people who have lived here for years.
Street food walks, local market tastings, Mughlai cuisine in Lucknow, and a Varanasi food and heritage trail.
Yes — the Jaipur cooking class, Varanasi thali and most street food stops are naturally vegetarian. Vegan options available on request.
Yes, all train and domestic flight fares mentioned in the itinerary are included.
Yes, the package includes 9 nights’ accommodation, private car transfers, and guided tours as per itinerary.
Book through our website or WhatsApp us at +919310054485 — we respond within 1 hour with availability and pricing.
HAVE A QUESTION IN MIND
Looking for more info? Send a question to the tour agent to find out more.
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For the love of Curry! AJ put together a great food tour for us. Everything went like clockwork, guides were there at arrival to every destination. Drivers were very courteous. Would definitely book with you again. We plan to visit Southern part of India. The highlight was Varanasi.