Brajbhoomi Mathura & Agra!

Down the Yamuna Expressway to Agra - around 230 km, a 3 to 3.5-hour run, joined via the Eastern Peripheral from Gurugram to dodge Delhi entirely. Give the afternoon to Agra Fort's palaces and ramparts, then cross the river for sunset at Mehtab Bagh, where the Taj poses over the Yamuna without the crowds.

Be at the Taj Mahal for opening - the gates unlock 30 minutes before sunrise, and that first hour repays the alarm clock forever. Breakfast afterwards, not before. Drive out to Fatehpur Sikri in the afternoon, the abandoned imperial capital 40 km west; allow two hours plus the shuttle from the parking area.

Trade Mughal Agra for Krishna's Mathura - barely 1.5 hours back up the expressway. Enter Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi empty-handed by design: phones, bags and leather stay in the lockers, and the queue moves quicker for it. Dwarkadhish temple follows, and the Yamuna aarti at Vishram Ghat closes the evening.

One devotional morning left: reach Banke Bihari in Vrindavan inside the morning darshan window, where the curtain opens and closes over the deity every few minutes - a tradition, not a malfunction. Buy pedas from the old shops before the drive, and be home in NCR by evening.