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RAJASTHAN
INSIDER TOUR
Bringing together the most beautiful palace
hotels, with luxury tented accommodation, and several nights in
a tree house - you get to see the famous tourist attractions AND
escape from it all. Along the way you'll have: a camel safari,
cooking, treehouse, boating, bird watching, cycle rickshaws, palaces
and forts, markets and bazaars, train journeys, homestays, and
open fires
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Sample Rajasthan Insider Tour: 17 days/16 nights
Delhi, Agra, Chambal, Bharatpur, Bhundi, Tonk, Jaipur and Delhi
(extensions to Jhalawar and Ranthambhore).
Cost: £3,013 for a couple (not per person) for this
Rasthan tour, excluding flights. All our tours are private
- you won't be part of a group.
The price quoted for is for full board (except at hotels), an
English speaking Indian driver, local hosts/guides, other travel
costs.
This is a sample tour to Rajasthan. We can mix and match according
to the dates and places you would like to visit. Note that we
don't arrange air flights.
Day one and two
Your arrival in Delhi, India's political and business hub: huge,
congested and richly diverse.
We'll pick you up from the airport and take you
to the home of a retired Brigadier, Harry Ghuman and his wife
Harinder, who will be your hosts in Delhi. Harry's house is in
the suburbs of Delhi, and has its own spacious gardens. So you
can simply relax and recover from your journey - or you can brave
the city.
Old and New Delhi is worth exploring - by car and/or
by rickshaw. You'll find monuments, shrines, plazas, parks and
gardens, markets, museums and Government buildings. There's the
wonderfully manic bazaar called Chandi Chowk, India's largest
mosque - the Jama Masjid which along with the Red Fort dominates
Old Delhi (25,000 people can fit in the courtyard of the mosque),
and excellent shopping at the Dilli Haat, an open market where
you can by crafts and foods directly from the producers. The handicraft
stalls are allotted on a rotational basis to craftsmen from all
states of India, usually for fifteen days.
Overnight: (2 nights) Harry's guesthouse. You will
be looked after by Harinder. Food is prepared by the cook especially
for the guests - western breakfast is available, though we recommend
their potato stuffed roti!
Day three
We'll make our way to the train station to get the Shatabdi Express
(air conditioned) to Agra, city best known as home to the Taj
Mahal. The train leaves Delhi at 6am, arriving at Agra by 8:30.
Breakfast will be served on board the train.
Once you've settled into your hotel, we can take
you to see the Taj Mahal. The white marble mausoleum was built
as a monument to romantic love. Shah Jehan - the emperor of India
- built it in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. A work force of
20,000 started the project in 1632. It was completed in 1653.
It's particularly worth seeing in the evening when the building
changes colour as the sun goes down.
Overnight: (1 night) at Mughal Sheraton.
Day four to six
We'll make our way by car (90 kms) to Chambal.
The National Chambal Sanctuary is based around a
400 km stretch of the river Chambal, with its deep river ravines,
rocky cliffs, sandy beaches and tropical dry scrub forest. The
sanctuary is refuge for the rare and endangered Gharial (a crocodile-like
reptile with long, narrow jaws.) and Ganges River Dolphin. The
water also supports Marsh Crocodiles, Smooth Coated Otters, 6
species of terrapins/turtles plus 250 species of birds.
For centuries the forests and ravines of Chambal
have also been home to the dacoits, outlawed gangsters whose exploits
have been romanticized in several Bollywood movies.
Chambal River Lodge is half an hour away from the
reserve. The lodge lies in a 35 acre plantation, surrounded by
fields of organically grown produce that supply the kitchens.
During the next three days, we can explore the area.
For centuries camels have been the preferred mode of transport
in the Chambal ravines, and even today are the best way to gain
access into the deepest recesses of these untamed labyrinths.
You can take a camel safari along the rivers' banks, into the
ravines, through villages and up to Fort Ater.
Alternatively, you can take a boat cruise through
the ravines, along with a picnic lunch. At the base camp (where
the boat departs from), you can relax, play beach games, build
sand castles, spot wildlife, or just lie back and relax. Additional
activities includes walking to nearby villages, bird watching,
and a visit to the ancient temple complex at Bateshwar.
Overnight: (3 nights) Chambal River Lodge. The Lodge
and safaris are owned and managed by Ram Pratap Singh, a descendant
of a local royal family and his wife Anu. There are eight independent
cottages with en-suite bathrooms and small covered verandahs,
built on raised red sandstone platforms. Accommodation is simple
- there is limited hot water and electricity is sporadic. Food
- much of it organic, is cooked on open camp fire. You will be
given candles at night.
Day seven to eight
We'll make our way to Bharatpur. On our way we can stop at Firozabad
to see the glass blowers and bangle makers at work. We can also
visit Fatehpur Sikri - the deserted, red sandstone city that was
built by Emperor Akbar as his capital and palace in the late 16th
century.
Bharatpur is home to the Keoladeo Ghana Bird Sanctuary,
a UNESCO World Heritage site amd once the hunting preserve of
the Maharaja. The reserve is a mixture of marshes, mature forests,
sandy acacia scrub, and open grassland. Herons, egrets, geese,
owls, cormorants, kingfishers, cranes - 364 species of birds have
been identified in the park and it's one of the world's most important
breeding and aquatic grounds. Motorized traffic is prohibited
inside the park, so we'll visit the reserve by bicycle rickshaw.
We can also explore the town of Bharatpur, or alternatively,
we can take a day trip (by car or bus) to Deeg. The town is described
by Lonely Planet as a "small, rarely visited town, with an
incongruously glorious palace, gardens and fortifications".
Overnight: (2 nights) Laxmi Vilas Palace is a former royal residence.
The hotel is run by the descendant of the royal family - Deep
Raj Singh. The whole property is spread out in an area of 50 acres
and enclosed by the yellow mustard fields. There are 26 rooms
in the hotel, which remains lavish, with courtyards, gardens,
statues and murals. There's also a swimming pool, bar and Jacuzzi.
Day nine to ten
After breakfast, we'll make our way to Bundi. First by train (Bharatpur
Railway Station), for the journey to Kota by Shatabdi Express
to Kota (7 hours). From Kota, we'll make our way to Bundi by car
(1 hour).
Over the next couple of days, we can explore the
city of Bundi. Small, friendly, elegant and filled with history
- palaces, forts and reservoirs - Bundi is off the main tourist
track and is a treasure to explore. Its narrow streets are lined
with shops selling everything from groceries to newspapers and
paintings. Signs of modernization can be seen in the cyber cafés
and shops advertising Xerox and lamination services. And in just
15 minutes you can have a tiger painted onto your finger nails!
Overnight: (2 nights) Ummed Bagh, is a tented camp
in a old palace compound. The establishment is run by the brother
of Maharajah of Bundi. The tents are luxurious and are five star
standard.
Day eleven to twelve
After breakfast, we'll take a leisurely (3 hour) drive through
the countryside to Rajasthan's second Muslim principality - Tonk.
Here your host would be Md. Shamsher Khan, a descendant of the
Nawab's family. Md. Shamsher is an energetic, jovial man. An ex-parachute
regiment officer, he's a wonderful host and cook. He is also a
Shikari (game hunter) who converted to a wildlife warden.
During your stay, you can learn cooking (traditional
local cuisine), explore the estate, visit the local leatherworks,
visit the Institute of Persian studies, take lunch on the bank
of the Banas River and go boating.
Overnight: (2 nights) in a tree house or luxury
tents at Md. Shamsher's farm and food is often cooked barbeque
style on an open fire.
Day thirteen to fifteen
Known as the pink city and capital of Rajasthan, Jaipur is known
for its forts, palaces, cars, cows, rickshaws, golden sands, elephants,
temples, colourful garments, diamonds, handicrafts and shopping
opportunities galore.
We can visit the local monuments, or take day trips
to visit the local artisans: diamond cutting and jewelry designing,
stone carvings, leather works, block printing of textiles, Blue
Pottery. Or you can take an elephant ride at Amber Fort (magnificent
pink, fort-palace).
Overnight: (3 nights) Alsisar Haveli - elegant mansion
with gardens, or Shahpura House (restored house with puppet shows)
or Naila Bagh Palace (huge palace built in 1872, with attached
art gallery).
Day sixteen
We'll make our way back to Delhi by car. Overnight at Harry's
Guest House
Day seventeen
After a farewell dinner at Indian Habitat Centre, we'll take you
to the airport for your journey home
OPTIONAL EXTENSIONS
Ranthambore
Ranthambore is another former hunting preserve of the Maharajas
of Jaipur, comprising of deep ravines and steep cliffs with thorn
and dry deciduous forests all overlooked by an impressive eleventh-century
fortress. The reserve is popular with tourists hoping to see tigers.
Overnight: Ranthambore Regency (attractive rooms
and a swimming pool)
Jhalawar
Located in a rock-strewn, scrub-covered terrain, occasionally
brightened with fields of poppies and citrus-green groves of oranges,
Jhalawar is a city of forts, temples, possibly the oldest theatre
in India, rock caves, and a museum. The city can be explored by
foot, or by horse outside the city. We can also visit a rural
development project that supports villagers making furniture out
of local materials.
Overnight: Hotel Dwarka/Chandrika
When to travel
Available year round, the ideal period is October to March. During
the monsoon period while the remaining tour would be available,
the Chambal Safari would not.
Contact
us about the Rajasthan Insider tour
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