Rajasthan holidays, tailormade
| country: | India |
| location: | Rajasthan, The Golden Triangle |
| departures: | This trip can be tailormade at a time to suit you and adapted to suit your budget and requirements. We can mix and match according to the dates, length of stay and places you would like to visit. |
| price: | From £3013 per couple (17 days) excluding flights. We can arrange flights from the UK. Small additional charge to Climate Care to offset the carbon emissions of your flight |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Rajasthan, the Desert State of India is patchwork of culture, history, languages, lifestyles and cuisine. Dialects change every 35 kilomentres and the cultures every 5!
There’s a well trodden tourist route in Rajasthan – and it’s one we have attempted to avoid with this exotic tour, with exception of the Taj Mahal of course!
We are able to arrange extentions to the itinerary. For example, Ranthambore, a former hunting preserve of the Maharajas of Jaipur.
The reserve, with ravines and forests overlooked by an impressive eleventh-century fortress, is popular with tourists hoping to see tigers!
Another option would be Jhalawar, 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.
There’s a well trodden tourist route in Rajasthan – and it’s one we have attempted to avoid with this exotic tour, with exception of the Taj Mahal of course!
We are able to arrange extentions to the itinerary. For example, Ranthambore, a former hunting preserve of the Maharajas of Jaipur.
The reserve, with ravines and forests overlooked by an impressive eleventh-century fortress, is popular with tourists hoping to see tigers!
Another option would be Jhalawar, 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.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1-2: | Arrive in Delhi, India's political and business hub. 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. 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 parks, the wonderfully manic Chandi Chowk bazaar, India's largest mosque - the Jama Masjid which, along with the Red Fort, dominates Old Delhi - and excellent shopping at the Dilli Haat, an open market where you can by crafts and foods directly from the producers. |
| Day 3: | Take the Shatabdi Express (air conditioned) to Agra, city best known as home to 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 between 1632 and 1653 by a work force of 20,000. It's particularly worth seeing in the evening when the building changes colour as the sun goes down. |
| Day 4-6: | Drive to The National Chambal Sanctuary on 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 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 - owned and managed by Ram Pratap Singh, a descendant of a local royal family and his wife Anu - 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 by camel safari, take a boat cruise, go bird watching and visit the ancient temple complex at Bateshwar. |
| Day 7-8: | Travel to Bharatpur, stopping at Firozabad to see the glass blowers and 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 and once the hunting preserve of the Maharaja. 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. We'll visit the reserve by bicycle rickshaw. We can also explore the town of Bharatpur, or take a day trip to Deeg. Overnight at Laxmi Villas Palace, a lavish former royal residence with courtyards, gardens, murals, pool and Jacuzzi. |
| Day 9-10: | Shatabdi Express to Kota then on to 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. Overnight at Ummed Bagh, a tented camp in a old palace compound, where the tents are luxurious, five star standard. |
| Day 11-12: | Leisurely drive through the countryside to Rajasthan's second Muslim principality - Tonk. Here your host would be Md. Shamsher Khan, an energetic, jovial man. He is also a Shikari (game hunter) who converted to a wildlife warden. During your stay you can learn to cook traditional local cuisine, visit the local leatherworks, visit the Institute of Persian studies, take lunch on the bank of the Banas River and go boating. Overnight in a tree house or luxury tents at Md. Shamsher's farm; food is often cooked barbeque style on an open fire. |
| Day 13-15: | 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). |
| Day 16: | Back to Delhi by car. Overnight at Harry's Guest House |
| Day 17: | Farewell dinner before we take you to the airport for your journey home. |
how this holiday makes a difference
 When you take a tour with us, around 60% of your money stays in India – supporting the social/environmental work of our partners and the projects they support. Hotels and homestays are owned by local people. We only use local guides and drivers, with local hosts providing personal insight into a specific area e.g. we aim to use indigenous trekking guides. Our tours are listed in the Ethical Travel Guide, published by Tourism Concern. We charge carbon tax to our guests for their flights according to the rates given by Climate Care and pay Climate Care yearly. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |