Kashmir tour, Rajasthan to Kashmir
| country: | India |
| location: | Rajasthan, Kashmir |
| departures: | 2008: 2 Oct |
| price: | From £1950 (18 days) excluding flights. Single supplement £200. We can arrange flights from the UK |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Following in the footsteps of E.M Forster’s classic tale, A Passage to India, this wonderful and innovative itinerary takes you from the edge of the great subcontinent at Mumbai’s Gateway to India, via the caves of Ellora and Ajanta, and other favourite locations, to the beautiful Vale of Kashmir.
On this trip you will witness many of India’s most inspiring monuments – including the Taj Mahal – visit some of her most colourful cities and enjoy many of her serene and mellow villages. It is a trip that has something for everyone, including the chance to horse ride, cook, spot game and stay in some awesome palaces and private forts.
We pride ourselves at being able to produce something not just different but excellent as well… in this itinerary, we believe we have done just that. Included is full board, international and internal flights, transport as per itinerary, twin-share accommodation, mineral water, and entrance fees. Not included are local airport taxes, insurance, visa, alcoholic beverages, tips and personal items. Maximum group size is 10 people.
On this trip you will witness many of India’s most inspiring monuments – including the Taj Mahal – visit some of her most colourful cities and enjoy many of her serene and mellow villages. It is a trip that has something for everyone, including the chance to horse ride, cook, spot game and stay in some awesome palaces and private forts.
We pride ourselves at being able to produce something not just different but excellent as well… in this itinerary, we believe we have done just that. Included is full board, international and internal flights, transport as per itinerary, twin-share accommodation, mineral water, and entrance fees. Not included are local airport taxes, insurance, visa, alcoholic beverages, tips and personal items. Maximum group size is 10 people.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | London – Mumbai. |
| Day 2: | Mumbai. Explore this interesting city, including ‘the Gateway to India’ Gate, the museums and the Hanging Gardens. |
| Day 3: | Mumbai – Aurangabad. Fly to Aurangabad, an uncrowded city with the famous Ellora Caves, amazing underground temples built between 7th-11th centuries AD. |
| Day 4: | Aurangabad. Day visit to the Ajanta Caves; entirely Buddhist and famous for their exquisite paintings. |
| Day 5: | Aurangabad – Mahashwer. Catch the train to Mhau and drive to the stunning Ahilya Fort. A stay here is an experience straight out of the 18th century. Evening at the ghats enjoying the chantings and candles. |
| Day 6: | Mahashwer. All day to relax at this gorgeous location. Optional day trip to villages and sari makers. |
| Day 7: | Mahashwer – Athana Fort. Drive through rural India, visiting Indore and Nimach. We stay at Athana Fort with the Royal Family and have dinner on the battlements. |
| Day 8: | Athana – Bijaipur. Visit the hand block printing village of Tarapur, stop at Pangarh and reach Bijaipur where we stay at Castle Bijaipur, a 16th century fort. |
| Day 9: | Bijaipur. Tour the surrounding villages and meet the local people. Enjoy horse riding, cycling, massage, swimming, table tennis, volleyball, etc. |
| Day 10: | Bijaipur – Night Train. Relax, take a trip to Udaipur or visit the village of the milkman tribe. Transfer to Chittorgarh, have dinner at the Pratab Palace and then take the night train to Mathura. |
| Day 11: | Mathura – Agra – Delhi. Transfer to Agra and visit the Taj Mahal, the Red Fort and Akbar’s Tomb before heading on to Delhi. |
| Day 12: | Delhi – Amritsar. Take the Shatabdi Express to Amritsar and see the border ceremony between India & Pakistan at the famous Wagha Frontier. See the Golden Temple at its most magical. |
| Day 13-14: | Amritsar – Srinagar. A beautiful and evocative journey passing through Jammu. We enter the fabled Vale of Kashmir and head on to Srinagar. Transfer by shakara to our houseboat, the Royal Palace, on a quiet area of Dal Lake. |
| Day 15: | Srinigar. This is an extraordinary town, famed for its clean air and idyllic lakes. Framed by high-forested hills that rise up in the distance to the snow-capped Himalayas, it is simply one of the most picturesque places you’re ever likely to visit. |
| Day 16: | Srinigar. During your 3 day stay, play golf, visit the floating vegetable market, the beautiful Moghul Gardens, and the old city with its narrow streets and ancient mosques to explore, or shop. |
| Day 17: | Srinagar – Delhi. Fly to Delhi and check in before heading down to have dinner at a spectacular open-air rooftop Bistro restaurant surrounded by floodlit Moghul ruins. |
| Day 18: | Delhi – UK. |
how this holiday makes a difference
Our whole concept of steering clients off the main tourist circuits and into the rural regions of the subcontinent, to interact directly with local people is, in our opinion, responsible travel at its most immediate and effective. We stay with local families, visit local industries (learning how to milk a buffalo, make a sari, cook a meal) and call on local organisation to learn more about the problems of the region and how we might help. Not only does this allow local people and visitors to interact and learn about each others culture, it ensures that the revenue generated by tourism goes directly to local communities.
On this tour, which runs from Mumbai and the Gateway to India, through Rajasthan and up to Kashmir we involve our clients in various activities from tree planting schemes and school funding in the south to women’s self help cooperatives in the north.
As well as visiting and spending time learning about many of the local people through whose lands we will be passing – helping to milk a buffalo and turn it into lassi, visiting a self-help handicraft centre in Kashmir and cooking and eating a meal with a local family (all of which will be putting money directly into the local community) – as with all our trips we will be financially supporting local NGOs.
We employ local guides and drivers, stay in locally owned hotels and private homes, which again diverts important funds directly into the area. These are regions that have seen precious little from the boom in tourism, it is our aim to change this.
On this tour, which runs from Mumbai and the Gateway to India, through Rajasthan and up to Kashmir we involve our clients in various activities from tree planting schemes and school funding in the south to women’s self help cooperatives in the north. As well as visiting and spending time learning about many of the local people through whose lands we will be passing – helping to milk a buffalo and turn it into lassi, visiting a self-help handicraft centre in Kashmir and cooking and eating a meal with a local family (all of which will be putting money directly into the local community) – as with all our trips we will be financially supporting local NGOs.
We employ local guides and drivers, stay in locally owned hotels and private homes, which again diverts important funds directly into the area. These are regions that have seen precious little from the boom in tourism, it is our aim to change this.