Tailor made Rajasthan holiday

This trip has been designed to experience real India. We will be doing local sight seeing in Delhi & Agra to see the Taj Mahal. In Jaipur we will be visiting the Maharajas' City Palace & its museum, Observatory, Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds) & Birla White Marble Temple. In Mandawa we will be visiting Havelies & Temples. The terrace of the rugged Fort provides a panoramic view of the town. See the extraordinary frescoes on the walls of the houses and medieval paintings of Shekhawati.

At Bikaner City, we will visit the Junagarh Fort, built in 1611 AD. The palaces worth visiting are Anup Mahal, Karan Mahal, and Bijai Phool Mahal. Jaisalmer is the ancient citadel on the Caravan route linking India with Persia, Arabia and The Mediterranean. This architectural city was built in the 12th Century by Jaisal, a Bhatti Prince. Afternoon visit to the Gadisar Tank & large houses of the merchant called havelies, some of them dating to the Premediveal Patwon Ki Haveli, Salim Shah Haveli and Nathamal Ki Haveli with their intricately carved screens on the facades and the typical traditional architecture.

In Jaisalmer we will visit the fort. We will enjoy a Rajasthani evening at Sand Dunes - a typical Rajasthani village is created for this evening with mud walls gaily painted with an entrance, food stalls are built with thatched roofs where Rajasthani woman cook local food in traditional earthenware pots. We will also be visiting for some more forts & Palaces in Jodhpur & Udaipur.

Alternative options: Why not consider a trip to Varanasi & the famous temples of Khajuraho? Please contact us for details

This is a different kind of a trip as compared to other cultural trips as our emphasis is to use only heritage old palaces & Havelis so that the revenue generated can go straight to the local owners of these buildings and they can continue maintaining their heritage buildings. All the owners of the heritage properties employ 90% local staff so you can see from the way they talk and interact with the clients that they are keeping the local tradition of Rajasthan still alive. A briefing is given at the time of arrival of all the clients that they should honour the local culture of the destinations they are going to visit.

At Jaisalmer Sand Dunes, a typical Rajasthani village is created for this evening with mud walls gaily painted with an entrance. Food stalls are built with thatched roofs where Rajasthani woman cook local food in traditional earthenware pots. The group members are entertained with Rajastahani Folk music and dance. The whole evening is organised by the local people who are very well paid and looked after.

We use only local guides as we feel that in Rajasthan one should have a local guide who can share his knowledge with the tourist as, in India the culture, caste and the language changes every 100km, and it becomes necessary to have local guides everywhere.

All our accommodations which we have carefully chosen are environmentally friendly and use CFL lamps for lighting to save electricity. Many of our accommodation grow their own vegetable for their daily needs in their own gardens and most of the Heritage hotels recycle waste water for gardening purposes.

On this trip we support an NGO called Jagrit who are involved in giving education, accommodation, clothing and food to small children who are found begging in railway stations. An amount of £5 per person goes to this NGO.