India small group holiday with added comfort
Late availability on these dates: 03 Sep, 17 Sep, 21 Sep, 01 Oct, 08 Oct, 15 Oct, 19 Oct, 26 Oct, 29 Oct, 02 Nov, 09 Nov, 16 Nov
Description of India small group holiday with added comfort
This is a superb small group tour around the highlights of northern India. Over ten days you’ll take in must-see sights including the iconic Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, and the Amber Fort, as well as carefully chosen experiences that bring you closer to the region’s culture and history.
Your trip gets off to a promising start with a welcome dinner at one of the oldest restaurants in Delhi, a place that it’s said introduced ice cream to India! So you must order dessert. This is a great opportunity to get to know the rest of your group (maximum 12 people) and your tour leader. The following day you’ll be heading off straightaway to Agra, home to the Taj Mahal – the greatest monument to love and loss ever built.
Agra has much more to it than the Taj Mahal, though. For one thing there is the stunning red sandstone of Agra Fort. And for another, a colourful street food scene – one you’ll explore in the evening as you seek out stalls to dine from.
A change of pace comes as you reach Ranthambore National Park. Tigers stalk among these trees, and you’ll head out in search of them, and other wildlife including hyenas, sloth bears, and crocodiles, with a responsible driver and guide. Responsible wildlife viewing means putting animal welfare first, and never getting too close to them even if it means a better photo.
In beautiful Jaipur, capital of Rajasthan, tour the bustling bazaars with your tour leader, the scent of spices and fresh foods all around. The evening of your arrival you have a dinner invitation, to join a local Brahmin family and learn about their lives, and their cuisine. The following day you’ll be given a guided tour of a haveli, a former royal mansion, with the owner – these little slices of history need constant upkeep, and tours like this help to preserve the mansion’s handsome architecture. Rooftop drinks afterwards? Naturally.
Then you reach the holy city of Varanasi, where Hindu pilgrims descend in their thousands to pray at temples and shrines, and to bathe in the River Ganges. You probably won’t want to follow their lead; the water is not renowned for its cleanliness. But you will love the experience of cruising along this most iconic of waterways, seeing life along its banks both at sunrise and at sunset.
This cultural tour of northern India makes a superb introduction to the region. Sure, you’re seeing the sights, but you’re very much not simply ‘sightseeing’. By keeping the group size small it’s possible to visit smaller, locally owned restaurants and sleep in smaller, locally owned hotels. And from homecooked meals to guided tours of their homes, you’ll enjoy a number of fantastic opportunities to meet local people and get to know their personal traditions and customs first-hand.
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Planet
This trip includes a visit to Ranthambore National Park, one of the original Project Tiger reserves – a place where nature has reclaimed ancient fortresses and temples and is teeming with wildlife. By taking our groups to this reserve, we help fund its maintenance and protection. Between 1 July and 30 September we do not take our travellers to Ranthambhore due to the monsoon floods. We instead visit the Sawai Mansingh Sanctuary, which has a hilly terrain and still great opportunities for wildlife spotting without placing any more strain on the environment at this time. We use public transport to get around Delhi, including the subway and iconic rickshaws. This trip has a maximum group size of 12, and we never exceed this. Travelling in small groups means we have a lower environmental impact on the locations visited, using fewer resource and leaving less waste behind. This trip has a large water keg on the bus, from which our travellers can fill their reusable water bottles and our tour leaders are proactive in encourage our travellers to product as little waste as possible while on the tour. This tour includes our highest rated tour leaders, who not only have incredible knowledge of local culture and history but also the local fauna and flora, acting as advocates for our style of travel and the natural environment.Since 2018 we have been certified as a B Corp. Certified B Corporations are leaders in the global movement for an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy. Unlike other certifications for businesses, B Lab is unique in our ability to measure a company’s entire social and environmental impact.
People
This trip support the local community and ensures money stays in the local community but using a local leader throughout, as well as many local guides and local eateries throughout. In Agra this tour includes a street food tour with a local expert, this takes the group away from the main tourist trail so our travellers can meet locals and learn more about Agra’s cuisine and culture. We use almost exclusively locally owned accommodation on this trip, with our groups stay in a beautiful heritage hotel in Jaipur which has been run by the same family since its opening in 1928 and retains the warm feel of a traditional family home. We also include dinner in Jaipur, where the group head to the home of a local Brahmin family for a wonderful homecooked dinner. The group get to interact with our hosts and learn about their way of life and their culinary secrets. We also include a visit to a royal haveli, where our travellers will be given a private tour by the owner of this royal mansion who will share fascinating photographs and stories of his ancestors who once ruled the nearby provinces. This local history, being shared by a local resident allows us to support his small tourism business and help ensure the preservation of this ancient building. The trip includes a two boat rides on the river Ganges in local boats, on one of these, the group is joined by local musicians and get the chance to watch a beautiful flower and candle ceremony take place – an authentic experience which allows our travellers to experience local culture and support the musicians. The last meal will take place in a beautiful haveli dating back to 1887, where the group enjoy a feast of Mughlai cuisine, street food dishes and kebabs all hosted by a local family.Popular similar holidays
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