India, India Tours, Agra, Taj Mahal, Jaipur, Travel India

Days 1-2: Arrive Delhi and transfer to your hotel. On Day 2 your morning sightseeing of Old Delhi includes Jama Masjid (Shah Jahan’s great mosque) & Chandni Chowk. In the afternoon continue to New Delhi to visit the mighty Qutb Minar, the unique lotus shaped Bahai Temple, India Gate and the Sikh Temple at Bangla Sahib. In the evening enjoy dance & a traditional Kashmiri dinner.

Day 3: Morning drive to the open air art gallery of Rajasthan - Shekahawati. This desert region is full or ornately decorated Havelis, built during the days of the great camel caravans. Spend the afternoon visiting the Havelis and admiring the walls richly decorated with high quality frescoes – spending the night in one recently renovated Haveli.

Day 4: After the morning drive deeper into the Thar Desert to the walled town of Bikaner explore the beautiful Junagarh Fort and palaces followed by visit to Karni Mata. Here it is believed that souls are saved from Yama (the god of death) and reincarnated as rats and are fed and worshipped by visitors.

Days 5-7: Jaisalmere is a desert town par excellence - villagers still outnumber tourists, the architecture is fantastic and the sunset’s have to be seen to be believed. A full day camel safari takes you deep into the desert to watch a magnificent desert sunset and sleep beneath the stars. (tented accommodation, all meals). On return to visit the Sonar Kila or the Golden Fort made out of yellow sand stone - the only Fort in India which is still inhabited. Inside the Fort you visit richly carved Jain Temples and intricately carved Havelis.

Days 8-9: Jodhpur’s Meherangarh Fort, a symbol of the glorious history of the Maharajas of Marwar Kindgom- nearby is the nearby pure white marble cenotaph of the Maharajas of Jodhpur. Nearby Jodhpur spend a morning visiting villages of the Bishnoi – an environmentally conscious people who have been protecting local wildlife for centuries. You also observe how local handicrafts are made in traditional style. The afternoon is free for your own explorations.

Days 10-11: En-route to Udaipur visit the beautiful Jain Temples at Ranakpur. Udaipur is feted as India’s most romantic city centered on the picturesque City Palace on lake Pichola. It is also a city of gardens and miniature painting artists.

Day 12: Justifiably a favorite travelers’ destination Pushkar is a pleasant, relaxing lake-side town. It’s most famous ‘sight’ the Brahman Temple – otherwise a place to relax and enjoy.

Days 13-14: An afternoon drive takes you to Jaipur where you stay in the ex-summer home of the Thakurs of Bissau, decorated with artifacts of pre-independence days. Take a morning excursion to Amber Fort - Palace of the Kuchchawa rulers. Afternoon visit Pink City which includes Hawa Mahal : the palace of winds (Photo-stop), Jantar Mantar : the observatory on stone and the City Palace Museum which contains the original collection of the Maharajas of Jaipur.

Days 15-16: Morning drive to Agra, stopping en-route visit Fatehpur Sikri, a city built in red sandstone by Emperor Akbar to commemorate the birth of his son. Dawn is the best time to visit India’s most iconic monument - the Taj Mahal, regarded as one of the Wonders of the World, built by Emperor Shahjahan in pure white marble in memory of his beloved Mumtaz Mahal. Late afternoon return to Delhi.

Day 17: Depart

BETTER TOGETHER
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