October 16th - 04 November

Travel with the guidebook writer.
Patrick Horton is a professional writer, photographer and contributing author to the last two editions of the Lonely Planet India guide. He can’t stay away from India so join him in this three-week jaunt.

India
From the snows and glaciers of the highest mountains in the world to barren desert and tropical rainforest; from teeming cities to ageless villages; from the grandeur of Maharajahs’ palaces to thatched mud huts; and from an advanced software industry to thousands of years-old cultural and religious traditions, India displays countless contrasts.

This is a country where a myriad of ethnic groups speaking more than the 18 main languages and practicing the major religions of the world all live together and call themselves Indian. There can be few countries with such diversity. Our tour samples that variety and we hope to give you a taste and passion for more.

THE TOUR

Day 1:

Arrive evening in Delhi and transfer to hotel

Day 2:

In the morning we visit the Tibetan Buddhist enclave in northern Delhi. Then proceeding south we visit the Mahatma Gandhi cremation site before going to New Delhi, the British built capital. The afternoon finishes with tea on the lawns of the Imperial Hotel, Delhi’s finest hotel and more a museum and art gallery than a hotel.

Day 3:

We explore Old Delhi, the 17th-century capital with its Red Fort - the imperial seat of the Mughals, the mighty Jama Masjid (mosque) and sprawling bazaars. Evening option of sufi music at Nizammuddin, the shrine of a Muslim saint.

 

 

 

Day 4:

Catch the train to Haridwar, one of India’s holy Hindu sites. The evening puja (service) attracts thousands who line the banks of the Ganges to worship and witness the fire ceremony.

Day 5:

A coach takes up into the foothills of the Himalaya to the old hill station of Mussoorie to stay in a maharajah’s palace. The views along the journey will be stupendous.

Day 6:

Today is for wandering around Mussoorie, amongst its shops, temples, and old British homes – all the while conscious of the snow capped mountains on the northern horizon.  

Day 7:

Afternoon, we return to Haridwar via several scenic viewpoints and waterfalls. From Haridwar we take an overnight train to Amritsar.

Day 8:

We arrive in Amritsar, the holy city of the Sikhs, and transfer to our hotel – a former colonial administrator’s home with big gardens and a pool. In the early evening we journey 40km to watch the crazy closing of the border conducted by Pakistan and Indian troops in harmonious unison.

Day 9:

A dawn visit to the Golden Temple to watch the Sikh ritual of bringing out their holy book from its night-time resting place. Stay-in-beds can visit the Golden Temple later. Another overnight train takes us to Jaipur.

Day 10:

Jaipur, the Pink City and home of a dynasty of maharajahs that built a park of complex astronomical and astrological instruments sumptuous palaces. We visit the City Palace, the observatory, the Hawa Mahal (palace of winds) and take an elephant ride up to the hilltop Amber Fort.

Day 11:

By road to Mandawa and Nawalgarh in the Shekawati region of Rajasthan. Both towns are open-air galleries with houses, temples and other buildings decorated with frescoes, inside and outside, telling the stories of Indian mythology.

Day 12:

By road to the Rajasthan village of Neemrana where we stay overnight in a five- hundred-year-old fortified palace perched on a hilltop.

Day 13:

Onto Agra via the ghost city of Fatehpur Sikri, built in the 16th century and abandoned after just a few years’ use.

Day 14:

Agra and the Taj Mahal, a near-perfect piece of architecture built as a monument of love. We also visit the impressive Red Fort and a temple 100 years in the making that’ll give the Taj some stiff competition.

Day 15:

By train and road to Khajuraho, a quiet mid-India village that would be passed by but for its amazing temples and erotic sculpture.

Day 16:

A day visiting the temples, a museum of tribal art and an evening sound and light performance explaining the history behind the temples.

Day 17:

Time to visit the animal kingdom and hopefully see an elusive tiger in the Bandhavgarh National Park. We drive here and should be in time for an evening visit into the jungle.

Day 18:

We’ll be able to make two visits into the jungle aboard jeeps with guides and wildlife experts. If a tiger is spotted we transfer onto an elephant for a safe close up view. In the late evening we catch an overnight train back to Delhi.

Day 19:

We arrive back in Delhi about 10am and transfer to our hotel. In the afternoon we visit South Delhi to find an ancient Delhi, 1000 years old at the Qutb Minar. In the evening we hope to visit a cultural event with Indian dance and music, or catch a Bollywood movie.

Day 20:

The last day is over to you and we can direct you to the best shopping emporiums that sell quality craftwork from all around India. Our evening flight leaves Delhi.

There’ll be some other things that we’ll arrange, hopefully visits to some cultural events to witness the beauty and intracity of Indian dance, and to listen to the complex forms of Indian music. We also hope to catch a Bollywood movie.

Detailed Day by day programme and price here >>

For further enquiries and expressions of interest email us