Kingdoms of Rajasthan on The Palace on Wheels: 10-Nights

Depart Canada on an overnight flight to India

Arrive Delhi anytime after mid-day (Rooms available from 2 pm onwards).  Meet and assist at the airport and transfer to the hotel.

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Accommodation: Hotel Royal Plaza (no meals)

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After breakfast depart to visit Old Delhi. Old Delhi pulses with the energy and color, the hustle and bustle of thronged bazaars and is laced by a maze of narrow lanes which twist and turn between tall, leaning houses full of the sights, sound, and aromas of the Indian sub-continent In Old Delhi drive past Red Fort surrounded by shops, and bazaars (built by the Emperor Shah Jehan - the builder of Taj Mahal), the Jama Masjid mosque with its tapering minarets and wonderful marble domes, Chandni Chowk (Old Delhi's business nerve center), the hustle-bustle of everyday Indian life all around you and chattering voices. Lunch at a local restaurant. After lunch depart to visit New Delhi.

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New Delhi stands in formal splendor, like a lone sentry guarding an outpost of a long-gone empire. It is a city of wide boulevards which offers ever-changing perspectives of Lutyen's landscaped city. It is a city rich with formal parks and you'll see the magnificent Parliament Building and the Rashtrapati Bhawan (the official residence of the President of India in the 330 acres of land and designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens), once the awe-inspiring residence of the British Viceroys and now the Presidential Palace, India Gate (a majestic 42 mts high arch, built as a memorial to the Indian soldiers killed in World War I), Gandhi Smriti and Humanyun's Tomb (built in the 16th century and architecturally the forerunner of the Taj Mahal, has Mughal Architecture at its graceful best) Return to the hotel.

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Accommodation: Hotel Royal Plaza

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Meals Provided: Breakfast, Lunch

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After breakfast drive to Jaipur en-route visiting Amber Fort. Transfer to Hotel Clarks Amer Lunch at Local restaurant Amber Fort:  12 km from Jaipur, lies Amber with an old Palace overlooking the Lake at the entrance to a rocky mountain grove. Built-in the 17th century, the palace is a distinguished specimen of Rajput architecture. The Jai Mandir (Hall of Victory) is so delicately ornamented with fine inlay work that it glows. The fort of Jaigarh, crowning the summit of a peak is of amazing beauty and grandeur.

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Accommodation: Hotel Clarks Amer, Jaipur

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Meals Provided: Breakfast, Lunch

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After breakfast visit City Palace and Observatory City Palace is an imposing blend of traditional Rajasthan and Mughal architecture. The vast palace complex occupies one-seventh of the walled city of Jaipur. Originally built by Maharaja Jai Singh, additions have been made to the palace complex by many of his successors. The complex is divided into a series of courtyards, sprawling gardens, and buildings. It is home to several palatial structures like the Chandra Mahal, Mubarak Mahal, Badal Mahal, Shri Govind Dev Temple and the City Palace Museum with intricate decorations in deep red and gold, Afghan and Persian carpets, miniature paintings, astronomical manuscripts in Persian and Sanskrit. Observatory: Adjacent to the entrance to the city palace is the observatory or Jantar Mantar Begun by Jai Singh in 1728. Jai Singh's passion for astronomy was even more notable than his prowess as a warrior and before commencing construction he sent scholars abroad to study foreign observatories. The Jaipur observatory is the largest and the best-preserved of the five he built and was restored in 1901. Janitor Mantar superficially looks like just a curious collection of sculptures but in fact, each construction has a specific purpose, such as measuring the position of stars altitudes and azimuths or calculating eclipses. Lunch at a local restaurant. After sightseeing visit market / Bazaar and depart for railway station board POW in the evening.

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Accommodation: Palace on Wheels (5 Star)

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Meals Provided: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

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Visit Ranthambore National Park. Ranthambore National park is famous for its Tigers and is one of the best places in the country to see these majestic predators in the wild. The Tigers can be easily spotted even during the day.  The varied topography of the national park is home to animals like the jackal, mongoose, sloth bear, leopard, and of course, the tiger. Ranthambore has much more to offer you for sightseeing and excursions. Surrounded by the Vindhya and Aravali hill ranges and located very near to the outer fringes of the Thar Desert, this place offers you the best of the desert land as well as the plain area near the hills.   There are various species of birds you can see here. After game viewing board POW and depart for Chittaurgarh. Evening arrives Chittaurgarh.

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Chittaurgarh:  The hilltop fortress of Chittorgarh sums up the whole romantic, ideal of Rajput chivalry. Three times in its long history Chittor was sacked by a stronger enemy, and on each occasion, the end came in textbook Rajput fashion.  The men donned the saffron robes of martyrdom and rode out from the fort to certain death.  Meanwhile, the women built a huge funeral pyre and marched into the flames in the form of ritual suicide known as Jauhar. Depart for Udaipur.

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Accommodation: Palace on Wheels (5 Star)

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Meals Provided: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

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Arrive Udaipur in the morning.  Sightseeing of Udaipur. City Palace:  The majestic white City Palace located in the heart of Udaipur, was originally built by Maharana Udai Singh of the Sisodia Rajput clan and extended to its present form by subsequent Maharanas. Built-in granite and marble and surrounded by crenelated fort walls, the largest palace complex in  Rajasthan stands on a crest overlooking the Pichola Lake.   Almost all the rooms of the palace have beautiful paintings, inlay glass work, antique furniture, and colorful enamel. The 'Krishna Vilas' has a remarkable collection of miniature paintings depicting royal processions, festivals, and games of the Maharanas. 'Mor Chowk' has unique glass mosaics of peacocks, set in the walls showing the three seasons: summer, winter, and monsoon. Afternoon boat ride at Lake  Pichola.

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Pichola Lake the beautiful expanse of water that surrounds the islands of the Lake Palace Hotel (JAG NIWAS) and JAG MANDIR. The backdrop of the overlooking City Palace gives this lake its name-Pichola. Apart from this, there is also another origin story of its name. It is said that the name comes from the nearby small village of Picholi and was originally created early in the 15^th century by a local Banjara tribesman who transported grain. Depart for Jaisalmer.

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Accommodation: Palace on Wheels (5 Star)

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Meals Provided: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

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Arrive Jaisalmer in the morning. After breakfast depart for sightseeing in Jaisalmer. Fort:  Built-in 1156 by Rawal Jaisal, the fort crowns the 80- meter high Trikuta Hill.  About a quarter of the old city's population resides within the fort walls, which have 99 bastions around their circumference.   It's fascinating to wander around this place.   The Fort is entered through a forbidding series of massive gates leading to a large courtyard.  The former Maharaja's seven-story palace fronts onto this.   Havelis: The Havelis were status symbols for the Marwaris as well as homes for their extended families, providing security and comfort in seclusion from the outside world. The Havelis were to be closed from all sides with one large main gate. The Patwa haveli's of Jaisalmer deserves a special mention of intricate stone-carved balconies. After lunch camel safari at sand dunes.

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The Sam dunes are also the most picturesque spot around Jaisalmer, and perhaps the whole of western Rajasthan. Sitting there in the evening with the sun setting. The silken smooth sands of Sam look like a tale out of The Merchant of Venice and camel safaris are much in vogue here. An overnight trip to the area is a must if you want to enjoy all the sights and sounds, the ruins and the temples. Depart for Jodhpur

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Accommodation: Palace on Wheels (5 Star)

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Meals Provided: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

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Arrive Jodhpur in the morning. After breakfast depart sightseeing of Mehrangarh Fort, Mehrangarh Fort:  Still run by Maharaja of Jodhpur, is indeed majestic, sprawled across a 125 m high hill this is Rajasthan's most formidable fort. Inside the fort, there is a series of courtyards and palaces, a deep-terracotta latticed network. They house a museum with a splendid collection of the trappings of Indian royalty, miniature paintings. At the southern end of the fort, old cannons look out from the ramparts over the sheer drop to the old town beneath, with magical views. Lunch at a 5-star hotel. After lunch return to the Palace on Wheels. P.M.:  Depart for Bharatpur

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Accommodation: Palace on Wheels (5 Star)

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Meals Provided: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

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Leave the train at Bharatpur.  Birding at Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary. Lunch in a Royal Orchard. After lunch drive to Agra. Arrive Agra and transfer to Clarks Shiraz

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Accommodation: Clarks Shiraz (5 Star)

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Meals Provided: Breakfast, Lunch

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Sunrise visit to the Taj Mahal, After breakfast visit Agra Fort Later drive to Delhi (Approx. 4 hrs) with packed lunch. Arrive Delhi and check-in at the Airport Hotel. Dinner at Hotel Late evening transfer to the airport to catch the next day early morning flight.  

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Early morning transfer to the International airport in time for the flight  home (Holding room up to noon on this day)

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