Duration: 16 nights & 17 days
 

Best season: OctoberApril
DelhiJaipurAgraGwaliorJhansiOrchaKhajurahoBandhavgarhKanhaJabalpur

ITINERARY

An exciting tour to explore India by road. India is a country which continues to amaze and enthrall the world as it unfolds its tremendous cultural and natural treasures, be it ancient culture, wildlife customs, rituals or the fact that it has become the IT hub of the world. It is country having more than 100 languages and more than 500 dialects. A country where every 100 km's language, demography, topography and biodiversity change.
The tour includes endless fascination, religious mystique and great natural beauty. Royal palaces, mediaeval forts, Taj Mahal, temples and the tiger country.

Day 01: Arrive in Delhi, transfer to the hotel. Day at leisure.

Day 02: Delhi. Full day sightseeing. Overnight hotel.

Day 03: Drive to Jaipur, afternoon sightseeing. Overnight Shahpura House.

Day 04: Full day Jaipur sightseeing. Overnight hotel.

Day 05: Drive to Agra. Visit Taj Mahal & Red fort. Overnight in a hotel.

Day 06: Drive to Gwalior. Visit the fort. Overnight in a hotel.

Day 07: Drive to Jhansi, visit Orchha temples. Overnight in a hotel.

Day 08: Drive to Khajuraho. Overnight in a hotel.

Day 09: Khajuraho. Temple visits with a guide. Drive to Bandhavgarh National Park. Overnight in a wildlife lodge.

Day 10: 11 Bandhavgarh. Morning and afternoon safaris. Overnight in a wildlife lodge.

Day 12: Drive to Kanha. Afternoon safari. Overnight in a wildlife lodge.

Day 13: 14, 15 Morning and afternoon safaris. Overnight in a wildlife lodge.

Day 16: Drive to Jabalpur. Connect overnight train to Delhi.

Day 17: Arrive in Delhi. Transfer to international airport.

Kanha Tiger Reserve
Welcome to Kipling Country, the setting for the famous Jungle Book. The Kanha National Park in the Mandla District of Madhya Pradesh, spreads over 1,945 sq. km of dense sal forests, interspersed with extensive meadows and trees and clumps of wild bamboo. This is where you can spot the tiger in all his magnificence or feast your eyes on the rare Barasingha Deer amidst extensive grasslands. The park forms the core of the Kanha Tiger Reserve created in 1974, under Project Tiger. It is one of the most wellmaintained National Parks in Asia, and a major attraction for avid wildlife buffs all over the world. Two major rivers, Halon anfd Banjar, flow through the park. Kanha National Park in the Mandla District spreads over 1,945 sq. km of dense sal forests, interspersed with extensive meadows and trees and clumps of wild bamboo. This area known as Kipling Country is where the jungle book of Rudyard Kipling was conceived.

Using your senses to find a Tiger
The key to successful tiger spotting lies in the jungle's reactions to the animal's movement. When the king of the forest is on the move, his kingdom is as responsive as the court of any of the great Mughal Emperors . Peacocks blare, Sambar bell, Spotted Deer call, Langurs explode in coughlike alarm, Jungle Fowl screech, Bison whistle shrilly and barking deer emit the impossibly raucous bark for which they are named. The continuous repetition of such calls as well as their combination from two or more species in the same small area of the forest is a very good sign that a Tiger is moving nearby. Using your ears to listen to what other animals are saying is a good method of locating a Tiger.

ORCHHA
Orchha's grandeur has been captured in stone, frozen in time, a rich legacy to the ages. In this medieval city, the hand of time has rested lightly and the palaces and temples built by its Bundela rulers in the 16th and 17th centuries retain much of their pristine perfection.
Orchha was founded in the 16th century by the Bundela Rajput chieftain, Rudra Pratap, who chose this stretch of land along the Betwa river as an ideal site for his capital. Of the succeeding rulers, the most notable was Raja Bir Singh Ju Deo who built the exquisite Jehangir Mahal, a tiered palace crowned by graceful chhatris. From here the view of soaring temple spires and cenotaphs is spectacular.
Complementing the noble proportions of their exteriors are interiors which represent the finest flowering of the Bundela school of painting. In the Laxminarayan Temple and Raj Mahal, vibrant murals encompassing a variety of religious and secular themes, bring the walls and ceilings to rich life.

GWALIOR
Steeped in the splendour of its past, the ancient capital of Gwalior has yet made a successful transition into a modern Indian city, vibrant and bustling. A multitude of reigning dynasties, of the great Rajput clans of the Pratiharas, Kacchwahas and Tomars have left indelible etchings of their rule in this city of palaces, temples and monuments. Gwalior's tradition as a royal capital continued until the formation of present day India, with the Scindias having their dynastic seat here. The magnificent mementoes of a glorious past have been preserved with care, giving Gwalior an appeal unique and timeless.
This, then, is Gwalior : where a rich cultural tradition has been interwoven into the fabric of modern life. Where a princely past lives on in great palaces and their museums. Where a multitude of images merge and mix to present to the visitor a city of enduring greatness

KHAJURAHO
In the temple architecture of India, the Khajuraho complex remains unique. One thousand years ago, under the generous and artistic patronage of the Chandela Rajput kings of Central India, 85 temples, magnificent in form and richly carved, came up on one site, near the village of Khajuraho. The amazingly short span of 100 years, from 950 AD 1050 AD, saw the completion of all the temples, in an inspired burst of creativity. Today, of the original 85, only 22 have survived the ravages of time; these remain as a collective paean to life, to joy and to creativity; to the ultimate fusion of man with his creator.
Why did the Chandelas choose Khajuraho or Khajirvahila garden of dates, as it was known then as the site for their stupendous creations? Even in those days it was no more than a small village. It is possible given the eclectic patronage of the Chandelas and the wide variety of beliefs represented in the temples, that they had the concept of forming a seat of religion and learning at Khajuraho. It is possible that the Chandelas were also believers in the powers of Tantrism; the cult which believes that the gratification of earthly desires is a step closer to the attainment of the infinite. It is certain however, that the temples represent the expression of a highly matured civilization.
Yet another theory is that the erotica of Khajuraho, and indeed of other temples, had a specific purpose. In those days when boys lived in hermitages, following the Hindu law of being "brahmacharis" until they attained manhood, the only way they could prepare themselves for the worldly role of 'householder' was through the study of these sculptures and the earthly passions they depicted.