Duration: 17 nights & 18 days
 

Best season: throughout the year
DelhiVaranasiAgraJaipurPushkarJodhpurJaisalmerRanakpurUdaipur

ITINERARY

Day 01: Arrive Delhi
Arrival in New Delhi before or after midnight. Overnight in a hotel.
Day 02: DelhiVaranasi
Morning guided tour of old Delhi covering Red Fort, Jama Masjid, Raj Ghat etc. Check out at noon. Afternoon guided tour of New Delhi. Visit India Gate, the museums, drive past President House, Qutab Minar & Humayun's tomb. Dinner in a restaurant (on own). Connect overnight airconditioned sleeper train to Varanasi (Benaras) at 2040 hours.

Day 03: Varanasi
Arrive Varanasi at 0845 hours. You will be met and transferred to Hotel India or similar. Afternoon guided sightseeing of Varanasi visiting the temples, mosques, Man Mandir Gate, Bharat Kala Bhavan (excellent collection of Mughal paintings and Banarasi textiles), Government Weaving Centre to watch the famous Banaras silkweaving. Ganga Aarti (if possible). Overnight in a hotel.

Day 04: VaranasiAgra
Morning boatride on the Ganges river to see the bathing ghats on the holy river, ayurvedic tea at Street View Gai Ghat and excursion to the 17th century Ramnagar Fort (now a museum) and the pilgrim centre of Sarnath (holy to Buddhists and Jains with stupas where Buddha preached for the first time and a deer park where the 11th Jain Tirthankar was born). Rest of the day at leisure. Connect overnight airconditioned sleeper train to Agra at 1845 hours.

Day 05: Agra
Arrive Agra in the morning. You will be met and transferred to the hotel. Sightseeing of Taj Mahal (closed on Friday), Red Fort and Sikandra. Overnight in a hotel.

Day 06: AgraJaipur
Departure to Jaipur (5 hr.). En route, visit Fatehpur Sikri. Arrive Sanganer in the evening. Dinner at Chokhi Dhani, a theme restaurant, with traditional music and dance, puppetry, acrobatics, etc, camel rides and a recreated bazaar to watch artisans at work and buy local crafts. Overnight in a hotel.

Day 07: Jaipur
Morning visit to Amber Fort with an elephant ride to the fort. After lunch, guided tour of Jaipur City covering Amber Palace, City Palace, Hawa Mahal Wind pavilion & Jantar Mantar (Observatory). Overnight in a hotel.

Day 08: JaipurPushkar
After breakfast, drive to Ajmer to see the Dargahs (Ajmer is India's most important Islamic pilgrim centre) and the Nasiyan Jain temples. Drive to Pushkar (3 hr.). Enjoy the sunset at the nearby dunes. Overnight in a hotel.

Day 09: PushkarJodhpur
Morning tour of Pushkar can be undertaken in speciallydesigned camel carriages covering the countryside, rose gardens, the holy Pushkar Lake, the unique Brahma Temple and a number of other temples. Post lunch, drive to Jodhpur (45 hr.) Arrive in the evening. Overnight in a hotel.

Day 10: JodhpurJaisalmer
Morning sightseeing of Mehrangadh Fort (a massive fort with imposing and Jaswant Thada). Drive from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer (280 km / 6 hr.), en route lunch at Manwar Resort with a view of the dunes. Arrive Jaisalmer in the evening. Overnight in a hotel.

Day 11 & 12: Jaisalmer
Morning tour of the fort, Jain temples, havelis, Gadisar Gate of Jaisalmer. Evening visit to the sand dunes of Sam / Khuri for camel rides. Overnight in a hotel. Note: one can opt for a night in a tented camp in the sand dunes which will also include cultural dances, bonfire and dinner.

Day 13: JaisalmerRanakpur
Drive from Jaisalmer to Rohet (5½ hours) for lunch at a heritage hotel. Arrive Ranakpur (3 hours) in the evening. Overnight in a hotel.

Day 14: RanakpurUdaipur
Morning visit to the 15th century Chaumukha Temple, Parshwanath and Neminath Temples, and Sun Temple. Depart for Udaipur (2 hr.) at noon and enjoy a speciallyordered lunch at Swaad featuring traditional Rajasthani and western dishes. Evening boat cruise to the island palaces on the Pichola Lake. Overnight in a hotel.

Day 15: Udaipur
Full day guided tour of Udaipur. Visit Rajasthan's largest City Palace, Jagdish Temple, Bagore Haveli (crafts museum), SahelionkiBari, Lok Kala Mandal (puppet museum), Shilp Gram (A complex with sample houses of various communities of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa. A few artisans can be seen at work). Overnight in a hotel.

Day 16: Full day excursion to Chittorgarh Fort. Return to Udaipur in the evening. Overnight in a hotel in Udaipur.

Day 17: UdaipurDelhi
Connect flight to Delhi in the morning. Arrive Delhi and transfer to the hotel. Overnight in a hotel.

Day 18: DelhiOnward Destination
Transfer to the airport to connect flight to the onward / return destination.

This tour can be customized. Extension tour to Gujarat can be arranged encompassing wildlife & cultural destinations.