Delhi - Jaipur - Karauli - Ranthambore Tiger Sanctuary - Fatehpur Sikri - Agra - Orchha - Khajuraho - Varanasi - Sarnath - Delhi
Like a leaf to light, the outside world has from time immemorial been irresistibly attracted to India, this exotic land of gems and spices, tigers and elephants, spirituality and splendor. India is the last living ancient civilization.
Time travel into a remote past. In Varanasi, India's most sacred city, join pilgrims from all over India in witnessing and being part of ancient rituals and a timeless way of life. Ride in bicycle rickshaws and walk through the city's fascinating lanes and dazzling bazaars. Go boating on the sacred river Ganges in the rosy light of sunrise and sunset; glide by temples and palaces, and ghats thronged with priests and worshippers and discover the ancient world living on this river, a timeless stream of wisdom and myth. We'll be in Varanasi for the splendid Kartik Purnima (Full Moon) Festival when millions bathe in the Ganges and the full sweep of the riverside is lit with swaying "skylamps" hung from tall bamboo poles, an unforgettable sight.
The trip begins in New Delhi, a spacious garden city with tree-lined avenues and beautiful parks; here we'll see great landmarks of the British colonial period, monumental expressions of an imperial vision. In Old Delhi, we visit the great Red Fort, the Friday Mosque and bustling bazaars. The 12th-century Qutb Minar, the world's tallest victory tower, and the buildings around it are an amazing fusion of Indian and Islamic architecture and styles-a stunning example of the way India has always embraced diverse people and traditions and made them her own.
Entirely walled, with massive gateways, grand palaces and colorful bazaars and all painted in vibrant pink ("the soft, rich tint of strawberry ice cream," said Mark Twain when he visited the town in 1879), Jaipur , capital city of the State of Rajasthan, India's "land of kings," was built in the 18th century. Planned according to ancient Hindu architectural canons, the layout of the city is in harmony with the structure of the universe. Today, Jaipur is a vibrant town, peopled with mustachioed men in phosphorescent turbans and bold women in bright sweeping skirts. Traditional products, still made in pre-industrial ways and transported within the city on camel carts, overflow the shops: precious stones, gold and silver jewelry, the distinctive Rajasthani upturned, pointy-toed shoes, and a kaleidoscopic array of tie-dye and woodblock hand-printed fabrics.
The vast Jaipur City Palace is a harmonious blend of Hindu and Islamic design. The raja still lives here but most of the palace is a museum with elegant galleries displaying the elaborate finery of Rajasthani royalty. The Jantar Mantar has monumental, surreal "instruments for measuring the heavens." The gigantic stone sundials in this royal observatory tell time accurately to the second. The Hawa Mahal or Palace of the Winds is a façade with 953 windows, each with a different stone lattice design, so ladies of the court could sit unseen and watch royal processions pass through the street below.
Long before Jaipur was built, the kingdom's capital was Amber Fort, just a few miles away. Built in tiers, it nestles secure amid high rugged hills. This is a fairy tale of a place with beautifully decorated pavilions, water channels, crenellated walls and panoramic views over the countryside. Its ornate palaces contain rooms covered in mosaics of countless convex mirrors, which delighted kings and queens as a single flame transformed them into star-filled skies. Like the royals of old, we ride up to Amber Fort on the backs of richly caparisoned elephants. Agra is home to the Taj Mahal: floating in its garden, ethereal and insubstantial as a dream, this architectural masterpiece, archetype of purity of form, is grand in conception yet subtle and beautiful in detail. Nearby Fatehpur Sikri is the Emperor Akbar's perfectly preserved 16th-century palace complex and it brings to life the enlightened atmosphere of his court.
Ranthambore National Park is one of the world's most picturesque game reserves, the forest is dominated by the ruined battlements of Ranthambore Fort. Jungle like this covered much of India at one time and it is a magical place to see the Bengal tiger.
Before India gained independence in 1947, it comprised hundreds of independent princely states each with its own ruler, fort, palace and even its own currency, passports and postage stamps. One of these, Karauli , has been called "history's sideshow," for it never rose to great power, but it was never razed either and so the town retains traditional flavor and charm. Famous for its orange-red sandstone, a bastioned wall of it surrounds the town and its narrow streets are paved with it too. The old City Palace is a treasure trove of architecture, stone carvings, gorgeous jali (stone screen) work and classic Rajasthani paintings. The palace's main or Darbar Hall is spellbindingly beautiful. Witness devotional life at the village temples and visit the town's bazaars for their local color and exclusive handicrafts, notably Karauli's colorful bangles. We stay in a gracious and atmospheric palace hotel full of royal memorabilia.
Surrounded by forested countryside, Orchha has grand and monumental "Escheresque" palaces, temples and nobles' mansions on a fortified river isle, and a charming village ambience. One fabulous palace was built for a Mughal Emperor's single night's stay.
Today Khajuraho is a small village in Central India, but a thousand years ago kings of the Chandela dynasty erected eighty-five temples here. Opulently decorated, each temple is an architectural masterpiece, a microcosmic mountain adorned with exquisitely carved, sensuous, often explicitly erotic sculpture. Abandoned and neglected for more than 700 years, Khajuraho today is a World Heritage Monument and the most alluring temple site in India.
In Sarnath, the Buddha preached his first sermon after he became enlightened. Here, in the 3rd century BC, the Emperor Ashoka built a gigantic stupa to commemorate that event. This place, with ruins of an ancient monastery and beautiful gardens, is blissful and serene, a reflection of the very qualities of life both Buddhists and Hindus hold to be supreme.
On this trip, we journey by air, rail and road to India's greatest attractions and wonders and stay in luxurious modern hotels, noblemen's mansions (opulent fantasies of art and design) and a 17th century royal guest house. We enjoy the sumptuous food of India's varied cuisines, and continental as well.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
The price is $4300 ($1100 single supplement), which includes all accommodation (all rooms with attached bath), meals (B, L, D), mineral water & soft drinks, entrance fees, domestic flights, travel by rail in a/c chair cars and by a/c car and bus, transfers and is based on double occupancy and a group size of 10 -12 members. Carol and Martin will guide you throughout the trip.
Also see tour packages in:
Asia
India
Cultural Journey
Festival Tours
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