ROYAL RAJASTHAN TOUR

Day 1 ARRIVE DELHI   Arrive into the capital of India or 'Hindoostan'. It is also known as Lutyens Delhi, here we will drive past the stately government buildings of the British Era designed by Lutyens, including the India Gate & the Presidential Palace. The city is divide into two parts Old & New Delhi - here we have some great monuments from 8th to 11th Century and also some great Moghul masterpieces.   Day 2 DELHI TO MANDAWA (275 Kms)   Often called as the " open air art gallery of Rajasthan ", the region of Medieval Shekhawati comprises the present day districts, Shekhawati, transliterate 'the land of Shekha's clan' owes it's name to Rao Shekha (1433-1488), a cousin of the Kachchawahas of Jaipur. We drive to Mandawa the principal town of Shekhawati, which was once an important staging post on the caraven routes and where rich merchants built their 'havelis' (traditional rajasthani houses with interior courtyards) decorated witrh frescos.   Day 3 MANDAWA   Today we visit the many villages & small towns of Shekhawati, where the 19th century wealthy Marwaris (merchants) built themselves grand havelis covered them inside and out with frescos. Visit Dundlod, Ramgarh, Mukundgarh & Nawalgarh.   Day 4 MANDAWA TO BIKANER ( 250 Kms)   Drive onto Bikaner, a desert chieftain established his kingdom here at the end of the 15th Century. This is the principal city of north-west Rajasthan, a city of the desert. Standing on the high ground, the city has an imposing appearance with its embattled walls carved from red & yellow sandstone and over the centuries it has grown into an impressive town on the strength of it's valorous and diplomatic residents. Visit Junagarh fort, Lallgarh Palace (now a hotel), Camel breeding farms (10 kms away).   Day 5 BIKANER TO JAISALMER (330 Kms)   Drive to Jaisalmer a perfect Rajput walled desertcity, which is like a golden jewel shimmering above the hard sand. Built in 1156 by Rawal Jaisal, the Jaisalmer Fort is the second oldest fort of Rajasthan after Chittor. One fourth of the population lives inside the Fort. Visit the palaces, the Jain temples and magnificent Havelis, which are quite different to the Shekhavati Havelis - they are very tall to catch the breeze and thick - walled to keep cool, with jali screens. Instead of paintings, their exterior walls have been carved to honeycomb delicacy.   Day 6 JAISALMER   Visit the Maharawal's palace and Jain temples decorated with beautiful dancing figures in mythological settings. Short drive to Lodruva one of the former ancient capitals of Rajasthan - the view back to the city is enchanting.   Day 7 JAISALMER TO JODHPUR (302 Kms) Drive to the largest city in Rajasthan after Jaipur, Jodhpur stands at the edge of the Thar Desert. Founded by Rao Jodha chief of the Rajput clan known as Rathores and the Rathore kingdom was once known as Marwar - the Land of Death. Here we visit Meherangarh Fort the majestic fort - one of the most impressive & formidable in the whole of fort-studded Rajasthan, Jaswant Thada - the Royal Cenotaphs, the Umaid Bhawan Gardens & Museum. Day 8 JODHPUR TO UDAIPUR (290 Kms)   Drive onto Udaipur, visiting enroute the vast complex of Jain temples at Ranakpur. Later arrive at the 'City of lakes' and also called as the 'City of dreams.'   Day 9 UDAIPUR   Udaipur - the romantic Lake City in Southern Rajasthan (founded in 1599), famous for the stunning white marble Palace built on an island in the Lake Pichola, with a bakground of wooded hills. It was the former Palace of the Maharana and now converted to one of the most glamorous hotels in India. Here we will visit the magnificent City Palace - built in 1725, the Jagdish temple, the pleasure gardens and a drive around the other nearby lakes.   Day 10 UDAIPUR TO SARDARGARH (140 Kms)   Was built in 17th century, situated in the rugged countryside of the aravalis, dotted by number of lakes, it is visited by a large variety of migratory birds. Run & restored by the family, the Huge Fort has astonishing view & grandeur, which can not be matched by any other Palace hotel. One can sample traditional mewari cusine here.   Day 11 SARDARGARH TO JAIPUR (280 Kms)   Drive onto Jaipur, the intriguing 'Pink City' of Jaipur, enclosed in battlemented walls built from local rose-pink coloured stone. Jaipur is noted for its arts, crafts & handicrafts. It is the Gem capital of India.   Day 12 JAIPUR   Drive out to the hills beyond the city to Amber the ancestral hill fortress of Jai Singh. Take an elephant ride up to the fort, which is well known for its lavish architecture. Return to Jaipur to see the City Palace, a blend of Mughal & Rajasthani design, it now contains many treasures from Jaipur's princely past. Nearby is the ornate Hawa Mahal, decorated with delicate screens carved from pink stone and Jantar Mantar observatory containing immense brick and mortar instruments.   Day 13 JAIPUR TO AGRA (240 Kms)   Drive to Agra, stopping enroute at the deserted city of Fatehpur Sikri. Empror Akbar, tired of Agra, built a new capital here only to abandon it a few years later due to shortage of Water. Continue to Agra.   Day 14 AGRA TO DELHI (205 Kms)   Strategically located on the river Yamuna, it was once the capital of Moghul India and the centre of great power & glory. Moghuls built many beautiful monuments here - Taj Mahal , an incredible 20,000 workman laboured on it, day and night, for over 20 years. Agra Fort with its superb views of the taj across the Yamuna river and the tomb of Itmad-ud-Daula a masterpiece of refined craftsmanship. Evening we catch Shatabdi Express train to Delhi. Transfer to international airport. End of tour.