Welcome to India! Upon arrival in Delhi, meet by travel-to-nature Asia representative and transfer to your hotel. Please look out for your name-card once you exit out of arrival area.

Delhi is just incredible!  Incredibly poor and incredibly rich, incredibly old and incredibly new.

In the late morning, a city tour of Old and New Delhi and a visit to the Raj Ghat, the place where the remains of Mahatma Gandhi were burned, are planned. We also get the Jamia Masjid – the largest mosque in India and experience an exciting rickshaw (tricycle) ride through the bustling streets of Chandni Chowk Market. Then we head to the 72.5 m high minaret tower “Qutb Minar”, the Lotus Temple, which owes its name to the flower-like shape of the building, the India Gate – better known as the “All India War Memorial” and the President’s House “”Rashtrapati Bhavan”.

If there is still enough time and we are not too exhausted, a detour to a prayer and school place of the Sikhs is possible.

Accommodation: The Suryaa New Delhi
Meal: Dinner

Drive to the Shekhawati area to Mandawa (or Alsisar), famous for its painted mansions, called Havelis. The merchants of the area came to wealth through opium, spices and cotton, which they exhibited with sumptuous, fortified trading houses. Mandawa Castle (one of the hotel alternatives) is an 18th-century Haveli converted into a hotel with beautiful murals. Its frescoes are among the most impressive in the region.

Afternoon visit to the place with its Havelis.

Accommodation: Hotel Castle Mandawa (Grand Heritage)
Meal: Breakfast, Dinner

On the way to Khimsar we visit the picturesque Rajput town of Nagaur. The beginnings of Nagaur Fort date back to the 4th century. Every year in January, the colourful cattle market takes place here. Khimsar, founded 2,500 years ago by the Jain saint Mahavira, is now a sleepy village on the edge of the desert.

Accommodation: Khimsar Fort (Grand Heritage)
Meal: Breakfast, Dinner

We start early today for camel safari in the desert. With a little luck we may be able to observe gazelles and rare black-buck antelopes. Watching the sunrise on the largest sand dune of the Thar Desert would be an otherworldly experience.

Drive to the nearby villages of the Bishnoi. The Bishnoi religion prohibits unnecessary destruction of plants and animals, making them the oldest eco-farmers in the world.

Accommodation: Khimsar Fort (Grand Heritage)
Meal: Breakfast, Dinner

In the morning we drive to Osiyan, from the 8th to the 11th century an important center of cultural and religious life. During this time, most of the 16 Hindu and Jainist temples were built.

Continue to Jodhpur. The second largest city of Rajasthan, also known as Blue City because of its blue-washed houses, was the most important trading centre on the caravan road between Gujarat and China in the 16th century. From this time comes the ten-kilometre-long city wall with seven mighty gates, over which rises the Meherangarh Fort. The fortress from 1459 was never conquered. Private treasures of the Rathore dynasty are on display in several palaces within the walls: pure silver juices, ivory elephant saddles, royal cradles, an octagonal throne, a collection of miniatures and a collection of weapons.

Accommodation: Ranbanka Palace (Heritage)
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Visit to the Mehrangarh Fort and the burial place of the rulers of Marwar. Stroll through the lively Sadar Bazar in the old town. Here, bangles, leather slippers and hand-printed fabrics are offered for sale. Try Jodhpur’s delicacies, the fine jalebis (sweets), especially the mawe ki kachori pastries (bread dough) and a refreshing lassi (yogurt milk).

Accommodation: Ranbanka Palace (Heritage)
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Drive to the Jain temples of Ranakpur in the Aravalli Mountains, which are among the most beautiful of their kind in Rajasthan. The main temple of white marble consists of 29 halls, which are supported by 1,444 columns richly decorated with ornaments and figures.

Drive through the Kumbhalgarh Nature Reserve, last refuge of the Indian wolf.

Accommodation: Fateh Safari Resort
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Visit the Kumbhalgarh Fortress, the second largest fort in Rajasthan, which rises majestically on a steeply sloping rock 1,190 meters above the plain. From here we have a beautiful view of the Aravalli Mountains. Continue to Udaipur, idyllically located between lakes and hills. The city is called the “City of The Sunrise”. The village was founded in 1567 by Maharaja Udai Singh on the man-made Pichola Lake.

In the middle of the lake are two small palace islands: Jag Mandir and Jag Niwas; once pleasure locks. Jag Mandir is a particularly beautiful example of Rajputian-mogul architecture. The summer palace on the island of Jag Niwas, built around 1740, was converted in 1963 to arguably the most beautiful hotel in India: the Lake Palace. The marble and sandstone building often served as a film backdrop (James Bond Octopussy) and contributed much to the Maharaja myth.

Accommodation: Lalit Laxmi Vilas Palace (Grand Heritage)
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Morning city tour: Another highlight of Udaipur is the City Palace on the shores of Lake Pichola. Designed as a defensive building against the Mughals and later expanded into a magnificent residential palace, it is now the largest palace in Rajasthan. We will visit the City Palace Museum and the nearby Jagdish Temple, the city’s main sanctuary, as well as the enchanting garden of the ladies of the court.

Afternoon boat trip on Lake Pichola.

Accommodation: Lalit Laxmi Vilas Palace (Grand Heritage)
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Today we leave Udaipur for Pushkar, one of the holiest sites for Hindus dedicated to the god Brahma (creator of the world). Pilgrims come from far away to one of the three royal bathing spots to take a ritual bath at the Ghats. This Brahma temple is the most important and one of only three temples in all of India dedicated to this deity.

Accommodation: Hotel Jagat Palace
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

We continue our journey to Jaipur – the Pink City of India. Pink is considered a symbol of hospitality in Rajasthan. For Prince Albert’s visit, the houses were painted in the traditional greeting colour in 1,883 – this is how the nickname Pink City came to pass.

Visit to Jaipur, now the capital of Rajasthan. We will visit the City Palace in the heart of the Old Town, which is still inhabited by the Maharaja family, the Jantar Manta open-air observatory with a sundial over 30 metres high and the legendary Palace of the Winds, behind whose ornate mock façade the ladies of the courtyard could observe the urban bustle unseen.

Accommodation: Alsisar Haveli (Heritage)
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

In the morning excursion to Amber Fort, an imposing mountain fortress to behold. The Kachhawa-Rajputs founded their capital here in the 11th century, which only lost its importance in 1728 with the construction of Jaipur. Within the fort there are numerous sights: the main sanctuary is the Kali Temple, which was reserved for the ruling family, the column hall Diwan-i-Am of red sandstone, the Mirror Palace Sheesh Mahal, the Hall of Fame Jag Mandir.

Accommodation: Alsisar Haveli (Heritage)
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

On the way to Agra, the highlight of The Mughal culture, stop in Fatehpur Sikri. Built in 1571 by Emperor Akbar, the city had to be abandoned only 15 years later due to lack of water. Now the well-preserved palaces and mosques are deserted. Continue to Agra.

Accommodation: The Clarks Shiraz
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

In the morning, visit the incomparable Taj Mahal, which Great Mogul Shah Jahan had built for his favorite wife. Completed in 1652 after 22 years of construction, the white marble mausoleum is considered one of the seven wonders of the world. Shah Jahan was prevented by his son Aurangzeb from building an equal tomb of black marble for himself. Outraged at the waste, Aurangzeb overthrew his father.

Drive to Agra Fort. Once there were 500 buildings within the mighty double wall. Particularly worth seeing: the columned hall, the Pearl and Harem Mosques as well as the Jasmine Tower, where Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son for years.

Return to Delhi.

Accommodation: The Suryaa New Delhi
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Transfer to airport for your homeward-bound flight.

Meal: Breakfast