Meeting, assistance on arrival and transfer to hotel.
The morning is free to relax at your hotel. After lunch we proceed by road to the Kesroli Hill Fort, a turreted 16th century fort sympathetically converted into a small luxury hotel with airy rooms set around a courtyard. The remainder of the day is at leisure to enjoy this peaceful rural location.
Morning tour of nearby Alwar, a strategic stronghold on the Rajput borders. The flamboyant City Palace with domed roofs, lavish verandahs and intricate balconies, houses a fine museum of courtly memorabilia. The afternoon is at leisure with an optional visit to the Sariska Tiger Reserve before enjoying a second night at Kesroli.
Drive to Ranthambore National Park for two nights.
Morning and evening game viewing in the park by both jeep and truck. The remainder of the day is free to relax and enjoy the facilities of the Lodge which including attractive gardens, a swimming pool and a fine dining hall where lunch is taken beneath the gaze of several tiger heads.
After a final early morning game drive, we continue our journey by road into Southern Rajasthan to the town of Kota where we stay at the Brijraj Bhawan Palace or the Umed Bhawan Palace, both former royal residences. An afternoon tour takes us to the City Fort and Palace whose splendid apartments house the best museum in Rajasthan.
Morning drive to Bundi, a picturesque medieval town where we pause for lunch, a visit to the Taragarh Fort on the hillside above, and the maharajah’s palace decorated with the famous Bundi murals. In the late afternoon we arrive in Bijaipur where we stay in a 16th century castle.
The morning is devoted to touring Chittorgarh whose sprawling hilltop fort epitomizes all the romantic ideals of Rajput chivalry. Among the other sites are Padmini’s Palace, home of the legendary beauty of Mewar, and the Tower of Victory.
Leisurely morning and then drive to Dhariyawad Fort, home of Thakur Vikram Singh whose family once ruled the area.
Day free to enjoy Jeep safari or Horse safari into rural terrains with local royal experts. Also visit the local Bhil tribes.
Morning drive to the small town of Dungarpur, well off the beaten track, where we tour the deserted palace of Juna Mahal full of old frescoes and superb glass inlay work. We stay at the Udai Bilas Palace, set on a lakeshore and redolent of a bygone age.
Drive to Udaipur, a medieval gem and certainly the most romantic city in India. A relaxing afternoon is spent touring Lake Pichola by boat and visiting the Jag Mandir, an island palace and one time refuge of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, who is said to have derived some of the inspiration for the Taj Mahal from the palace architecture. We stay for two nights at the Trident Hotel.
Morning visit to the City Palace, the largest and most spectacular palace complex in Rajasthan. In the afternoon we visit the Jain temples and royal burial grounds at Nagda and Eklingji.
Fly from Udaipur to Bombay and transfer on arrival to the renowned Taj Mahal Hotel. A short tour of Bombay in the afternoon visits the Prince of Wales Museum and the bustling Crawford Market. There is a farewell dinner at the hotel before connecting with the return flight home.