Stay : North India Tour Rajasthan+Taj Mahal+Benares (Dream Tour)
This rich and comprehensive tour covers all the aspects and essential elements of North India. The program will allow you to share a little of the daily life of its inhabitants and take part in activities off the beaten track. Rajasthan, with its rich cultural history, will dazzle you with the colors of its people's dress and the splendor of their jewelry. Its cuisine will awaken your olfactory senses. Visits to the impressive forts and sumptuous palaces of the Maharajas will let you share in their past, and leave a lasting impression on your mind of extraordinary sites and unforgettable moments.
16 Days/15 Nights on site
Tour passes through : Delhi/Shkhawati/Bikaner/Jaisalmer/Jodhpur/Ranakpur/Kumbalgarh/Udaipur/Chittorgarh
/Pushkar/Jaipur/F.pur Sikri/Agra/Delhi/Extension to Varanasi by domestic flight.
Summary of the stay
Possible departure at these times
How to get there?
SHIVALIK HOLIDAYS
17 days
From 1700 € to 2000 €
Detail of the stay : North India Tour Rajasthan+Taj Mahal+Benares (Dream Tour) - 17 days
Day 1: FRANCE – NEW DELHI :
Steps: Delhi
Traditional welcome by your guide at the airport, depending on your flight schedule. Transfer to your hotel.
Day 2: DELHI & NEW DELHI
After breakfast.
Departure for a tour of the capital of the republic. Delhi's population of around 25 million is divided between Old Delhi and New Delhi.
Chandni Chowk, the old-style commercial district, the jama masjid mosque, glimpse of the Red Fort, Rajghat, India Gate (triumphal arch), Rajpath (presidential palace), Qutab minar, visit to the famous SIKH temple etc,
Dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day 3: DELHI - SHEKHAWATI (6h drive)
Steps: Mandawa
After breakfast.
Departure for the Shekhawati region, characterized by small villages surrounded by sand dunes, and the havelis, traditional homes of wealthy merchants who once lived off the camel trade between India and Central Asia: veritable little palaces with walls adorned with frescoes painted in the "open-air gallery" style.
On the way, visit the village of Nawalgarh and its havelis (preview and walk). Arrival late afternoon.
Dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day 4: SHEKHAWATI - FATEHPUR - BIKANER (4h de route )
After breakfast, explore the famous village of Mandawa and its havelis before heading off to Bikaner and a stroll through the village of Fatehpur.
Continuing on to Bikaner, visit the beautiful 16th-century Junagarh fort. It is one of the best-preserved forts in Rajasthan. Tuk-tuk ride through the narrow streets of the old town, where you can also discover some beautiful havelis.
Dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day 5: BIKANER - JAISALMER (6h the route)
Steps: Jaisalmer
After breakfast.
Departure for Jaisalmer, a fortified city rising out of the desert, once an essential passage for spice, opium and indigo caravans between the Indus Valley and Central Asia, which made its fortune in the 18th century.
Visit Bara Bagh, former garden of the rulers of Jaisalmer, to discover the cenotaphs (chhatris), built on a hill in a beautiful setting.
Dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day 6: JAISALMER
Steps: Jaisalmer
After breakfast.
Visit to Jaisalmer, called "the golden city" because of the color of the stones in the setting sun. This impressive citadel with its massive walls and towers bears witness to its past splendour, with sumptuous merchants' residences (Havelis) and richly carved ochre sandstone facades. Visit the fortress and its magnificently sculpted Jain temples. Stroll through the city.
Afternoon camel ride in Sam's desert.
Dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day 7: JAISALMER - JODHPUR (5h the route)
Steps: Jodhpur
After breakfast.
Departure for Jodhpur, en route visit to a desert school*. Continuation to the blue city of the desert. Visit to Mehrangarh Fort, which dominates the landscape for miles around and houses palaces decorated with mural frescoes and stone lacework, and a stroll through the city.
Dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day 8: JODHPUR - RANAKPUR/JOJAWAR (3h+1h the route)
Steps: Ranakpur
Dinner and overnight at hotel.
Early morning, after breakfast, departure by 4x4 to discover the Bishnoi villages. (a branch of Hinduism) where you'll witness the opium ceremony. They are ecologists, protectors of nature and animals as well as of the desert, and stop off at a pottery village. Continue to Ranakpur and visit the 15th-century Adinath temple. This important and beautifully crafted sanctuary is one of the jewels of Jain architecture.
Dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day 9: RANAKPUR/JOJAWAR - KUMBHALGARH - UDAIPUR (1h+2h)
After breakfast.
After breakfast, departure for a local train ride on Mount Aravali. This rural train crosses a picturesque valley and introduces you to the local population.
(This rural activity is off the beaten track. Should the train be cancelled by the local service, the agency will not be held responsible).
Departure for Udaipur. En route, visit to the impressive Kumbhalgarh fort. Its 36-kilometer circumference is reminiscent of the Great Wall of China, and the view from the roof is magnificent. Continue on to Udaipur, the romantic white city, which will seduce you with its luminosity and romanticism.
dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day 10: UDAIPUR
Steps: Udaipur
After breakfast.
Overlooking the city of Udaipur and Lake Pichola, the Maharana's City Palace houses interesting collections of weapons and miniatures, as well as a veritable maze of courtyards and gardens, halls and salons decorated with mirrors, ceramics and paintings. Visit the 17th-century Jagdish temple, home to a black stone statue of Vishnu as Jagannath, Lord of the Universe.
Visit the "Saheliyon ki bari" garden, built exclusively for the women of the royal family by one of the Maharajas. A haven of peace and greenery, the garden is teeming with flowers such as bougainvillea and lotus blossoms.
Stroll through the narrow streets of the old town, teeming with merchants and boutiques. Boat trip on Lake Pichola.
Dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day 11: UDAIPUR- CHITTORGARH - PUSHKAR (2h+4h the route)
Steps: Pushkar, Chittorgarh
After breakfast.
Departure for Jaipur. On the way, visit the Chittorgarh fortress (the most beautiful in Rajasthan), towering imposingly above the plain. Chittorgarh is an exceptional site, 150 m above sea level; a dark mass where everything breathes the tragedy of those who, sword in hand, threw themselves in front of certain death, rather than succumb to their assailants. In the citadel, you'll discover numerous remains of temples and palaces.
Continuation to Pushkar.
Dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day 12: PUSHKAR - JAIPUR (2H30 the route)
Steps: Pushkar
After breakfast.
Visit Pushkar and stroll around the ghats leading down to the lake. Around a vast basin accessible by monumental staircases, visit the world's one and only temple dedicated to the god Brahma, and stroll through the bustling bazaar.
Afternoon departure for Jaipur, Rajasthan's capital and "pink city". Jaipur was founded in 1728 by the warrior astronomer Maharaja Jai Singh II.
Dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day 13: JAIPUR - AMBER - JAIPUR
After breakfast.
Departure for an excursion to Amber Fort, 10 km north of the city. In Mughal times, it was the former residence of the Maharajas. Elephant ride up to the fort's ramparts. Amber is the ancient capital of the state, founded by the Minas and abandoned a few centuries later when Maharaja Jai Singh moved to Jaipur. Visit the palace with its mirror-set halls and the former harem. Glimpse the Hawa Mahal or "Palace of the Winds", an extraordinary section of the wall of an ancient Baroque palace considered one of the wonders of Rajput architecture. The many windows that adorn its façade were built to allow the women of the royal harem to see outside without being seen in return.
Visit the city palace, the Maharaja's palace, part of which is still inhabited by the Maharaja and houses Mughal miniatures.
The astronomical observatory, Jantar-Mantar, built by Jai Singh II between 1728 and 1734, houses the world's most accurate sundial.
Ride in a rickshaw and stroll through the bazaar, then free time, overnight at the hotel.
Dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day 14: JAIPUR - FATEHPUR - SIKRI (4h+1h the route)
Steps: Fatehpur Sikri
After breakfast.
Departure for Agra, on the way visiting the famous city of Fatehpur Sikri, also known as the ghost town, founded by Akbar, the greatest Mughal leader. A magnificent UNESCO World Heritage site. Continuation to Agra.
Dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day 15: AGRA - DELHI (3H30 the route
Steps: Agra
After breakfast.
Morning visit to Taj Mahal, one of the highlights of Mughal art and architecture: the Taj Mahal, the country's most famous monument, considered the eighth wonder of the world. This luminous mausoleum of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones was built by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal.
Visit the Red Fort, whose high red sandstone walls overlook the Yamuna River.
Drive to Delhi.
Dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day 16: DELHI-VARANASI (VOL)
After breakfast, flight to Varanasi.
After breakfast, flight to Varanasi. Ride in a rickshaw to the ghats. In the evening, sunset and participation in the Aarti ceremony on the banks of the Ganges (a spiritual and exhilarating Hindu ritual). Overnight at hotel.
Dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day 17: VARANASI - DELHI - FRANCE
Early in the morning, take a boat trip on the Ganges and enjoy a completely different atmosphere. It's time for prayers on the sacred banks and ritual ablutions in the river. Stroll through the old town to the 17th-century Aurangzeb mosque. Glimpse the Golden Temple (the holiest in Benares, unfortunately entry is forbidden to non-Hindus).
Visit to Sarnath, an important and famous site in the life of Buddha, where he preached his first sermon.
Transfer to the airport in the afternoon, depending on flight schedule. Arrive directly at terminal 3 of the international airport to connect to your international flight.
End of our services.
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