Your Travel Experience with ARRIVAL
Day 1
Arrive in Delhi
Touch down in India's capital and meet the transfer staff at the arrivals hall. Your representative will be waiting to transfer you by private vehicle to the hotel. Delhi, the capital of India, is a city where Mughal monuments, colonial avenues and a modern metropolis all sit within the same boundaries. Today is a soft landing. Rest, recover from the flight and let the city settle around you.
Day 1 - 3
Taurus Sarovar Portico (or similar)
A modern three-star hotel sitting close to Indira Gandhi International Airport, which makes it the right choice for the first and last nights of a trip where the last thing you need is a complicated transfer after a long-haul flight or before an early departure. Rooms are clean, spacious and properly comfortable, with wooden flooring, modern furnishings and everything you need to sleep well. Breakfast is included every morning.
Day 2
Old Delhi Food Walk and Cycle Rickshaw
Enjoy an included breakfast at the hotel. Then into Old Delhi. The morning begins at Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib on Chandni Chowk, one of the most important Sikh shrines in Delhi, where volunteers in the langar, or community kitchen, cook and serve free meals to thousands of people every day. Then the food walk begins. Jalebi, kachori, paratha from the famous Paranthe Wali Gali, chaat, kebabs and masala chai at shops where the same families have been cooking the same things for generations. Through Khari Baoli, Asia's largest spice market, where the air changes the moment you enter. Then a cycle rickshaw through the lanes behind Chandni Chowk to Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India. The evening is free for you to explore after returning to the hotel.
Old Delhi Food Walk and Cycle Rickshaw
Jalebi, kachori, paratha, chaat, kebabs and masala chai from long-running family businesses across Chandni Chowk. Through Khari Baoli, Asia's largest spice market. Then a cycle rickshaw through the lanes behind Chandni Chowk to Jama Masjid. The most immersive single day on the itinerary and genuinely unlike anything most travellers have experienced before.
Day 3
Delhi to Agra. Agra Fort and the Taj at Sunset.
Included breakfast and check out. Private vehicle to Agra, approximately four hours and 245 kilometres. The city that Shah Jahan built, the Mughal capital through the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. After checking in, the afternoon focuses on Agra Fort, the massive red sandstone complex from which the Mughals ruled much of northern India. Then across to Mehtab Bagh, the Moonlight Garden on the opposite bank of the Yamuna, for the first view of the Taj Mahal at sunset, seen from across the river. A deliberate choice to introduce the monument gradually before the main visit tomorrow morning.
Day 3 - 4
Hotel Taj Resorts (or similar)
This hotel is as close to the Taj Mahal as you can get. Taj Resorts sits near the eastern gate of the Taj Mahal, close enough to walk to the entrance in the early morning before the crowds arrive and the heat builds. Clean, modern rooms with everything you need after a day of serious sightseeing. Rooftop pool and a terrace restaurant with views that make the location feel even more extraordinary once you are up there with a drink as the sun goes down. Breakfast included.
Day 4
Taj Mahal at Sunrise. Fatehpur Sikri. Jaipur.
Early morning. The Taj Mahal as the sun comes up, before the heat builds and the crowds arrive. Built by Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal over twenty-two years, it remains the finest example of Mughal architecture anywhere in the world. Entry fees included. Back to the hotel for breakfast, then check out and drive towards Jaipur, approximately five hours and 275 kilometres. En route, a stop at Fatehpur Sikri, the Mughal capital built by Emperor Akbar in 1571 and abandoned barely fourteen years later. The palaces, courtyards and the great Buland Darwaza stand remarkably well preserved. Arrive in Jaipur by early evening.
Taj Mahal at Sunrise
The group is up early for this one and it is worth every minute of the alarm. Entry fees included. The Taj Mahal is scheduled for the early morning when the marble shifts from grey to pink to white as the light changes, the air is still cool and the crowds that will fill the site by mid-morning have not yet arrived.
Day 4 - 6
Nirwana Hometel Jaipur (or similar)
A well-located, comfortable three-star hotel sitting in the centre of Jaipur, close to the railway station and within easy reach of everything the Pink City has to offer. After two days of significant driving and sightseeing, this is the perfect base. Clean, modern rooms with city views or views toward Nahargarh Fort, which gives you Jaipur on the horizon. Three dining options on site, including a rooftop restaurant serving Indian cuisine with views across the city and a multi-cuisine restaurant for the evenings when want to lay low. The rooftop alfresco space at Jaipur Adda runs live music and Bollywood DJ nights, with daily breakfast included.
Day 5
Jaipur. Amber Fort, Palaces and the Old Bazaars.
Included breakfast at the hotel. Drive to Amber Fort, stopping first for photographs at Jal Mahal, the water palace standing in Man Sagar Lake. A short jeep ride up to the fort entrance, then through courtyards, royal chambers and the Sheesh Mahal, a hall lined floor to ceiling with thousands of tiny mirrors that has been stopping people in their tracks since the seventeenth century. Back into central Jaipur for the City Palace, still the residence of the royal family, and Jantar Mantar, the royal observatory built in the early eighteenth century whose masonry instruments still measure time and track the stars. A drive past Hawa Mahal, the Palace of Winds, and then a guided walk through the old bazaars. Every street here still trades in what it always has. Jewellery in Johari Bazaar. Textiles and leather juttis in Bapu Bazaar. Lac bangles in Tripolia. The day ends in the markets.
Amber Fort with Jeep Ride
A short jeep ride up to the fort gates, then through the Sheesh Mahal and the royal chambers of the Kachwaha rulers.
Day 6
Jaipur to Udaipur via Chittorgarh.
One of the longer driving days. Breakfast and check out, then south towards Udaipur, approximately seven hours and 400 kilometres, with a significant stop en route. Chittorgarh Fort is the largest fort in India, spread across seven hundred acres on a hill above the plain. Three times besieged. Three times the defeat ended in jauhar, the mass self-immolation of its women. The Vijay Stambh, the nine-storey tower of victory. The palace of Rani Padmini. The Kirti Stambh. The monuments are spread widely and you will move between them by vehicle. The history here carries enormous weight and the guide carries it well. Arrive in Udaipur in the early evening.
Chittorgarh Fort
The largest fort in India. Seven hundred acres on a hill above the plain. Three sieges. The Vijay Stambh. The palace of Rani Padmini. Local guide throughout.
Day 6 - 9
Hotel Mahendra Prakash (or similar)
Hotel Mahendra Prakash is a family-run heritage haveli in the heart of Udaipur, a short walk from the City Palace, Jagdish Temple and Lake Pichola. Lush gardens surround the swimming pool. A courtyard fountain that provides the kind of ambient sound that makes an afternoon rest feel actually restful. Breakfast is served to live santoor music, and the restaurant leans into regional Rajasthani cooking using age-old recipes and seasonal local produce. Three nights in a heritage property that feels like staying in someone's exceptionally well-kept family home rather than a hotel.
Day 7
Udaipur. City Palace, Temples, Gardens and the Cultural Performance.
Breakfast at the hotel. Udaipur is the most visually beautiful city on the circuit. The City Palace first, the largest palace complex in Rajasthan, built in granite and marble over three centuries and still overlooking Lake Pichola from its ridge. Then Jagdish Temple, an active Hindu temple built in 1651 that has been continuously worshipped in ever since, and Saheliyon ki Bari, the Garden of the Maidens, a quiet walled garden of fountains, lotus pools and marble pavilions that was built for the queen's attendants and still feels like a place designed for slowing down. Up to Moti Magri hill for the memorial to Maharana Pratap, the Mewar ruler who refused to submit to the Mughals when every neighbouring kingdom had, and whose story is still told here. Late afternoon, there’s an optional boat ride on Lake Pichola puts the whole city in perspective, the Lake Palace floating in the middle of the water, the City Palace rising from the shore, the Aravalli hills behind everything. The day closes with the Rajasthani folk dance and music performance at Bagore Ki Haveli, an eighteenth-century mansion on the lakeside that has been hosting performances in its courtyard for longer than most cities have existed.
Bagore Ki Haveli Cultural Performance
Rajasthani folk dance and music in the courtyard of an eighteenth-century mansion on the lakeside in Udaipur.
Boat Ride on Lake Pichola (Optional)
Views of the Lake Palace, Jag Mandir and the City Palace from the water. Available at additional cost and bookable on the day.
Day 8
Kumbhalgarh Fort and Ranakpur Jain Temple.
Included breakfast before driving north into the Aravalli hills. Kumbhalgarh Fort first, built by Rana Kumbha in the fifteenth century, its ramparts running unbroken for thirty-six kilometres around the hilltop among the longest continuous walls in the world. The view from the summit extends across the hills into the desert beyond. Then to Ranakpur for the Chaumukha Jain Temple, built in 1460 from white marble and supported by 1,444 individually carved pillars. One of the most detailed architectural stops on the entire trip. Drive back to Udaipur in the afternoon. Evening at leisure.
Kumbhalgarh Fort and Ranakpur Jain Temple
Two of the most extraordinary structures in Rajasthan. Thirty-six kilometres of unbroken rampart. 1,444 individually carved marble pillars. Both in one day.
Day 9
Udaipur to Pushkar. Sacred Sites and Holika Dahan.
Included breakfast and check out. Drive to Pushkar, approximately six hours and 295 kilometres. One of the oldest and most sacred towns in India, built around a lake that pilgrims have been coming to bathe in for centuries. After checking in, the afternoon covers the Brahma Temple, one of the most important temples dedicated to Lord Brahma and among the very few anywhere in the world. Pushkar Lake and its surrounding steps. The bazaar along the lake edge, where shops sell brassware, textiles, rose products and offerings for the temple. In the evening, Holika Dahan. Bonfires lit across the town. People gather to sing and circle the flames. The symbolic victory of good over evil, celebrated exactly as it has been celebrated here for centuries. Your guide brings you to watch. Tomorrow the colour begins.
Holika Dahan
The bonfire ceremony on the eve of Holi. The guide takes the group to watch the lighting of the bonfires and the gathering of the town. Essential context for what happens the following morning.
Day 9 - 11
Chauhan Sheraton Resort by Real Comforts (or similar)
A newly built resort sitting in the heart of Pushkar with a spectacular view of the Aravalli Hills and everything the town has to offer within easy walking distance. The Brahma Temple, the sacred ghats and the bazaar are all close by. The property blends Rajasthani architecture with modern comfort, traditional artefacts, antique chandeliers and hand-painted details throughout. This is two nights somewhere with genuine character and a view of the Aravalli Hills from the window, with daily breakfast included.
Day 10
Holi Festival in Pushkar.
This is the day. Morning begins with a private Holi celebration within the hotel grounds. Organic colours, music and refreshments arranged so you can participate at your own pace in a relaxed setting before deciding whether to head into the streets for the real thing. For those who want it, the guide takes the group into Pushkar, where the streets fill with coloured powder, water, drums, music and dancing and locals welcome you into the celebration in the way that Holi has always worked, which is warmly and without restraint. Wear old clothes. Oil your hair and skin beforehand. Bring sunglasses and cover your phone. By midday you will be unrecognisable. The afternoon is deliberately free to clean up and rest. In the evening, when the streets have quietened, a walk through the bazaar and the sunset over the holy lake before returning to the hotel.
Private Holi Celebration
The morning begins within the hotel grounds with a private Holi celebration. Organic plant-based gulal in every colour, music, gujiya pastries and thandai, the cold spiced milk drink that is as much a part of Holi as the powder itself. It is a chance to get properly into the spirit of the day before the gates open. Pushkar on Holi is something else entirely. The guide takes the group into the streets where the public celebration is already in full chaos, locals pulling strangers into colour fights, drums playing from every direction, the whole town moving at a frequency that is genuinely unlike anything most travellers have experienced before. The afternoon is free to recover. Shower, rest, sit by the lake and watch the town slowly return to its quieter self. By evening Pushkar feels like a different place again. Walk through the bazaar as the light fades and the ghats fill with people watching the sun drop over the holy lake.
Day 11
Pushkar to Delhi by Train.
Morning at leisure. Walk to the ghats, where the town returns to its quieter rhythm after the festival. Rest at the hotel. A slow, restorative final morning in Rajasthan. Then check out and drive thirty minutes to Ajmer railway station. Board the 15:45 train to Delhi, air-conditioned chair car, and watch the plains of Rajasthan slide past as the light fades. Refreshments served on board. Arrive Delhi at 22:40, met at the station and transferred to the hotel. A late finish but an immersive way to see the country.
Ajmer to Delhi Train
Air-conditioned chair car, departing 15:45, arriving 22:40. Refreshments on board.
Day 11 - 12
Taurus Sarovar Portico (or similar)
A modern three-star hotel sitting close to Indira Gandhi International Airport, which makes it the right choice for the first and last nights of a trip where the last thing you need is a complicated transfer after a long-haul flight or before an early departure. Rooms are clean, spacious and properly comfortable, with wooden flooring, modern furnishings and everything you need to sleep well. Breakfast is included every morning.
Day 12
New Delhi Sightseeing and Departure.
Included breakfast and check out. A final morning circuit through New Delhi before the airport. Rajpath, the ceremonial avenue laid out by Lutyens in the 1920s, passing India Gate, Parliament House and the Presidential Palace. Humayun's Tomb, built in the 1560s for the second Mughal emperor, its proportions and setting a direct forerunner of the Taj Mahal. And Qutub Minar, the 73-metre victory tower raised in 1193 and the tallest brick minaret in the world, standing among the ruins of Delhi's earliest Islamic city. Then a return transfer to Delhi International Airport in time for onward flights.