India Holidays
Rajasthan's Little Castles: Bastions of Valor & Romance
7 DAYS: DELHI -MANDAWA- SAMODE- JAIPUR- AGRA- DELHI
This is an ideal trip for those with limited time. It presents an
exciting blend of rural Rajasthan and its profusion of erstwhile fiefdoms with spectacular
little castles, the most fabulous palaces of the Maharajas, and the magical Taj
Mahal.
Day 1: Arrive Delhi :
Clear immigration and customs. Your tour manager/ representative will
be waiting for you outside the arrival hall. He will be holding a “High Points of
India” placard. Transfer to hotel. Day at leisure. No fewer than eight cities have
been built side by side on this site over the centuries. Delhi as it stands today
has been built by Hindu, Muslim and British builders, and in a few minutes you can
be transported from the neo-classical architecture of the elegant garden city of
New Delhi to the narrow, twisting lanes that surround Chandni-Chowk in the old city.PM:
Excursion to the Hauz Khas, to explore its art galleries, boutiques and exotic
restaurants set amidst 1000 year old fortifications and a lively village.
Day 2: Delhi:
AM & PM: Guided city tour of Old and New Delhi. Drive past
the elegant India Gate, Rashtrapati Bhavan, and Parliament House. Visit the Qutub
Minar, Red Fort, and the Jumma Masjid.
The buildings designed by Edward Lutyens - architect of modern
Delhi - are truly majestic. The Presidential Palace, Parliament House and India
Gate are all reminiscent of the British "Raj". We drive through Delhi’s beautiful
tree-lined avenues and the Diplomatic Enclave enroute to the 12th century, 234 foot
high fluted minaret of Qutab Minar. Later, in Old Delhi, we will explore the
magnificent Red Fort, built at the zennith of the Mughal empire in India. The centuries-old
international market-place that sprawls at its feet is still one of Delhi's
most important commercial hubs: Chandni Chowk, or “Moonlight Square”. We shall
ride on cycle-rickshaws through the bustling silver market and the wholesale spice
market. The sounds, smells and colors of the bazaar, and the throngs of people
who animate it makes this an unforgettable spectacle. Our last stop in Old Delhi
shall be the elegant Jumma Masjid, the largest mosque in Asia.
Day 3: Delhi - Mandawa:
AM: Half-day drive to Mandawa. Entering the state of Rajasthan,
we drive past stretches of golden sand and low, rocky hills dotted with tiny fortresses.
Occasional camel-drawn carts share the road. Their riders wear the colorful turbans
and fierce mustaches of the fabled Rajput clans. Check-in at the Castle Mandawa,
now converted into a heritage hotel.PM: Walking tour of the interesting towns of
Shekhawati, where the dominent merchant families decorate their ancestral homes
with elaborate murals.One of the oldest murals (1760) is within the Castle Mandawa.Some
of them are influenced by the arrival of the British East India Company in India.
One shows an Englishman riding a bicycle, but the artist had obviously never seen
a real one. There is another representing the Wright Brothers flying an airplane,
but it has only one wing! In the evening, relax in the romantic ambience of the
castle- hotel.
Day 4: Mandawa – Samode:AM: Half-day drive to Samode. Samode
Palace is a perfect jewel hidden away in deep ravines some twenty five miles (42
Km) from Jaipur, one of the few unspoiled preserves of the former maharajahs. The
story of the palace dates back more than 400 years to the time of the illustrious
Prithivraj Singhji of Amber. Stately corridors, frescoed walls, and ethereal audience
halls, harmoniously reflect the skill of master craftsmen in a perfect blend of
the Rajput and Moghul styles of architecture.Each room is exclusive. A blend of
contemporary comforts and traditional styles, reflecting an old world charm replete
with antique furniture. All 35 rooms have attached baths with running hot and cold
water, and air-conditioning.
The hotel was chosen as the principal setting for the British television
production of M.M. Kaye’s “The Far Pavilions”. It has proudly hosted world
- figures like the late Mrs Jacqeline Kennedy Onassis and Mick Jagger. It has been
judged as the Best Heritage Hotel in India for three years consecutively. Samode
offers you the unique experience of Royal Rajasthan, where during the day you can
travel on camel back through quaint villages to the splendor of the Mughal garden
at Samode Bagh.Samode Bagh is a garden paradise situated 4 km from Samode Palace.
Nestled on 20 acres of beautiful grounds it combines warmth and luxury, an atmosphere
that is quiet, relaxed & elegant. It is a romantic hideaway where you can be
as active or comtemplative as you wish. Built 150 years ago by another son of the
illustrious Pritviraj Singh Ji of Amber, the Bagh is modeled on the geometric style
of a Mughal garden where members of the Samode Royal family came to enjoy rare moments
of privacy.
The garden is about three blocks long and is enclosed by a 15 ft high
stone wall.Samode Bagh offers the unique experience of a tented camp where the dune
colored tents are luxuriously furnished with every comfort. A 200 feet long row
of fountains fed from natural springs and wells are displayed all along the garden.
Victorian and traditional Rajasthani décor echo life in a 16th century luxury
camp. The 44 dune coloured tents are spacious, with carpeted floors, electric lights
and heating, each with their own en suite marble bathrooms with showers, hot and
cold water, an attached dressing room and a private front porch. The inner fabric
used is specially designed and printed with floral motifs in warm earthy colours.
The ceiling is of muslin with a pattern printed in gold creating an ambience
of gracious living.
Day 5: Samode- Jaipur:
AM: Drive one hour to Jaipur, stopping to explore the magnificent
Amber Fort. High above the city, the towers and domes of the Fort are reminiscent
of scenes from some fairy tale. We shall ascend to the fort atop gaily-decorated
elephants, as did the Maharajah’s of old. Within the fort walls lies an assortment
of buildings famous for their intricate mirror inlays - the Hall of Mirrors and
other palaces with latticed windows and beautifully sculpted arches and pillars.
PM: This afternoon we will tour Jaipur City, visiting the Maharaja’s City Palace.
The City Palace is still the residence of the Jaipur 
family, and its museum displays a fabulous collection of paintings, carpets, jewelry
and arms. We will visit the Jantar Mantar (Royal Observatory), and the Hawa Mahal,
or “Palace of the Winds”. This is a multi-storied, intricately latticed facade of
pink sandstone, designed for the pleasures of the ladies of the royal court. From
here they could look out upon the quaint bazaars that still thrive around the palace,
without exposing themselves to the prying stares of the commoners. Later, we shall
explore the same colorful bazaars on foot, for memorable encounters with the descendents
of those commoners, many of them still living in their ancestral “havelis” along
the main market street. The sheer variety of the items that is sold off the street
is fascinating, ranging from the mundane to the exotic, or even the simply baffling.
Day 6: Jaipur – Fatehpur Sikri - Agra:
AM: Half-Day drive to Agra, enroute visiting the deserted city
of Fatehpur Sikri.
This is a perfectly preserved ghost town, built between 1570 and 1585.
The original capital of the Mughal empire was situated here, but was later abandoned
due to lack of an adequate water supply. The deserted city boasts several elegant
palaces and mosques.
PM: We spend the afternoon and early evening at the Taj Mahal,
the magnificent monument to an emperor’s love for his queen. A colossal, perfectly
proportioned mass of marble, the Taj Mahal is literally a jewel. It was fashioned
over 17 years by 20,000 craftsmen & laborers. From a distance, it seems to float,
like a fantastic mirage, upon the banks of the River Yamuna.
Day 7: Agra – Delhi:
AM/PM: Return drive to Delhi for your onward flights.
More About Romantic Rajasthan