 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. PM: Half day 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. Optional:
Visit the unique Hauz Khas village for dinner.
 Day 2: Delhi-Agra:
AM: Half-day drive to Agra. PM: After exploring the Agra Fort - "a
splendid fusion of military might and lavish ornamentation" - we shall break for
lunch. We spend the afternoon and early evening at the Taj Mahal, the magnificent
monument to an emperor's love for his queen.
Day 3: Agra-Jaipur:
AM: AM: Half-Day drive to Jaipur. Approaching Jaipur, 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. We shall reach our hotel in Jaipur by early evening.
PM: A lively programme of Rajasthan's famous folk dances shall precede dinner
in the gardens of our exquisite palace hotel.
Day 4: Jaipur:
AM: Guided Tour. High above the city, the towers and domes of the Amber
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 yore.Within the fort walls
lies an assortment of buildings famous for their intricate mirror inlays - the Hall
of Mirrors, Kali’s Temple, 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.Optional
: Visit the exquisite Samode Palace for dinner (about an hours’ drive out
of Jaipur).
Day 5: Jaipur-Mandawa:
AM: Half-day drive to Mandawa. Check-in at the Castle Mandawa, now converted
into a heritage hotel. PM: Walking tourof 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! PM: Traditional dinner and live entertainment in the castle.
Day
6: Mandawa-Khimsar: AM: Half-day drive to Khimsar. Check-in at the Royal Khimsar
Castle hotel. PM: Explore the surrounding villages. Evening traditional dinner
and live folk dances in the castle.
Day
7: Khimsar-Jaisalmer: AM: Half-day drive to Jaisalmer. Rest of the day at leisure.
Optional: Walk in the bazaars inside this ancient fortress-city. PM:
Traditional dinner and live entertainment.
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Day 8: Jaisalmer: AM: City tour of Jaisalmer. The massive battlements
of the living fort of Jaisalmer rise dramatically out of the surrounding
desert. Within lie a host of curious buildings, with fantastic facades and elaborate
balconies.This fascinating fort was built in 1156 in the heart of the Thar desert.
The Jain temples within the fort are decorated with deities and elaborate dancing
figures in mythological settings. We shall explore the intricately latticed “ havelis”
- residences of erstwhile noblemen and wealthy traders - with their conspicuous
facades. The superb craftsmanship of the stone carver is illustrated in Nathmalji-ki-haveli,
Patwon-ki-haveli and Salim Singh-ki-haveli. Amidst all this grandeur thrives the
gay commerce and now simple life of families who have lived in the fort for a thousand
years. Jaisalmer’s exotic bazaars offer fine mirror work and embroidered articles,
wooden boxes, trinkets, silver jewelry and curios. PM: Late afternoon visit
sunset point.
Day 9: Jaisalmer-Barmer:
AM: Half-day drive to Barmer. Enroute visit colorful desert villages.
PM: Explore the Barmer market. After an evening of campfire songs and dances
with local people, we shall sleep in trekking style two-person tents in sleeping
bags. A shower / WC is available on the coach. Good meals will be prepared by the
High Points crew.
Day 10: Barmer-Zainabad: AM: Half-day drive to Zainabad. Excursions
into the Raan of Kutch for observing the wildlife as well as the local Kutcchi tribes,
a colorful sea - faring people who welcome the few visitors to this area with simple
but enthusiastic hospitality. Tonight we sleep in Tourist Huts at the edge of the
Little Raan of Kutch. Clean, with ethnic decor and western plumbing.
Day 11: Zainabad: AM: Explore the Raan by 4-wheel drive vehicles.
Bounded on the north and east by marshy flats and on the south and west by the Gulf
of Kutch and the Arabian Sea, the province of Kutch (also spelt Kuchchh or
Kachchha) is a place apart. All but isolated from neighbouring Saurasthra and Sind,
Kutch's largely arid landscape is shot through with the colour from heavily embroidered
local dress. It's a land of legends recorded in stone statues, and folk customs
reflected in popular craft and jewellery designs. The treeless marshes to the north
and east, known as the Rann of Kutch, can flood completely during a heavy
monsoon, effectively transforming Kutch into an island. Home to the rare wild ass,
the Ranns are also the only region in India where flamingoes breed successfully,
during July and August, out of reach of any but the most determined bird watchers
who can cross the marshes by camel.
PM: Evening campfire revelries with the local villagers.
Day 12: Zainabad-Bhuj:
AM: An 8-hr drive exploring other parts of the little Raan. We arrive at
the charming fortress town of Bhuj in the late afternoon. Evening explore the maze
of tiny streets and colorful bazaars that make up the town.
Day 13, Friday: Bhuj: AM: City tour including the Kutch museum and
the Swaminarayan temple.
PM: Explore the tribal villages around Bhuj. The Rabari tribes
rear cattle, buffalo, goats, sheep and camels, sell ghee, weave cloth and
are also known for fine embroidery. Typical houses, made of mud or brick, are decorated
inside with gargomati - a raised pattern of whitewashed mud and dung, inlaid
with mirrors.
Day 14: Bhuj-Bombay:
Mid-day transfer to airport for the short flight to Bombay. Assistance
will be provided at Bombay airport to connect with your next trip/destination.
Proceed homeward from Bombay. Or take another High Points trip!
Option: Add a night in Bombay to explore this fascinating city:
From the airport, transfer to the famous Taj Mahal Hotel. Day 09: Bombay:
City tour: Bombay is a bustling cosmopolitan city of over six million. It holds
a curious fascination for the visitor as well as its inhabitants, who have migrated
from all over the sub-continent over the centuries. They have retained their distinct
cultural identities yet merged into that unshakeably faithful entity: Bombayites!
We shall visit the very British style Prince of Wales Museum, and then drive along
the `Queen's Necklace' (Marine drive), skirting the back bay to Chowpatty beach,
teeming with colorful life. We will also see the Dhobi ghat(probably the world's
largest open-air laundry), and will stop to explore the lively streets around Flora
Fountain.
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