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Duration: 24 Nights/ 25 Days
Destinations Covered: Delhi – Jaipur –Mandawa -Bikaner-Pokaran-Jaisalmer-Mandore-Luni-Mount Abu-Ranakpur-Udaipur-Pushkar-Ajmer-Samode-Fatehpur Sikri-Agra-Delhi
DAY 01: Delhi
The Desert to Ganges Tour starts at Delhi, the capital city of India. On arrival, you will be received by our representative and transferred to a hotel for the overnight stay.
DAY 02: Delhi
The second day of the Desert to Ganges Tour takes you on a sight seeing trip of Delhi. You will visit the famous historical sites of Delhi like the Qutub Minar – the tallest stone minaret in the world, Humayun’s tomb – the 1st Mughal construction in India, the Rashtrapati Bhawan or the official residence of the President of India, the India Gate – a war memorial, the Red Fort made of red sandstone, the Jama Masjid – the largest mosque in India, Birla Mandir a Hindu temple, Rajghat – the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi and the Chandni Chowk a busy market place.
DAY 03: Delhi – Mandawa
We leave for Mandawa after lunch and visit the royal palace of the Thakur king of Mandawa where you can admire the mural paintings and colorful wall décor.
Day 04: Mandawa – Bikaner (180 km)
In the morning, the tour takes you to the village of Shekhawati to see the many Havelis built in the 18th and 19th centuries. Then the tour leaves for Bikaner after lunch to see the Junagarh Fort, a royal museum of the 16th century and the camel breeding farm.
Day 05: Bikaner – Pokaran – Jaisalmer (330 km)
In the morning, the tour leaves for Pokaran across the Thar Desert to see the 15th century fort where the great Mughal emperor Akbar was born in 1543. After lunch, the tour continues to Jaisalmer the golden city and observes the sunset over the desert.
Day 06: Jaisalmer
In the morning, an exclusive tour of the Sonar Kila is arranged where you can see various Jain temples, a museum with a collection of robes and artifacts of the royal families, the Patwaon ki Haveli where the ladies resided and the Gadisar Lake. Later, the tour goes to Khuri village where you would be taken to the dunes to see the sunset on camel carts and return to the village to have dinner arranged in desert mud huts.
Day 07: Jaisalmer – Jodhpur (270 km)
We leave for Jodhpur to visit the majestic Mehrangarh fort the residence of the Rathore princes in 1453 AD. Post lunch we visit the spice market and then leave for the Mandore gardens the capital of Marwar in the past and take views of the fabulous cenotaphs. Then we drive back to Jodhpur to visit the Umaid Bhawan Palace where the present king of Jodhpur lives.
Day 08: Jodhpur – Rohet (270 km)
In the morning, we leave for Rohet and take a jungle safari to visit the jungles as well as the Bishnoi villages where the people live in joint families and are strictly vegetarian. The opium ceremony where guests are served small doses of opium dissolved in water is a sight not to miss . We return to the hotel for the overnight stay.
Day 09: Rohet – Mount Abu (250 km)
In the morning, we drive through the desert to reach Mount Abu which is the only hill station here at a height of 1200mt. We visit the various Jain temples and the popular Dilwara temples which have exquisitely carved interiors. Then we see the sunset at Nakki Lake.
Day 10: Mount Abu – Ranakpur – Udaipur (260 km)
A four hour drive from Mount Abu takes you to Ranakpur a pilgrimage center where the temples are built of marble. We visit the Adinath temple which has 1444 columns and other sun temples in the campus. We reach Udaipur at night to check into the hotel.
Day 11: Udaipur
In Udaipur, we visit the City Palace to see the museum, the Peacock Square and see the miniature paintings inside the palace. Later, we see the Eklingji temple dedicated to lord Shiva and the Nagda temples dedicated to both Shiva and Vishnu.
Day 12: Udaipur – Chittorgarh – Bijaipur (142 km)
We visit Chittorgarh, the former capital of Mewar and see the Kumbha Palace, the Meera temple dedicated to Lord Krishna, the tower of victory built by Rana Kumbha and the Maharani Padmini’s Palace before leaving for the hotel in Bijaipur.
Day 13: Bijaipur – Ajmer – Pushkar (200 km)
The tour leaves to visit the most holy cities of Pushkar and Ajmer. At Pushkar, we visit the Brahma temple and the local bazaar. At Ajmer, we visit the Dargah built in remembrance of Khwaja Muin Din Chisti and later visit the Mughal emperor Akbar’s Palace.
Day 14: Pushkar – Jaipur (115 km)
We visit Jaipur, the pink city and see the observatory Jantar Mantar, built in 1727 by Sawai Maharaja Jai Singh II which is still functional and the City Palace which has a collection of arms, ammunitions, paintings and robes.
Day 15: Jaipur
We visit the Amber fort on elephant ride and see the Sheesh Mahal, the hall of public audiences and Maharaja Man Singh’s Palace.
Day 16: Jaipur – Sawai Madhopur (240 km)
We leave for Jaipur and check into a hotel at Ranthambore where we take a jeep safari within the sanctuary.
Day 17: Sawai Madhopur
Entire day is spent game viewing.
Day 18: Sawai Madhopur – Fatehpur Sikri – Agra (250 km)
Visit the abandoned city of Fatehpur Sikri and see Jodhabai’s palace which is the biggest palace here. Then, tour continues for Agra.
Day 19: Agra
In Agra, we first visit the popular Taj Mahal monument built by Emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, now included in the New Seven Wonders of the World. Then, we visit the Agra fort built by Akbar where Shahan Jahan was imprisoned by his own son Aurangzeb. Then we visit Itmad ud Daulah, the first mughal building built out of marbles and the Sikandara tomb of the great emperor Akbar.
Day 20: Agra – Gwalior – Orchha (219 km)
We leave for Gwalior and visit the fort, Scindia Palace and the tombs of Ghaus Mohammed and Tansen, the Gurjari Mahal, the palace of the Gurjar queen Mrignayani which has been converted into an archaeological museum and the Mandir inside the fort. We then leave for Orchha.
Day 21: Orchcha – Khajuraho (282 km)
We visit the beautiful Palace complexes – Jahangiri Mahal and the Raja Mahal and see the beautiful mural paintings inside and visit the Laxminarayana temple in Orchcha.
Day 22: Khajuraho
We visit the eastern and western group of temples in Khajuraho built by the Chandela dynasty in the 9th to 11th centuries. Only 20 temples out of the 85 temples built are intact today.
Day 23: Khajuraho – Varanasi
In Varanasi, we visit Sarnath and the bodh gaya tree where Gautam Buddha preached his first sermon, the archaeological museum, the Dhamek stupa and the Dharmarajika stupa where a large number of Buddhists offer prayers.
Day 24: Varanasi
Early in the morning at about 0500hrs, the tour takes you to the banks of the river Ganges where we take a boat to see the morning ablutions of the Hindus in this sacred river which is known to purify the devotees of their sins. The boat ride starts from Dasashwamedh ghat and ends at Manikarnika ghat. On the way you can see the Kashi Vishwanath temple, the Gyanvyapi Kund and the mosque. The Benaras Hindu University and the Bharat Mata Mandir are also worth visiting in Varanasi. You can return to the hotel room and relax as the tour comes to an end.
Day 25: Varanasi- Delhi
The tour ends with a transfer arranged to the airport where you can take a flight back to Delhi and finally return back home.
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