The Complete Rajasthan Odyssey with Mount Abu

Welcome to India. Our representative meets you at Delhi airport or railway station with a traditional garland welcome and escorts you to your hotel in a private air-conditioned car. After a long journey, the rest of the day is yours to rest and adjust to the new time zone. If you arrive early and feel like stretching your legs, take a gentle evening walk around Connaught Place, the elegant colonnaded circle at the heart of New Delhi, with its cafes, bookshops and busy street life. Your tour manager will brief you on the days ahead.

Begin in Old Delhi at Jama Masjid, one of India's largest mosques, built by Shah Jahan in the 1650s, then take a cycle-rickshaw through the crowded lanes of Chandni Chowk, a 17th-century bazaar of spices, silver and sweets. Drive past the red sandstone walls of the Red Fort and pause at Raj Ghat, the simple memorial to Mahatma Gandhi. In the afternoon, explore New Delhi: Humayun's Tomb, the Mughal garden tomb that inspired the Taj Mahal, and the 73-metre Qutub Minar, begun around 1200. End with a drive past India Gate and the grand government buildings of Lutyens' Delhi.

After breakfast, drive south to Agra, the great Mughal capital on the Yamuna. On the way, stop at Sikandra to see the tomb of Emperor Akbar, set in a walled garden where deer graze. In the afternoon, visit Agra Fort, a red sandstone citadel of palaces, mosques and audience halls, where Shah Jahan spent his last years looking out at the Taj. Then see the Taj Mahal itself in the soft late light: the white marble mausoleum he built for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, completed in 1653, with inlay of precious stones and perfect symmetry.

After breakfast, visit Itmad-ud-Daulah, a delicate marble tomb on the Yamuna, often called the Baby Taj for its fine inlay work, which came before the Taj Mahal itself. Then drive west to Fatehpur Sikri, the red sandstone capital Emperor Akbar built in the 16th century and abandoned soon afterwards. Walk through the Buland Darwaza, one of the largest gateways in the world, the five-storey Panch Mahal and the white marble shrine of the Sufi saint Sheikh Salim Chishti. Continue to Jaipur, arriving in the late afternoon, and check in.

Start early at Amber Fort, the hilltop palace of the Kachwaha rulers above Maota Lake, riding up to the ramparts by jeep. Explore its courtyards and the Sheesh Mahal, a hall lined with thousands of tiny mirrors. Pause for photos at Jal Mahal, the palace in the lake. In the afternoon, visit the City Palace, still home to the former royal family, and Jantar Mantar, the 18th-century observatory of giant stone instruments and a UNESCO site. See the honeycomb facade of Hawa Mahal, then browse the bazaars for block prints, gems and blue pottery.

Drive south-west to Ajmer to visit the Dargah Sharif, the shrine of the 13th-century Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, revered by people of every faith. Continue over the hills to Pushkar, one of India's holiest towns, built around a small sacred lake ringed by 52 ghats and hundreds of temples. Visit the Brahma Temple, one of very few in the world dedicated to Lord Brahma, the creator. In the evening, join the aarti on the ghats as lamps, bells and chanting fill the air, then wander the lively bazaar.

Drive south through farmland to Chittorgarh, the capital of Mewar for some 800 years. In the afternoon, explore its vast hilltop fort, the largest in India and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where Rajput warriors fought to the last and queens chose death over surrender. See the nine-storey Vijay Stambha, the Tower of Victory built in the 15th century, the Jain Kirti Stambha, Rana Kumbha's palace, and the water palace linked to the legend of Rani Padmini. Watch the sun set over the plains from the ramparts before checking in.

Spend the morning exploring Chittorgarh Fort, the largest in India and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, spread across a high plateau. See the nine-storey Vijay Stambha, or Tower of Victory, the Jain Kirti Stambha, Rana Kumbha's palace and the water palace associated with Rani Padmini, and hear the stories of Rajput valour. After lunch, drive south-west to Udaipur, about two and a half hours away. Check in to your hotel and enjoy the evening by Lake Pichola, perhaps from a rooftop restaurant.

Visit the City Palace, a vast complex of courtyards, balconies and mirrored rooms built over four centuries and rising above Lake Pichola, then the carved Jagdish Temple nearby, dedicated to Vishnu. Stroll through Saheliyon-ki-Bari, the Garden of the Maidens, with its fountains, lotus pools and marble elephants. In the late afternoon, take a boat ride on Lake Pichola past the bathing ghats and the island palace of Jag Mandir, as the light turns gold over the white palaces. The evening is free for the old city's cafes.

Drive west from Udaipur to Mount Abu, Rajasthan's only hill station, set on a forested plateau at around 1,200 metres. In the afternoon, visit the Dilwara temples, built by the Jains between the 11th and 13th centuries and celebrated for white marble carving of astonishing delicacy, especially on their ceilings and domes. Later, take a boat on Nakki Lake, surrounded by hills and odd-shaped rocks, or join the crowds at Sunset Point to watch the sun go down over the plains. The cool air is a welcome change.

After breakfast, drive down from the hills to Ranakpur, deep in a wooded valley of the Aravallis. Visit its 15th-century Jain temple, built from pale marble, with more than a thousand carved pillars, no two alike, and soaring domes of lace-like carving. Remove your shoes and leather items before entering, as is the custom. After lunch, continue north to Jodhpur, the Blue City, arriving in the evening beneath the walls of Mehrangarh Fort. Check in and relax after a long but beautiful day.

Explore Mehrangarh Fort, rising some 120 metres above the city on a sheer rock. Climb through its seven gates to palaces of carved sandstone, museum galleries of palanquins, howdahs and miniature paintings, and ramparts that look over a sea of blue houses. Visit Jaswant Thada, the white marble royal memorial beside a small lake, and the museum in Umaid Bhawan Palace, one of the world's largest private homes, completed in 1943. End the day in the old city around the Clock Tower and Sardar Market, with spices, textiles and street snacks.

After breakfast, drive west into the heart of the Thar Desert, where the landscape opens into sand, scrub and wide skies. You may see camel carts, herders and villages of mud-walled huts along the way. Arrive in Jaisalmer, the Golden City, in the afternoon. Founded by Rawal Jaisal in 1156, it grew rich on the camel caravans that crossed the desert. In the evening, walk to Gadisar Lake, a peaceful reservoir lined with temples and shrines, and watch the sandstone city glow gold at sunset.

Spend the morning in Jaisalmer Fort, one of the few living forts in the world, with homes, Jain temples and shops inside its golden walls. Then visit the carved merchant mansions of Patwon ki Haveli and Salim Singh ki Haveli in the old town. In the afternoon, drive about 45 km west to the Sam Sand Dunes. Ride a camel across the sand to watch the sun set over the desert. In the evening, enjoy Rajasthani folk music, dancing and dinner under the stars, then return to your hotel in Jaisalmer.

After breakfast, drive north-east across the Thar Desert from Jaisalmer to Bikaner, a long journey through dunes, scrub and villages, with tea stops along the way. Bikaner was founded by Rao Bika in 1488 and grew rich on the desert trade routes. Its old city is a maze of narrow lanes lined with red sandstone havelis. Check in and spend the evening exploring the bazaars, famous for bhujia, a crunchy spiced snack, and for sweets such as rasgulla. Your guide can show you the old merchant quarter.

Explore Junagarh Fort, built between 1589 and 1594 and never conquered, with its gold-leaf Anup Mahal and painted palace rooms. Then visit Lalgarh Palace, a red sandstone palace completed in the early 20th century, part of which is now a hotel and museum. See the National Research Centre on Camel, where camels are bred and studied. In the afternoon, drive 30 km south to the Karni Mata Temple at Deshnok, famous for the thousands of rats revered there. Return to Bikaner for an evening in the old city's bazaars, famous for bhujia.

After breakfast, drive east from Bikaner to Mandawa in the Shekhawati region, about four hours away. Shekhawati is known as the open-air art gallery of Rajasthan, because its merchant families covered their havelis with frescoes of gods, legends and the wonders of their day, from trains to the telephone. Check in to your heritage hotel. In the afternoon, take a guided walk among the frescoed havelis and see Mandawa Castle, the 18th-century fort at the heart of the town. Dinner is in the hotel.

Spend the morning on a guided walk through Mandawa's frescoed havelis, built by the merchant families of Shekhawati. Look for paintings of gods and legends alongside scenes of trains, motor cars and early aeroplanes, and visit the old stepwell and the castle at the heart of the town. After lunch, drive back to Delhi, about six hours away. You are dropped at the airport for your onward flight or at your hotel. It is a fitting end to a journey through Rajasthan's royal and merchant past.