Thar Desert & the Golden Cities

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.

Leave Delhi after breakfast and drive west to Mandawa, a small town in the Shekhawati region of northern Rajasthan. In the 18th and 19th centuries, wealthy Marwari merchant families built grand havelis here and covered them with frescoes of gods, legends, hunting scenes and even trains and motor cars. Check in to your heritage hotel, often a converted castle or haveli, and take an easy evening walk through lanes of painted walls, carved wooden doorways and quiet courtyards. Dinner is served in the hotel courtyard.

Take a morning walk with a local guide among Mandawa's painted havelis, where merchant families covered every wall with frescoes of gods, legends and early motor cars. Then drive west across the desert to Bikaner. In the afternoon, visit Junagarh Fort, built between 1589 and 1594 by Raja Rai Singh and never conquered. Inside its walls are richly decorated palace rooms, among them the gold-leaf Anup Mahal and the blue-painted Badal Mahal, and a museum of royal treasures. Spend the evening in the old city's bazaars.

After breakfast, drive west across the Thar Desert from Bikaner to Jaisalmer, a long and memorable journey through open sand country. Along the way you pass villages, herds of grazing camels, women in bright skirts carrying water, and wind farms on the horizon. Arrive in Jaisalmer, the Golden City, in the afternoon. Built of yellow sandstone, it grew rich on the camel caravans that once crossed the desert. In the evening, watch the sunset from Gadisar Lake, a peaceful reservoir lined with temples and carved pavilions.

Explore Jaisalmer Fort, built in 1156 and one of the few living forts in the world, with homes, shops, Jain temples and cafes still inside its golden walls. Wander its narrow lanes and visit the royal palace and the finely carved Jain temples. In the old town, see the merchant mansions of Patwon ki Haveli, a cluster of five houses with lace-like stone balconies, and Salim Singh ki Haveli, with its peacock-shaped roof. End the day at Bada Bagh, where royal cenotaphs stand on a ridge, beautiful at sunset.

After a leisurely morning, drive west towards the dunes. On the way, visit Kuldhara, a village abandoned in the 19th century, whose empty stone houses inspire many local legends. Check in to your desert camp at Sam, with comfortable tents and private bathrooms. In the late afternoon, ride out by camel into the dunes to watch the sun set over the sand. The evening brings folk music and Kalbelia dancing around the fire, a traditional Rajasthani dinner and a sky full of stars, far from the lights of any city.

Wake early to watch sunrise over the dunes, then enjoy breakfast at the camp. Drive east across the desert to Osian, an ancient trading town on the caravan route, with more than a dozen Hindu and Jain temples dating from the 8th to the 11th century. See the finely carved Sachiya Mata Temple on its hilltop and the Mahavira Jain Temple, and take in the views over the dunes. Continue to Jodhpur, the Blue City, arriving in the late afternoon. Spend the evening around the Clock Tower and Sardar Market.

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 east from Jodhpur to Pushkar, one of the holiest towns in India, about four hours away. Pushkar is built around a small sacred lake, which legend says formed where a lotus petal fell from the hand of Lord Brahma. Visit the Brahma Temple, one of very few in the world dedicated to the creator god, and walk along the ghats where pilgrims bathe. In the evening, join the aarti as lamps are floated on the water, then explore the busy bazaar of bangles, textiles and rose products.

Enjoy a quiet morning by the lake, when Pushkar is at its most peaceful and pilgrims gather on the ghats. Then drive to Jaipur via Ajmer, stopping at the Dargah Sharif, the shrine of the Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, where pilgrims of all faiths offer flowers and chadars, embroidered cloths. Continue to Jaipur, about two and a half hours away, and check in. In the evening, enjoy a Rajasthani dinner, or visit Chokhi Dhani, a recreated village with folk dancers, puppeteers and traditional food served on leaf plates.

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.

Enjoy a relaxed final morning in Jaipur. Jaipur is famous for its crafts, so this is a good time for last shopping: block-printed textiles in Bapu Bazaar, silver and gems in Johari Bazaar, blue pottery and the quilts of Sanganer. Or simply enjoy a slow breakfast at your hotel. After lunch, drive back to Delhi, about five to six hours along the highway, with a tea stop on the way. You are dropped at Delhi airport for your onward flight or at your hotel, bringing your Rajasthan journey to a close.