Palaces to Backwaters: Rajasthan & Kerala

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, leave Delhi and drive south-west through the farmland of Haryana and into Rajasthan, with tea stops along the way. Arrive in Jaipur, Rajasthan's capital, founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II and laid out on a grid inspired by ancient Indian planning. The old city's buildings were painted pink to welcome the Prince of Wales in 1876, earning it the name Pink City. Check in and spend the evening at leisure, or visit Birla Mandir, a white marble temple to Vishnu and Lakshmi that glows beautifully after dark.

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.

After a quiet morning by the lake in Pushkar, drive west to Jodhpur, the Blue City, through fields and desert villages. In the afternoon, explore Mehrangarh Fort, one of India's largest forts, rising high above the city on a sheer cliff. Its palaces hold superb museum galleries of royal palanquins, howdahs, paintings and arms, and its ramparts look out over a sea of blue houses. Then visit Jaswant Thada, the white marble memorial to Maharaja Jaswant Singh II, set beside a small lake. Spend the evening at the Clock Tower market.

Drive south from Jodhpur into the green Aravalli hills to Ranakpur, home to one of the most beautiful Jain temples in India. Built in the 15th century from pale marble, the Chaumukha temple has more than a thousand carved pillars, no two alike, and domes of lace-like carving. After lunch, continue through the hills and forests past villages and farms to Udaipur, the City of Lakes. Arrive in the late afternoon and check in. The evening is free to enjoy the lake views, 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.

After breakfast, transfer to Udaipur airport for your flight to Mumbai, India's busy financial capital on the Arabian Sea. You are met on arrival and taken to your hotel. In the afternoon, see the Gateway of India, built to mark the visit of King George V in 1911, and the grand Taj Mahal Palace hotel beside it. Drive past the Gothic buildings of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, a UNESCO-listed railway station, then walk along Marine Drive at sunset, known as the Queen's Necklace for its curve of lights.

After breakfast, transfer to Mumbai airport for your flight south to Cochin, also called Kochi, on the Malabar Coast of Kerala. For centuries this was a great port of the spice trade, visited by Arab, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch and British traders. You are met on arrival and taken to your hotel. In the evening, watch a Kathakali performance, Kerala's classical dance-drama, with its elaborate make-up, costumes and expressive gestures. Arrive early to see the actors applying their make-up.

Explore Fort Kochi with your guide. Watch fishermen working the giant Chinese fishing nets on the waterfront, and visit St Francis Church, where the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama was first buried. Walk through the old Dutch and Portuguese quarters, with their colonial houses and cafes. In Mattancherry, visit the Dutch Palace, with fine murals from Hindu epics, and the Paradesi Synagogue, built in 1568. End the day among the spice warehouses and antique shops of Jew Town.

After breakfast, drive about 55 km south to Alleppey, the gateway to Kerala's backwaters. Board a traditional kettuvallam, a houseboat of wood and woven palm, with a private bedroom, a sun deck and its own crew. Cruise slowly through palm-fringed canals, lagoons and paddy fields, past village churches, temples and people going about their day by the water. Fresh Kerala meals, often with fish from the backwaters, are cooked on board. The boat moors for the night in a quiet spot.

Wake to the sounds of the backwaters and enjoy breakfast on deck before disembarking. Then drive south along the coast to Kovalam, about four hours away, a beach town near Trivandrum known for its crescent-shaped bays, palm trees and red-and-white lighthouse. Check in to your beach hotel and spend the rest of the day at leisure. In the evening, walk along the sand as the fishing boats come in, and enjoy fresh seafood at one of the beachfront restaurants.

A free day to enjoy Kovalam at your own pace. Swim in the calm water of Lighthouse Beach or Hawa Beach, or climb the lighthouse for sweeping views of the coast. Kerala is the home of Ayurveda, India's traditional system of medicine, so this is the perfect place for a massage or treatment at a recommended centre. If you feel like exploring, visit the nearby fishing village of Vizhinjam, or spend a few hours in Trivandrum at the Padmanabhaswamy Temple area and the Napier Museum.

Enjoy a final morning by the sea, with a swim, a walk along the beach or breakfast overlooking the waves. Depending on your flight time, there may be a chance to shop for spices, tea, cashews and handicrafts to take home. At the appropriate time, you are transferred to Trivandrum International Airport, about 16 km away, for your onward flight. Our team stays in touch until you have checked in, and we hope to welcome you back to India for another journey soon.