Day
1- Wednesday - Departure Delhi
Arrive Delhi Cantonment Station between 1530 and 1600hrs.
Departure 1830hrs Dinner will be served on board the train
Day
2- Thursday - Arrive Jaipur
Jaipur.
Arrival 08.30. Breakfast on board. Sightseeing trip round
town followed by lunch in hotel. Cultural show and dinner
at Nahargarh Citadel, a former royal fort, or in Man-Singh
Hotel. Jaipur, the first stopping place, was built at the
beginning of the 18th century by the Maharajah Jai Singh
II. The \"pink\" city is surrounded by a town
wall with 8 gates. The town palace and the Sawai-Man-Singh
Museum directly beside it are well worth looking at. The
Jantar-Mantar Observatory still astonishes with the
precision of its layout. The jewel of Jaipur is the Palace
of the Winds, a stone facade with an immense number of
finely sculptured lattice panels. The festival Palace of
Amber lies 12 km (7.5 miles) from Jaipur and is visited on
the backs of elephants. Ambers rooms are famous for
the variety of their decoration and the beautiful Hall of
Mirrors.
Day
3- Friday - Arrive Jaisalmer
Arrival
Jaisalmer at 0615. Breakfast on board, followed by
sightseeing in town. Lunch on train or in tourist
bungalow. Visit to the cenotaphs of famous heroes and
rulers which are beautifully decorated with fine
stonemasons work. Camel rides to experience the real
desert. Dinner at the Moomal Tourist Bungalow, then on
with the train to Jodhpur. Jaisalmer, a fairy-tale town in
the Thar desert was founded about 800 years ago by Rajah
Jaisal. The town is surrounded by mighty walls which seem
to grow up out of sunbleached desert sands. In the town
centre the buildings provide evidence of the Indian
stonemasons unsurpassed art. In narrow, twisting
streets you can visit havelis, the houses of rich
merchants with their finely carved filigree facades.
Day
4- Saturday - Arrive Jodhpur
Jodhpur. Arrival 08.00. Breakfast on board. Sightseeing in
town. Lunch at Umaid Bhawan Palace Hotel, originally the
Royal Palace of the Maharajas of Jodhpur. Evening tea and
dinner on board. Jodhpur, the southernmost of the
legendary cities of the desert, was built by Rao Jodha in
1459 on the advice of a hermit. The high walls of the
massive Mehrangarh Fort form a delightful contrast to the
elegant sandstone facades with their fine carvings inside
the palace. Opposite the fort lies Jaswant Thada, a
memorial made of white marble which was errected in 1899
to the memory of Jaswant Singh I. Departure 17.00.
Day
5- Sunday - Arrive SwaiMadhopur / Chittor
Sawai Madhopur (Ranthambor). Arrival in Sawai Madhopur at
0400. Travel to Ranthambor (14 km - 9 miles) to the
well-known game park with its tigers and leopards. With
any luck you might see a tiger in its natural
surroundings. Many other animals such as crocodiles, deer,
gazelles, nilgais and hyenas live here. Depart at 12.00.
Ranthambor lies 132 km (82 miles) from Jaipur. The area is
392 sq. km (150 sq. miles) and lies between the Aravali
and Vindhya mountains. The best time for seeing many
animals is between October and April. Departure for
Chittaurgarh at 11.00 hrs. Lunch on Board at 13.00.
Arrival Chittaurgarh at 15.30 hrs. Sightseeing of
Chittorgarh Fort. Chittorgarh Fort on a 180 m high hill,
was the strongest of the Rajput forts. The tall and finely
chiseled Victory Tower and the Tower of Fame are undamaged
and reach up into the sky from the surrounding ruins.
Dinner on Board 20.00 hrs.
Day
6- Monday - Chittorgarh / Udaipur
Chittorgarh/Udaipur. Arrival 07.30. Breakfast on board.
Drive by bus journey to Udaipur to the Lake Palace Hotel
on Lake Pichola, originally the summer palace of the
Maharana of Udaipur. Boot trip followed by lunch at the
Lake Palace Hotel. Sightseeing in Udaipur. Evening meal on
board train. Udaipur was founded in 1559 on the banks of
Lake Pichola by the Maharana Udai Singh. The town palace
is raised high above the lake and contains among others a
hall of mirrors, a roof garden with a pond and a peacock
court, named after its peacock mosaic. Sahelion-Ki-bari is
a pleasant park with 4 fountains and colourful flower
beds.
Day
7- Tuesday - Arrive Bharatpur / Agra
Bharatpur - Fatehpur Sikri - Agra.
Arrival 06.00.
Breakfast in Bharatpur bird sanctuary and boat trip. By
coach to Fatehpur Sikri and Agra. Lunch at hotel.
Sightseeing in Agra and tea at Taj Restaurant, Agra or on
board. Dinner on board.Bharatpur is an enormous bird
sanctuary. The flat marshes attract resident and migratory
birds in their thousands. More than 500,000 birds of 325
species have been counted in winter. It is possible to
travel by boat to the low trees where the birds assemble.
From Bharatpur it is 22 km (14 miles) to Fatehpur Sikri.
The town is still completely preserved. It was built by
the Mogul emperor Akbar in the 16th century but abandoned
a short time later because of an acute lack of water. It
is still possible to see spacious courtyards, an audience
hall and the palace complex, which is made up of
apartments.
Day
8- Wednesday - Arrive Delhi
Delhi.
Breakfast on train and end of journey. Arrive Delhi 7.30
Train Departure Dates December 2005 to December
2005
Year
2005 December
September
7 14 21 28
October 5 12 19 26
November 2 9 16 23
30
December 7 14 21 28