Classical India Tour With Udaipur

On arrival in Delhi, you’ll be met by our executive and chauffeur and transferred to your hotel for a two-night stay in the capital of India. Spend the remainder of the day recovering from jetlag with a leisurely swim in the hotel pool. If energy levels permit, you may wish to visit the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, an atmospheric Sikh shrine in the late afternoon. Just let us know and we’ll arrange it for you.

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib: Made of white marble and crowned by a gilded onion dome, the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib and shimmering pool inside it are places of great sanctity for Indian Sikhs, and offer the most atmospheric introduction possible to the capital. The complex in its present form dates from the late-18th century and was constructed at a place associated with the eighth Sikh Guru, Har Krishnan. At a Langar, or ‘canteen’, in the temple, visitors and devotees are fed nourishing, free meals of chapatis and black dal by volunteers. If you’re lucky, you may see groups of Akalis, members of a Sikh warrior sect, dressed in traditional ceremonial garb.

Enjoy the evening and relax at the hotel. Overnight stay at a hotel in Delhi.

Today explore Delhi on a full day sightseeing tour. Visit Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India and then enjoy a cycle rickshaw ride in the bustling lanes of Old Delhi followed by a and the Raj Ghat, a memorial built for Mahatma Gandhi, a prominent figure in India’s struggle for freedom. In the afternoon, drive past Lutyen’s New Delhi. Visit the tomb of Humayun and the lofty Qutb Minar, an early Mughal structure made of red sandstone and white marble.

The narrow lanes of Old Delhi once formed the hub of the Mughal capital, formerly known as ‘Shajahanabad’ after the great Emperor Shah Jahan. An obligatory stop should be the splendid Jama Masjid mosque, whose giant white domes dominate the skyline of the old city.

After Jama Masjid visit, enjoy the rickshaw ride at bylanes of Old Delhi. From here we proceed to Raj Ghat to visit the memorial built for Mahatma Gandhi.

From Raj Ghat head into the colonial haunts of New Delhi including Lutyan’s grand architectural masterpieces designed to overwhelm and subdue the locals. We also visit Humayun’s Tomb, one of India’s greatest early Mughal buildings, which stands in manicured gardens a little further south and may be visited en route to the iconic Qutb Minar victory tower on Delhi’s southern outskirts, the day’s final stop.

Overnight stay at a hotel in Delhi.

Today, you take a short flight to Varanasi, one of the ancient inhabited cities in the world. For Hindus, Varanasi is the city of Lord Shiva and among one of the holiest cities of India.. Upon arrival at Varanasi, our executive transfers you to the hotel. Check – in and relax, and stay here for two nights. The afternoon is at leisure or free for your own. This evening, witness the spectacular Ganga Aarti on the ghats of the Ganges (Ganga) river.

On the bank of river Ganges, streams of Hindu worshippers still come here today to bathe in the sacred waters of the river, believed to wash away the sins of past lifetimes. After an amble around the ghats and temples with your guide, you return to Dashashwamedh Ghat to watch Ganga Aarti, a spectualar ritual in which teams of young priests in splendid ceremonial dress wave blazing oil lamps next to the Ganges. Devotional hymns, chants, drumming, bell ringing and gongs combine to create an intense atmosphere.

Overnight stay at a hotel in Varanasi.

Take an early morning boat ride on the river Ganges to see the worshippers offering prayers to Surya Dev (The Sun) at the water’s edge.

Sunrise, the time to take a boat ride on the river Ganges when the first rays of daylight illuminate the bathing ghats of Varanasi. Thousands of worshippers make their way through the predawn darkness to bathe in the river at this auspicious time, and the spectacle when viewed from the water, with warm sunlight accentuating the colours of the bathers’ sarees, is surely one of the most colourful and uplifting in India.

Later, go on a walking tour of the riverside ghats and temples. Return to the hotel and have breakfast.

Around noon or a little early, we will take you to Sarnath.

Sarnath, just outskirt of the city, was where the Buddha gave his first sermon in 530 BC, revealing the ‘Eightfold Path’ to his five disciples. The exact spot is marked by the cylindrical Dhamekh Stupa, built in 500 AD on the remnants of a much older one commissioned by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka.

Overnight stay at a hotel in Varanasi.

Take a short flight to a small town Khajuraho. Upon arrival, our executive transfers you to the hotel. Enjoy an afternoon tour of renowned eroitc art at Western Group of temples of Khajuraho.

Khajuraho’s extraordinary assemblage of shrines owes its survival to the remoteness of the location in central India. Even in the period between the 10th and 13th centuries when they were being built, the temples lay well of the beaten track and miraculously escaped the attention of the marauding Muslim armies that destroyed so much of India’s religious art in the medieval era. Famed above all for their erotica, the stone sculpture that adorns the Khajuraho shrines today appears astonishingly fresh.

Overnight stay at a hotel in Khajuraho.

After breakfast, three hours drive to the unhurried settlement of Orchha to see the 16th century temples and palaces. After lunch, a short drive to Jhansi and board the train Gatiman Express to Agra. Arrive in Agra by evening. Our executive receives you on arrival at Agra Cantt. Railway station and transfer you to the hotel and check – in. Here, you stay for two nights.

Orchha ranks among our favourite destinations in northern India, thanks to its tumbledown, sleepy feel and picturesque setting amid swaths of dhak forest on the banks of the Betwa – an idyllic backdrop for a leisurely lunch. The monuments are deserted and in a generally poor state of repair, though all the more atmospheric for that. The most iconic are the 14 beautiful chhatris, or cenotaphs, rising from the river’s northern banks, which you’ll have the chance to visit before continuing on your journey to Agra.

Overnight stay at a hotel in Agra.

Today’s tour of Agra starts with a sunrise visit to the Taj Mahal, regarded as one of the finest examples of Mughal architecture. Return to the hotel for breakfast and then relax. Later a visit to the impressive Agra Fort whose buildings, made of red sandstone and marble, are a mix of Hindu and Islamic architecture. Finally, see the ornate tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah. Then the rest of the day is at leisure.

Agra’s great Mughal Fort, on the banks of the Yamuna River, was where Emperor Shah Jahan, creator of the Taj Mahal, was imprisoned at the end of his life by his rather fanatical son, Aurangzeb – the old man is said to have wiled away his days gazing at the tomb through the windows of a gilded rooftop pavilion.

On the opposite bank, the exquisitely decorated Itimad-ud Daulah tomb provides the next stop on today’s tour. The mausoleum’s inlay work foreshadowed that of the Taj, which you’ll visit towards the end of the afternoon, when the changing light transforms the marble surfaces from a pale ochre to orange and crimson.

Overnight stay at a hotel in Agra.

Drive in the morning to Ranthambore, pausing on the way to visit one of India’s most impressive stepwells. You’ll arrive in the Rajasthani capital around mid-afternoon.

Just off the main Agra–Jaipur highway, the magnificent stepwell at Abhaneri is your stop of the day. Comprising 3,500 carved steps spread over thirteen storeys, the well is the deepest and most intricate of its kind in India.

Most tourists prefer to spend the rest of the day relaxing by their hotel on arrival in Jaipur, but when suitably refreshed we recommend an evening visit to Birla Temple. Here we will stay for two – nights.

Overnight stay at a hotel in Jaipur.

Enjoy a full day’s sightseeing in Jaipur today, beginning with a photo stop of Hawa Mahal, a five-storey façade of elaborately screened windows from where the women of the royal household used to watch processions in the streets below. Then proceed to Amber Fort.

Perched on the rim of a dramatic escarpment, Amber Fort retains some of the finest interiors surviving from the 16th and 17th centuries in India, notably a glittering ‘Hall of Mirrors’, or ‘Sheesh Mahal’, lined with intricate mosaics where the Maharaja and his consorts would enjoy music and poetry recitals.

Jaipur itself is a swirl of life and colour, and its numerous Rajput monuments and markets provide the focus for the rest of the day. Visit Jantar Mantar, an observatory followed by the visit to the famous City Palace Complex wheretreasures from the royal household are proudly displayed in the old pillared assembly halls below, and include jewels, weapons and regalia from Jaipur’s 18th-century heyday.

By late afternoon you will return to the hotel and relax.

After breakfast, embark on your journey to Udaipur, where you’ll be spending two nights. It’s worth considering a stop at Chittaurgarh on route. The town is the home of one of India’s most dramatic hilltop forts, the scene of several bloody sieges that ended in the mass suicide of its entire population.

You’ll arrive in Udaipur at a time of day when the lakeside palaces look at their most exotic. Enjoy the sublime views over a sundowner on a haveli rooftop looking across the water to the Aravalli Hills in the distance.

Overnight stay at a hotel in Udaipur.

Accompanied by our guide, explore Udaipur’s City Palace complex, Jagdish temple and old town.

Start your day’s sightseeing at Udaipur’s City Palace, seat of the Sisodia Dynasty and a feast of opulent Rajput architecture. After visiting its apartments and courtyard gardens, wander down to the Jagdish Temple nearby before heading into the old city to explore the markets. Late afternoon is the time to be at the water’s edge, soaking up the sunset colours and unique atmosphere of this romantic city or visit the garden Sahelion Ki Bari.

Overnight stay at a hotel in Udaipur. 

You’ll have time for a final stroll around Udaipur’s old city before taking a flight to Delhi. Upon arrival at Delhi airport, our executive will transfer you to a hotel near the airport ahead of your departure the following day.

Our executive and chauffeur transfer you to New Delhi International Airport for your return or onward flight with cherishing memories of “Classical India Tour with Udaipur” tour.