13-Day Rajasthan Tour with Varanasi

Arrival in Delhi. Your chauffeur meets you inside the arrivals hall at Indira Gandhi International Airport and drives you to your hotel. The evening is yours to rest after the flight. If you arrive early and feel up to it, we can add a gentle first drive through the wide avenues of Lutyens’ Delhi, past India Gate as the lights come on.

A full day in Old and New Delhi. A whole day across the two faces of the capital with your private guide. The morning is Old Delhi — the vast courtyard of the Jama Masjid, a cycle-rickshaw ride through the spice markets and silver lanes of Chandni Chowk, and a quiet pause at Raj Ghat, Gandhi’s memorial. After lunch you cross to New Delhi for the UNESCO-listed Humayun’s Tomb, the towering Qutub Minar, and a slow drive down Rajpath past India Gate, the Presidential Palace and Parliament.

Fly to Varanasi, and the evening aarti. A short flight east brings you to Varanasi, the oldest living city in India, on the banks of the Ganges. In the evening you witness the Ganga aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat — a river of lamps, bells and chanting as the priests offer fire to the water.

Sunrise on the Ganges, and Sarnath. Before dawn you take a boat onto the Ganges to watch the city wake — pilgrims at their prayers on the ghats, the first light on the old buildings, smoke rising from the fires. Later you visit Sarnath, where the Buddha gave his first sermon, and the lanes of the old city. The evening is free.

Varanasi to Agra. You fly west from Varanasi (via Delhi, which we arrange) and continue to Agra, settling in near the Taj by evening ready for a dawn visit. Where timings allow, we see Agra Fort this afternoon.

Taj Mahal at sunrise, then Jaipur. You reach the Taj Mahal at first light, when the marble shifts from grey to rose to white and the crowds are still thin — the finest hour to see it, your guide unfolding the story of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. After a late breakfast the road turns west to Jaipur, breaking at Fatehpur Sikri, Akbar’s red-sandstone capital abandoned almost intact four centuries ago. You reach the Pink City by evening, the night at leisure.

The Pink City — Amber Fort and the palaces. A full day in Jaipur. In the cool of the morning you climb to the honey-coloured Amber Fort above its lake, exploring the mirrored halls and painted courtyards. In the city you visit the City Palace, still home to Jaipur’s royal family, and the extraordinary open-air observatory of Jantar Mantar, and pause for the classic photograph at the Hawa Mahal, the Palace of Winds. The afternoon leaves time for the bazaars and the block-print and gem workshops.

A second day in Jaipur. A gentler day at your own pace. Choose from the hilltop forts of Nahargarh and Jaigarh with their long views over the city, the Albert Hall Museum, the step-wells on the city’s edge, or simply the bazaars and workshops — hand-block textiles, blue pottery and jewellery. There is time, too, for a leisurely lunch or the hotel pool.

Jaipur to Jodhpur, the Blue City. The road runs west into the desert country to Jodhpur. High above the city stands Mehrangarh, one of India’s mightiest forts, its ramparts falling sheer to the indigo-washed old town below. You explore its palaces and courtyards, the marble cenotaph of Jaswant Thada nearby, and the bustle of the clock-tower bazaar.

Jodhpur to Udaipur, via Ranakpur. A beautiful drive south to Udaipur, breaking at Ranakpur, whose Jain temple is a forest of more than a thousand carved marble pillars, no two alike. You reach Udaipur and its lakes by evening.

Udaipur — the City Palace and Lake Pichola. A full day in the most romantic of Rajasthan’s cities. You explore the sprawling City Palace above Lake Pichola, the Jagdish Temple and the gardens of Saheliyon ki Bari, and in the late afternoon take a boat onto the lake, past the island palaces, as the light turns gold on the walls.

A second day in Udaipur. Time to enjoy the lake city more slowly — the monsoon palace of Sajjangarh on the hill above the town, the folk-art museum, the craft shops of the old quarter, or simply a long lunch with the view. A day to do as little or as much as you like.

Departure from Udaipur. A last quiet morning by the lake, then your driver transfers you to Udaipur’s airport for your flight onward — usually via Delhi or Mumbai for international connections, which we arrange.