Special Offer North India and Rajasthan

Trip Description

Accomodation

Stay program

• day 1

  France - Delhi

  Flight to Delhi on scheduled flights. Arrival in the evening. Personalized welcome with flower garland. Transfer and overnight at the hotel.

• day 2

  Delhi / Mandawa

  Breakfast at the hotel. Departure by road to Shekhawati. Shekhawati is the region of Rajasthan nicknamed "the open-air art gallery of Rajasthan". It is in these towns surrounded by sand dunes that you find the havelis, houses of the wealthy merchants who once lived off the camel trade between India and Pakistan, small palaces with walls decorated with painted frescoes, true illuminated works. Visit of the village. A gentle tranquility now envelops the villages of Mandawa and Nawalgarh, which seem almost asleep after the departure of their wealthy families, leaving behind many havelis now almost abandoned. You may be awakened by the cry of the many peacocks that inhabit the village. The peacock is the national animal of India. Check-in at the hotel. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 3

  Mandawa / Bikaner

  Breakfast at the hotel. Departure by road to Bikaner. Arrival and welcome with a welcome drink. City tour. Surrounded by the desert, Bikaner remains inhabited by its heroic past, with its maze of medieval alleys and its lively bazaar. Visit the sumptuous palace of the Maharajahs of Bikaner, which is located inside an impressive citadel: the Junagarh Fort, which houses a beautiful collection of weapons. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 4

  Bikaner / Jaisalmer

  Breakfast. Departure by road for Jaisalmer. Observe the roadside carefully, you may spot antelopes searching for vegetation. Along the way, stops in villages to meet the local population. Possibility to visit a local school. Arrival in Jaisalmer and check-in at the hotel. Visit of Viyas Chattri, the hill of cenotaphs, to discover the decorative chhatris of the Maharawal (rulers) of Jaisalmer. Under the dome of each chhatri is a small stele representing one or several "sati". A sati is a queen who immolated herself by fire so as not to survive her royal husband. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 5

  Jaisalmer / Thar Desert / Jaisalmer

  Breakfast. Visit of Jaisalmer, the "yellow city", located only about a hundred kilometers from the border with Pakistan. An outpost on the Thar desert, the distant fortified citadel of Jaisalmer is impressive with its walls and massive towers. It still bears witness to its past splendor through sumptuous merchant residences with richly carved ochre-pink sandstone facades, the Havelis. In the citadel, visit the beautiful ensemble of magnificently sculpted Jain temples, built in the 15th century. Stroll through the city and discover Gadi Sagar Lake, a water reservoir located south of the fortress. In the middle of the afternoon, departure for a camel ride in the desert. The end of the ride will be an opportunity to admire the sun setting over the dunes. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 6

  Jaisalmer / Jodhpur

  Breakfast at the hotel. Departure by road for Jodhpur. Arrival and visit of the blue city. Jodhpur is dominated by the Mehrangarh Fort, "Fort of Majesty", with the harem, the sumptuous reception hall, the cradle room, the curious little palace of mirrors, and the hall of royal palanquins with the intricately carved silver "howdah". Turban tying demonstration in the fort. You will also visit Jaswant Thada, a superb white marble mausoleum built in memory of Maharaja Jaswant Singh. It is nicknamed the little Taj Mahal of Rajasthan. Continue with a walk in the bazaar around the Clock Tower. Here, artisans and merchants of all kinds work. The stalls of this market overflow with sari fabrics, spices, grains, fruits, and vegetables. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 7

  Jodhpur / Pushkar / Pachewar Garh

  Breakfast. Departure by road to Pachewar Garh, a small village where you will sleep in an authentic fort, via Pushkar. Pushkar, one of the major sacred sites of Hinduism, is an important place of pilgrimage. Located on the banks of the lake, the ghats allow pilgrims to go down and bathe in the sacred waters. Every year, in November, one of the largest camel fairs takes place here, one of the most famous and colorful in India. In the afternoon, drive to Pachewar Garh. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 8

  Pachewar Garh / Jaipur

  After breakfast, departure to the pink city, Jaipur. Afternoon, visit of the royal palace and the observatory. Night at the hotel.

• day 9

  Jaipur / Amber Fort / Jaipur

  Breakfast at the hotel. Then visit the Amber Fort, the capital of the former Rajput empire. Ascent to the top of its ramparts on elephant back. The palace halls and a small temple dedicated to the goddess Kali are located around a pleasant Mughal garden. Late in the morning, sari fitting demonstration in a shop. Lunch at a local restaurant. Visit of Jaipur, the "Pink City", built in the 16th century. Jaipur is one of the most colorful and picturesque cities in all of India. The "City Palace", the Maharajah's palace, famous for its weapons and beautiful collection of costumes, as well as the "Jantar Mantar", an astonishing observatory built by a prince passionate about astronomy, are visited. You will pass by the famous "Hawa Mahal", Palace of the Winds, undoubtedly the most well-known monument in Jaipur, an architectural fantasy, an immense baroque pink sandstone facade (which is viewed from the outside). Rickshaw ride in the lively bazaar. Before dinner, for those who wish, screening of a "Bollywood" film in the immense, mythical and very kitsch Raj Mandir cinema hall, where you can vibrate, laugh or cry in unison with the Indian audience. The city boasts one of the most beautiful cinemas in the world, the Raj Mandir. With its 1,125 seats, it prides itself on being the largest cinema hall in Asia. Indian cinema, more commonly known as "Bollywood", is a tradition, even a way of life, in India. The actors perform magnificent singing and dancing routines throughout an exciting plot (comparable to those of Hollywood films). Dinner and overnight stay.

• day 10

  Jaipur / Fatehpur Sikri / Agra

  Breakfast at the hotel. Departure by road to Agra. On the way, visit Fatehpur Sikri, the former and astonishing capital built by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1571 and abandoned after a few years. It is one of the most remarkable places from an artistic and architectural point of view that you will discover. The imperial city contains a great variety of palaces, colonnaded buildings, pavilions, courtyards and pools, mosques, caravanserai. Its buildings, both sober and baroque, form an extraordinary synthesis of the most varied architectural forms. Lunch. Agra is one of the high places of Mughal art and architecture. Its two most prestigious monuments, the Red Fort and the Taj Mahal, illustrate the aesthetic perfection reached by Indo-Muslim art under the Mughal dynasty. Visit of the Red Fort. This fort, whose high massive pink sandstone walls dominate the Yamuna, contains palaces, true jewels of white marble and carved red sandstone inlaid with colored stones, audience halls, gardens, and houses pools and mosques... Founded by Akbar, it marks the birth of the imperial Mughal style. Shah Jahan was imprisoned there by his son and, from his cell, he could admire the Taj Mahal, the tomb of his beloved wife. Check-in at the hotel then transfer by carriage and short visit of "Agra by night" to the restaurant. Dinner and overnight.

• day 11

  Agra / Delhi

  Breakfast at the hotel. Visit of the Taj Mahal, a luminous white marble mausoleum built by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his late wife Mumtaz Mahal. It is undoubtedly the most famous monument in India. It is said to be the eighth wonder of the world and the most famous monument in India. Built in a garden on the banks of the Yamuna, this marvelous monument, with its inlays of semi-precious stones set in white marble, celebrates the memory of a woman and immortalizes the love the emperor had for her. Departure by road to Delhi. Visit of Delhi, capital of the Indies and of the Indian Union since 1060, when the Rajput Tomara clan chose it to establish their government. Formerly Indraprastha, its origin is lost in Vedic times. Discovery of the Bangla Sahib Sikh temple. In the evening, transfer to the airport and flight back on a scheduled flight. End of our services.