Classical India Tour with Taj & Tigers

Day 1 | Arrive In Delhi
Arrive Delhi by flight.
Meeting and assistance upon arrival and transfer to hotel.
Overnight stay at hotel.

Day 2 | Delhi
After breakfast today combined sightseeing of Old & New Delhi. Sightseeing of Old Delhi takes you to the Raj Ghat (memorial to Mahatma Gandhi), Jama Masjid, - The largest mosque in India. Also drive past Chandni Chowk, once an imperial avenue of Mughal Royalty which today is the busiest commercial area of the city. In New Delhi visit the 12th century Qutub Minar, gracefully hand-carved for its entire height of 234ft, and the iron pillar, which has withstood the ravages of time and is not rusted even after 1500 years. Visit the mausoleum of emperor Humanyu - a forerunner of the Mughal style of architecture and the interesting Bangla Sahib Sikh temple. Drive past the India Gate (war memorial dedicated to the lives laid down by the Indian soldiers), the president's residence - formerly the Viceroy's Palace, Parliament House, and the Secretariat buildings, - an interesting blend of the Victorian and 20th-century architecture.
Overnight stay at hotel.

Day 3 | Drive From Delhi To Jaipur (268 Kms / 06 Hrs.)
Morning after breakfast, leave Delhi by surface to Jaipur. On arrival check in at the hotel. Afternoon at leisure.
Overnight stay at hotel.

Day 4 | Jaipur
Morning excursion to Amber fort. Amber is a classic, romantic Rajasthani Fort Palace. The rugged, time-ravaged walls of the Fort may not look beautiful from the outside, but the interior is a virtual paradise. Miniatures painted on the walls depict hunting and war scenes, apart from festivals. Precious stones and mirrors are embedded into the plaster. A major attraction at Amber is the Elephant Ride all the way up to the Fort entrance. This journey on caparisoned elephants is bound to enrich your memories of the Royal lifestyle of the Maharajas and leave you with a truly unforgettable experience. Inside the Fort visit the Jag Mandir or the Hall of Victory. Inside the Jag Mandir is the famed Sheesh Mahal - a room with all four walls and a ceiling completely embedded with glittering mirror pieces, which were specially imported from Belgium during that period. En route to Amber Fort, you will have a brief photography stop at Hawa Mahal - the Palace of Winds. Later proceed to sightseeing tour of the city visiting Maharaja's City Palace, the former Royal residence, part of it converted into a museum. A small portion is still used by the Royal family of Jaipur. One of the major attractions in the Museum is the portion known as Armory Museum housing an impressive array of weaponry-pistols, Blunderbusses, flintlocks, swords, rifles, and daggers the royal families of Jaipur once used most of these weapons. Later visit the Jantar Mantar Which is the largest stone and marble-crafted observatory in the world.
Overnight stay at hotel.

Day 5 | Drive From Jaipur To Ranthambore (160 Kms  / 04 Hrs.) 
Morning after breakfast leave Jaipur by surface to Ranthambore. Upon arrival at transfer to hotel for check-in. Afternoon: Visit the wildlife sanctuary.
Overnight stay at hotel.

Day 6 | Ranthambore
Early Morning & Afternoon: Visit the wildlife sanctuary. This famous national park is the best place to spot wild tigers in Rajasthan. Comprising 1334 sq km of wild jungle scrub hemmed in by rocky ridges, seeing a tiger (around 52 to 55 in 2016) is partly a matter of luck; leave time for two or three safaris to improve your chances. But remember there’s plenty of other wildlife to see, including more than 300 species of birds.
Overnight stay at hotel.

Day 7 | Morning Train From Ranthambore To Agra (via Bharatpur) Enroute Visit Fatehpur Sikri (265 Kms / 05 – 06 Hrs)
Morning transfer to Sawai Madhopur railway station to board Kota Janshatabdi express for Bharatpur. Kota Janshatabdi express Sawai Madhopur – Bharatpur 0710/0930 hrs.
Upon arrival at Bharatpur station visit Fatehpur Sikri. The deserted city of Fatehpur Sikri was built by Emperor Akbar in 1569, in honour of the great Saint Sheikh Salim Chisti who blessed Akbar and prophesized the birth of three sons to the heirless Emperor. Akbar used Fatehpur Sikri as his capital and the city was fully occupied for 14 years but slowly became deserted and ruined after Akbar left the city. The scarcity of water was the prime factor for the abandonment of this beautiful city. Visit the remarkably well-preserved, graceful buildings within the 'Ghost City' including Buland Darwaza, Jama Masjid, the tomb of Salim Chisti, Panch Mahal Palace, and other palaces that speak of the grandeur and splendour of the Mughal empire at the height of its power.
Post the visit to Fatehpur Sikri, continue the drive to Agra, and check-in at the hotel. Later Visit Agra Fort visit Diwan-E-Am (House of Commons), mosques within the Fort, and royal pavilions like Macchi Bhavan, Shah Jahani Mahal & others. Several of the buildings are made of pure marble with beautiful carvings. To cool off the rooms, the walls were hollow and filled with running water. The balconies of these pavilions give a clear view of the Taj Mahal & Yamuna River flowing next to it. Afternoon visit Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan in 1560 in memory of his queen Mumtaz Mahal to enshrine her mortal remains. This architectural marvel is a perfectly proportioned masterpiece fashioned from white marble that stands testimony to the skill of 20,000 craftsmen brought together from Persia, Turkey, France, and Italy and who took 17 years to complete this ' Love Poem in Marble'.(Closed on Fridays).
Overnight stay at the hotel.

Day 8 | Train From Agra To Jhansi – Drive To Khajuraho (176 Kms/ 04 Hrs)
Morning transfer to Agra railway station to board the train to Jhansi. Agra/ Jhansi Bhopal Shatabdi (12002) 0802 / 1043 hrs. Meeting and assistance at Jhansi railway station and drive to Khajuraho for check-in en-route visiting Orchha Orchha - Orchha's grandeur has been captured in stone, frozen in time, a rich legacy of the ages. For this medieval city, the hand of time has rested and the palaces and the temples built by its Bundela rulers in the 16th and 17th centuries retain much of their pristine perfection. Jehangir Mahal, a tiered palace crowned by graceful Chhatries, commands a spectacular view of soaring temple spires and cenotaphs. Continue drive to Khajuraho and on arrival transfer to hotel. (180 Kms / 4-5 hrs ).
Overnight stay at hotel.

Day 9 | Drive From Khajuraho To Bandhavgarh (275 Kms / 6 ½-7 Hrs Drive)
Morning after breakfast proceed for the sightseeing of Khajuraho Temples.
Khajuraho was the capital of the Chandela kings and its temples were built in the short span of hundred years, from 950-1050 AD. Most of them were destroyed by Muslim invaders. Adorned with exquisite sculpture, only 22 temples remain of the original 85. They are the strange works of a long-dead people. Khajuraho’s temples are covered with hundreds of sculptured figures - a galaxy of gods and goddesses, beasts and serpents, and a multitude of erotic couples which represent a paean to life, love, and joy. The most famous is the Kandariya Mahadev, the Chaturbhuj, the Paraswanath, and the Ghantai - the summit of Hindu sculpture: voluptuous forms; human and divine, throbbing with life and sublime in expression. Later drive to Bandhavgarh.
Overnight stay at hotel.

Day 10 | Bandhavgarh
Early Morning & Afternoon: Visit the wildlife sanctuary. Bandhavgarh is a National Park with a very long history. Set among the Vindhya hills of Madhya Pradesh with an area of 168sq miles (437sq km) it contains a wide variety of habitats and a high density of game, including a large number of Tigers Including the last captured White tiger in 1951. Bandhavgarh has a very high density of Tigers within the folds of its marvelous Jungle. Probably the highest in the world! The 105 sq kms of the park area, open for tourists is reported to have 22 Tigers, a density of 1 Tiger for every 4.7 sq kms. The forests around Bandhavgarh had long been maintained as a game preserve by the Maharaja of Rewa. With over 35 kinds of mammals, 250 species of birds, 111 species of butterflies, 16 kinds of snakes, 500 kinds of plants, and many more trees and shrubs it undoubtedly has a very rich flora and fauna. Bandhavgarh has been a center of human activity and settlement for over 2000 years, and there are references to it in the ancient books, the Narad-Panch Ratra and the Shiva Purana. Dominating the park are the 2000 years old Bandhavgarh fort and the numerous pre-historic caves, rich with inscriptions and drawings by pre-historic man and there are references to it in the ancient books.
Overnight stay at hotel.

Day 11 | Bandhavgarh To Kanha (250 Kms / 6 ½ Hrs Drive)
Early morning visit to Wildlife sanctuary. Later back to the resort have to breakfast and drive to Kanha (6 ½ hrs drive). Upon arrival check in at the hotel.
Overnight stay at hotel.

Day 12 | Kanha
Early Morning & Afternoon: Visit the wildlife sanctuary. The Kanha National Park, stretching over 940 sq km is chiefly made of sal and bamboo forests, grasslands, and streams; this park is the sole habitat of the rare hard-ground Barasingha. The forests of the Banjar valley and Halon valley, respectively forming Kanha's western and eastern halves have always been famous for their deer and tiger population. By a special statute in 1955, Kanha National Park came into being. Since then a string of stringent conservation programs have been launched for the overall protection of the park's fauna and flora. It is one of the well-maintained National Parks in Asia. Kanha boasts of about 22 species of mammals including the gaur - the largest of the world's cattle; the sambar - the largest Indian deer; and the Chausingha - the only four-horned antelope in the world. Other frequent visitors include the Nilgai antelope, the sloth bear, the dhole, or Indian wild Dog, and an occasional panther. Some 200 species of birds inhabit the park that including the cattle egret, black ibis, hawk eagle, and the red-wattled lapwing.
Overnight stay at hotel.

Day 13 | Kanha - Raipur - Mumbai (by flight)
After breakfast drive to Raipur airport to board a flight for Mumbai. (5 hrs. drive) Raipur – Mumbai 6E 6168 1445/1630 hrs. Upon arrival transfer to hotel.
Overnight stay at hotel.

Day 14 | Mumbai
Morning after breakfast proceed for a Visit to Elephanta caves (Monday Closed). The Island of Elephanta is just an hour away from Mumbai by motor launch. The cave temples here, excavated between the 5th and 8th centuries AD, are famous for their magnificently sculpted panels. The best known is one that depicts the Maheshmurti - a three-headed image of Lord Shiva. This island was so named by the Portuguese after the large stone elephant near the landing place and which now stands at the Victoria and Albert Museum on the mainland. The caves are reached by a stairway up the hillside from the ferry landing (by shared boat). Later sightseeing of Mumbai starts with a visit to Mumbai’s iconic Gateway of India, municipal laundry, or Dhobi Ghat at Mahalaxmi, where some 5000 men use rows of open-air thoughts to beat the dirt out of the thousands of kilograms of soiled clothes brought from all over the city each day. Later move towards Victoria Terminus was named after the then Queen Empress on Jubilee day, 1887. Construction started in 1878 based on a design by F.W. Stevens. Churchgate station to see the Dabbawallas (tiffin carriers) sorting the lunch boxes and sending them to different parts of the city. Visit Mani Bhavan, which was Mahatma Gandhi’s residence during his stay in Mumbai. Also drive past the colourful Crawford Market, Flora Fountain, Marine Drive (also known as Queen’s necklace), Oval, and the Golf course.
Overnight stay at hotel.

Day 15 | Departure Mumbai
In time transfer to Mumbai airport to board onward flight.