All breakfasts and six dinners are included in this trip.

India is famous for its food and there is ample opportunity to try various curries such as the familiar tandoori, biriyani and rogan josh. If you are a vegetarian, India is a great destination. There are wonderful desserts and excellent beers, soft drinks and Indian specialities such as lassi, a refreshing yoghurt drink.

Allow at least 1,400-2,400 rupees (US$16-US$28) per day for lunch and dinner. In most towns we visit, there is a good selection of restaurants and a choice between Indian and Western food. Please note, service in restaurants can be quite slow. Tea and soft drinks are very cheap. A (large!) bottle of beer is approximately 300 rupees (approximately US$4).

Mineral water is widely available, but drinking water is provided in a large container in the bus to reduce our use of plastic, so please bring your own refillable water bottle.

Visit Chand Baori, an ancient stepwell sunk like an inverted pyramid into the Rajasthani earth. Gaze down 13 dizzying storeys and over 3,500 steps arranged in hypnotic geometric patterns leading to a cool, emerald well.

Hear how stepwells once stored precious monsoon waters and offered respite from the heat, and look for carved panels echoing the nearby Harshat Mata Temple. The precision and symmetry make this one of India’s most striking feats of community engineering.

Explore Jaipur’s artisan quarters with your leader, threading through textile stalls, bangle displays and spice merchants as you explore the bazaars of the Pink City. Between haggling tips and craft stories, sample Rajasthani snacks like kachori, golgappa and syrupy jalebi from trusted vendors.

Learn how guild traditions shaped Johari Bazaar and nearby markets, and taste regional flavours—from tart tamarind to smoky cumin—that season daily life. Street-side sips of thick, frothy lassi round out this vivid, appetite-led cultural wander.

Join a family in their Rajasthani home for an intimate culinary encounter. Watch—and help—as you join a hands-on cooking demonstration, from tempering whole spices to rolling soft rotis, while conversations flow about festivals, recipes and everyday rhythms.

Sit down to a traditional thali featuring fragrant dals, seasonal vegetables and slow-cooked gravies, learning the stories behind heirloom masalas and kitchen rituals. This heartfelt exchange turns dinner into a cultural bridge, seasoned with warmth and laughter.

Climb to the hilltop stronghold of Amer Fort, its honeyed ramparts rising above Maota Lake. Cross the ornate Ganesh Pol gateway into a maze of courtyards, frescoed halls and cooling pavilions designed for desert summers.

Marvel at the mirror-inlaid Sheesh Mahal, where a single flame scatters starry reflections, and trace Rajput-Mughal aesthetics in lotus motifs and scalloped arches. From battlements, scan the Aravalli ridges and serpentine walls that once guarded Jaipur’s first seat of power.

Delve into the royal heart of Jaipur at the City Palace, where museum galleries reveal embroidered robes, weaponry and courtly portraits. Continue to Jantar Mantar, Maharaja Jai Singh II’s open-air observatory, whose colossal instruments still chart celestial movements with startling accuracy.

Pause to photograph the filigreed facade of the Hawa Mahal—the ‘Palace of Winds’—designed for discreet royal viewing of processions. Learn how astronomy, architecture and pageantry fused to define Jaipur’s enlightened 18th-century court.

Set out on wildlife adventures in Ranthambore National Park, where lakes, dhok forests and crumbling watchtowers frame classic tiger habitat. Scan riverbanks and grasslands on two game drives in open 4x4s, guided by local spotters attuned to alarm calls and fresh pugmarks.

Learn about Project Tiger and the reserve’s recovery while watching for sloth bears, crocodiles, sambar deer and vibrant birdlife. The silhouette of Ranthambore Fort on the ridge adds a timeworn backdrop to each sighting and photograph.

Explore Agra Fort, the citadel of the Mughal Empire, enclosed by towering red sandstone ramparts. Walk through audience halls like the Diwan-i-Am and intimate marble courts where emperors debated policy and poets recited verse.

Trace the shifts from Akbar’s robust style to Shah Jahan’s refined marble inlays, and—on clear days—seek framed views to the Taj Mahal across the Yamuna. The fort’s palaces, mosques and gardens reveal a dynasty at the height of its artistry and power.

Glide through Agra’s lanes by cycle rickshaw, trading engines for bells and breeze as everyday scenes unfold at street level. Alight near the Shilpagram arts precinct and settle in for high tea with a sweeping Taj Mahal at sunset backdrop.

Watch the marble shift from ivory to rose as the light softens, and savour local snacks while your leader shares stories of craft guilds and courtly life. It’s a quiet, indulgent way to linger over India’s most famous silhouette.

Witness the Taj Mahal at sunrise, when cool air and birdsong accompany the day’s first glow on marble. Stroll the reflecting pools and cypress-lined axis before you step inside the mausoleum to admire fine calligraphy and floral inlays.

Learn how Shah Jahan’s grief inspired this luminous symphony in stone and explore exquisite pietra dura workmanship that layers jasper, onyx and carnelian into white Makrana marble. The harmony of symmetry, proportion and light rewards every quiet moment.

Visit Wildlife SOS near Agra to meet the team at the Elephant Conservation and Care Centre. Hear powerful rescue stories and the science behind rehabilitation as you observe rescued elephants living in ethical, chain-free enclosures with veterinary support.

Understand how public awareness, enrichment and careful nutrition help retired working elephants heal. Your visit also highlights regional bear-rescue efforts, underscoring India’s expanding commitment to humane wildlife protection and responsible tourism.

Amble through rural lanes on a traditional camel cart ride beneath the ramparts of Neemrana Fort-Palace. Move at a gentle clip-clop past village homes and rocky scrub as the Aravalli Hills glow in late light.

Guides share slices of local life and fort lore while you take photos of crenellations and valley views. This optional experience is at additional cost and can be booked on tour, subject to availability and weather.

See the capital’s signature contrasts on a guided city tour combining Mughal icons and modern boulevards. Take in the red battlements of the Red Fort (exterior), the riverside serenity of Raj Ghat and the soaring minaret of Qutub Minar, alongside ceremonial vistas around India Gate.

Gain context for Delhi’s layered past—from sultans and emperors to empire and independence—while enjoying convenient photo stops. This optional experience is at additional cost and can be booked on tour, subject to time and local conditions.

Explore the ceremonial avenues of the modern capital on a curated city spin. Join a guided panoramic drive past the war memorial of India Gate, the domed grandeur of Rashtrapati Bhawan and the colonnaded sweep of Parliament House, where imperial geometry meets independent India’s institutions.

Hear how Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker imagined a city of vistas and axis lines, and see how broad boulevards and clipped lawns frame national events. Photo stops let you appreciate the scale, symmetry and symbolism woven into New Delhi’s design.

Step into Mughal elegance at Humayun’s Tomb, a UNESCO World Heritage Site set within Persian-style charbagh gardens. Wander red sandstone arcades, turquoise-tiled pavilions and water channels that mirror the mausoleum’s perfect proportions.

Discover how this 16th-century masterpiece—commissioned by the emperor’s widow—introduced the double dome, high arches and symmetrical plan later refined at the forerunner to the Taj Mahal. Intricate lattice screens filter light and shadow, creating a contemplative mood amid singing bulbuls and fragrant trees.

Discover the layered heart of the capital as you join a guided walking tour through the tangled lanes of Old Delhi, led by expert guides who are former street children. Trace spice-perfumed bazaars, silversmith alleys and hidden courtyards, catching the clang of temple bells and the call of vendors.

Conclude at Jama Masjid, Shah Jahan’s grand mosque, whose red sandstone and marble set a majestic tone above the bustle. Learn how Mughal emperors shaped the city’s fabric and pause to absorb the calm of the expansive courtyard before drifting back into the markets.