Palace on Wheels
Day 1- Wednesday - Departure Delhi
Arive Delhi Cantonment Station between 1530 and 1600hrs.
Departure 1830hrs Dinner will be served on board the train
Day 2- Thursday - Arrive Jaipur
Jaipur. Arrival 08.30. Breakfast on board. Sightseeing trip
round town followed by lunch in hotel. Cultural show and
dinner at Nahargarh Citadel, a former royal fort, or in
Man-Singh Hotel. Jaipur, the first stopping place, was built
at the beginning of the 18th century by the Maharajah Jai
Singh II. The \"pink\" city is surrounded by a town wall
with 8 gates. The town palace and the Sawai-Man-Singh Museum
directly beside it are well worth looking at. The Jantar-Mantar
Observatory still astonishes with the precision of its
layout. The jewel of Jaipur is the Palace of the Winds,
a stone facade with an immense number of finely sculptured
lattice panels. The festival Palace of Amber lies
12 km (7.5 miles) from Jaipur and is visited on the backs
of elephants. Amber’s rooms are famous for the variety of
their decoration and the beautiful Hall of Mirrors.
Day 3- Friday - Arrive Jaisalmer
Arrival Jaisalmer at 0615. Breakfast on board, followed
by sightseeing in town. Lunch on train or in tourist bungalow.
Visit to the cenotaphs of famous heroes and rulers which
are beautifully decorated with fine stonemasons’ work. Camel
rides to experience the real desert. Dinner at the Moomal
Tourist Bungalow, then on with the train to Jodhpur. Jaisalmer,
a fairy-tale town in the Thar desert was founded about 800
years ago by Rajah Jaisal. The town is surrounded by mighty
walls which seem to grow up out of sunbleached desert sands.
In the town centre the buildings provide evidence of the
Indian stonemasons’ unsurpassed art. In narrow, twisting
streets you can visit havelis, the houses of rich merchants
with their finely carved filigree facades.
Day 4- Saturday - Arrive Jodhpur
Jodhpur. Arrival 08.00. Breakfast on board. Sightseeing
in town. Lunch at Umaid Bhawan Palace Hotel, originally
the Royal Palace of the Maharajas of Jodhpur. Evening tea
and dinner on board. Jodhpur, the southernmost of the legendary
cities of the desert, was built by Rao Jodha in 1459 on
the advice of a hermit. The high walls of the massive Mehrangarh
Fort form a delightful contrast to the elegant sandstone
facades with their fine carvings inside the palace. Opposite
the fort lies Jaswant Thada, a memorial made of white
marble which was errected in 1899 to the memory of Jaswant
Singh I. Departure 17.00.
Day 5- Sunday - Arrive SwaiMadhopur / Chittor
Sawai Madhopur (Ranthambor). Arrival in Sawai Madhopur at
0400. Travel to Ranthambor (14 km - 9 miles) to the well-known
game park with its tigers and leopards. With any luck you
might see a tiger in its natural surroundings. Many other
animals such as crocodiles, deer, gazelles, nilgais and
hyenas live here. Depart at 12.00. Ranthambor lies 132 km
(82 miles) from Jaipur. The area is 392 sq. km (150 sq.
miles) and lies between the Aravali and Vindhya mountains.
The best time for seeing many animals is between October
and April. Departure for Chittaurgarh at 11.00 hrs. Lunch
on Board at 13.00.
Arrival Chittaurgarh at 15.30 hrs. Sightseeing of Chittorgarh
Fort. Chittorgarh Fort on a 180 m high hill, was
the strongest of the Rajput forts. The tall and finely chiseled
Victory Tower and the Tower of Fame are undamaged and reach
up into the sky from the surrounding ruins. Dinner on Board
20.00 hrs.
Day 6- Monday - Chittorgarh / Udaipur
Chittorgarh/Udaipur. Arrival 07.30. Breakfast on board.
Drive by bus journey to Udaipur to the Lake Palace Hotel
on Lake Pichola, originally the summer palace of the Maharana
of Udaipur. Boot trip followed by lunch at the Lake Palace
Hotel. Sightseeing in Udaipur. Evening meal on board train.
Udaipur was founded in 1559 on the banks of Lake Pichola
by the Maharana Udai Singh. The town palace is raised high
above the lake and contains among others a hall of mirrors,
a roof garden with a pond and a peacock court, named after
its peacock mosaic. Sahelion-Ki-bari is a pleasant
park with 4 fountains and colourful flower beds.
Day 7- Tuesday - Arrive Bharatpur / Agra
Bharatpur - Fatehpur Sikri - Agra.
Arrival 06.00. Breakfast in Bharatpur bird sanctuary and boat trip. By coach to Fatehpur Sikri and Agra.
Lunch at hotel. Sightseeing in Agra and tea at Taj Restaurant,
Agra or on board. Dinner on board.Bharatpur is an enormous
bird sanctuary. The flat marshes attract resident and migratory
birds in their thousands. More than 500,000 birds of 325
species have been counted in winter. It is possible to travel
by boat to the low trees where the birds assemble. From
Bharatpur it is 22 km (14 miles) to Fatehpur Sikri. The
town is still completely preserved. It was built by the
Mogul emperor Akbar in the 16th century but abandoned a
short time later because of an acute lack of water. It is
still possible to see spacious courtyards, an audience hall
and the palace complex, which is made up of apartments.
Day 8- Wednesday - Arrive Delhi
Delhi. Breakfast on train and end of journey. Arrive Delhi
7.30
Train Departure Dates January 2007 to April 2008
| Year 2007 | |||||
| January | 3 | 10 | 17 | 24 | 31 |
| February | 7 | 14 | 21 | 28 | |
| March | 7 | 14 | 21 | 28 | |
| April | 4 | 11 | 18 | 25 | |
| August | 29 | ||||
| September | 5 | 12 | 19 | 26 | |
| October | 3 | 10 | 17 | 24 | 31 |
| November | 7 | 14 | 21 | 28 | |
| December | 5 | 12 | 19 | 26 | |
| Year 2008 | |||||
| January | 2 | 9 | 16 | 23 | 30 |
| February | 6 | 13 | 20 | 27 | |
| March | 5 | 12 | 19 | 26 | |
| April | 6 | 13 | 20 | 27 | |
Tariff
Occupancy |
Peak Season October - March |
Lean Season September & April |
Tariff |
Tariff |
|
| Single | 560 US $ | 415 US $ |
| Double | 419 US $ | 322 US $ |
| Triple | 390 US $ | 260 US $ |