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Palace On Wheels
Palace
On Wheels
Duration -:
6 Nights/7 Days
Places to See - Delhi - Jaipur - Jaisalmer - Jodhpur
- Sawai Madhopur - Chittaurgarh - Udaipur - Bharatpur - Agra - Delhi
The Palace on Wheels is one of the world's most exciting rail journeys, as much
for the train and the facilities provided on board, as for the royal destinations
it proceeds to every single day. With everything taken care of - dining, accommodation,
sight seeing - as well as organized shopping, there is nothing for the traveler
to do but sleep in the history of the land, soak in the colours, and experience
the royal life of a Maharaja. The tour starts from Delhi and comes back to the
city after going through, in order: Jaipur - Jaisalmer - Jodhpur - Sawai Madhopur
- Chittaurgarh - Udaipur - Bharatpur - Agra - Delhi
Welcome
aboard !! Day 1 : Delhi The capital city of modern
India, a city known for it's rich, valorous and exotic history. Once the fabled
city of the heroes of the Mahabharata, and ruled by the Rajputs before they were
displaced by foreign invaders. The tour starts in the evening with a ceremonial
welcome aboard the Palace on Wheels at Delhi Cantonment.
1745 hours
>> The train departs from Delhi.
>> You will be introduced to
your fellow travelers.
>> Feel free to explore your new home, and acquaint
yourself with its various facilities.
>> Relax with a drink at the bar.
>> Dinner will be served on board the two restaurants.
Day
2 : Jaipur
0000 hours >> Arrive in Jaipur.
>> Jaipur,
the Pink City, known for it's colourful and fascinating Architecture. Your tour
begins next morning with the Hawa Mahal or the Palace of Winds, followed by a
visit to the Amber Fort, riding on canopied elephants in pomp and royal style
of ancient maharajas.
>> After indulging oneself in shopping at Rajasthali, the State's Handicrafts
emporium for souvenirs and crafts, an exotic and sumptuous lunch awaits you at
the majestic Rambagh Palace. The home of the erstwhile rulers, The City Palace,
now a museum, full of royal splendor and the amazing Jantar Mantar - Astronomical
Observatory, are to be explored at leisure. In the evening after a cultural program
of enthralling dance and music, dinner is a celebration under the canopy of the
star-lit skies at exotic Jai Mahal Palace.
2230 hours >>
The train departs from the Pink City at 22.30 hours. Jaipur became the capital
of the Kachchwaha dynasty when they shifted here from their hilltop fort of Amber.
It was built according to the principles laid down in the ancient Architectural
Treatises, but with all the opulence deserving to a royal city. At its center
rose the seven-tiered palace of the royal family, and around it came up gardens
and temples, its Astronomical Observatory and the myriads of mansions and business
houses.
>> Jaipur also offers a greats shopping experience since the
city is the country's capital as far as handicrafts go - and they include a very
extensive range - as well as a major international center for the cutting and
polishing of gems and stones. It also has a large number of palace hotels, and
both Rambagh and Jal Mahal, which are the venues for their lunch and dinner, are
intimately linked with the history of this former princely state. Rambagh, in
fact, was the last palace in which the former maharaja and his glamorous Maharani,
and now Rajmata or Queen Mother of Jaipur, the popular Gayatri Devi, resided.
The palace not only has most of the original furnishings and artifacts, but its
famous Polo Bar also has pictures of the last maharaja with English Aristocracy
and other important guests.
Day 3 : Jaisalmer
06.15 hours
>> Arrive at 06.15 hrs at Jaisalmer. Spend the day in this isolated, but
Architecturally, one of the greatest Royal Bastions of the World. After a safari
dinner served under the stars, at a campsite, come back to the train to resume
your journey.
>> Jaisalmer was the stronghold for the Bhatti Rajputs,
and a hardier race never lived. Bandit marked their earlier settlement, as they
looted caravans at will, stealing horses, and inviting the wrath of the West Asian
invaders. Over time they began to settle, the 12th century fort with its ninety-nine
bristling bastions was established on top of Trikuta hill, exactly as prophesied
for these descendants of Krishna. Isolated Jaisalmer may have been a lost city
in the sands of the Thar, more mythic than real for those of who heard it, but
the caravans that passed through its territories enriched the coffers of the treasury.
It also kept Jaisalmer in touch with the world, for such caravans carried not
merely goods but also artisans and master-craftsmen.
>> The Maharawalas
of Jaisalmer thought little of making use of their services to build the magnificent,
sandstone architecture for which it has become known around the world. However,
even more magnificent, along the cobbled stone pathways of the fort, arose the
havelis, the mansions of the Jain merchants who were as powerful in the court
of the time, as they were adept in business. Their homes are poetry of sandstone,
carved and pierced incredibly into different patterns, and though they are opulent
and effusive, the result is in perfect harmony, and never offending the eye.
>> Not only is Jaisalmer's Architecture magnificent, the meandering lanes,
the many homes within the ramparts and the resounding rhythms of the Langa and
Manganiyar musicians have frozen this citadel into a medieval time warp. Escape
from here to the desert sands around the fort, and see them drift in the breeze,
or take a Camel ride, or simply enjoy the mesmeric dances of its folk performers.
So must the kings have watched over their kingdom? However, you no longer need
to travel to Jaisalmer in a caravan; your carriage is a luxurious train - fitting
in the royal context. Enjoy dinner and Cultural programme.
2300 hours
>> Depart for Jodhpur
Day 4 : Jodhpur
0800 hours
>> Its time for you to visit yet another desert kingdom, Jodhpur, where
you arrive at 08.00hours. You can spend the morning at Mehrangarh Fort that towers
over the city like an eagle's eyrie and then come downhill to lunch at Umaid Bhawan
Palace, the largest art-deco residence in the world and now home to the head of
the royal family, museum and luxury hotel.
>> The 500 year old history
of Jodhpur, the bastion of the valiant Rathore Rajputs, bristles with conflicts
and sieges, with battles and savage skirmishes, so it is difficult to believe
that they found the time to not only build the impossibly invincible looking Mehrangarh
Fort. Its lavish and delicately embellished palaces.
>> Within the Fort,
reached by a steep path with huge guarding at its turns and places at angles,
to prevent elephants from storming them, are a large number of apartments where
the maharaja's retainers now serve as guides. Within, the apartments are painted
and gilded and have windows and balconies to allow them an uninterrupted view
of the desert around it, now peopled with homes. The vintage battle arms of the
royal past are well presented - swords and daggers and spears and matchlock guns;
a battle tent seized from Emperor Jehangir; howdahs and chariots and carriages;
cribs and beds; the royal, octagonal throne; musical instruments, large drums,
even a collection of turbans. From the ramparts of the fort, where the cannons
are still mounted, the sweeping view also takes in a huge palace located on top
of another lower hill.
>> This is Umaid Bhavan, the palace the Maharajas
set out to build as a famine relief project, but also ambitiously as the World's
largest private residence. It was intended to and did rival the presidential palace
coming up then in Delhi. Build by a British Architect; while the planning has
incorporated the elements of the Rajput life-style (large county yards, for example,
or a zenana wing), there is a formal western sense of symmetry and restrained
sense of ornamentation. Only in the royal suites does exuberance take over, since
a Polish artist, then traveling in India, was given the permission to create huge
paintings to suit the art-deco theme of the architecture and furniture in the
palace.
>> The grounds of the palace are huge and towards the back, there is a bougainvillea
garden, perhaps the only of its kind in the world, and at the end, a Baradari,
a pillared pavilion where the maharajas held Mehfils, entertainment courts. Within
the palace the courtrooms are more formal, while the ballrooms resounded, till
recently, with the sounds of revelry, now captured in the whispered conversations
of tourists.
1530 hours >> Departure, after unwinding
and relaxing at the palace. Dinner and overnight on board.
Day 5
: Sawai Madhopur - Ranthambhor - Chittaurgarh 0400 hours >>
Steam into Sawai Madhopur, to spend the day in the wilds of Ranthambhor where
your hosts are, of course, royal. Ranthambhor National Park is home to the Royal
Bengal Tiger, the most majestic of the big cats, and magnificent in its agility
and grace. As it moves through the underbrush, its tawny gold hide striped with
black bands, merges with nature, and the jungle stands to attention. Ranthambhor
is also very picturesque.
>>A number of lakes from the shallow land
where tiger sightings are quite common, and where herds of deer can be seen foraging,
while crocodiles bask in the sun. The lofty hills ring the park, and in the distance,
the ramparts of Ranthambhor fort create a dramatic silhouette. Once, this was
the scene for fierce battles, and for fiery Jauhars, but all that is of the past
now, though former-hunting lodges such as Jogi Mahal, close to the lakes, is still
retains its former grandeur and glory. Ranthambhor is particularly well known
for its tiger sightings because the undisturbed ambiance and the spreading, shallow
lakes provide them the surroundings best suited to their needs, and therefore
sightings by day time are quite common. Various conservationists and wildlife
photographers have worked at length here to document the life cycle of the tigresses
of Ranthambhor, even giving them names, so that they are now a part of the regional
lore.
Since the best time to visit the park is early morning.
1100 hours >> Leaves for its destination, Chittaurgarh.
1530 hours 
>> Arrival at Chittaurgarh.
>> Chittaurgarh is India's most valorous
fort, its history an unending saga of passion, chivalry and romance. Within its
sprawling ramparts were beautiful palaces, but few of them remain, the fort having
been sacked by invaders. Lunch and dinner are served on board the train.
Day 6 : Udaipur
0730 hours >> Arrive, Udaipur, the
capitals of the Sisodia Maharanas, enjoy pre-eminence among the Rajput clans of
Rajasthan. Spend the day sight seeing at Udaipur.
>> Lunch is at Lake
Palace, the beautiful island palace built as a summer resort by the royal family,
and now converted into one of the world's finest hotels. The train departs again
at 20.00 hours, and dinner will be served on board.
>> Maharana Udai
Singh, laid the foundation for a new kingdom-Udaipur-situated by Lake Pichola,
where the impressive City Palace was lavished with aesthetic and imaginative works
of art, and the art of miniature painting was encouraged as decor-et-al. Subsequently,
the princes built the seemingly floating Island Palace, the royal summer retreat,
offering a spectacular view of the lake and surrounding mountains. Besides the
Lake Palace, there are other such retreats that have been converted into modern
hotels, one of them, Shiv Niwas, being run by the current head of the family.
>> A graceful, valorous race, the Sisodias and their city bring alive
the excitement of a medieval kingdom as it once was, and with a little imagination,
can still almost be...
Day 7 : Bharatpur - Agra - Delhi
0600 hours >> It must
be Bharatpur. Arrive at a royal kingdom where the Jats, rather than the Rajputs,
ruled. Bharatpur's Jat history is not too old, with Suraj Mal establishing a firm
stronghold in a region contested by both the Rajputs and the Mughals. Suraj Mal's
exploits are legendary, and the fort, Lohargarh, or Iron Fort has a history that
recounts it with pride.
>> The only fort in the state to have bastions
of mud, these proved meritorious because they simply swallowed up the cannon shells,
not allowing them to impact. However, it is not for its fort, or palace, or even
the close by fortified resort of Deeg that passengers of the Palace on Wheels
are here; Their attention is drawn to the bird sanctuary, one of the finest in
the world. The Keoladeo Ghana National Park was developed by a royal edict when
dykes were created so that water could be canalized for the hunting preserve at
the maharaja of Bharatpur wished to create. In the early decade of this century,
Bharatpur became famous among visiting British royalty and aristocracy for the
amount of game the visitors bagged. These days, thankfully, only shooting by cameras
is permitted in this sanctuary with over three hundred species of birds, many
of them migrant species that come from parts as distant as Siberia and China.
1030 hours >> After visiting the sanctuary in the
morning, visitors travel by couch to Fatehpur Sikri, the red sandstone city build
by Emperor Akbar on a lavish scale, but which he had to abandon soon after because
of shortage of water.
1500 hours >> From here to Agra,
first for lunch at hotel and then for a visit to the world's most well known monument
and well worth its fame; The Taj Mahal. Built in the memory of his beloved empress
by Emperor Shah Jahan, this marble mausoleum is the greatest gesture of love known
to mankind, and is breathtakingly, bewitchingly beautiful. Land for the building
of the Taj Mahal in Agra came from the maharaja of Jaipur and the marble used
in its construction was from the mines of Makrana, also in Rajasthan. The precious
stones used in its inlay, and the craftsmen employed for the twenty-two years
its construction took, came not only from India, but from all over the World.
The Taj Mahal is the perfect finale to your Royal Sojourn.
2000 hours
>> Palace on wheels departs for Delhi.
>> Dinner and
overnight on board.
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