BEST OF RAJASTHAN TOUR

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BEST OF RAJASTHAN TOUR                    09 Nights/10 Days
Most popular destination of Rajasthan is covered in just 10 days.  A very good combination of Art, Crafts, huge forts, havelies and Palaces, Folk dances and cultural heritage, village life in desert. At the end an oasis - a beautiful city of Lakes - Udaipur. All this can be enjoyed in one state - Rajasthan.

Routing:                 Delhi - Mandawa - Bikaner - Jaisalmer - Jodhpur - Ranakpur - Udaipur - Delhi

Highlights:             Folk dances show, Camel breeding farm, Camel Safar in Sam, Boating in Lake Pichila, Udaipur

Sightseeing & Excursions
Mandawa:                Painted Havelies
Bikaner:                   Junagarh Fort, Camel Breeding Farm, Deshnok Temple
Jaisalmer:              The Fort, Jain Temple, Havelies
Jodhpur:                  Mahrangarh Fort, Jaswant Thada, Mandore Garden and Umaid Bhawan Palace
Ranakpur:               Jain Temples
Udaipur:                  City Palace, Jagdish Temple, Sahelion-ki-bari, Jag Mandir, Eklingi & Nagda
Delhi:                      Raj Ghat & Shanti Vana, Jama Masjid, Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb, Indira Gandhi Museum, India Gate, Qutub Minar ,                                   Lakshminarayan Temple, President's House, Parliament House, Government Secretariat Buildings

DETAILED ITINERARY

Day 01 ARRIVE DELHI
Arr: Delhi                By Air
Welcome/Assistance at the Iindira Gandhi Airport and transfer to hotel. Overnight stay at hotel.

Day 02  DELHI/MANDAWA (250 kms/6 hrs. drive)
Morning drive to Mandawa .
Dep: Delhi                                By Car
Arr: Mandawa
Direct transfer to hotel. Mandawa was settled in the 18th century, and was fortified by the dominant merchant families. Today it has some of the finest painted havelies in the region. Evening visit the town and some of its painted havelies. Mandawa houses a collection of armories, costumes of ancestors, canons from 1820, ancient coins, numismatic collection and many other interesting items preserved in a museum. The whole area of Shekhavati has beautiful frescoes, havelis & mansions and is called the open-air gallery. Overnight at Mandawa.

Day 03  MANDAWA/BIKANER (190 kms/4 hrs. drive)
Morning drive to Bikaner.
Dep: Mandawa                                By Car
Arr: Bikaner
Bikaner - popularly called the camel country, the city is renowned for the best riding camels in the world. Afternoon visit Junagarh Fort - built in 1593 A.D. by Raja Rai Singh, a general in the army of Emperor Akbar,  and Camel Breeding farm. Overnight stay at hotel.

Day 04 BIKANER/JAISALMER (328 kms/7 hrs. drive)
Morning visit Deshnok’s Karni Mata Temple (32 kms): the famous 600 years old temple on the Jodhpur road dedicated to Karni Mata, an incarnation of Goddess Durga. The temple has huge intricately carved silver gates which were donated by Maharaja Ganga Singh. The most interesting thing about the temple are the rats who scamper freely within the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. They are regarded as sacred and are fed by priests and devotees owing to the belief that they will be reincarnated in the family of the goddess. Continue drive to Jaisalmer.
Dep: Bikaner                                By Car
Arr: Jaisalmer
Direct transfer to hotel. Rest of the day at leisure and overnight.

Day 05 JAISALMER
Morning Visit The Fort, Jain Temple and the old mansions known as "Havelis". People still live in these ancient buildings dating from 12th to 15th century. Every house has exquisite carvings and filigreed work.
Afternoon excursion trip to Sam Sand Dunes. No trip to Jaisalmer is complete without a trip to the most picturesque dunes of Sam. Return to Jaisalmer for overnight stay at hotel.

Day 06 JAISALMER/JODHPUR (295 kms/6 hrs. drive)
Morning drive to Jodhpur.
Dep: Jaisalmer                                By Car
En- route visit Osian - an oasis in the desert.
Arr: Jodhpur
Direct transfer to hotel.
Afternoon visit Mandore Gardens and local market in Old Jodhpur. Evening free and overnight at hotel.

Day 07 JODHPUR/RANAKPUR (160 kms/3 hrs. drive)
Morning visit Meharangarh Fort - the 5 km long majestic fort on 125 m high hill is one of the most impressive and formidable structures, Jaswant Thada - a cluster of royal cenotaphs in white marble built in 1899 A.D. in memory of Maharaja Jaswant Singh II and Umaid Bhawan Palace.
Afternoon drive to Ranakpur
Dep: Jodhpur                                By Car
Arr: Ranakpur
Ranakpur- renowned for some marvelously carved Jain Temples in amber stone. Direct transfer to hotel. Evening visit Temples and overnight stay at hotel.

Day 08 RANAKPUR/UDAIPUR (96 kms/2 hrs. drive)
Morning free time in Ranakpur. Later drive to Udaipur
Dep: Ranakpur                                By Car
Arr: Udaipur
Direct transfer to hotel. Later city tour of Udaipur. Visit: City Palace, Jagdish Temple, Sahelion-ki-bari.
Evening boat ride in Lake Pichola and visit Jag Mandir. Overnight at hotel.

Day 09 UDAIPUR/DELHI OR MUMBAI                By Air
Morning excursion trip to Eklingi & Nagda. Later transfer to airport to connect flight for Delhi.
Dep: Udaipur                By Air
Arr: Delhi
Assistance at Delhi airport and transfer to hotel. Evening free and overnight at hotel.

Day 10 DEPART DELHI
Morning full day sightseeing tour of  Delhi. Visit: Raj Ghat and Shanti Vana - the cremation sites of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, Jama Masjid and Red Fort. Free time for Lunch.
Afternoon visit Qutub Minar (built by Qutub-ud-Din Aibek in 1199), Humayun's Tomb, Indira Gandhi Museum, India Gate (a memorial to the Indian soldiers killed in World War I), Lakshminarayan Temple - a modern Hindu Temple. Also drive past President's House, Parliament House, Government Secretariat Buildings and Connaught Place shopping center.
Late evening transfer to airport to connect flight for onward destination.

** TOUR ENDS **