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Palace on
Wheels
Duration: 06 Nights / 07 Days
Destinations:
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 !!
 Wednesday
Day 01: 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.
Thursday Day 02: 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.
Friday Day 03: 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
Saturday Day 04: 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.
Sunday Day 05: 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.
Monday Day 06: 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...
Tuesday
Day 07: 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.
Palace on Wheels, Reservation Form
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