13-Day Culture and Cycling Tour of India with Ranthambore Safari

1

Day 01

Arrival in Delhi and Tour Welcome

• Welcome to Delhi, where your representative will meet you at the airport.
• Once you've settled in at the hotel, head out for a stroll until you meet your tour leader and fellow tour members at 6 p.m.
• Afterwards, join them for an optional meal.

2

Day 02

Delhi Cycling Tour and Train to Jaipur

• Wake up early in the morning to beat the Delhi traffic and give your cycles a beta run over approximately 20 km through the diplomats' enclave, punctuated by a stop at the historic India Gate.
• Enjoy breakfast after this giddy but exciting experience, then trawl through the narrow alleys of Old Delhi as you step into a blitz of noise, colour, historic buildings, and hole-in-the-wall shop fronts strung together by overhead wiring.
• Return to your hotel and, in the afternoon, prepare for a train ride to Jaipur in the evening.

3

Day 03

Amber Fort and Jaipur Old City

• Move to the fairytale-like Amber Fort in the morning, perched on the Aravalli Hills and surrounded by its protective wall. Learn about its history and the equally captivating tales of life within its borders.
• Drop in at a co-operative for a brief demonstration on cutting and polishing gems, as well as a hand block printing demonstration.
• Head back to the hotel after lunch, or wander around the brick-coloured facade of Jaipur's Old City, and who knows what stories you might uncover among the millions that it hides from its past.

4

Day 04

Ride to the Sacred City of Pushkar

• Travel by coach along the highway until you reach Narena, the starting point of your ride.
• Pedal past the mustard fields that spray a sea of bright yellow paint on the earth, past busy little towns and a clutch of forts, then stop for a packed lunch en route.
• Ride further after lunch until you reach Pushkar in the evening. Take in the atmosphere of the holy lake here, as a motley mix of sadhus, pilgrims, cows, and hippies takes centre stage.

5

Day 05

Scenic Ride and Transfer to Udaipur

• Wind your way through the changing semi-arid landscape, negotiating the undulations and bends as the common sight of lush farmlands parts to make way for thorny acacia trees and brightly costumed women drifting through the stark landscape.
• Stop for tea at a local vendor, then keep the wheels turning until the back roads end.
• Climb on board your coach and settle in for a nice, long drive to Udaipur.

6

Day 06

Udaipur Lakes, City Palace and Sunset Boat Ride

• In the morning, before visiting the imposing City Palace, whose eastern walls are washed by Lake Pichola, take your bikes out for a spin around Fateh Sagar Lake - one of the seven lakes the city hosts.
• Wander through the exhibits and, once you've completed the tour, take a walk through the town itself with its traditional miniature painting, silver jewellery shops, cafes, restaurants, and coffee shops.
• Later, as the day draws to a close, board your boat for a ride around Lake Pichola and watch the setting sun throw shades of crimson on its placid waters.

7

Day 07

Ride through the Vindhyachal Hills to Panngarh

• Transfer to the outskirts of Chittorgarh and start your ride on the narrow roads that shape their way across the Vindhyachal Hills. Feel the wind in your face as you plunge through some thrilling downhill sections and make your way across some of the scantiest human habitations on the tour.
• Keep riding until you reach the campsite set right in the middle of nowhere - an ideal spot to get away from it all.
• Take a walk around the area, go boating, or sit along the edge of the lake, watching the water birds skip across lotus pads and add their two bits to the serenity of the place.

8

Day 08

Easy Ride to Parsoli and Village Visit

• Wake up to the sounds of a kingfisher piercing the lake or lapwings shrieking at dawn. Relax for a few hours longer before you tumble out of your tent because today is a day of easy riding, and we're not in a tearing hurry to get to our next destination.
• After a leisurely ride, transfer to your hotel set right in the middle of a lake.
• Later in the day, step onto solid ground and visit a nearby village to see what life means for the people who live in rural India. Wander through this tiny village and catch a glimpse of their daily lives.

9

Day 09

Ride to Ranthambore National Park

• Leaving the idyll of Parsoli, ride on to Ranthambore National Park, touted as one of the best wildlife sanctuaries in India to see the tiger in its natural habitat. Conceived and established in the 80s, conservation efforts at Ranthambore have resulted in a slow but positive resurgence of the tiger population.
• Bid farewell to your bike crew at the end of today's ride.

10

Day 10

Safari in Ranthambore National Park

• Embark on a hunt for the admittedly elusive tiger.
• Catch a glimpse of the park's many denizens as you drive into the heart of the jungle - chief among them being the sambar deer, blue bull antelope, langur monkeys, boars, mongoose, sloth bears, and a variety of birds.
• Enjoy breakfast after the safari, and if you haven't spotted a tiger in the morning safari, don't give up the chase yet because an evening safari might be the thing to make both you and the tiger sociable.

11

Day 11

Drive to Agra and Visit the Taj Mahal

• Drive towards Agra in the morning and, on arrival, settle into the hotel.
• As the afternoon draws on, enter the portals of the Taj Mahal, justifiably one of the wonders of the world.
• Spend a couple of hours inside the complex studying its aesthetics; contemplate the magnificence of human achievement writ large in its symmetry, and slowly filter out as the sun hints that it is time to leave.

12

Day 12

Agra Fort, Carpet Weaving and Return to Delhi

• Before making a full circle and driving back to Delhi, take the last opportunity to view the Taj Mahal, as the wistful Emperor Shah Jahan must have done from his quarters at Agra Fort, the scene of his imprisonment. Trace the tale of this tragic emperor alongside a nuanced tour that gives the fort a robust form and shape.
• Following the fort visit, observe the subtleties of weaving carpets as it was done during the Mughal era before clocking the miles on the highway to Delhi.
• The tour isn't officially over yet, so come together for a final dinner and drink to happy times before saying goodbye.

13

Day 13

Departure from Delhi

• It's time now to bid farewell to your tour leader and new friends, but not without a backpack full of memories.