India: Lions, Tigers & the Taj Mahal

Arrive in Mumbai in the early morning. After clearing customs and immigration, you are met and transferred to your hotel for immediate check-in. This afternoon, set out to explore Mumbai, seeing the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Drive along scenic Marine Drive, and visit the Malabar Hill neighborhood; Mani Bhawan; the Prince of Wales Museum (Chhatrapati Shivaji Museum); and the Dhobi Ghat. Then, gather with fellow guests for welcome cocktails, followed by dinner.

Fly to Rajkot, where you are met and transferred to Gondal Palace for breakfast. See the Maharajah’s private car collection and Naulakha Palace, continuing to your hotel at the edge of the Gir Forest. If time allows, take a Jeep safari in search of leopards, jungle cats, rusty spotted cats, hyenas and chinkaras (Indian gazelles) as well as Asiatic lions. Spend the next day on game drives in the park.

Drive to Diu, pausing for lunch. Fly to Mumbai and connect with your flight to Jaipur. Upon arrival, you are transferred to your palace hotel. The next day, see the Amber Fort. Later, see the City Palace and the astronomical instruments at Jantar Mantar.

Drive to Ranthambore, check in to your luxury tented accommodations. Embark on an afternoon game drive in search of elusive tigers as well as deer, sloth bears and leopards within Ranthambore National Park. Spend the next day on morning and afternoon game drives amid the dry, deciduous forest, lush valleys, lakes and boundless grasslands.

Board the Jan Shatabdi Express to Bharatpur early this morning. Drive to Agra, pausing at the “ghost town” of Fatehpur Sikri, a collection of abandoned red sandstone buildings. After settling into your hotel in Agra, visit the romantic Taj Mahal when it is bathed in sunset’s glow.

See the Taj Mahal again at sunrise. Explore the richly marbled, mosaic-laden Agra Fort, then drive to Delhi and arrive at your hotel in time for dinner.

Discover Delhi, seeing the Red Fort and Jama Masjid mosque. Ride Like a Local by rickshaw through Old Delhi and the Chandni Chowk bazaar. At Raj Ghat, see where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated after his assassination. See a different side of the city as you tour New Delhi, visiting Humayun’s Tomb, the Qutub Minar tower and the India Gate. Then, see the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the residence of India’s president.

Fly to Kolkata (Calcutta) and connect with your flight to Jorhat. Drive to Kaziranga, and spend the next days on game drives in Kaziranga National Park, home to Bengal tigers, elephants, water buffalo and the rare greater one-horned rhinoceros.

After early morning game viewing, drive to Jorhat to board your flight to Kolkata. Enjoy a farewell dinner with your fellow travellers this evening.

See the Birla Planetarium, Indian Museum and Shahid Minar. Later this afternoon, transfer to the airport and fly home.