Your holiday starts with a late morning meeting with the local guide at Delhi Airport. Boarding the tour bus, you'll drive south through the outskirts of Delhi and through a fascinating landscape of cultivated fields mixed with dry scrub-land with a backdrop of distant hills. The journey passes through many small villages and larger bustling towns where we share the road with bullock carts and rickshaws and elaborately painted trucks. We enter the state of Rajasthan where we immediately notice the distinctive clothing of the people. Men wear loose-fitting white clothing, topped off with a crimson or saffron turban. The turbans are wound from a strip of cloth 82 feet in length and they are tied in many different, regional styles. The women wear incredibly colourful shawls, skirts and sarees, often decorated an embroidered with mirror thread. After approximately 5 hours, including a lunch stop, we pass beneath the imposing Amer Fort and drive through the gates to enter the ‘Pink City’ of Jaipur, so-named for the pastel-washed stucco of many of its principal buildings. We check in at our Jaipur hotel and during dinner our guide will brief us on the days ahead.

We have a full day of guided sightseeing in and around the splendid 'Pink City'. We have a reasonably early start and our first brief stop is a photo opportunity opposite the spectacular Hawa Mahal or Palace of the Winds, where the young princesses could peep through grill-like windows at the crowds below without being seen. We then drive back out to the Amber Fort. This magnificent fort, built out of yellow sandstone, occupies a very picturesque location on a ridge-top above Maota Lake in the Aravalli hills. The traditional seat of power until the capital was moved to Jaipur in 1727 AD, the present-day fort was constructed at the end of the 16th century by one of Akbar’s generals. Inside, the fort is a complex of palaces, temples, state buildings and courtyards on several levels. Entry to the fort is through the magnificent Sun Gate which is large enough to accommodate a marching army and their elephants! There's lots to see here and we will spend a good couple of hours. After our tour of the Amber Fort we return to Jaipur and its City Palace. When the Rajput ruler Jai Singh II decided to move the apparatus of state to Jaipur he constructed the quintessentially Indian complex of buildings, courtyards, gardens and lakes known simply as the City Palace. The centre-piece of the complex is the seven-storied Chandra Mahal which is still the residence of the former ruling family of Rajasthan. The ground floor of the Chandra Mahal is now a museum exhibiting carpets, paintings, manuscripts and armoury belong to the royal family. Like many buildings in Jaipur the walls of the City Palace are rendered with stucco and pained pink. This was first done throughout the city in honour of the visit of the then Prince of Wales (later to become King Edward VII) and has remained as the theme colour of Jaipur ever since. Also well worth a visit is the strangely beautiful Jantar Mantar, a collection of astronomical structures built on the orders of Jai Singh II when he set up his capital in Jaipur. The ‘observatory’ consists of 14 structures on a gigantic scale, built with geometric precision from local stone and marble. These were used for measurement of time, the tracking of stars and planets and the prediction of astronomical events such as eclipses. Amongst the other elements that we may be able to squeeze in are: a market visit, a hand-woven rug manufacturer (if anyone is interested in making a purchase) and a visit to a cinema to see a Bollywood movie. After our long day, we return to the hotel for dinner and spend a second night in Jaipur

After an early breakfast at the hotel, we board our tour bus and continue our journey south. Once we leave the city it will take around 3 to 4 hours to drive to Ranthambore passing through typically Rajasthani villages en route. Arriving in Ranthambore we check in at our hotel, have lunch and then meet up with our naturalist guide and our 'canter' transport at the hotel gate. We then head out on our first game drive into the National Park. Ranthambore was originally designated as a game reserve by the Indian Government as long ago as 1955. In the seventies it was at the centre of ‘Project Tiger’ which set out to save the rapidly dwindling tiger population of India. Ranthambore was given National Park status in 1980 and the park encompasses large tracts of forest as well as areas of grassland, hills and lakes. This is one of the few places in India where we have a real chance of spotting a tiger during the game drive. There are several different 'routes' through the park and we are allocated one of the routes at random. There are a number of lakes, stands of forest, rocky gorges and lots of very approachable animals, such as spotted deer, chital, wild boar, crocodiles, nilgai (also known as blue bull, the biggest of the antelopes), leopard and tiger, as well as many exciting bird species, including vultures and eagles. The animals and birds pay little attention to the safari vehicles. After around 3 hours, we return to our accommodation outside the park.

We rise early today for another game drive in the park and another chance of seeing a tiger, as well as lots of other exciting wildlife. We will be allocated a different 'route' in the park. Returning to our hotel we have a late breakfast before driving north-east to the well-preserved former Mughal capital of Fatehpur Sikri. The drive will take at least 4 hours. Built during the second half of the 16th century by the Emperor Akbar, Fatehpur Sikri (the City of Victory) was the capital of the Mughal Empire for just 10 years. Legend has it that the city was built here after a chance meeting between the emperor and a holy man close to this spot, but ultimately its location proved to be strategically untenable and it was abandoned. There is no inhabited city here but the complex of monuments and temples, all in a uniform architectural style, are superbly preserved and includes one of the largest mosques in India, the Jama Masjid. The city is now a World Heritage Site. Following a guided sightseeing tour of this ancient city, we continue our drive to nearby Agra where we check in at our hotel close to the Taj Mahal.

A highlight of the tour, this morning at sunrise, we visit the Taj Mahal - one of the man-made 'seven wonders' of the world. Whatever you think you know about the Taj Mahal from the countless photographs and images which are worldwide, you are in for a pleasant surprise. No photograph can adequately portray the exquisite beauty, precision and craftsmanship of this incredible monument built for love. It took 20,000 people 22 years to build it, using over 1000 elephants to transport the marble for its dazzling white walls and dome. Twenty eight different types of precious and semi-precious stones are inlaid into parts of the marble, some of these depicting verses from the Koran in highly decorative script. The Taj Mahal itself is a mausoleum for Mumtaz the wife of its builder Shah Jahan and is set in tranquil gardens providing several vantage points from which to contemplate the building. From an upper terrace it is possible to look across the Yamuna River, the largest tributary of the Ganges, towards the Agra Fort. A visit to the Taj Mahal can easily absorb a whole day, but there are more sights that we want to see in Agra. So, after an approximately 3-hour visit, we return to our hotel for a late breakfast and a wash and brush up. Then, in the early afternoon we drive to the Agra Fort, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. There has been a walled city on this site for more than a thousand years, but the present structure was built by the Mughals. Commanding gates, fashioned in red stone, as well as an excellent view of the Taj Mahal, just 2 and a half kilometres away, are highlights of this impressive site. We can also take the opportunity to drive across the Yamuna River to gain a different perspective of the Taj from the opposite bank. As our final Agra experience, we find a restaurant in one of the shopping streets and take a late lunch, with the chance to do some exploring in the bazaar. Our train from Tunla Junction is generally in the early evening and we have a drive of about 45 minutes to get to the station. Here, we say goodbye to our driver who has been with us for the first 5 days of the trip and we will no doubt want to give him a tip. At Tunla, we will experience an essential part of Indian life, as we board the overnight sleeper train to Varanasi. For this journey we will travel in air-conditioned carriages with four berths to a compartment. Dinner will be a snack affair provided by our guide. The train departs around 9.00 pm and we are soon tucked up in bed and being rocked to sleep by the motion and noises of the train as it rattles through the warm Indian countryside.

We wake up to the call for ‘chai chai’ as tea and coffee are brought around the carriage. There will be plenty of time to get dressed and ready before the train pulls into Varanasi. We transfer to our hotel in the city in time for breakfast and the rest of the day is free for independent sightseeing in this holiest of Indian cities located on the banks of the Ganges. Also known as Kashi and Benares, Varanisi is a city of temples and every colourful, ancient but vibrant aspect of Hinduism can be seen on its streets. In the late afternoon, our guide will arrange for the group to travel out to the banks of the Ganges to witness the aarti ceremony. This is an optional activity, as the journey can only reasonably be made by motorised rickshaw or 'tuk-tuk' during the busiest part of the day. This is an exciting way to travel (it takes 20 minutes in each direction) and may not be to everyone's taste. However, the aarti ceremony is unmissable and highly recommended. The cost of this trip out to the Ganges is around 1500 rupees (£15) to include watching the aarti ceremony from a boat that will pull just 50 or 100 metres off shore to gain the best viewpoint. The ceremony takes place at 2 locations close together on the wide stone steps known as ghats, where pilgrims take the waters and perform their pujas. The aarti ceremony takes place every evening, involving 7 priests and thousands of oil lamps are floated on the river, each one representing the hopes or prayers of the individuals who push them out into the gentle current. Returning to our hotel by tuk-tuk, we overnight at our Varanasi hotel.

Leaving the hotel in the early morning pre-dawn darkness we make our way by bus through the quiet city streets back to the ghats where our boat is waiting. All aboard we float out onto the river for one of India's most magical experiences, watching the sun rise over the Ganges and the ghats. After the spectacle of the sunrise itself, we are rowed slowly along the river, watching the activity of the ghats as the devotees come down to the waters. All aspects of life can be seen on the ghats as people make their offerings and prayers, wash themselves and their clothes and even cremate their loved ones on the banks of the most important river in Hinduism. From our vantage in the boat and with the soft pink dawn light, the higgledy-piggledy arrangement of temples and houses rising from the shore have a magical quality. After this Ganges experience we return to our hotel for breakfast and then have some free time for shopping in the busy bazaars. As well as having the distinction of being one of the oldest cities on earth, Varanasi is also famous for its silk and there are bargains to be had here if you are looking for souvenirs. The Buddhist site of Sarnath is a short distance outside the city and can be visited as an optional excursion arranged locally. In the early evening, we drive back to the railway station (up to 1 hour drive) to catch the overnight train to Delhi. We will have a snack dinner on board the train, before settling down for the night.

We arrive in Delhi in the morning and transfer to our hotel first to rest. We take breakfast at the hotel and then go out for a morning ‘s guided sightseeing around the capital. In the Old City we will visit the Jama Masjid, Chandi Chowk, the Red Fort and Raj Ghat. The rest of the day is then free for further independent sightseeing or for some souvenir buying. As well as the sprawling bazaars there are several very modern shopping malls in the modern centre of Delhi. There are also ‘state emporiums’ which are showcases for the particular crafts of other states in India (including silks from Varanasi and the colourful textiles of Rajastan). We come together again for our final evening meal of the tour and we stay overnight in Delhi.

Your holiday ends after breakfast. A group transfer to Delhi airport is provided.