BOOKING INFORMATION
February 06 - 26, 2025
Details to Come
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*If the tour is SOLD OUT, please contact us to be added to the waitlist.
February 6th - 26th, 2025.
A fascinating exploration of northwestern India, from Delhi to Bombay, with many fabulous sights such as Agra’s world-famous Taj Mahal; picturesque Rajasthan jewels such as Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Udaipur; exotic Jaisalmer, an oasis town in the Thar Desert; the Little Rann of Kuch wildlife sanctuary; Dholavira, Lothal, and other archaeological sites of the ancient Indus River Civilization. Four-star (or in some cases “best available”) hotels, excellent food, and lots of culture and history dispensed by expert local guides and your tour escort, historian Jacques R. Pauwels, author of ‘Beneath the Dust of Time: A History of the Names of Peoples and Places’.
February 06 - 26, 2025
DOWNLOAD PDF OF ITINERARY
*If the tour is SOLD OUT, please contact us to be added to the waitlist.
1:55PM departure from Toronto to Dubai with Emirates Airlines flight EK 242.
Our
destination today is Udaipur, 250 km from Jodhpur, a trip that will offer another
kaleidoscope of impressions of Indian nature and culture at their best! En
route visit to the Ranakpur Temple, cradled in a verdant valley Aravalli Hills,
on the banks of the river Maghai, one of the holiest places of the Jain faith.
Dinner and overnight in Hotel Howard Johnson or similar in Udaipur, a city
whose palaces, forts, temples, gardens, and lakes m romantic backdrops caused
it to be used as the setting of many movies, including James Bond blockbusters.
Morning
city tour, with as highlights the enormous City Palace. Afternoon at leisure,
and boat tour on beautiful Lake Pichola in the evening.
Early
morning departure, as there will be lots to see today on our trip of 350 km! Entering
the State of Gujarat, we visit a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the fortified
town of Patan: an intricately carved stepwell of no less than seven levels, dating
back to the 11th century AD, silted over by the nearby Sarasvati
River, rediscovered in the 1940s, and restored in the 1980s; it was designed as
an inverted temple, highlighting the sanctity of water. This will also include
a visit to the Sahasralinga Tank, a medieval artificial water reservoir. On to
the village of Modhera to inspect the famous local Hindu Sun temple, dedicated
to the solar deity Surya located at Modhera village, another tentative UNESCO
World Heritage Site, and late afternoon arrival in Bajana, a village in a
region known as the Little Rann of Kutch. Accommodation in Hotel Royal safari
Camp or similar.
Rann means “desert” and Kutch (or Kuchchh)
is a district of Gujarat. The Rann of Kutch, consisting of the Little and the
Big Rann of Kutch, is a vast region of salt marshes straddling the border
between the State of Gujarat and Pakistan’s Sindh Province; it is a flat
region, very close to sea level, watered by many rivers and flooded annually
during the monsoon season, i.e. from June to September’ the waters evaporate
during the long dry season, leaving the Rann dry again, morphed into salt
desert but also grassland, both of which attract wildlife. Today we enjoy a full-day
jeep safari into the Little Rann of Kutch, a salt marsh and biosphere reserve
that is home to the Asiatic Wild ass, popularly known as Ghudkhar. as well as many
species of migratory birds, e. g. cranes, ducks, pelicans, spoonbills, and flamingoes,
falcons, eagles, and vultures, as well as mammals such as the Indian wolf,
desert fox, gazelles, jackals, and nilgai, Asia’s largest type of antelope. The Wild Ass Sanctuary of Little Rann of Kutch has been
placed on the UNESCO’s tentative list of World Heritage Sites.
After
breakfast, we leave Bajana and motor a relatively short distance (200 km) to
the town of Dholavira, located on an island in the middle of the Big Rann of
Kuch, at times a white, salt-covered wasteland, where we will explore the fascinating
and historic ruins of one of the many urban centres of the Harappan
Civilization, also known as the Indus Valley Civilization IVC), a Bronze Age
high culture similar to those of Egypt and Mesopotamia, that flourished in the
third millennium BC but disappeared under circumstances that have become better
known recently but continue to be the object of much controversy, as your
guides will explain. Locally called Kotada Timba, the site is the second
largest IVC site in India and fifth largest in Indian sub-continent. (Harappa
and Mohenjo Daro, the best-known centres, are located in Pakistan.) Dholavira
was recently (2021) adopted by UNESCO as a World Heritage Centre. Dinner and overnight
stay in simple but comfortable accommodations, the Dholavira Tourism Resort (http://dholaviratourismresort.com)
On
the road again, and today’s destination is another relatively small town, located
about 300 km from Dholavira, Gondal, once an important one of the princely
state that became part of British India but continued to be ruled by its lords
of the Rajput dynasty. Upon arrival there, we will visit their Naulakha Palace,
built in the 17th century and known for its stone carvings and exquisite
balconies, before checking into Hotel Orchard palace.
Departure
from Gondal after breakfast. After a drive of about 180 km, we reach the
extremely important archaeological site of a 4,500-year-old city of the IVC, Lothal,
discovered only in the 1950s. Here, we will inspect the impressive ruins of
massive docks, warehouses, drainage systems, etc., showing clearly that this
used to be a busy and sophisticated seaport, involved in trade with lands as
far away as Mesopotamia. Lothal has been placed on UNESCO’s tentative list of
World Heritage Sites. After our visit, continue for dinner and overnight in
Hotel Lemon Tree or similar in the big and bustling city of Ahmedabad, approximately
an 80 km journey.
After breakfast, we start our sightseeing program
in Ahmedabad, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which will include as many as
possible of the following sites: Gandhi
Ashram, a former house of Mahatma Gandhi, from where he began his historic 1930
protest march against a salt tax imposed by the British, now a Gandhi memorial
and pilgrimage site; the Calico Museum, featuring a wonderful collection of
handmade antique and modern Indian textiles; the Jama Masjid Mosque,
built in 1423 by Ahmad Shah in 1423; Jhulta Minara, the mysterious swaying
minarets of the Siddi Bashir Mosque; and Akshardham Temple,
a splendid Hindu house of worship and a spiritual and cultural campus. Then we
head for Ahmedabad airport in time for the departure
of our short flight to the metropolis of Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, the
capital city of the State of Maharashtra. Arrival and transfer to the Hotel Fariyas or
similar.
All-day sightseeing in Mumbai, popularly
known as “the city of dreams”, as people from across the country seek their
fortune here. We start with a side trip to a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Elephanta Caves, located on a nearby
island, featuring temples carved from solid rock dating back to the 7th
century. In the afternoon, tour of the city centre, with many buildings in the
Victorian Neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau style, collectively classified as a UNESCO
site, the monument known as the Gateway to India, the Towers of Silence, and Marine
Drive. We finish with a visit to Malabar Hill, an upscale residential area
known for the Hanging Gardens, a hillside park with a wonderful view of the
city and the Arabian Sea. At the end of the tour, transfer to the
airport in time for our departure for Dubai at 10PM, arriving just before
midnight.
Flight Dubai to Toronto, departing at 3:55
AM and arriving at 9:15AM
- International flights from Toronto - Delhi; Mumbai - Toronto. Domestic flight from Ahmedabad - Mumbai. - Accommodation based on double occupancy, in first-class/4-star or “best available” hotels. - Overland transportation by coach and/or minibuses. - Breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily as outlined in the itinerary. - All visits and sightseeing as outlined in the itinerary. - Hotel taxes and gratuities. - Services of local guides as well as a Pauwels Travel tour escort.
- Mandatory Tourist Visa for India: approximately $140 plus postage. Please click here or call the office for information on how to apply when Visa services reopen. - Gratuities for local guides and drivers, in total approximately $125 USD, to be collected by the tour director for disbursal as needed. - Travel insurance.
