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Our introduction to India. Two crazy days here at the beginning of our trip to try to acclimate to the madness. If one thing can be said for Delhi is that it can only get better from here! Ok, there are also many wonderful sites and we really enjoyed some calm moments visiting Humayun's Tomb.
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Agra, not so great as a city, however as the home of the Taj Mahal it simply cannot be skipped! We chose a hotel just outside the Taj gates and were able to roll straight out of bed to the front door of the Taj in time to beat the crowds. After our visit we hired a car for the day to tour Fatephur Sikri, Agra Fort and the Baby Taj, a wise choice for this jam-packed day.
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An overnight train from Agra brings us to Varanasi, the holiest Hindu city in India. Pilgrims come from all over to wash away their sins in the Ganges, we however choose to keep ours (sins) and stay dry. We spent 3 days/2 nights at Scindia Guest House enjoying our balcony view of the sights below.
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Jaipur, the Pink City and capital of Rajasthan. Large and modern (by Indian standards), it is also a welcoming and easy to navigate city. We spent 2 days here over New Years and could have used a couple more. One day was spent at Amber Fort (where we rode an elephant to the top) and Jaigath Fort. Our second day was spent at the Wind Palace, City Palace, and Jantar Mantar (observatory).
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The highlight of our trip! We loved our 3 days spent at the tented camp, the Ranthambhore Bagh, where we took part in 4 canter (jungle truck) safaris. We were extremely lucky to see a tiger on each of the 3 morning safaris and leopards (an even rarer sighting) on the one afternoon safari we took. The parc is strikingly beautiful and besides our tiger sightings we were also able to see many other wildlife including deer, crocodiles, a jackel, wild boar and many species of birds.
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Udaipur, a beautiful, calm city on Lake Pichola. We enjoyed 3 days of our trip here enjoying the views of the now full lake. We visited the City Palace, Jagdish Temple, Jagmandir, and the Bagore-ki-Haveli. A special evening out to the Lake Palace Hotel for drinks and dinner topped off our stay.
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We hired a car from Udaipur to Jodhpur and were able to stop at Kumbhalgarh on the way. Kumbhalgarh is an amazing fort perched high in the Aravalli Mountains. The fort extends for 36km and contains 360 temples. Well worth the stop-over!
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Ranakpur, a fabulous Jain temple complex on the road between Udaipur and Jodhpur. The main temple is of white marble containing beautiful carvings. The temple includes 1444 pillars of which no two are alike.
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Jodhpur, The Blue City. We spent 2 nights and 1 day here visiting Mehrangarh (Majestic Fort), Jaswant Thada (marble memorial to Jaswant Singh II) and the lively marketplace. Traditionally blue marked the homes of the Brahmins, the highest caste in India. It is also said to be effective against mosquitos.
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From Jodhpur we hired a car and driver to go to Jaisalmer for 2 nights. Jaisalmer was a beautiful desert town with an amazing fort rising up from the middle. The fort is a living fort with 25% of the population living within the fort walls. We chose to stay outside of the fort at the Shahi Palace and enjoy the views of the fort from their lovely rooftop. We also vendured into the Thar desert on camels for sunset and dinner around a campfire.
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Delhi, the second time around. After a 20 hour train ride from Jaisalmer, we spent another 2 days in Delhi at the end of our trip before catching our flight home. We visited the Red Fort and Birla House (where Gandhi spent his last days). We also returned to Pahar Ganj for some last minute shopping which we found to be much calmer and easier to navigate this time!
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