Arrive Ahmedabad

Please arrive in Ahmedabad no later than today. If coming directly from New Zealand or Australia, you are able to depart and connect straight through to Ahmedabad through Singapore on the same day, with Singapore Airlines (SQ504 Singapore – Ahmedabad arrives around 9.35pm). If you’d like to arrive earlier, we can extend your accommodation. Please contact us for more information.

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Accommodation: 5-Star Heritage Property

Meals: No meals included today

Ahmedabad

After breakfast, we start with a heritage walk through the fascinating old city. Wind your way through the many Pol (small residential communities), see the Gate of Ahmedabad, mosques, temples and watch the city come to life. Mid-morning we will visit the highly regarded Calico Museum of Textiles, set amongst the lushest of gardens. The building was the original Calico Mills and now houses an impressive collection of textiles from the Mughal and Provincial Courts with a display of intricate dyeing, weaving, printing and embroidery techniques from across India.

After lunch, we will visit the studio of a master embroiderer, textile and fashion designer who has been experimenting and reinventing textiles and embroidery for almost 30 years. The textiles created at the studio are contemporary pieces of beauty and prove that aesthetics, quality, techniques, craftsmanship have not been lost post industrialisation, liberalisation and production on large scale. The detail of the work is incredibly impressive.

To round out the day we will visit the Sabarmati Ashram, Mahatma Gandhi’s Ahmedabad ashram and home, where you can learn about his life, philosophies and see his humble dwellings.

For those keen, we will dine at the stunning rooftop restaurant at our hotel tonight. Their local thali is excellent.

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Accommodation: 5-Star Heritage Property

Meals: Breakfast included

Key Inclusions: Early morning walking tour, Visit to the Calico Museum of Textiles and Sabarmati Ashram and Demonstration with a master embroiderer

Ahmedabad

Today we will visit one of the five families left who practice the intricate art of Mata Ni Pachedi, a kalamkari art form traditional to Gujarat. We will enjoy a hands-on workshop here.

This afternoon we will visit a contemporary fashion designer who empowers women artisans to practice sustainable garment production and promotes conscious consumerism with a focus on repairing, conserving, consuming less and following eco-friendly practices. The designer has been working for more than six years directly with local artisans conducting training programs and research to learn the stories behind traditional embroidery techniques, colours, motifs and placements and using them in contemporary work. Meet some of the talented artisans and hear about the work that’s created in an interactive session.

Time and weariness-permitting, we will take a crash course in the history of Indian art by walking through the Kasturbhai Lalbhai Museum. Otherwise, you’ll have some free time to relax this afternoon and evening.

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Accommodation: 5-Star Heritage Property

Meals: Breakfast included

Key Inclusions: Mata ni Pachedi workshop, Interactive session with a local, young fashion designer

Ahmedabad to Bhuj

Packed breakfast in tow we have an early start today as we drive out of Ahmedabad toward Bhuj, the textile centre of the Kutch region of Gujarat. Enroute we will stop at Dhamadka. Lunch will be enjoyed with an artisan from the Khatri community, known for his hand-block printing, particularly Ajrakh patterns. Enjoy a demonstration of Ajrakh and spend some time at the printing unit before leaving to visit an organisation run by a mother and her daughters preserving the traditional Ahir embroidery technique. Ahir Embroidery draw its name from the Ahirs, a nomadic community in Kutch, that is characterised by its unique set of stitches and techniques. Most of the designs are inspired by mythology and desert habitation.

After these visits, we will check into our accommodation for a rest and delicious dinner.

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Accommodation: Colonial-Style

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner included

Key Inclusions: Ajrakh and Ahir demonstrations

Bhuj

This morning, we visit Kharad Weaving. For generations, Kharad rugs were woven from camel, goat and sheep wool on traditional nomadic looms which could be easily set up and moved throughout the desert. The rugs’ geometric designs replicate regional patterns and motifs. There are only two remaining families in Kutch who practice this craft.

We will then visit the Living and Learning Design Centre (LLDC), a pioneering effort to preserve, revitalise and promote the glorious craft heritage of Kutch. LLDC is envisioned as a multi-dimensional crafts education and resource centre and aims to train, educate and support craftspeople to practice their traditional crafts for contemporary markets so that they can earn a dignified and prosperous livelihood.

Post lunch we will spend time with one of the pioneers and masters in art of Ajrakh. At every stage of the labourious dying process, the fabric is dried for three to four days. Nature plays an important role in the making of Ajrakh with craftspeople working in total harmony with their environment, where the sun, river, animals, trees and mud are all part of its making. A discussion on the Ajrakh textiles at this workshop makes for engaging conversations over a reflective and relaxing cup of masala chai.

This evening we will indulge in some street shopping and visit the local Bhuj market.

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Accommodation: Colonial-Style

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner included

Key Inclusions: Visits to the LLDC, Kharad weaving, Ajrakh textile demonstration and the local Bhuj market

Bhuj

Today we head to Bhujodi in the heart of Kutch to see traditional pit looms and shuttle looms in action. Learn about the indigo dyeing process up-close and hear from this master artisan, about the challenges faced by the 'vankars', known for their extra weft wool weaving.

Next we visit an avid textile collector and expert. Admire his exquisite collection dating back to the late 1800 and early 1900s. It is a treat to witness a collection like this. We’ll also enjoy family-style lunch with him at his home.

Later today we meet a textile artisan who walks us through the tie-dyeing technique known as Bandhani, a all hand-done tie-dye printing process. His take on Bandhani with a contemporary colour palette, is just breathtakingly beautiful. We will take part a hands-on workshop here.

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Accommodation: Colonial-Style

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner included

Key Inclusions: Demonstrations of traditional looms and Indigo dying, Interaction with highly respected textile collector and hands-on tie and dye workshop

Bhuj to Dholavira

Today is a day you will never forget! After an early breakfast, we drive to the village of Nirona to see a demonstration of Rogan Art, an ancient textile art form, with its origins in Persia which came here around 400 years ago. Elaborate and intricate designs are produced "free hand", by trailing thread-like strands of paint off a stick.

We then head to visit a quilter in Hodko who works with fine Ajrakh prints and converts them into traditional gudri quilts and bedcovers. Here we also see the indigenous mud homes decorated by women, with a royal colour sensibility and embedded with mirrors, known as Lipan.

Enjoy a visit to the Kala Raksha Trust, a grassroots social enterprise, dedicated to the preservation of traditional arts. Uniquely committed to documenting existing traditions, the Trust maintains a collection of heirloom textiles housed as a local museum which embodies a simple but revolutionary concept: involve people in presenting their own cultures.

After lunch we head for The Great Rann of Kutch. This area is one of the world's largest salt deserts, measuring about 10,000sq kilometres and is underwater during the main monsoon season. For the remaining eight months of the year, it's an enormous stretch of packed white salt. We will drive the iconic 'Road to Heaven'...prepare to be awestruck!

Dinner tonight on arrival at our accommodation.

Accommodation: Elegant Resort-Style

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner included

Key Inclusions: Interactions with Rogan Art, local weavers, a local social enterprise and epic afternoon visit to the Great Rann of Kutch

Dholavira to Dasada

Today is largely a travel day, but before we start our journey, we will visit the Harappan site at Dholavira. This is a remarkable excavation of an Indus Valley civilisation from the Harappan culture, dating back 4,500 years.

Mid-morning we will leave for Dasada with a lunch stop along the way. We will arrive at our accommodation in the afternoon, and you’ll have time to relax and enjoy some pool time.

Accommodation: Eco-friendly Boutique Resort

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner included

Key Inclusions: Harrapan Village exploration

Dasada

This morning, we head to Modhera to see the stunning Sun Temple built over 1,000 years ago, restored and maintained in incredible condition. We then move on to the village of Patan, famous for two things - the colossal Rani ki Vav (Queen's stepwell), featured on the Rs.100 note, and Patola sarees, featuring the intricate double ikkat patan patola in natural dyes, an art handed down in the family since the 11th century (approx. 35 generations).

After lunch in Patan we will head to the town of Siddhpur, a unique legacy of the Dawoodi Bohra community, an affluent Muslim community now spread all over the world. This historic town is like an "ageing queen living in denial". Lining the streets are colourful, grand mansions and tiered havelis that look distinctly European, although most of them now shuttered and falling to decay. So enamoured were the Bohra community by the style and existence of living in 19th century Europe that, as a sign of opulence and to gain respectability amongst the community, they tried to create a slice of Europe in their hometown. This, they did by imitating the Victorian architecture. The facades are rich in variety and aesthetic expression with intricate details in wood. You won't be able to put your camera down!

After a wander through these dazzling, empty streets, we will head back to our accommodation for the evening.

Accommodation: Eco-friendly Boutique Resort

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner included

Key Inclusions: Visits to Rani ki Vav and the Sun Temple, Demonstration at Patan Patola Sarees, Visit to the stunning Siddhpur

Dasada to Jaipur

It's an early morning start as we head to the Little Rann of Kutch on a morning safari. The drive across the Rann is a safari experience like no other. Pass through villages as they wake, see cotton pickers in the fields, watch murmurings of starlings mesmerise you, visit the remote Agariya community of salt farmers and see the many animals that make this unforgiving landscape their home. Witness a 'flamboyance of flamingos' graciously wade through the wetlands and spy peregrine falcon.

What a morning! We will return to our accommodation for breakfast and to check out before we drive back to Ahmedabad for our afternoon flight to Jaipur. You'll have free time once we arrive to settle in...you'll probably want an early night!

Accommodation: Superior Heritage Haveli

Meals: Breakfast included

Key Inclusions: Morning Safari to the Little Rann of Kutch

Jaipur

Welcome to the Pink City of Jaipur, capital of Rajasthan! This morning we will head just north of the city to the Amer Fort, perched majestically on a hill above the town. After exploring we will head into the ancient Amer village to visit the Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing, a private museum dedicated to the art of hand-block printing. Here we will have a private tour where you will see displays of varieties of contemporary clothing materials ranging from rare traditional dresses to innovative modern designs created by the artisans.

How about lunch with Elephants? There are many elephant “sanctuaries” in India, but sadly, many elephants are not treated as they should be. We have spent a long time searching for a sanctuary that genuinely cares about these incredible creatures. You’ll spend time with some rescued elephants, feed them, learn about them, walk with them, but there’s no rides or painting. Then you’ll enjoy an unforgettable lunch! Only in India!

After lunch you have free time to relax, or for those keen, we can head to some fabulous cotton and pashmina wholesalers and you can shop until your heart is content, or your bags are full!

Dinner tonight,  for those keen, is at a very stylish spot, located right at the hotel!

Accommodation: Superior Heritage Haveli

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch included

Key Inclusions: Visit to the Amer Fort, Private Tour of the Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing and Lunch with Elephants!

Jaipur

We’ll start this morning with a fabulous tour of the old town inside the City Palace. Auto-rickshaws will transport you through the city as it wakes, first for magical views of the famed, Hawa Mahal, the Palace of the Winds, before we see the bustling fruit, vegetable and flower markets in full swing.

After breakfast back at the hotel, we will head out for a hands-on block-printing workshop. Block-printing is very much a part of India’s contemporary textile culture. After a demonstration, you get to craft your own personalised creation by choosing from a variety of designs on wooden blocks, and a range of colours.

We’ll enjoy lunch at the flagship Anokhi store café where you can also browse and buy from one of India’s finest block-printing boutiques.

Then, to complete this fantastic day, we head out in a late afternoon for a leopard safari! The sanctuary currently hosts more than 40 leopards and five cubs in addition to striped hyenas, Indian civets, desert cats, jungle cats, desert foxes, jackals, porcupines, jungle rats, monitor lizards, and mongooses, Sambar deer, spotted deer (chital), and Blue Bull (Nilgai).

Accommodation: Superior Heritage Haveli

Meals: Breakfast included

Key Inclusions: Visit to the old city morning markets, Hands-on block printing workshop, Leopard Safari!

Jaipur

There is never enough time in Jaipur...there is so much to do! So, today is a free day for you to enjoy everything there is to offer! For those wanting to hit the shops, we will share many recommendations not on the tourist trail. There are some fabulous stores to visit here. You can also enjoy the hustle and bustle of the local bazaars, venture back inside City Palace, head back to the cotton wholesalers, visit a local jeweller or an array of museums. Whatever you choose, you will have a ball.

Tonight, we have been invited to the home of a local artist and interior designer. You’ll visit his studio and enjoy a local cooking class. Learn about different objects, vintage pieces, paintings, especially miniature paintings from different schools of art, while enjoying drinks and appetisers. Then meet our hostess for the evening who has a genuine passion for cooking and keeping her food heritage alive. She loves to host people at their 'Art House', a place full of stories to tell, objects of desire to admire, and art to appreciate. You’ll experience the family’s age-old heirloom recipes made meticulously with love for you.

Accommodation: Superior Heritage Haveli

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner included

Key Inclusions: An evening of art and food with a local artist

Jaipur to Agra

Today we will travel across Rajasthan state. Our first stop is the breathtaking Chand Baori Stepwell in Abhaneri, among the largest in India. It is also perhaps the most visually spectacular. Dating back to the 10th century, this stepwell is a deep four-sided structure with an immense temple on one face. Some 3,500 Escher-esqe terraced steps march down the other three sides, 13 stories to a depth of over 30 metres. Marvellous carvings on the steps make it to be an excellent example of stepwell architecture and it stands as an amazing display of ancient engineering.

We’ll enjoy a late lunch enroute at a desert retreat before arriving in Agra. You’ll have the rest of the day to relax.

Accommodation: 5-Star International-style hotel

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch included

Key Inclusions: A visit to the Chand Baori stepwell

Agra

Agra – home to one of the world’s most famous monuments, the Taj Mahal. Before we venture inside, we’ll see this stunning structure from every angle and see some of the other impressive architecture of this city, once the capital. Our first stop this morning will be the Agra Fort, built by Emperor Akbar in 1565 of red sandstone which stands like a crescent on the bank of Yamuna River. It is one of the finest forts in India and was a silent witness to the rise and fall of the imperial Mughal Empire. From here, you will get your first marvellous glances of the Taj itself.

Later this morning we will visit the exquisite Zardozi artisan gallery. Zari Zardozi is an art of metal embroidery which was usually done with gold and silver threads to decorate the attire of the kings and royals in ancient India. This traditional skill has been practised for centuries with the technique handed down from father to son. 

For lunch we will visit a small, local hotel that offers you the chance to try South Indian food in the form of a Thali – a banana leaf plate with a selection of delicious vegetarian dishes.

We can’t miss the Itimad-ud-Daulah, also known as the Baby Taj, the tomb of the parents of Nur Jahan, consort of Emperor Jehangir. It took just six years to build and is a jewel. While the Taj Mahal is stunning in scale this much smaller, intimate building is more decorative with greater detail. We’ll end the day with a visit to Mehtab Bagh, the Moonlight Garden, for stunning sunset views of the Taj Mahal, from over the river.

Accommodation: 5-Star International-style hotel

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch included

Key Inclusions: Visits to the Agra Fort, Itimad-ud-Daulah and Mehtab Bagh; Demonstrations of the Zardozi Embroidery

Agra to Delhi

This is it – the Taj Mahal! We start the day early, to get the best views. The beautiful structure was built in white marble by Emperor Shah Jahan between 1630-1653 as a memorial to his Queen, Mumtaz Mahal, employing 20,000 labourers. It is a blend of Hindu and Muslim architectural styles and is just as spectacular as one expects. The level of detail and extravagance is staggering. We will have the chance to go inside, walk around the full exterior and see this stunning structure from every angle.

After a hearty breakfast back at the hotel, we’ll be on the road to Delhi, arriving in the mid afternoon for lunch. You’ll have free time this afternoon to settle into the hotel.

This evening, for those who are keen, we will venture to the heart of Old Delhi. As we approach, the Red Fort looms into view, a 16th century Mughal bastion. And, towering over Old Delhi, the magnificent façade of Jama Masjid stands as the reminder of Mughal architecture - built from red sandstone and white marble, this edifice dominates the skyline of the busy Chawri Bazar in central Delhi and is considered the largest mosque in India.

We’ll set off by tricycle rickshaw into the labyrinthine lanes of Chandni Chowk (Moonlit crossroads) and discover a 350-year-old market dating back to the Mughal era. On either side of these overcrowded thoroughfares, where snatches of the medieval atmosphere prevail, are tiny stores of every description - chemists, food stalls, grocers, jewellers, metal and scrap dealers, moneylenders, sweet makers, utensil vendors…the list is endless.

No visit to Old Delhi is complete without a visit to Khari Baoli, Asia’s largest spice market. Hundreds of traders and buyers gather in the market to trade spices, and it has been done like this since the Mughal era.

Accommodation: 5-Star heritage style hotel

Meals: Breakfast included

Key Inclusions: Visits to the Taj Mahal and Old Delhi sites

Delhi

After a well-deserved sleep in, we will visit Humayun’s Tomb. Built between 1565 and 1572, this is the final resting place of Humayun, the second Mughal emperor. This stunning structure rises spectacularly above the surrounding palm-fringed gardens. The first great example of a Mughal garden tomb, it was the inspiration for several later monuments, including the incomparable Taj Mahal.

We will visit the National Craft Museum to see its collection of textiles, sculptures, paintings and the smattering of arts and crafts strewn around. We can then enjoy conversations over lunch, at Lota Café, attached to the Museum.

Tempted for a little private shopping? Return to the hotel in the early afternoon for a private viewing of the latest collection of a local designer, educated and trained in Christchurch. Think bold, bright and stunning prints crafted into contemporary designs. This is a real treat! And, if you still have space in your bag, our hotel is just a short trip away from the delightful local-favourite, Khan Market.

Tonight is our final night together and we celebrate our phenomenal journey at one of India’s finest restaurants.

Accommodation: 5-Star heritage style hotel

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner included

Key Inclusions: Visits to the Humayun’s Tomb, the National Craft Museum and a private viewing from a local fashion designer

Delhi - Tour Ends

Today we say farewell after a wonderful trip!

You will be transferred to Delhi International Airport for your flight. A morning departure from Delhi back to Singapore (SQ401 Delhi - Singapore at around 9.30am) connects with overnight flights to New Zealand or Australia. Alternatively, talk to Sarah about trip extensions - maybe a couple of days in Goa on the beach or exploring the palaces of Udaipur?

Meals: Breakfast included

• Fully escorted by VERY experienced guide 🙋🏻‍♀️

• Airport meet and greet and departure assistance

• 17 night’s superior and boutique accommodation (twin share; single supplement and part share available for additional cost)

• Daily Breakfast

• 6 x Lunches

• 8 x Dinners

• Activities / Monument and Temple entrances as per programme (including English-speaking Guides and Tips as needed)​

• Many hands-on experiences, demonstrations and behind-the-scenes access

• Specialist expert local guides throughout

• Lots of extra special experiences!​

• All airport transfers in India

• Air-conditioned coach transport for full duration of itinerary

• 1 x Domestic Flight (Ahmedabad - Jaipur) with 25 kilos luggage limit

• Unlimited mineral water in coach and hotels

• All applicable taxes

• Pre-departure advice and support - detailed planning information, Visa application support, additional travel advice, lots of insider tips & knowledge!

• 24/7 support in India from local representative if required

• Plenty more surprises!

• International Flights

• Departure taxes (if required)

• Health & Travel Insurance (you are required to have travel insurance)

• Meals not listed

• Additional tips (mainly hotel porters)

• Spending Money

• Indian entry visa

• Vaccinations (if required/desired)

• Additional travel arrangements/activities not noted on itinerary