| Day |
Itinerary Detail |
Day 1
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On arrival at Delhi’s international airport, our car will be waiting to collect you and bring you safely to our south Delhi hotel. Time permitting we’ll do some sightseeing and enjoy a welcome dinner in the evening. We night stop in this hotel. |
| Day 2 |
We’re heading for Jaipur, but not by motorcycle. We’ll transfer the short distance by train on to our Jaipur hotel. We’ll have a short ride out to see the magnificent Amber Fort and to get you used to your Royal Enfield. The Amber Fort a few kilometers out of town. And time permitting a few sights in the Pink City itself. We night stop in this hotel. |
| Day 3 |
Today’s ride sees us heading south west with about 250kms to cover. We are heading for the small town of Bundi in Rajasthan. The roads will be varied, but it’ll be hot and dry, we’re on the edge of the Great Thar Desert.
Well get a chance to browse the town and visit the marvellous Maharaja’s ‘cliff hanging’ palace. We’ll night stop in a traditional Rajasthan Haveli and enjoy dinner on the rooftop restaurant.
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| Day 4 |
Heading through the Mukandwara hills, through the Darrah Wildlife Sanctuary and on to the old town of Jhalawar - seat of warring kings, we dump our stuff at the Rajasthan Government Tourist Guest House, to get a sunset visit to the enormous fortress at Gagron, standing majestically on the crest of a hill at the confluence of the Kalisind and the Ahurivers, whose hillside surrounds it from three sides providing an unsurpassable barrier. We’ll night stop in Jhalawar. |
| Day 5 |
We’re riding into the sun until at least noon, heading south east to beautiful lake city of Bhopal – cited as being one of India’s greenest cities. 26 years ago it was the scene of one of the world’s worst industrial disasters. Today’s capital has recovered to some extent and the old city is still a hive of industry. We’ll dine out in the city. Our night stop is above Bhopal’s largest lake. |
| Day 6 |
Sightseeing done, we ride out of town to the east. We’re heading for Sanchi and the road promises dry hot dusty sections, until we reach the peace of Sanchi’s UNESCO World Heritage site.
Dating from around the 3rdC BC, there are now about 50 structures at the site and three main stupas. A quick refreshment break and back on the road again.
Splitting the long ride to Bandhavgarh we stop half way at the picturesque city of Sagar – City of Lakes, at the heart of the Sagar plateau. In the surrounding countryside there are numerous forts scattered on hill tops. In 1857 the British were held under siege in the city for seven months. At 600m AMSL the climate is a shade cooler than the surrounding valleys. We night stop in an eclectic hotel in the city centre.
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| Day 7 & 8 |
We’ve been riding for six days. It’s time for a rest day. We’ll hole-up in a really special jungle resort, close to the world famous Bandhavgarh National Park and home to one of India’s largest tiger populations. There’s a nice swimming pool where we night stop, and dinner is a sumptuous buffet.
We settle into our hotel and prepare for tigers and panthers and the 2000 year old Bandhavgarh fortress, last inhabited in 1935. It’s a short jeep ride and soon we’re into the national park and tigers permitting, we’ll get to see some – we saw 4 tigers here in October 2010.
We’ll return to our resort, relax by the pool or read a book. Lunch and dinner and a good night’s sleep. This is the first double day stay, we remind our riders to get their laundry done.
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| Day 9 |
We’ve quite a long day ahead – 285kms. So we kick off early. We ride through parts of Bandhavgarh and Panna National Parks. It’s a ride through jungle across the Murwara Basin and on to the ancient temple complex at Khajuraho. A temple site once surrounded by dry desert scrubland though now somewhat tamed and tended by the Archaeological Survey of India. Out of over 80 original temples only 25 now survive in reasonable condition. Built during the 10th and 11th centuries, Muslim invaders between the 12th and 16th centuries did their best to destroy them.
What remains are possibly the best examples of an Indian architectural style that have grown in popularity. We’ll visit the temples in the evening, if not the following morning.
We night stop in a comfortable hotel close to the temple complex, whose restaurant serves excellent food, in the garden. We night stop in Khajuraho.
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| Day 10 |
Again an early start – 175kms to ride, drop our bags at the hotel and browse the famous town of Orchha. The town itself is small with a population of about 9,000, was built by a chieftain of the region, Rudra Pratap Singh in 1501. He made himself the King of Orchha, but died in a bizarre accident saving a cow from a lion!
Orchha has ‘a strangeness’ about it, its numerous temples and Mogul castle-like residences built by past royalty – surrounded by jungle and to one side the river. We get a chance to explore what are said to be some of the finest examples of Hindu temple architecture anywhere in India. Chhatris, funereal sites - monuments to the dead are spread along the banks of the Betwa river.
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| Day 11 & 12 |
Today’s ride is again one of contrasts, across the plateaux and basins of MP, through the Mahdav National Park before climbing the escarpment and into an eastern corner of Rajasthan.
We heading for a super comfortable hotel at the edge of the Ranthambore National Park.
It’ll be our last chance to see tigers, but with a double stay day, we can squeeze in two safaris is necessary. Last year, afternoon safari groups spotted tigers! We stay for two nights in Sawai Madhopur. Laundry anyone?
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| Day 13 |
It’s the last day of the Tour kicking-off for the last serious day's riding, we’re heading north east, direction Bharatpur. The route covers some very quiet country back roads to bring us nearly full circle. We night stop in very relaxing modern hotel with quiet gardens and a swimming pool and restaurant serving excellent food. We night stop in Bharatpur. |
| Day 14 |
We’ve finished with the bikes. We’re off today by car. No trip to these parts would be complete without visiting the Taj. It’s a day to explore Agra. From our car we'll hop into auto-rickshaws and buzz to the sights. In no particular order the Taj Mahal, the Red Fort. We return to Delhi by train – your luggage will be transported by car to our south Delhi hotel.
We’ll enjoy a farewell dinner at one of south Delhi’s most famous restaurants. Night stop in Delhi.
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| Day 15 |
The tour is over. We bid you farewell and wave you off from our south Delhi hotel to the airport for your onward flights home. You can collect any luggage you may have left at the Delhi hotel. |
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