Forget everything you've heard about India - we have wrapped our best experiences from our tours and thrown in a visit to India's holiest city.
Let’s break this tour down for you:
Food - hip restaurants, trendy bars, street food, food walks - we’re all about food and it’s all included in the price - yup, dinner too.
Not sure yet? Read on for our detailed Itinerary.
If you’ve always wanted to go to India but were a little scared, or thought “India is just not for me” then give us a few pages to change your mind. We have crafted a fully hosted tour for you that offers more of the things that have stunned and delighted our guests over the past 2.5 years
More Laughs - you travel with Damien or Acland from the Spirit House who have designed all the India tours from the ground up and keep it fun, relaxed and safe.
With just 10 people on this trip it’s more like travelling with a group of like-minded friends than a tour.
It’s the small group size that gives us the flexibility to show you a side of India most tourists will never see and you get a Spirit House chef/host to help you get the most out of YOUR trip to this fascinating country.
Join us for breakfast at 7am and if that’s too early, hit snooze and meet us in the lobby ready to go at 8am. Don’t worry about missing breakfast because today we are heading in to Old Delhi to meet up with our food guide for a spectacular food walk.
Fantastic food, exciting people and amazing photo opportunities at every turn. We don’t want to give too much away but based on the feedback, this day this is one of the highlights of the tour - right up there with the Taj Mahal!
Lunch will be in a restored Haveli in the old city. This is a very unique opportunity to go behind the amazing facades we see on our walk and enjoy a home cooked lunch in this amazing traditional private home.
HANDY TIP
Wear closed in shoes today - you’re not going to stand in anything horrific but the streets can be a bit dirty in parts. Hand sanitiser and some wipes will come in handy too. Don’t eat too much for breakfast because you will be eating fairly soon after - it’s a food walk remember.
Afternoon:
Our afternoons are usually free so you can do a bit of shopping or just relax. But, and this is what makes Toursmith International Tours so unique, we have a plethora of cool things for you to do this afternoon if you want.
If you are in the mood, join us for some eclectic shopping, coffee etc. in a hip upmarket neighbourhood and then we’ll jump in the van for a short ride to a fabulous historic tomb that set the blueprint for the Taj Mahal.
Dinner - wow, do we have some choices here. Funky restaurants, cool bars with great food and fabulous shops to boot. We’ll take you to a few of our favourites - no hotel buffets for you tonight.
f you think today would be all ruins, forts and statues, you’d be wrong.
Delhi is a very old city with a fascinating history that is best observed in her architecture and religion. But we’re going to mix it up and have some fun and a beer or two as well. Let’s get started . . .
We’ll kick start the morning with a visit toHumayun’s tomb. Predating the Taj, this tomb is the precursor for the design of the Taj Mahal and a beautiful monument in its own right.
Next stop - the Sikh Temple and in particular a behind-the-scenes look at the massive kitchens where they cook for 15,000 people a day.
Hungry? So are we so, it’s off to lunch with the office crowd at a local restaurant serving fabulous Thali lunches. Afterwards a sweet pan to cleanse the palate.
Now some history. After lunch we’ll go back in time at the Qutb Minar which has a rich architectural history dating all the way back through the various styles and religions of the rulers.
At this point some of you may want a beer while others may want more history and perhaps a few want to window shop some great boutiques. Thankfully you are on a Spirit House tour and we have you ALL covered.
We’ll have the van drop us off at the super trendy enclave of Hauz Khas that has some interesting ruins to explore, trendy cafés and restaurants, designer boutiques and homeware stores. We’ll book a table at a great restaurant with a view over the ruins and meet you there after your exploring and shopping for a beer/wine, some great food and to watch the sunset.
On this trip you’re going to see plenty of forts, palaces and Mughal architecture to last a lifetime so we won’t bore you with a visit to the Taj Mahal - just kidding, we’re going to blow your socks off with the Taj Mahal, but not today.
Let’s leave Delhi later in the day so you can have a sleep in and arrive in Agra for a light lunch. Chill out in our great hotel.
Later in the afternoon we have a nice excursion for you and while all the tourists are hitting the buffet in the hotel, you will be on the streets of Agra enjoying one of our most raved about food experiences on the trip.
Today is Taj Day. Having all this time in Agra means there is no rush to visit it. Sunrise and Sunset are great times when crowds are smaller and the light is just right for stunning photos. So let’s play it by ear.
But Agra is more than the Taj Mahal. The Red fort is spectacular and is entwined with the story of the Taj Mahal.
This afternoon we drive out to Fatephur Sikri - a ghost city lost to time in the desert.
Dinner tonight - let’s have dinner at home with a local family. Find out the life, dreams and aspirations of our hosts - help out in the kitchen and get some tips and tricks too.
After breakfast we are in for a drive through the countryside to Jaipur for our next adventure.
Along the way you will stop at the stunning abandoned desert royal city of Fatehpur Sikri. As you walk through the red sandstone palace buildings you can get a great feel for what this place once was. Emperor Akbar abandoned the city mainly due to scarcity of water in the region - something you would think you would look into before you start building your royal palace and residences. He relocated to Agra which had a great water supply thanks to the Yumna river - on which the Taj Mahal overlooks.
Akbar's grandson would build the Taj Mahal as a mausoleum to his wife in 1632- about 40 years after the relocation to Agra.
Lunch will be on the road as we drive to Jaipur.
Check in to a fantastic Haveli (a Maharajas city palace) and enjoy some great food and cool cocktails at a very special bar.
Jaipur is the gateway city to the desert region of Rajasthan.
We will head out on foot through ancient streets sampling some of the local delicacies on the way.
After lunch we are off to arguable one of the most magnificent desert fort-palaces in the region and end with a spectacular dinner on the fort ramparts.
After a bit of a sleep in and a chance to do some shopping in some great boutiques we are off to the country side winding our way through bucolic farms and villages to arrive at a stunning palace nestled into the hills.
The Maharaja of the region has converted the palace to a hotel and it is a stunning "film-set" for the area and is often used in period-piece Indian movies.
The village below is a delight and can be explored at your leisure or with your Damien.
We are off in to the Maharajas jeeps to explore the countryside and villages.
We pass through farm lands with ladies in saris working the fields. Local schools are always happy to welcome us and you can bring pens and other things to give to the students.
The main village of Samode has some great craftsmen including a fantastic gem merchant who is all too willing to make you a custom piece of jewellery.
In the afternoon you are free to do some more exploring, have a swim or visit the fort ruins on the cliffs above the palace.
Dinner will be in the hotel.
After a late start we return to Delhi.
Lunch along the way in yet another palace fort - we did say there were forts and palaces on this trip.
Damien has a special treat for you as you approach Delhi and check in to the hotel near the airport ready for our trip to Varanasi tomorrow.
Up early in the morning for quick transfer to domestic terminal for our flight to Varanasi.
Check-in to hotel and have lunch locally then back to the hotel to relax before we head down to the river for the Aarti Ceremony.
Varanasi is the oldest continuously lived-in city in the world, so the streets are narrow and will be packed - a real sensory overload and a place you will never forget.
This morning is going to be one of those experiences you will talk about for the rest of your life. We start out early in the morning travelling through foggy streets to our boat. Our oarsman will slowly take us down river past the ghats where you will see pilgrims making their offerings and performing their ritual bath in the sacred river.
Funeral pyres dot the temples and ghats as Hindus believe by being cremated here the cycle of death and rebirth can be ended and salvation is possible.
As one guest described it, Varanasi is like the "Disneyland of Death" - it is not morbid but simply steeped in history and tradition that dates back thousands of years.Ancient temples, incense and chants fill the air.
We then have a fantastic city tour through the old town - one of the oldest cities in the world. Then return to the hotel for breakfast.
Sleep in this morning and then we visit a traditional silk weaving factory - Varanasi is famous for its silk and a great chance to grab a bargain.
Make no mistake, these two days in Varanasi are an absolute highlight and the icing on the cake for what is a very eclectic trip that shows you just a glimpse of the cultural diversity that makes up this fascinating country.
Arrive in Delhi and a short trip to Aerocity where we check back in to a great hotel right near the airport. The good news is this hotel is next to a flashy new shopping mall with great restaurants and shopping..
This hotel is a stone's throw from the airport and is the perfect place to stay for catching your flight home tomorrow.
The show is over. We have organised transfers to take you to the airport. Depending on your flight time, the airport metro is just across the road so we can easily zap in to downtown Delhi to do some last minute shopping if your flight leaves later that night.
Delhi, India 
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