Depart from Brisbane International Airport
Arrive in Singapore where you will break your journey and stay overnight in the famous, luxurious Raffles Hotel
Fly from Singapore to Mumbai where you will stay in the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel
Fly from Singapore to Mumbai where you will stay in the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel.
Breakfast in hotel
Morning at leasure
Your iconic Heritage of India train journey begins with a grand welcome which is carried in accordance with Indian customs. Registration is carried at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel (Reporting time is 1430 hrs).
Guests are then escorted to Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus Railway Station, Mumbai to board the Maharajas' Express and begin their Indian heritage luxury tours.
The Maharajas' Express then leaves for Ajanta where our guests have their brief affair with the rich Indian history.
Guests can satiate their hunger with a sumptuous on-board dinner and then spend the overnight in lavish cabins and suites of Maharajas'.
Begin your day with an on-board breakfast.
Proceed for excursion to Ajanta Caves. These archaic Buddhist rock cave monuments date back 2nd BC or 480 or 650 AD; these were discovered under imperial rule and will give a perfect beginning to the luxurious heritage tour
Return to the comforts of Maharajas' Express for an on board lunch and spend your evening at leisure.
The Maharajas' Express then proceeds for the Venice of East, Udaipur; the second destination of Heritage of India tour.
Enjoy your on-board Dinner and spend the night on the opulent Maharajas' Express.
Begin your day with an on-board breakfast.
As soon as guests arrive in City of lakes, Udaipur they proceed for a rejuvenating boat ride on the calm waters of Lake Pichola followed by visit to grandiose City Palace which also has a vast collection of ancient miniature paintings and Crystal Gallery. In our iconic Indian heritage luxury tours guests can also peek into Indian artistry.
Guests can then have a royal lunch at Satkar Hall of Fateh Prakash Palace in the premises of city Palace.
One can either choose to return to the train for a relaxed afternoon or may also opt for the optional services like
- Spa facilities at 5 Star hotel in Udaipur
- Private shopping tour
- Sound and Light show (if time permits).
Have a lavish dinner in our thematic restaurants-Rang Mahal and Mayur Mahal.
Maharajas' Express then proceeds for Jodhpur, third destination in Heritage of India tour and guests can spend their night comfortably on the Maharajas' Express.
Jodhpur
Have a sumptuous breakfast on-board and either spend the morning at leisure on board or one can choose to
- Avail the Optional tour to Bishnoi village (if time permits)
- Enjoy Spa facilities at a 5 star hotel.
Have your lunch on-board. Post lunch, guests proceed to visit the archaic Mehrangarh Fort followed by walking tour of the Old Clock Tower Market. Guests can experience like locales of the city in our special Heritage Train Tours with a joy ride on Tuk-tuks.
Guests can then proceed for an exclusive Royal Cocktail Dinner with cultural performance, a highlight of our Heritage of India (puppet show), at Hanwant Mahal.
Guests then return to the comforts of the Maharajas' Express which leaves for Bikaner.
The day five in our Heritage of India tour begins while having on-board breakfast which guests can enjoy with a quaint view of countryside.
As guests arrive in Bikaner they can either choose to relax on-board or may also choose to visit either
- Lalgarh Museum- where you can witness the architectural marvel of Rajasthan
- Deshnok (Rat Temple)- About 600 year old and is known for its sacred rats.
Guests have their lunch on-board and proceed to visit Junagarh Fort.
Guests then proceed for sundowners cocktails amidst the picturesque Sand Dunes. En-route tea break at Gajner Palace.
Our Indian heritage luxury tours are exemplars of fun with luxury and our guests experience the same as they arrive at the sand dunes and are greeted by cocktails, barbeque and folk dances.
Guests later return to the comforts of the Maharajas' Express and the opulent train leaves for Pink City, Jaipur.
Begin your day with an on-board breakfast.
Arrive in Jaipur and begin your odyssey with a visit to the Amber Fort.
After that guests proceed to City Palace/Jai Mahal Palace where they can get a closer look at the heritage of India for and also indulge in an elephant activity where guests may choose to paint them, feed them or take a regal[Royale ride] ride followed by lunch.
Post lunch guests can either return to the comfort of Maharajas' Express or may choose from optional activities such as
- Spa facilities at 5 star hotel
- Private shopping tour
- Golfing at Rambagh Golf club
- Visit to City Palace and The Observatory (Jantar Mantar).
Guests have their dinner on board.
Guests proceed for an exciting game drive at Ranthambore National Park.
Have a sumptuous breakfast on Board.
The Maharajas' Express then proceeds for ancient Mughal capital, Fatehpur Sikri and guests have their lunch on board.
Arrive in Fatehpur Sikri and visit the deserted Mughal city.
Guests later return to the comforts of Maharajas' Express and enjoy an "Indian Evening" followed by dinner on-board; a speciality of our Heritage Train Tour.
Guests spend their night on the Maharajas' Express.
Agra
Arrive in to the last destinations of The Heritage of India tour, Agra and proceed to visit the monumental icon of love, Taj Mahal.
Enjoy a Champagne Breakfast feast atop Taj Khema
The Maharajas' Express proceeds for its last stop, the national capital- Delhi.
Relish the last lunch of the tour on-board.
Disembark and bid farewell to the Maharajas' Express and The Heritage of India tour as your journey comes to an end!
Transfer to your Delhi hotel, the beautiful Oberoi New Delhi Hotel. Its sophisticated comfort will offer you the perfect launching pad for your exploration of the city.
New Delhi
India’s sprawling capital city is colorful, confounding and completely captivating, an exhilarating mixture of ancient and modern, sacred and secular. Your perfectly paced, expertly-led city tour provides a soft landing, an ideal first foray into this fascinating land. The capital of modern India, New Delhi is not one city but many. Sprawling, home to 17 million people, inhabited for at least 2,500 years, New Delhi has been built and destroyed and rebuilt numerous times, and all of its conquerors have left traces. Your panoramic tour today will show you some of its most remarkable landmarks.
Featured Excursion:
India’s capital city
Travel down the broad boulevards of New Delhi, laid out early in the 20th century after the British moved the capital of the Raj from Kolkata to New Delhi and created a new administrative city just south of the old city. Sir Edwin Lutyens, a noted British architect, was given the task of designing this new city, which is still known as Lutyens Delhi; though the British are long gone, this area continues to house India’s government.
The British were by no means the only conquerors to make New Delhi their capital. It was also the capital of the Mughal Empire for centuries, so it hosts spectacular examples of Mughal architecture, Humayun’s Tomb, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Your panoramic tour includes a look at the enormous fort where the emperors lived and a visit to Humayun’s Tomb, erected in 1570, the first Mughal garden tomb in India (and a model for the Taj Mahal and Birla House).
The old phrase says that “Delhi belongs to the large-hearted,” and no one was larger hearted than Mahatma Gandhi, the founder of modern India, whose memorial, Raj Ghat, is also on the itinerary this morning.
You have some free time after your tour to explore this exciting city on your own—you’ll find goods from all over India in bustling Connaught Place, in case you want to indulge in some shopping, and the National Museum displays 5,000 years of India’s arts and artifacts. You may opt for the optional tour to Qutab Minar and the Jagannath Hindu Temple. After a day spent taking in the sights of scenic New Delhi, relax this evening over a delicious buffet dinner at the Oberoi.
New Delhi, Transfer to Agra
To gaze upon the Taj Mahal is a moment at the top of countless travel bucket lists, as well it should be. Widely considered one of the most beautiful monuments ever created, this “elegy in marble” is guaranteed not to disappoint—especially when viewed at the magical hour of sunset, as you are fortunate enough to see it today. This morning you will check out of your New Delhi hotel and head south via motorcoach to Agra. Once known as Akbarabad, Agra was the capital of the Mughal Empire for 100 years, until Shah Jahan moved the government back to Delhi—but Agra was the site of his best-known building project, the exquisite Taj Mahal, which draws visitors from all over the world.
Featured Excursion:
Majesty and grace—Agra Fort and the Taj Mahal at sundown
Begin your exploration of the world Shah Jahan inhabited with a visit to Agra Fort, which stands on the banks of the Yamuna River. Work on Agra Fort began in 1565 and continued over the next century. Ancient as it is, it still has military functions, but you will see its lovely mosques, gardens, palaces, courtyards, the vast hall where Shah Jahan once sat on his legendary pearl-and-diamond-bedecked Peacock Throne to receive foreign legations, and the white marble–sheathed rooms where he spent the last eight years of his life, imprisoned by his son.
From these arched windows, the emperor could look out to the Taj Mahal, a view you too will experience at the luxurious Oberoi Amarvilas. Relax over lunch there and then check into your room, where you will be delighted to discover that your room—indeed, every room—has a view of the Taj Mahal, your next destination for the day.
It’s easily the most famous building in India, and one of the most famous in the world, with its white domes and minarets floating serenely above the reflecting pools—and you will encounter it just as the setting sun bathes the white marble in a panoply of colors. It’s a monument to a love story between a great ruler, Shah Jahan, and a learned and powerful woman, his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. After she died giving birth to their 14th child, he gathered some 20,000 craftsmen to build her mausoleum, who endowed it with dazzling translucent marble carvings inlaid with precious and semiprecious stones. Step through the gate and into the symmetrical gardens, and experience one of the most beautiful places on earth.
Agra, Transfer to Jaipur
Is the Taj Mahal best seen at sunset or sunrise? It’s an impossible question to answer, so Uniworld guests have the rare pleasure of experiencing both. Wake up early this morning for a second visit to this unforgettable site, so you can see the white marble monument aglow with the rosy tinge of dawn.
Featured Excursion:
Early morning at the Taj Mahal
Awake early in the morning for a return visit to the Taj Mahal, which will take on the rosy pink tints of sunrise as you arrive. The gates open as the sun lifts above the horizon, and you enter the exquisite precincts, which you may explore at your leisure.
You’ll return to your hotel for lunch before you head by motorcoach to the third city in the Golden Triangle, Jaipur. Capital of the state of Rajasthan, strewn with massive palaces, it was founded and carefully planned in the 18th century by Maharaja Jai Singh II (who gave the new city his name), so even the old part of the city is laid out on a grid. The Singh family’s influence is still felt in Jaipur, though all hereditary titles in India were discontinued in 1971.
Check into the romantic Oberoi Rajvilas, a luxurious oasis, and spend the afternoon relaxing at the hotel, enjoying the extensive, bird-filled gardens.
Jaipur
Pink is the color of hospitality in Rajasthan, which gives you an idea of what to expect in the “Pink City” of Jaipur. You’ll see some marvelous things here, including the City Palace complex and Jantar Mantar, an ancient observatory still used by local astrologers to determine the position of the stars. What do the stars reveal about your destiny? You can find out today.
Featured Excursion:
Jaipur—Rajasthan’s princely city
City Palace is, just as the name says, right in the heart of the city. When Jai Singh II and his architect designed the new city in the 1720s, they made the Maharaja’s palace its center and laid out the rest of the town around it. His successors added to it, so it’s now a complex of palaces, halls, gardens and reception areas. Museum rooms display astonishingly ornate clothing worn by royalty over the centuries, ravishing carpets, lethal weaponry, illuminated manuscripts—all the paraphernalia and treasures of royal life. Hear the tales of those who lived here over the centuries as you gaze in wonder at gold-inlaid ceilings and ornate gateways. Imagine being one of the royal concubines who gazed out on the busy streets from the high windows of the Hawa Mahal, unable to ever step foot out of the confines of the women’s palace.
Following your tour of the palace complex, you’ll visit another of Jai Singh II’s architectural projects, the Jantar Mantar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site devoted to astronomy. Each of the curious structures, called yantras, in this observatory without telescopes enabled court astronomers to study the heavens, measuring various celestial phenomena—eclipses, the position of stars—or the time of day. Some of these instruments are still used by astrologers to determine which days will be auspicious for weddings or other important events.
Take the afternoon to explore on your own: Shuttles will be available to carry you to and from the hotel to the major shopping district. Jaipur’s bazaars are famous for their traditional Rajasthani crafts—jewelry, pottery, hand-printed textiles and carpets—so go and enjoy the swirl of colors even if you aren’t interested in buying some souvenirs.
Kolkata (Disembark)
Your incredible Indian adventure ends early this morning, as you disembark and transfer to the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport for your flight home.
