Sunday Day 05: Sawai Madhopur- Ranthambhor- Chittaurgarh

0400 hours
Steam into Sawai Madhopur, to spend the day in the wilds of Ranthambhor where your hosts are, of course, royal. Ranthambhor National Park is home to the Royal Bengal Tiger, the most majestic of the big cats, and magnificent in its agility and grace. As it moves through the underbrush, its tawny gold hide striped with black bands, merges with nature, and the jungle stands to attention. Ranthambhor is also very picturesque.

A number of lakes from the shallow land where tiger sightings are quite common, and where herds of deer can be seen foraging, while crocodiles bask in the sun. The lofty hills ring the park, and in the distance, the ramparts of Ranthambhor fort create a dramatic silhouette. Once, this was the scene for fierce battles, and for fiery Jauhars, but all that is of the past now, though former-hunting lodges such as Jogi Mahal, close to the lakes, is still retains its former grandeur and glory. Ranthambhor is particularly well known for its tiger sightings because the undisturbed ambiance and the spreading, shallow lakes provide them the surroundings best suited to their needs, and therefore sightings by day time are quite common. Various conservationists and wildlife photographers have worked at length here to document the life cycle of the tigresses of Ranthambhor, even giving them names, so that they are now a part of the regional lore.

Since the best time to visit the park is early morning.

1100 hours
Leaves for its destination, Chittaurgarh.

1530 hours
Arrival at Chittaurgarh.

Chittaurgarh is India's most valorous fort, its history an unending saga of passion, chivalry and romance. Within its sprawling ramparts were beautiful palaces, but few of them remain, the fort having been sacked by invaders. Lunch and dinner are served on board the train.

Monday Day 06: Udaipur

0730 hours
Arrive, Udaipur, the capitals of the Sisodia Maharanas, enjoy pre-eminence among the Rajput clans of Rajasthan. Spend the day sight seeing at Udaipur.

Lunch is at Lake Palace, the beautiful island palace built as a summer resort by the royal family, and now converted into one of the world's finest hotels. The train departs again at 20.00 hours, and dinner will be served on board.

Maharana Udai Singh, laid the foundation for a new kingdom-Udaipur-situated by Lake Pichola, where the impressive City Palace was lavished with aesthetic and imaginative works of art, and the art of miniature painting was encouraged as decor-et-al . Subsequently, the princes built the seemingly floating Island Palace, the royal summer retreat, offering a spectacular view of the lake and surrounding mountains. Besides the Lake Palace, there are other such retreats that have been converted into modern hotels, one of them, Shiv Niwas, being run by the current head of the family.

A graceful, valorous race, the Sisodias and their city bring alive the excitement of a medieval kingdom as it once was, and with a little imagination, can still almost be...

Tuesday Day 07: Bharatpur- Agra- Delhi

0600 hours
It must be Bharatpur. Arrive at a royal kingdom where the Jats, rather than the Rajputs, ruled. Bharatpur's Jat history is not too old, with Suraj Mal establishing a firm stronghold in a region contested by both the Rajputs and the Mughals. Suraj Mal's exploits are legendary, and the fort, Lohargarh, or Iron Fort has a history that recounts it with pride.

The only fort in the state to have bastions of mud, these proved meritorious because they simply swallowed up the cannon shells, not allowing them to impact. However, it is not for its fort, or palace, or even the close by fortified resort of Deeg that passengers of the Palace on Wheels are here; Their attention is drawn to the bird sanctuary, one of the finest in the world. The Keoladeo Ghana National Park was developed by a royal edict when dykes were created so that water could be canalized for the hunting preserve at the maharaja of Bharatpur wished to create. In the early decade of this century, Bharatpur became famous among visiting British royalty and aristocracy for the amount of game the visitors bagged. These days, thankfully, only shooting by cameras is permitted in this sanctuary with over three hundred species of birds, many of them migrant species that come from parts as distant as Siberia and China.

1030 hours
After visiting the sanctuary in the morning, visitors travel by couch to Fatehpur Sikri, the red sandstone city build by Emperor Akbar on a lavish scale, but which he had to abandon soon after because of shortage of water.


1500 hours
From here to Agra, first for lunch at hotel and then for a visit to the world's most well known monument and well worth its fame; The Taj Mahal. Built in the memory of his beloved empress by Emperor Shah Jahan, this marble mausoleum is the greatest gesture of love known to mankind, and is breathtakingly, bewitchingly beautiful. Land for the building of the Taj Mahal in Agra came from the maharaja of Jaipur and the marble used in its construction was from the mines of Makrana, also in Rajasthan. The precious stones used in its inlay, and the craftsmen employed for the twenty-two years its construction took, came not only from India, but from all over the World. The Taj Mahal is the perfect finale to your Royal Sojourn.

2000 hours
Palace on wheels departs for Delhi.
Dinner and overnight on board