6 stops over 8 days

Mumbai
Vadodara
Udaipur
Jodhpur
Jaipur
Delhi

Champaner-Pavagadh’s abandoned mosques, usually without another visitor
Boat across Lake Pichola to Jagmandir at dusk
Mehrangarh’s ramparts above Jodhpur’s blue lanes
Amber Fort early, Sheesh Mahal before the crowd
Ayurvedic treatment room and a picture-window cabin

Day by day

What actually happens

Length: 8 days
Stops: 6
Pace: Balanced
From: ₹6,25,000

1

Mumbai

Arrive in Mumbai

Your flight lands at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International and you are at Apollo Bunder within the hour if the traffic behaves. The afternoon is free. Colaba Causeway, the Sassoon Docks at four when the boats come in, or simply the sea wall at Marine Drive as the lights curve north. Dinner wherever you like; we will book it.

Night: The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai
2B L D

Mumbai

Elephanta, then aboard at CSMT

The launch to Elephanta leaves Gateway at nine; the Trimurti in Cave One is worth the sixty steps up. Back for lunch, then Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, where boarding is at the far end under the Gothic gables. Cabin, tea, a briefing from the train manager, and dinner in Utsav as the train turns north for Gujarat.

Night: Overnight on board
3B L D

Vadodara

Champaner and Laxmi Vilas

Champaner-Pavagadh by coach: the Jami Masjid’s carved minarets, the Kevada mosque, and hardly another visitor all morning. Laxmi Vilas Palace in the afternoon, still lived in, four times the size of Buckingham Palace, with a Raja Ravi Varma collection nobody expects. Back on board for a Gujarati thali done properly, undhiyu, dhokla, jaggery in everything.

Night: Overnight on board
4B L D

Udaipur

Udaipur at lake level

The train stables at Udaipur City and you spend the day down by the water. The City Palace first, then the Crystal Gallery, then a boat across Pichola to Jagmandir with the Aravallis going blue behind. Sundown from an Ambrai-side terrace. Dinner ashore tonight, in a haveli courtyard, with a Mewari singer and dal baati churma.

Night: Overnight on board
5B L D

Jodhpur

Jodhpur: Mehrangarh and the blue city

Mehrangarh rises straight out of the rock and the audio guide is one of the best in India: take it slowly through the palanquin room and the Phool Mahal. Jaswant Thada’s marble is thin enough to glow. Afternoon in the blue lanes below the fort, or out to a Bishnoi hamlet for tea and khejri trees full of demoiselle cranes in winter.

Night: Overnight on board
6B L D

Jaipur

Jaipur: Amber early

Amber early, up through the Suraj Pol before the crowd forms, and half an hour in the Sheesh Mahal alone if the guide times it right. City Palace and the Chandra Mahal private apartments after. Late afternoon at Anokhi’s museum of hand-block printing in Amer, then Jal Mahal as the light goes. Dinner on board, the train holding at Gandhi Nagar.

Night: Overnight on board
7B L D

Delhi

Shekhawati, then Delhi

Shekhawati goes past at breakfast: painted haveli towns, thorn scrub, camel carts waiting at the level crossings. The train is at Delhi Safdarjung by three. Humayun’s Tomb in the last of the light, and on Thursdays, qawwali at the Nizamuddin dargah after dark, sitting on the marble with everyone else. Farewell dinner on board, the chef’s Konkani menu.

Night: Overnight on board
8B

Delhi

Departure from Delhi

Disembark after breakfast. Most long-haul flights west leave at night, so a day-use room is held at The Claridges with a late checkout, and the car and driver stay with you. If you want one last thing, the Sunder Nursery gardens next to Humayun’s Tomb take an easy hour. Transfer to the airport for your departure.

Night: Day use room, The Claridges, New Delhi