North India Food Trail, India
Highlights
- Cooking class in private home in Delhi
- See the sun set over the breathtaking Taj Mahal
- Take a Jeep safari to a Bishnoi village
- Discover the magnificent Mehrangarh Fort
- Candlelit rooftop dinner in a haveli overlooking the floodlit fort
- India
Experience Overview
Indian cuisine is as diverse as its culture, geography and climate but despite such variety, the greatest influences of all have been religious, with Hinduism and Islam defining the diets of Indians north, south, east and west. The most famous Indian dish is curry but not as most people outside of India know it. In Indian cuisine, curries are mostly prepared with vegetables and are quite hot and spicy. The best of Northern Indian cuisines is covered here including sightseeing in all the cities visited. The culinary activities will be the food tours, cooking classes & restaurant visits, etc.
Sample Itinerary
DAY 1
Arrival Delhi
Upon arrival receive you at the airport with flower garland and transfer to your hotel. Overnight at the hotel.
DAY 2
In Delhi
After breakfast around 9AM, visit the great Jama Masjid, the most important mosque in India. Then set off on an exciting rickshaw ride through Chandni Chowk, inching your way through a maze of bicycles, cars and the occasional wandering cow. Than will take you Delhi Spice Market Tour, Khari Baoli is said to be Asia’s largest wholesale spice market is chef’s delight as it takes you on a fabulous journey through the wholesale spice, pickles, preserved fruit shops and much more. The colors and the smell will capture your imagination, your camera will work non-stop.
Afternoon , visit Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, the most prominent Sikh house of worship and which also houses a charitable kitchen and feeds more than 10,000 people every day, then on to Humayun’s Tomb, a Mughal complex that prefigured the Taj Mahal. Visit Qutub Minar, the second tallest minar in India. Evening return back to the hotel.
Overnight at the hotel.
DAY 3
Cooking Fun with Indian Family
Now is the time when you actually get a chance to cook some of the different varieties of delicacies that you may have heard it before.
Enjoy being welcomed into a local Indian family’s home in Delhi for a vegetarian cooking class. This half-day tour lets you immerse yourself in the daily life of an Indian family and experience their traditional form of hospitality. Learn about cultural differences and culinary culture during the vegetarian cooking class and meal; you’ll also take home a recipe and instructions so you can recreate the dish at home.
Evening Visit of Akshardham Temple
Visit Akshardham Temple and witness the essence of Hinduism at Akshardham Temple one of the biggest and most intricate religious places of worship ever constructed. A visit to this monument is a journey through the gateway to the essence of ancient India and the best of Hindu culture and Vedic civilization. The monument is a fusion of pink stone and pure white marble, where pink stone symbolizes bhakti in eternal bloom and white marble that of absolute purity and eternal peace. (Closed on Mondays)
Overnight at the hotel.
DAY 4
Delhi / Agra (210kms / 04hrs)
You can enjoy breakfast at hotel – or you can skip it and come along for an early morning treat at Haldiram’s, one of the best food outlets in northern India, to experience a genuine Indian breakfast. Among the many delicious nibbles to look out for are chole bhature, Indian chaat, gulab jamun, Masala Dosa ( South Indian Dish) and chai (Indian masala tea).
Continue your drive to Agra, a city whose very name evokes the romanticism and exoticism of India. On arrival, check in at the hotel
You start the tour at the Taj Mahal. This stunning mausoleum immortalized the name of Shah Jahan’s last wife Mumtaz Mahal, “light of the palace”.
Built by Indian artisan sand artisans from neighboring Islamic countries, it is aptly described by the poet laureate Tagore as “A tear on the face of eternity”. Decorated with a mosaic of semi-precious
stone sand Persian calligraphy recreating verses from the Koran, the mausoleum is an important place of pilgrimages since the empress died in child birth making her a martyr. Prayers are said and passages from Koran are constantly recited in the mosque and cenotaph chamber. (Taj Mahal is closed on Friday)
After the Taj Mahal you drive to the mighty Agra fort. When the Mughal Emperor Akbar established his supremacy in Northern India, he began his first architectural venture, rebuilding the fort as a beautiful fort palace.
The work was completed by his son and grandson, highlighting the Mughals’ ability to blend defensive and decorative architecture. Richly decorated with marble and mosaic, it was in a part of this fort that Shah Jahan spent the last years of his life, imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb. His private quarters, where he was confined, have a magical view of the Taj Mahal across the river Yamuna.
Overnight at the hotel.
DAY 5
Agra / Jaipur ( 250 kms/ 06hrs)
Breakfast at hotel.
This day continue your journey to the Pink City of Jaipur.
An hour and a half outside Agra is your first stop, Fatehpur Sikri. A typical visit to Sikri takes about an hour and is worth the time. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Fatehpur Sikri was temporarily the capital of the Mughal Empire under Akbar the Great. Built by Emperor Akbar to honor the Saint Salim Chisti who foretold the birth of Akbars’ son and heir, this structure is constructed entirely in vibrant red sandstone, architecturally it draws its inspiration from Hindu, Persian and Islamic styles.
Sikri was the first planned city of the Mughals. The sloping levels of the city, connected into terraces, were utilized for various complexes such as Jami masjid, Buland-Darwazah and tomb of Sheikh Salim Chishti; Khwabgah, Diwan-i-Khass, and Diwan-i-Am. The efficient system of drainage and water-supply adopted here suggest an extremely intelligent town-planning by the Mughal emperor but eventually, a lack of adequate water supply for a whole city lead to its abandonment 14 years later.
After visiting Fatehpur Sikri, take straight drive to Jaipur.
On arrival at your hotel and check-in.
Will take you out for a delicious traditional Rajasthani thali which will be served for your Dinner.
Overnight at the hotel.
DAY 6
In Jaipur
Breakfast at hotel.
This day engage yourself for full day of sightseeing of Pink City.
Morning Amber Fort with Elephant ride (subject to availability) failing by jeeps. Amber is a classic, romantic Rajasthani fort Palace. The rugged, time-ravaged walls of the Fort may not look beautiful from the outside, but the interior is a virtual paradise. Miniatures painted on the walls depict hunting and war scenes, apart from festivals. Precious stones and mirrors are embedded into the plaster. Inside the Fort visit the Jag Mandir or the Hall of Victory. Inside the Jag Mandir is the famed Sheesh Mahal – a room with all the four walls and ceiling completely embedded with glittering mirror pieces, which were specially imported from Belgium during that period. Enroute to Amber Fort, you will have a brief photography stop at Hawa Mahal – the Palace of Winds.
Afternoon city tour begins with a visit to the Maharaja’s City Palace, the former Royal residence, part of it converted into a museum. A small portion is still used by the Royal family of Jaipur. Built in the style of a fortified campus, the palace covers almost one-seventh in area of the city.
One of the major attractions in the museum is the portion known as Armory Museum housing an impressive array of weaponry-pistols, blunderbusses, flintlocks, swords, rifles and daggers. The royal families of Jaipur once used most of these weapons. Later visit the Jantar Mantar, which is the largest stone and marble crafted observatory in the world. Situated near the gate of the city palace, the observatory has 17 large instruments, many of them still in working condition. Later continue to visit Lakshmi Narayan temple which is also known as Birla Mandir.
Overnight at the hotel.
DAY 7
Jaipur – Rohet ( 335 kms / 06 hrs)
Savor a big breakfast at the hotel as today involves a long transfer to the rustic village of Rohet. Check-in at the restored haveli of Rohet Garh on arrival with the rest of the day free.
Rohet Garh has been one of India’s leading heritage hotels for a quarter of a century but its history goes all the way back to 1622 when Maharaja Gaj Singh I of Marwar bestowed it upon Thakur Dalpat Singh I as a reward for his courage and endeavor in military campaigns. This noble past is evident the moment you set eyes upon the garh (fort) which has a beautifully decorated doorway big enough for an elephant to pass through. The interiors are lavishly appointed and evoke the splendor of the bygone days while the meticulously manicured gardens feature verandahs and terraces with breathtaking views. The kitchens produce only the finest traditional cuisine as you will discover over the days spent in this magnificent palace.
Evening there’s a cooking demonstration at the hotel followed by dinner.
Overnight at the hotel.
DAY 8
Rohet – Jodhpur – Rohet
Breakfast at the hotel is followed by a Jeep safari to meet the world’s original ‘eco-warriors’, the Bishnoi people, who have protected their local environment for more than 500 years ever since a guru preached on the need to care for nature and wildlife. Since then, they have been responsible for the very survival of species like the endangered black buck antelope, an animal they share a special bond. The antelopes stay close to Bishnoi communities, never leaving them, and display complete trust in the Bishnoi.
Later we drive to Jodhpur to visit the magnificent Mehrangarh Fort, which towers more than 400 ft above the city. The fort is reached via a meandering road and occasionally the scars of past battles are evident on the thick rampart walls. If the sheer size of the fort is overwhelming, the beauty of the interiors is utterly beguiling. This is a vast walled city of palaces packed with gilded chambers and the most lavish decoration imaginable. After the fort, we head down to the city itself to explore the colorful bazaar, whose sights, sounds and scents are the essence of Rajasthan. Dinner tonight is in the truly majestic surrounds of the rooftop of Pal Haveli, a recently renovated 19th century mansion. As you savor the delicious candlelit traditional thali dinner, you will enjoy stunning views of the floodlit Mehrangarh Fort.
Overnight at the hotel.
DAY 9
Rohet – Ranakpur - Udaipur (220 kms / 05hrs)
After checking out following breakfast, we head towards Udaipur, breaking at Ranakpur to admire its marble Jain temples.Such is their beauty that a local legend says the Moghul emperor Akbar was so mesmerized by what he saw that he carved a message in one of the temples ordering that it must never be destroyed. After the stop, continue to the lakeside city of Udaipur for check-in at the hotel.
Overnight at the hotel.
DAY 10
Udaipur
Savor breakfast at the hotel before departing for a city tour of Udaipur. We begin at the City Palace, which is the largest palace complex in India. Admire the ornately decorated Palace of Lord Krishna and the beautiful Shish Mahal, studded with glittering mirror work, and explore the museum. Then visit the Jagdish Temple and wander in the Sahelion-Ki-Bari (the Garden for the Maids of Honor) an ornamental pleasure garden with fountains and marble kiosks. There is also time to drive around the artificial Fatehsagar Lake, built by Maharana Fateh Singh in the 18th century. In the evening, enjoy a boat-ride on Lake Pichola, visiting the ghats (banks) where washing, bathing and meditation take place, and admire the excellent views of the Lake and City palaces.
Overnight at the hotel.
DAY 11
Udaipur – Delhi – End of Tour
Checkout and flight to Delhi.
In time transfer to Delhi International airport to board onward flight for your home town/ further destination.
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