Monday 26 February
We’ll check in for our flight to ……
Tuesday 27 February
…Delhi, arriving early morning, where we will take you straight to your hotel. After a morning’s rest, we’ll arrange transport for a visit to the National Railway Museum to see the cream of India’s railway treasures.
Wednesday 28 February
We will take the early morning train from New Delhi for an early afternoon arrival at Kalka, the gateway to the famous 2’6” gauge line up to Shimla. On this line, we can make half the journey in one of the Railway’s iconic Railbuses, but accommodation is limited, and this is open to the first 14 applicants only. The rest of the journey will be on the Kalka Shimla Express in first class. We should arrive in Shimla by 6.00p.m.
Luggage will be transported by road from Delhi to Shimla.
Thursday 29 February
We have requested a steam charter train from Shimla down the line to Kathleeghat but we understand there are problems with the locomotive: if it is steamable, it may be in steam for us at Shimla if it is unfit for the charter. The rest of the day is free to wander around the pleasant hill station of Shimla.
Friday 01 March
After breakfast, we will set off by minibus for the journey through the Himalayan foothills for a night at Mandi, a lovely town on the banks of the River Beas. It’s a really pleasant place to wander round, full of friendly people. Our hotel tonight is basic but clean, and has an excellent buffet dinner, and strong beer!
Saturday 02 March
Our road trip continues to Joginder Nagar, the outer terminus of the Kangra Valley Railway The scenery becomes more impressive and if we have a good run, we shall be able to get our first experience a short ride on the Kangra Valley from there on the 1155 train for the two hour journey to Baijnath Paprola. From there, it’s a very short ride to our hotel in Palampur. We are reasonably central, so there is the opportunity to wander round a typical mountain market town.
Sunday 03 March
We’ll take the 1054 train from Palampur and, after a change in Baijnath Paprola, we’ll arrive in Joginder Nagar, from where the coach will take us for an afternoon visit to the Shanan hydro-electric power station, which has an amazing cable-worked hill railway system to take materials up the ‘top lake’, way up in the Himalayan foothills. We will return to Palampur for the night.
Monday 04 March
We have an excursion to Dharamsala, the home of the Dalai Lama, driving through fabulous Himalayan scenery. We visit he famous Dalai Lama Temple, take the mesmerising 'Kora' walk, McLeodganj Market and the St John's Church in the wilderness!
Tuesday 05 March
We aim at catching the narrow-gauge train from Palampur to Nurpur Road, just short of the damaged Chakki viaduct through wonderful scenery, subject to train timings! (see our note below). Our coach will run us the short distance to Pathankot where we will be catching a local train down to Amritsar for the night.
Wednesday 06 March
We will spend our day in Amritsar visiting the Jallianwala Bagh, massacre gardens during the British Raj followed by the breathtaking & calming Golden Temple, where a ‘free canteen’ policy produces many thousands of meals a day – help produce the chapattis if you wish! Then we will visit the border flag ceremony at the Pakistani border, an amazing bit of theatre!
Thursday 07 March
We will head out to the airport to catch the lunchtime flight down to Delhi. On arrival, transfer to our hotel for the next two nights.
Friday 08 March
We can offer a choice – spend the day relaxing at the hotel, or take a coach tour of the city. We will cover India Gate, the Indian Parliament, a cycle-rickshaw ride through Chandni Chowk bazaar, Rajghat – resting place of Mahatma Gandhi and Humayan’s tomb, plus a chance to do ride on the Delhi Metro train (Tube).
Saturday 09 March
We’ll take the train for the ninety minute journey to Rewari, the new outpost of the National Railway Museum where they keep their operational steam locomotives. There is the possibility that the train may be steam hauled for the outward journey with a steam locomotive. Sorry, no guarantees! There will be time to look round the National Railway Museum’s outpost here with metre and broad gauge locomotives before continuing to Jaipur, the Pink City, by train, due to arrive at 8 p.m., in time for a late dinner.
Sunday 10 March
In the morning we will pay a visit to Amber palace, built high up on a rocky outcrop. Access is via a short 4x4 jeep ride. Rest assured the ride and the Palace is well worth the hassle! We will return to the city for the afternoon, to admire the pink stone buildings, the Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds) which is maybe the best-known of Jaipur’s buildings and the fascinating Janta Mantar, or Observatory, with a sundial accurate to 20 seconds!
Monday 11 March
We’ll take a 170 mile ride down the main line towards Mumbai, disembarking at the Rajasthani city of Marwar. A coach will take us for the two-hour journey to the small town of Jojawar, where there is a hidden gem of a palace hotel, our home for the night. In the evening, turn right out of the hotel gate, and you are in the middle of this small town’s commercial area. Exploring on foot with one of the staff guides is a great way to experience life here as it unfolds before your eyes.
Tuesday 12 March
The coach will take us for an hour’s run to Kambli Ghat station for one of our favourite excursions – the daily metre gauge train from the highest station in the Aravalli mountains, Kambli Ghat, to Phulad, running through beautiful forests and hills in Rajasthan. You will find plenty of interaction with the locals on the train with plenty of conversation, but beware of some of the monkeys who will visit some of the stations aggressively begging for banana skins – or the bananas themselves! From Phulad, the coach will take us for the three hour ride to the city of Udaipur, our base for the night.
Wednesday 13 March
Udaipur is a lovely city, and we’ll have a morning tour of the city and enviirons. Afterwards, we have arrranged a late afternoon cruise on Lake Pichola, with the Lake Palace Hotel on an island in the middle, made famous by James Bond’s ‘Octopussy’, a vision in white marble.
Thursday 14 March
After breakfast, we will check in for a small hours flight to Delhi for further connection back to the UK.
Or you may like to extend your stay in Udaipur or choose from the list of extension tours.
What’s included?
Economy class flights to/from India, breakfast and dinner (*) daily, accommodation in 4 star hotels (or best available locally), all transport, charter trains and excursions as set out in the itinerary and the services of a Darjeeling Tours Limited Tour Manager. (Personal and incidental expenses are not included).
(*) Dinner is not included in Delhi, where there is plenty of choice, both in and out of the hotel. Food is not expensive, and this allows considerable individual flexibility.
Prices
Fully inclusive price from London: £ 4,875 based on two people sharing
Ground only price (international flights excluded) £ 4,150
Single supplement: £ 635
We’ll check in for our flight to ……
Tuesday 27 February
…Delhi, arriving early morning, where we will take you straight to your hotel. After a morning’s rest, we’ll arrange transport for a visit to the National Railway Museum to see the cream of India’s railway treasures.
Wednesday 28 February
We will take the early morning train from New Delhi for an early afternoon arrival at Kalka, the gateway to the famous 2’6” gauge line up to Shimla. On this line, we can make half the journey in one of the Railway’s iconic Railbuses, but accommodation is limited, and this is open to the first 14 applicants only. The rest of the journey will be on the Kalka Shimla Express in first class. We should arrive in Shimla by 6.00p.m.
Luggage will be transported by road from Delhi to Shimla.
Thursday 29 February
We have requested a steam charter train from Shimla down the line to Kathleeghat but we understand there are problems with the locomotive: if it is steamable, it may be in steam for us at Shimla if it is unfit for the charter. The rest of the day is free to wander around the pleasant hill station of Shimla.
Friday 01 March
After breakfast, we will set off by minibus for the journey through the Himalayan foothills for a night at Mandi, a lovely town on the banks of the River Beas. It’s a really pleasant place to wander round, full of friendly people. Our hotel tonight is basic but clean, and has an excellent buffet dinner, and strong beer!
Saturday 02 March
Our road trip continues to Joginder Nagar, the outer terminus of the Kangra Valley Railway The scenery becomes more impressive and if we have a good run, we shall be able to get our first experience a short ride on the Kangra Valley from there on the 1155 train for the two hour journey to Baijnath Paprola. From there, it’s a very short ride to our hotel in Palampur. We are reasonably central, so there is the opportunity to wander round a typical mountain market town.
Sunday 03 March
We’ll take the 1054 train from Palampur and, after a change in Baijnath Paprola, we’ll arrive in Joginder Nagar, from where the coach will take us for an afternoon visit to the Shanan hydro-electric power station, which has an amazing cable-worked hill railway system to take materials up the ‘top lake’, way up in the Himalayan foothills. We will return to Palampur for the night.
Monday 04 March
We have an excursion to Dharamsala, the home of the Dalai Lama, driving through fabulous Himalayan scenery. We visit he famous Dalai Lama Temple, take the mesmerising 'Kora' walk, McLeodganj Market and the St John's Church in the wilderness!
Tuesday 05 March
We aim at catching the narrow-gauge train from Palampur to Nurpur Road, just short of the damaged Chakki viaduct through wonderful scenery, subject to train timings! (see our note below). Our coach will run us the short distance to Pathankot where we will be catching a local train down to Amritsar for the night.
Wednesday 06 March
We will spend our day in Amritsar visiting the Jallianwala Bagh, massacre gardens during the British Raj followed by the breathtaking & calming Golden Temple, where a ‘free canteen’ policy produces many thousands of meals a day – help produce the chapattis if you wish! Then we will visit the border flag ceremony at the Pakistani border, an amazing bit of theatre!
Thursday 07 March
We will head out to the airport to catch the lunchtime flight down to Delhi. On arrival, transfer to our hotel for the next two nights.
Friday 08 March
We can offer a choice – spend the day relaxing at the hotel, or take a coach tour of the city. We will cover India Gate, the Indian Parliament, a cycle-rickshaw ride through Chandni Chowk bazaar, Rajghat – resting place of Mahatma Gandhi and Humayan’s tomb, plus a chance to do ride on the Delhi Metro train (Tube).
Saturday 09 March
We’ll take the train for the ninety minute journey to Rewari, the new outpost of the National Railway Museum where they keep their operational steam locomotives. There is the possibility that the train may be steam hauled for the outward journey with a steam locomotive. Sorry, no guarantees! There will be time to look round the National Railway Museum’s outpost here with metre and broad gauge locomotives before continuing to Jaipur, the Pink City, by train, due to arrive at 8 p.m., in time for a late dinner.
Sunday 10 March
In the morning we will pay a visit to Amber palace, built high up on a rocky outcrop. Access is via a short 4x4 jeep ride. Rest assured the ride and the Palace is well worth the hassle! We will return to the city for the afternoon, to admire the pink stone buildings, the Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds) which is maybe the best-known of Jaipur’s buildings and the fascinating Janta Mantar, or Observatory, with a sundial accurate to 20 seconds!
Monday 11 March
We’ll take a 170 mile ride down the main line towards Mumbai, disembarking at the Rajasthani city of Marwar. A coach will take us for the two-hour journey to the small town of Jojawar, where there is a hidden gem of a palace hotel, our home for the night. In the evening, turn right out of the hotel gate, and you are in the middle of this small town’s commercial area. Exploring on foot with one of the staff guides is a great way to experience life here as it unfolds before your eyes.
Tuesday 12 March
The coach will take us for an hour’s run to Kambli Ghat station for one of our favourite excursions – the daily metre gauge train from the highest station in the Aravalli mountains, Kambli Ghat, to Phulad, running through beautiful forests and hills in Rajasthan. You will find plenty of interaction with the locals on the train with plenty of conversation, but beware of some of the monkeys who will visit some of the stations aggressively begging for banana skins – or the bananas themselves! From Phulad, the coach will take us for the three hour ride to the city of Udaipur, our base for the night.
Wednesday 13 March
Udaipur is a lovely city, and we’ll have a morning tour of the city and enviirons. Afterwards, we have arrranged a late afternoon cruise on Lake Pichola, with the Lake Palace Hotel on an island in the middle, made famous by James Bond’s ‘Octopussy’, a vision in white marble.
Thursday 14 March
After breakfast, we will check in for a small hours flight to Delhi for further connection back to the UK.
Or you may like to extend your stay in Udaipur or choose from the list of extension tours.
What’s included?
Economy class flights to/from India, breakfast and dinner (*) daily, accommodation in 4 star hotels (or best available locally), all transport, charter trains and excursions as set out in the itinerary and the services of a Darjeeling Tours Limited Tour Manager. (Personal and incidental expenses are not included).
(*) Dinner is not included in Delhi, where there is plenty of choice, both in and out of the hotel. Food is not expensive, and this allows considerable individual flexibility.
Prices
Fully inclusive price from London: £ 4,875 based on two people sharing
Ground only price (international flights excluded) £ 4,150
Single supplement: £ 635
