Itinerary

Day 1: Depart USA
Depart today from for your exciting safari through India.
 
Day 2: En route

Day 3: Arrive New Delhi
Arrive late tonight in Delhi, a monumental city with a vibrant mix of old and new -- teeming bazaars, stately British boulevards, powerful Mughal palaces and forts, and intricate, ethereal towers, temples and tombs. Your host accompanies you to your luxury hotel, superbly located in the heart of town. Choice of Hotels

Day 4:  Delhi / Ranthambore National Park
Delhi – India’s capital, colorful, frenetic, exotic.  Tree-lined boulevards and stately architecture of British-planned Connaught Place contrast vividly with crowded, winding lanes of Old Delhi. Here, rickshaws offer fun alternatives to navigating the throngs of shoppers and vendors clustered around Chandni Chowk, “Moonlight Square.”  Mughal history comes alive in Shah Jehan’s Red Fort and India’s largest mosque, awesome Jama Masjid. Across the Yamuna River is Humayun’s magnificent tomb, a forerunner of the Taj Majal. Visit two intriguing pillars -- the intricately carved Qutab Minar, and 1500-year-old Iron Pillar, among the city’s earliest landmarks. Board a train to begin your wildlife adventure in Ranthambore National Park, famed for tigers, frequently seen by day. Once a royal hunting ground, the 160-square-mile preserve protects a variety of wildlife. Check into a secluded resort in the Aravali hills.  Choice of Hotels (B,D)

Day 5:  Ranthambore National Park
Morning and afternoon jeep safari excursions take you deep into the jungle where you are privileged to experience the wonder and awe of seeing completely wild and undisturbed animals in their natural habits. You travel down trails where chances are best for viewing the park’s dramatic bird population as well as panther, tiger, sloth bear, jackal, an caracal as well as deer and antelope including chinkara, nilgai, sambar, and white-spotted chital. Choice of Hotels  (B,L,D)

Day 6:  Ranthambore National Park / Agra 
A spectacular day takes you from wildlife viewing in Ranthambore to Agra – jewel of Mughal India. This afternoon, offers you one of those rare unforgettable moments that you carry with you for the rest of your life – watching the setting sun at the Taj Mahal.  Choice of Hotels (B)
 
Day7:  Agra / Khajuraho
Early this morning fly to Khajuraho, where you explore some of the 25 Chandela temples that were lost to the jungle for 700 years. Their intricately carved facades depict the breadth of human experience in stunning detail, and are famous for their erotic scenes. Choice of Hotels (B)

Day 8:  Khajuraho / Bandhavgarh National Park 
Early this morning, depart for Bandhavgarh, a small wildlife sanctuary in rocky hills rising from a thick forest. The park has the highest density of tigers of all of India's reserves. Deer such as shaggy sambar and spotted chital also live here. Check into a thatch-roofed bungalow decorated in local motifs. Late afternoon, enter the park in open jeeps. Tonight, enjoy an informative talk by a naturalist, a lovely barbecue dinner, and a performance of tribal dances. Choice of Hotels (B,L,D)

Day 9:  Bandhavgarh National Park
Experience a full day in the park lead by expert naturalist guides. Safari by jeep, elephant back or even by boat. Search for tigers, leopards and caracal cats, and their prey in the splendid isolation of the varied terrain – open plains, bamboo forests and rugged hills. Glimpse a striking outcrop topped by a fort some 2000 years old.  Choice of Hotels (B,L,D)

Day 10:  Bandhavgarh National Park / Kanha National Park
After breakfast, set out for Kanha National Park – a vast, unspoiled central preserve with tiger, leopard, monkey, jackal, sloth bear, Indian porcupine, spotted deer, nilgai, gaur bison, and rare barasingha swamp deer found only here. A riot of birds congregates in forests and grasslands threaded with streams. The resort rests on the banks of River Banjar. Set out once more on a safari in an open jeep or on elephant back with your guides, who are expert trackers Choice of Hotels (B,L,D)

Day 11:  Kanha National Park
Arise to a chorus of bird songs and the bark of wild jackals. Your lodge commands magnificent views of a stretch of river where animals.. After breakfast, set out on a full day game viewing in jeeps or atop gently swaying elephants. Or, join a naturalist-guided walk through the fringes of the forest for bird watching to spot some of the more than 350 species including storks, ibis, flycatchers, bee-eaters, rollers, kingfishers, hornbills, eagles, falcons and more. Choice of Hotels (B,L,D)

Day 12:  Kanha National Park / Nagpur
After this morning’s jungle excursion, you head out to Nagpur and break here for the night. Choice of Hotels (B)

Day 13:  Nagpur / Kolkata / Jorhat / Kaziranga National Park
This morning, fly to Jorhat via Kolkata. On arrival, you drive through scenic landscapes to Kaziranga National Park, one of the most secluded game parks in the world.  On the banks of Brahmaputra River, Kaziranga covers approximately 106,255 square acres, and includes swamps and tall thickets of elephant grass, making this ideal habitat for the Indian one-horned rhino. The park was declared a sanctuary in 1940 in an effort to protect rhinos from poaching. Choice of Hotels (B,D)

Day 14:  Kaziranga National Park
Enjoy morning and evening jungle excursions in jeeps. The park is a stronghold of one-horned rhinoceros, with more than 1,000 rhinos. Wild elephants number more than 700 here, and  there are more than 600 buffalo in the reserve. You may also see mouse deer, hog deer, barking deer, chinkara gazelle, bears, leopards, leopard cat, wild boars and monkeys. The park is home to more than 50 tigers. Birds include crested serpent eagle, fishing eagle, swamp partridges, red jungle fowl, bar-headed goose, whistling teal, herons, black necked stork, and open-billed stork. Choice of Hotels   (B,L,D)

Day 15:  Kaziranga / Guwahati / Kolkata
This morning, drive to Guwahati Airport for your flight to Kolkata. A  host greets you and transfers you to your hotel. Remainder of the day is at leisure. Choice of Hotels (B)

Day 16:  Kolkata / Depart 
Bid farewell to your Indian Safari experience as you are transferred to the airport today for your flight home. (B)

12/08