Private, on your own dates · Rajasthan & North India, India
India Beyond the Icons Tour
An 11-day Rajasthan route that skips the famous three for painted merchant towns, Bishnoi craft villages, a leopard hill and the stepwells of Bundi.
The journey
8 cities.
Starts Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, ends Jaipur International Airport — an open-jaw trip, so book your flights accordingly. The representative waits in the arrivals concourse with a name board for the transfer to the hotel.
Almost every first trip to Rajasthan visits the same three cities, and they deserve it. This route goes beyond them on purpose. It runs through painted merchant towns nobody has heard of, villages where the potter and the block printer and the weaver are three houses on the same lane, a granite hill where leopards come down at dusk, and a small walled town whose stepwells are as fine as anything in the state and whose visitor book you can read in a morning.
It starts in Shekhawati, the semi-desert belt north of Jaipur where nineteenth-century trading families built havelis and covered every surface of them — inside, outside, courtyards, ceilings — in painted frescoes of gods, trains, gramophones and biplanes, as the world arrived by rumour. The families left for Bombay and Calcutta and the paintings stayed. Bikaner follows, with a fort that was never taken and a camel breeding station on its edge, and then the rat temple at Deshnoke, which is exactly as advertised and rather beautiful.
The middle of the route is the part that changes people's minds about Rajasthan. Around Rohet the Bishnoi villages have protected trees and blackbuck for five hundred years as a matter of religious law — the reason the desert here still has wildlife in it at all — and the working day is visible from the road: opium ceremonies conducted for guests as they always were for neighbours, hand block printers dyeing in the open, potters throwing on a stick-turned wheel, durrie weavers on pit looms. At Narlai a village of four thousand people sits under a granite monolith with 700 steps up it, and the surrounding hills are leopard country.
Udaipur comes in at the point when you want a city again, and is used here for its craft rather than its palaces — a miniature painter's studio, the temple carvings at Delwara, the Mewar family shrine at Eklingji. The route finishes at Bundi, tucked into a gorge under a fort that Kipling admired, with painted palace chambers, a seventeenth-century stepwell in the middle of the bazaar and none of the coach traffic that goes with the icons. Travel is by private vehicle with the same driver throughout, staying in converted forts and family-run houses rather than chain hotels.
- 01Painted merchant havelis in the Shekhawati towns of Mandawa and Fatehpur
- 02Junagarh Fort at Bikaner and the camel breeding station outside it
- 03The rat temple at Deshnoke, unlike anything else in India
- 04Bishnoi villages where trees and blackbuck have been protected for 500 years
- 05Block printers, potters and pit-loom weavers working at their own doorsteps
- 06A jeep safari in the leopard hills around Narlai
- 07The marble Jain temple at Ranakpur and the carvings at Delwara
- 08Bundi's painted palace chambers and the stepwell in its bazaar
Day by day
Open a day for the written plan, then switch to the hour-by-hour breakdown.
Arrive at Indira Gandhi International Airport, where a representative meets you and transfers you to your hotel. Nothing is scheduled for the rest of the day, on the assumption that a long-haul arrival is better absorbed than fought.
Tomorrow is a driving day out of the city into the Shekhawati, so the guide will confirm a departure time in the evening. Leaving Delhi before the morning peak makes a real difference to how long the road takes.
- Airport meet-and-greet and private transfer to the hotel
- Day free to rest before the drive north-west
Rooms are normally released in the early afternoon; earlier check-in depends on availability.
What the fare covers
And what it does not. Read the right-hand column before you budget.
- Hotels10 nights' accommodation in heritage properties and converted forts on twin-sharing basis
- MealsDaily breakfast at the hotel
- MealsDinner at the Khimsar, Rohet and Narlai properties
- TransfersPrivate air-conditioned vehicle with an English-speaking driver for the full route
- TransfersArrival transfer at Delhi and departure transfer at Jaipur
- GuidesLicensed local guides in Shekhawati, Bikaner, Udaipur and Bundi
- SightseeingBishnoi village jeep excursion with craft demonstrations
- ActivitiesJeep safari in the leopard hills at Narlai
- SightseeingA miniature painting studio visit in Udaipur
- TaxesAll road tolls, parking, fuel, interstate permits and driver allowance
- MealsTwo bottles of mineral water in the vehicle each day
- FlightsInternational air travel is not part of this fare. The record lists no air component.
- EntrancesHaveli, fort, temple and museum entrance charges
- MealsLunches, and dinners other than those listed in the inclusions
- InsuranceIndian visa, travel insurance and any consular processing
- Personal ExpensesCamera and video permits levied at monuments
- Personal ExpensesPurchases made at craft workshops and village cooperatives
- TipsGratuities for guides, drivers, village hosts and hotel staff
- ActivitiesAny activity described in the itinerary as optional
Hotels are named on your confirmation — all are of the stated category.
You leave from a different place than you arrive — book an open-jaw flight, not a return.
The representative waits in the arrivals concourse with a name board for the transfer to the hotel.
Want this trip a little different?
Tell Tulli what you'd change — hotels, dates, an extra city — and she'll price it with our team and come back to you.
Where you go in
Not every landmark on the list is one you walk into — this separates them.
When to Go
Weather by month for the places this trip actually visits.
India
Oct–Mar is the golden season across most of India. Monsoon (Jun–Sep) transforms Kerala and the Northeast.
Before you go
The essentials first — they are also the ones that can stop a booking.
Passport and Indian visa
- A valid passport and an Indian visa or e-visa arranged before travel are the traveller's own responsibility.
- Heritage properties register passport details at check-in, so carry the document itself.
- Entry requirements change without notice; confirm the current rules for your nationality before booking.
Visiting people's homes
- The Bishnoi households are private homes; ask before photographing anyone, and accept a refusal easily.
- The opium ceremony is offered as hospitality and may be observed rather than taken part in.
- Shoes come off at Deshnoke, Ranakpur, Eklingji and the village temples, and leather is left outside Jain temples.
- Buying directly from a craftsperson is welcome but never expected, and prices are agreed openly.
Travel insurance is mandatory
- Comprehensive travel insurance covering medical treatment, evacuation and baggage is required before departure.
- Check that the policy covers open jeep safaris, which a small number of insurers exclude.
- Medical facilities in the smaller towns on this route are limited, which makes evacuation cover meaningful.
A long overland route
- The itinerary covers roughly 1,600 kilometres by road across seven travelling days.
- Some stages run on state highways rather than expressways and take longer than the distance suggests.
- The same driver stays with you for the full route and the vehicle carries drinking water.
Heritage properties, not chain hotels
- Rooms in converted forts and havelis vary considerably in size, layout and light within the same property.
- Some have no lift and involve stairs to reach the upper floors.
- Wifi and mobile coverage are patchy at Khimsar, Rohet and Narlai.
Desert heat and cold jeep mornings
- October to March is comfortable by day; nights in the desert around Bikaner and Khimsar are cold.
- The open jeeps at Rohet and Narlai are cold at dawn and dusk in winter — bring a windproof layer.
- Shekhawati and Bikaner have almost no shade; a hat and sun protection are needed from March onwards.
Water, animals and monkeys
- Drink sealed bottled or filtered water only; the vehicle carries a daily supply.
- Monkeys around Bundi Palace and the Narlai steps will take anything carried loosely.
- Do not approach or feed wildlife on the jeep safaris, and stay in the vehicle unless the guide says otherwise.
Cash in the villages
- Craft purchases, haveli caretakers and village hosts are all cash transactions.
- ATMs are reliable in Bikaner, Udaipur and Jaipur and unreliable in Mandawa, Rohet, Narlai and Bundi.
Why does this itinerary skip Jaipur, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer?
Because they are covered thoroughly by our Royal Rajasthan route, and doing both would mean seeing everything at half depth. This one is designed as the second trip to Rajasthan, or as the first for travellers who would rather meet the state through its villages and craft towns than its headline forts.
What kind of accommodation is used?
Heritage properties throughout: a converted haveli in Mandawa, a fifteenth-century family fort at Khimsar, a garh held by one family since 1622 at Rohet, and the old Jodhpur royal hunting lodge at Narlai. They are characterful rather than uniform, and no two nights are alike.
Are the village visits staged for tourists?
No. The Bishnoi households are working homes and workshops that receive visitors as part of a long-standing arrangement with the Rohet property. Nothing is performed, the craftspeople are doing what they would be doing anyway, and the guide explains the etiquette before you arrive.
Will I actually see a leopard at Narlai?
Possibly. The hills hold a stable population and the property runs the safari most evenings, but they are wild, shy and nocturnal by preference. The drive through the granite outcrops at dusk with peacocks calling is worth doing whether or not a leopard appears.
Is the rat temple at Deshnoke compulsory?
Not at all. Anyone uneasy about it can wait in the outer courtyard, which is common and causes no awkwardness. Those who do go in walk barefoot among several thousand rats that are fed and revered as reincarnated members of the Karni Mata clan.
How much driving does this route involve?
Seven of the eleven days include a road stage. Delhi to Mandawa and Udaipur to Bundi are the longest at around five and a half hours each, and most of the others fall between two and four. The distances are the necessary consequence of going where the coaches do not.
When is the best time for this itinerary?
October to March. The desert stages around Bikaner and Khimsar are very hot from April onwards, and the Shekhawati fresco towns have almost no shade. Winter mornings are cold in the open jeeps at Rohet and Narlai, so bring a layer.
Do I fly in and out of the same city?
No. The route begins in Delhi and ends in Jaipur, so you will need an open-jaw international booking or a short domestic connection from Jaipur. Jaipur has good onward links to Delhi and Mumbai.
Policies & booking terms
Free cancellation up to 30 days before departure.
50% refund between 30-15 days before departure.
No refund within 15 days of departure.
TripClub standing booking terms
- Full payment must be completed 30 days prior to departure, unless otherwise specified.
- All bookings are subject to availability at the time of confirmation.
- Travel insurance is mandatory and must be purchased prior to departure.
- Prices are subject to change due to fluctuations in currency exchange rates, taxes, or supplier costs.
- Guests are responsible for obtaining valid passports, visas, and any required vaccinations.
- Cancellations or amendments are subject to the applicable cancellation policy outlined in the package.
- The company is not liable for delays, cancellations, or changes due to unforeseen circumstances such as weather, strikes, or other force majeure events.
- All travelers must adhere to the local laws and customs of the destinations visited.
- No refunds will be issued for unused services, including but not limited to meals, accommodations, or activities.
- The company reserves the right to modify the itinerary or substitute hotels of similar standards if necessary.
- All special requests (e.g., room preferences, dietary requirements) are subject to availability and not guaranteed.
- Guests are responsible for any additional costs incurred due to personal expenses, such as phone calls, laundry, or minibar charges.
- Check-in and check-out times are subject to hotel policies and may vary by property.
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