Highlights: Discovering the narrow streets of Old Delhi

Description: After checking in to our hotel this morning we meet our Tour Leader and discuss the week ahead. In the afternoon we head for the narrow streets of Old Delhi. Once capital of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, Old Delhi is a maelstrom of colour, noise and chaos, and, using a mixture of the old and the new - the metro and a cycle rickshaw ride- we reach the Chadni Chowk Bazaar, at the heart of the Old City. A highlight of Old Delhi is the Jami Masjid mosque. Built of Red-stone Jama Masjid, also known as Masjid-e-Jahanuma, is the largest mosque in India. The courtyard of the mosque measures around 1000 square meters and has a capacity of 100,000 people. In the center of the courtyard is a tank and Hauz. This was built for the purpose of Wazu, compulsory ambulation done before Namaaz. In front of it is a raised platform called the Dikka. The mosque is so big that the muatllawi (the second cleric), used to stand on the Dikka and repeat the Ayats said by the Imam (the chief cleric) to the devotees who were unable to hear him. The mosque took some 14 years to construct. From the top of the southern minaret there is a view of New Delhi, where we will explore tomorrow. Nearby is the imposing Red Fort. Built in the 1600s its imposing red sandstone walls stand over 30 meters above the heart of the Old City which swirls around it. We'll take a rickshaw ride through Chadni Chowk and have a wander through the Spice Bazaar. Be sure to have a camera ready to capture all the wonderful sights including the chaotic electrical wiring, monkeys, traders on bikes with massive loads, and the traffic in general which by some kind of sixth sense and tolerance means drivers and pedestrians seems to just miss each other.

Locations: Delhi

Highlights: Highlights of modern New Delhi

Description: After breakfast we spend the morning on a guided tour of the other side, the modern side, of the city. New Delhi was designed by Lutyens in the 1930s and still retains the feel of colonial India. We'll see the Parliament buildings, India Gate, the Rajpath, and the 13th century Qutb Minar, as well as visiting the sixteenth century Humayan's Tomb, a precursor of the Taj in Agra. In the afternoon we transfer to the railway station and take the train, travelling Chair class in an air-conditioned coach, to Sawai Madhopur. From here it is just a short drive to Ranthambore National Park. Arriving in the early evening we transfer to our hotel, just outside the Park.

Locations: Ranthambore National Park

Highlights: Ranthambore game drives

Description: Ranthambore National Park lies on the eastern border of Rajasthan, and covers some 400 square kilometres of jungle, lakes and rivers, dotted with temples. The area was originally a private reserve of the Maharajah of Jaipur, but was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1957. There is a lot to see in this Park: it is generally considered to offer the best chance of spotting tiger - there are around 40 in the Park - but we should also see many species of birds, including kingfisher, parakeet, jacana, and both crested hawk and crested serpent eagle, as well as sloth bear, hyena, pythons, marsh crocodiles, turtles, langur and perhaps leopard. We make an early start today, taking our first game drive around dawn, when the chances of seeing game are highest, before returning for breakfast. Time to relax during the heat of the day, before our afternoon game drive, which we aim to make around dusk, when sightings should again be good. Between game drives there is the option of visiting Ranthambore Fort, which overlooks the Park on a hilltop affording views across the park towards the Aravali Hills. This is one of the oldest forts in India, and as well as the magnificent views it has there are a number of temples and mosques as well as an important Ganesh Temple, all spread out over several acres.

Locations: Ranthambore National Park

Highlights: Ranthambore Fort

Description: Today is left free for us to use as we wish. For those who like to be active, there are several options today: a further game drive in the park; a visit to Ranthambore Fort; or a visit to a local village just a few kilometers from our hotel to see the local craftsmen at work, particularly interesting is the embroidery. Alternatively there is the chance to just relax and take it easy for the day. In the evening we transfer to the railway station and take the overnight sleeper train to Jabalpur.

Locations: Ranthambore National Park

Highlights: Largest and most scenic national park

Description: We arrive at Jabalpur station around mid-morning, and transfer to a nearby hotel for breakfast and the chance to freshen up. Then we drive to Kanha National Park, arriving around mid-afternoon. After checking in to our hotel, just outside the National Park, the rest of the day is left free to relax or wander through the village.

Locations: Kanha National Park

Highlights: Kanha NP; game drives.

Description: Kanha National Park is one of the largest in India. Created in 1955, it became a tiger reserve in 1974 and today covers some 2000 square kilometres of forest, plateau and wooded grasslands fed by the Surpan River. Whilst we hope to see tiger here, there is also the chance of spotting swamp deer - barasingha - although these are rare, and indeed unique to Kanha, and have only recently been saved from extinction. They inhabit the grasslands adjacent to the teak and bamboo forests. There is also the chance to see gaur, the Indian bison, hyena, and mongoose. Birdwatchers can expect to see woodpeckers and hoopoes, heron, egrets and kingfishers. The park is said to have been the inspiration for Kipling's Jungle Book, although nearby Pench Tiger Reserve also claims this distinction. Today at the park we will make our first game drive in the early morning, before breakfast, then relax in the heat of the mid-day, before making a second game drive in the late afternoon, to maximise our chances of seeing game. NB: afternoon game drive remains closed on every Wednesday.

Locations: Kanha National Park

Highlights: At Kanha; game drives.

Description: Today we aim to complete another two game drives into the park in search of its wildlife. NB: afternoon game drive remains closed on every Wednesday.

Locations: Kanha National Park

Highlights: Bandhavgarh National Park

Description: After breakfast we spend the morning driving to the relatively little known Bandhavgarh National Park. After checking in at our accommodation just outside the National Park, the rest of the day is free to relax.

Locations: Bandhavgarh National Park

Highlights: At Bandhavgarh; game drives.

Description: Bandhavgarh National Park has perhaps the largest number of tigers in the country, with some 50 having been recorded here.. Lying close to the Vindhyan Hills, and covering some 450 square kilometres, the park is also home to nilgai, jackals wild boar and leopard. For many years the Park was a private reserve owned by the Maharajahs of nearby Rewa, and it was here that the white Tigers of Rewa were found; although none have been seen for half a century their descendants are now in zoos across the world. There is much here, too, for bird lovers, with bee-eaters, steppe eagles, paradise flycatchers and Malabar hornbills having been seen here. High above the forests and wetlands of the park stands the fortress from which Bandhavgarh takes its name. It is possible, between game drives, to climb to the Fort, which is thought to be one of the oldest in India. At Bandhavgarh we follow the by now familiar routine for our game drives, one drive in the early morning and one in the late afternoon, to maximise our chances of seeing game.

Locations: Bandhavgarh National Park

Highlights: At Bandhavgarh; game drives.

Description: Today we aim to complete another two game drives into the park in search of its wildlife. NB: afternoon game drive remains closed on every Wednesday.

Locations: Bandhavgarh National Park

Highlights: The Erotic Sculptures of the Khajuraho Temples

Description: After breakfast we head for the small town of Khajuraho, arriving around mid-day. The town is a small sleepy place that would be little visited, were it not for the world famous temples situated in and around the town. Once checked in at our hotel we start our guided tour of the western group of temples at Khajuraho. The temples at Khajuraho number some 25 in total; all that is left of a complex once consisting of over 85 structures. This small town is regarded as the temple city of central India, and its temples to be the most impressive in all India. They were built over about 100 years, during the era of the Chandela kings, and with their eclipse the temples became overgrown and forgotten until re-discovered in 1833 by a somewhat shocked British officer. His discomfiture came as a result of the erotic nature of the sculptures carved at each temple, each of which is dedicated to a different diety. Our guided tour this afternoon will concentrate on the Western complex, with visits to the Shiva temple of Kandariya-Mahadev; dating from the 11th century and with around 1000 statues within its temple walls it also boasts, in the inner sanctuary, the fertility symbol of Shiva, in the form of a stone lingam, or phallus. We will also see the Laksmana Temple; one of the best in the Western group, the Temple is dedicated to Vishnu.

Locations: Khajuraho

Highlights: Evening Puja ceremony at Orchha main temple

Description: This early morning you have the opportunity to go on optional morning game drive at Panna National Park, not far from Khajuraho. Sambal, caracals, leopard and tiger are found here amongst the grasslands, forest and rocky outcrops. We return to Khajuraho for breakfast and then the rest of the morning is free for us to head, on foot or by cycle, to the more outlying Eastern temple complex, comprising a number of temples lying amongst an old village. The best to head for is the Parsvanath Jain temple, one of the finest at Khajuraho. In the afternoon we drive to the small town of Orchha. Whilst we will explore the town at length tomorrow, there is this evening the opportunity, perhaps, to see a Puja ceremony at Orchha's main temple.

Locations: Orchha

Highlights: Orchha Palace

Description: Orchha lies on a bend in the Betwa River, in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Here, in the 1500s and 1600s the Bundela rulers held sway for a couple of centuries and built a number of temples and palaces. With a full day to explore Orchha we start with a visit to the Palace complex in Orchha Fort. Consisting of three palaces - the Jehangir Mahal, built for a visit of the Mughul ruler of the same name, is a gem of medieval Indian architecture, whilst the Raj Mahal has a number of impressive murals and the two storey Raj Paveen Mahal was built as an expression of the love of Raja Indramani. After visiting the Fort the streets of Orchha are worth exploring; there are a number of temple, dating from the 1500s, dotted through the town, whilst out of town are a number of villages worth walking to, whilst or those who want to get closer to life in the town there is the opportunity to take a cookery lesson. In the early evening we transfer to the railway station and take the train to Delhi, travelling in Chair class in an air-conditioned coach. As always travelling by train is like taking part in a bustling moving village, until we roll into Delhi station in the late evening.

Locations: Delhi

Highlights: Meet Indian Tour Leader and say good bye

Description: After breakfast our tour ends.

Locations: Delhi