Umaid Bhawan Palace - Jodhpur

After breakfast travel to Jodhpur, on the southern edge of the Thar Desert. Jodhpur was founded in 1459 A.D. by Rao Jodha. In the afternoon visit the magnificent 15th century fort and the Umaid Bhawan Palace, located at Jodhpur is one of the world's largest private residences. A part of the palace is managed by Taj Hotels. Named after Maharaja Umaid Singh, grandfather of the present Maharaja of Jodhpur, this monument has 347 rooms and serves as the principal residence of the Jodhpur royal family.Umaid Bhawan Palace was called Chittar Palace during its construction due to its location on Chittar Hill, the highest point in Jodhpur. Ground for the foundations of the building was broken on 18 November 1929 by Maharaja Umaid Singh and the construction work was completed in 1943.

Overnight in Jodhpur

Bikaner- Rajasthan

Bikaner is named after its founder Rao Bikaji in 1488. But long before this, the city was trade center on the caravan routes from Africa and West Asia. Bikaner’s dominant features are rippling sands and abundant sunshine. The city stands on an elevation, enclosed by a 7 Kms wall, which can be entered from 5 gate. Bikaner City is bolstered by imposing walls and has a 16th century fort housing old palaces, temples and mosque. Founded by Raja Rai Singh the fort is distinguished by its long range of 37 pavilions, a line of balconies and aerial windows of varying designs. Also visit Lallgarh Palace, the museum, Bhanda Sagar Jain and Deshnoke Rat temple. Night stay in Bikaner.

Mandawa- Jaipur

The fort of Mandawa was founded in the 18th century. Thakur Nawal Singh, son of Shardul Singh, founded the fort in vikram samvat 1812 (1755 AD). The fort dominates the town with a painted arched gateway adorned with Lord Krishna and his cows. Built as per a medieval theme, the castle of Mandawa is adorned with beautiful frescoes. The rooms of this palace are decorated with Lord Krishna paintings, exquisite carvings and amazing mirrorwork.
The Durbar Hall of the palace houses a number of antiques and paintings.

Situated in the middle of the town, the Mandawa Fort has now been converted into a heritage hotel.

Like many places in north India, Mandawa has an extreme climate. The summers can be very hot up to 40.5°C (105ºF), whereas winters can be chilly and the temperature can fall below 10°C (50ºF).

The best season to visit is winter (October ~ March).The annual rainfall is between 45 ~ 60 cm (18 ~ 24 in)



Haveli is the term used for a building of personal residence in Shekhawati and Marwar regions of Rajasthan, India. The word haveli is of Persian origin, meaning "an enclosed place". Between 1830 and 1930, Marwaris erected buildings in their homeland, Shekhawati and Marwar as evidence of their success. These buildings were called Havelis. The Marwaris commissioned artists to paint those buildings. The Havelis are noted for their frescos depicting mythological themes. The frescos include Images of Gods, Goddesses, animals, life history of Lord Rama and Krishna, profusely painted on the Havelis in this region. The havelis were the symbol of the status of the Marwaris and a home for their extended family, providing security and comfort in a style. The havelis used to be closed from all sides with one big strong main gate. Secluded from the outside world the havelis set their own pace of life. The typical havelis in Shekhawati consisted of two courtyards — an outer one for the men which serves as an extended threshold and the inner one, the domain of the women. The biggest ones sometimes had three or four courtyards and two to three stories high. Most of the havelis are empty nowadays or just give a shelter to an old watchman.These havelis are major attraction for tourists in Rajasthan

Charminar- Hyderabad

Hyderabad’s most popular landmark Charminar is located at the center of the old city and surround by lively bazaars.It was built by Sultan Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah in 1591 in honour of his wife Bhagmati.It is also called as ‘The Arc de Triomphe of the East ‘and considered as the legendary masterpiece of Qutub Shahi’s.The Charminar is a massive and impressive structure with four minarets. In the evening, with illumination, the great Charminar looks even greater. With the passage of time the Charminar occupied so much importance that it became the heart of all bustling activities. It is in the bustling bazaars around the Charminar that you find the traditional nahari stalls and kulchas of Hyderabad. Hyderabad is one of those few cities, which have a fine blend of modernity and tradition.
Architecture



Charninar at Night
It was built with granite and lime-mortar. It is a blend of ‘Cazia’ and Islamic style of architecture. The intertwined arches and domes are examples of typical Islamic style of the architecture. The graceful floral motif atop the Charminar is enchanting. The Charminar depicts the Indo-Saracenic tradition – a symbiosis of the Hindu and the Muslim traditions, which has woven the magic of a rich Deccan culture. The Charminar looks spectacular particularly in the nights when it is illuminated.
Attractions
The Charminar has four imposing arches, which face the four main directions. A row of small vaulted niches ornament each of the four arches. The Char Minar is a two-storied building with the first floor being covered. The balconies on this floor provide a great view of the surrounding areas. A small mosque adorns the top floor of the Charminar. This mosque is situated on the western side of the Charminar facing Mecca, the holy city of the Muslims. There are 45 prayer spaces and people throng to this mosque for the Friday prayers.This mosque is said to be the oldest surviving mosque in Hyderabad city. Charminar, the hub of Hyderabad city, has four wide roads going in each direction.

Charminar
Charming structure define as its name from four intricately carved minarets, the four graceful minarets which means ‘Four Minars’. Charminar is in square shape with four towers in the four corners of the square, each side is 20 metres long. Every side opens into a plaza through giant arches, which overlook four major thoroughfares and dwarf other features of the building except the minarets. Each arch is 11 metres wide and rises 20 metres to the pinnacle from the plinth. The minarets soar skywards by 24 metres from the roof of Charminar.

Golkonda Fort- Hyderabad

Hyderabad was one of the many princely states that existed during the time that the British ruled India. The state was located in Southern India on the Deccan Plateau. The Nizam [King] was one of the richest men alive at the time, his wealth numbering in the hundreds of millions. In 1948, a year after the partition of British India into Pakistan and India, Hyderabad which had opted for its independence, was over run and occupied by Indian forces, and since has been part of India. Today, Hyderabad once again is a vibrant city and is the "silicon valley" of India.

Architecturally it is very different from Northern India where the architecture was a combination of the traditional architecture and influences that were brought in by the various empires (including mainly Central Asian and Persian influences). Unlike the north, the south was very isolated geographically and was not nfluenced to the same level and has retained its own style. Golconda Fort, originally a mud fort, was later reconstructed in stone. Since then it has had a variety of additions by the various rulers of the area. The fort, on an isolated granite hill, rises about 400 feet above the surrounding plain. The contours of the fort blend with those of the hill. Nowadays the ruins have a desolate majesty in the midst of an arid plain.

The granite crenellated wall is approximately 7 KM in circumference with a deep trench. The walls' thickness ranges from 17 to 34 feet and is broken by 87 semi circular bastions which are 50 to 60 feet high.

The fort has 8 gates or Darwazas as they are called locally, the main gate being Fateh Darwaza [Gate of Victory]. The door is 13 feet wide and 25 feet high and studded with steel spikes to protect it from charging elephants. The fort also includes a palace, a mosque, a parade ground, and an armoury besides many other buildings.

Birla Mandir- Hyderabad

Birla Temple forms one of the major attractions of Jaipur. Birla Temple of Jaipur looks stunning, when it is brightly lit in the night. Birla Mandir, in pure white marble, dominates the skyline of southern part of Jaipur. The enormous temple was built during the year 1988, by Birla Group of Industries, one of the business tycoons of India. The Temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu (Narayan), the preserver and his consort Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth. Due to this reason, Birla Temple is also known as Laxmi Narayan Temple.

Necklace Road- Hyderabad

Come to Hyderabad to the clean and green city and imbibe the true Indian spirit, where lanes bespeak of History! The place gives you fresh locales to make a head start for the history books, but do not be fooled by historical monuments and relics, this place is here to treat you royally in all your ventures. The land of the Nawabs welcomes you to be a part of the wonderful city. The city will take you out on the best of place where you will find the world's largest studio the Ramoji Film city is the venue that is sure to make a mind boggling impact on you. Then sit and relish some of the best biriyani's in the very land where it evolved. The roads are all clean and the lush greenery around you would mesmerize you

Red Fort- Agra

Lal Qila, Fort Rouge and better known as Red Fort of Agra is located on the bank of Yamuna River a Unesco world heritage now. Red Fort is an important monument representing Mughal architecture. It was a day trip for me from Delhi.

This ancient city of Agra has very interesting history. As per history Sikander Lodi was the first Sultan to make Agra as his second capital, Delhi being his first. After Sikander Lodhi’s death, his son Ibrahim Lodi lived in the fort till 1526. Ibrahim Lodhi lost his life in 1526 fighting in a battle against Mughals in Panipat. Mughal Emperor Akbar renovated this damaged old fort, also known as Badalgarh. Akbar gave it a new look with red sand stone and was completed in 8 years (1565 to 1573). Agra Fort contained the largest state treasury and mint.

Jantar Mantar- New Delhi

The Yantra Mantra (literally the ‘instrument and formula’ and often called the Jantar Mantar), is located in the modern city of New Delhi, Delhi. It consists of 13 architectural astronomy instruments, built by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur, from 1724 onwards, and is one of five built by him, as he was given by Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah the task of revising the calendar and astronomical tables. There is plaque fixed on one of the structures in the Jantar Mantar observatory in New Delhi that was placed there in 1910 mistakenly dating the construction of the complex to the year 1710. Later research, though, suggests 1724 as the actual year of construction.

The primary purpose of the observatory was to compile astronomical tables, and to predict the times and movements of the sun, moon and planets. Some of these purposes nowadays would be classified as astrology

Chilika Lake Orissa

Chilika , the largest brackish water lake in Asia covering an area of over 1000 sq km. is a great attraction to tourists all over the world for fishing, bird watching and boating. In winter Chilika affluters with thousands of indigeneous and migratory birds of many varieties from far and near - even from distant Siberia. One can have a glimpse of the lake even from moving trains or vehicles. The serene atmosphere with the vast expanse of water on one side and green vegetation, hills on the other side is a treat to the eyes. A cruise in Chilika will be a life long memory to cherish.