Wild India

 Fly overnight from your chosen airport to Delhi.

On arrival in the morning, transfer to the Vivanta by Taj Dwarka hotel for breakfast and wash & change facilities. Travel (5hrs) to Bharatpur, best known for the former Maharajas’ hunting reserve on its doorstep, now the UNESCO listed Keoladeo National Park. Overnight at the heritage hotel Laxmi Vilas Palace.
(B, D)

Take a morning rickshaw ride into Keoladeo National Park, recording 366 species of endemic and exotic birds, from ospreys to herons, cranes, and storks; and boasting an equally sizeable variety of flora. Drive to Dholpur, enjoy lunch at the heritage hotel Raj Niwas Palace, and a boat safari on the Chambal River, a beautiful natural habitat for abundant birdlife, gharial (fish-eating) crocodiles, and rare river dolphins. Overnight at Narsingh Bagh Resort.
(B, L, D)

Discover the Ravines of Chambal on a morning jeep safari, visiting the waterside Machkund Temple and the sandstone Shergarh Fort. After breakfast, drive (4 hrs) to Ranthambore National Park, renowned reserve of the Royal Bengal Tiger. Check-in at the Ranthambore Angan Farm Lodge where you will spend two nights. This evening enjoy a drink as you listen to an informative 'Tiger Talk' by a local naturalist. 
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Today you will embark on two games drive in a shared jeep. Rise early and join the safari travelling through the national park trying to catch a glimpse of the elusive Bengal Tiger and any of the inhabitants that live there. Return to the hotel to relax until you join your second game drive later in the afternoon where you will be once again travelling through the National Park in search of all the wildlife and birdlife there is to see.
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After an early morning game drive in the park, travel (4hrs) to Shahpura, and overnight at the Shahpura Bagh, offering an authentic ‘homestay’ experience of Rajastan. Enjoy a sundowner interlude by the lake.
(B)

In the early 1900s, Rajadhiraj Nahar Singh of Shahpura created an oasis of wetlands and ponds to provide water for his people and a landscape for the agrarian lifestyle. This soon became a refuge for hundreds of species of birds. Spot them on a bird-watching interlude this morning, before travelling (7hrs) to Jawai, known as India’s Leopard Hills. Gain an insight of Jawai’s wildlife with a talk by a naturalist. Two nights at the Jawai Sagar resort in Pali.
(B, D)

 Game drives today, in the morning and late afternoon, give you the best chance of spotting the leopards, up to 70 of them sharing the granite hills of the conservation reserve with jungle cats, striped hyena, sloth bear, wild fox and, in the cool season (October to March), myriad migratory birds.
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 On the journey (7hrs) to Bajana, pause for visits to the UNESCO listed Rani ki Vav stepwell at Patan, the 11^th-century structure combining carved colonnades with more than 800 sculptures; and the village of Modhera, where the Hindu Sun Temple complex marks almost a thousand years of history with over a hundred shrines. Overnight at the Royal Safari Camp.
(B, D)

Discover the Little Rann of Kutch on a morning game drive. The silt and salt-encrusted desert, transformed to wonderful wetlands after the rains, forms the habitat for brilliant birdlife, but is best known for conservation of the Asiatic Wild Ass (Equus Hemionus Khur), one of the most endangered species in the world. Drive to Velavadar for the wildlife of Blackbuck National Park, which stretches north from the Gulf of Khambai coastline. Two nights at the 4-star Blackbuck Safari Lodge, with a bush-theme dinner at the lodge this evening.
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Home to 140 species of birds, Blackbuck is a fairly flat, semi-arid swathe of grasslands, scrub and salt plains, forming the perfect terrain for wildlife that is fleet of foot. In the past, maharajas used hunting cheetahs for the surprisingly speedy blackbucks, but now the reserve is a sanctuary for them, and for the swift-running Lesser Florican bustard, and endangered Indian grey wolf. Explore the park on a morning game drive and perhaps add an optional afternoon game drive (£80, pre-bookable).
(B, L, D)

Drive (6hrs) to the undisturbed hills and forests of Sasan Gir National Park, one of India’s oldest reserves, and billed as the last natural habitat of the rare Asiatic Lion. Enjoy a talk on the park and the lions. Two nights at the 4-star Gateway Hotel.
(B, D)

Sasan Gir prides itself on its prides of Asiatic lions, having doubled the numbers of these powerful Big Cats within the park. Its pristine wilderness is also home to leopards, jackals, hyenas, and Sambar deer. Explore the park with morning and afternoon game drives, with leisure time in between.
(B, L, D)

Travel toward Rajkot and call in at regal Gondal, to visit the very grand, riverside Naulakha Durbargarh Palace; the prince’s collection of classic vintage cars, housed in the grounds of Orchard Palace; and the Swaminarayan Temple, a beautiful building and a place of pilgrimage, steeped in spirituality. Continue to Rajkot airport for the flight to Mumbai, and overnight at the 5-star Trident Nariman Point.
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Transfer to the airport for the return flight to your chosen airport.
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