Thirteen nights timed to the second-largest cattle fair in India — moustaches, marigolds, camel races and the Mirchi Bazaar, the country's largest red-chilli market.
Approximately 70,000 bullocks, camels and horses lavishly decorated. Owners in long moustaches and colourful turbans. Tug-of-war, camel races, jugglers, puppeteers, storytellers — and the Mirchi Bazaar in full bloom. We've shaped a fourteen-day journey around it.
"Join me on a journey I have prepared, with care, for just fifteen of us."
Mary first lived overseas in Sri Lanka on a 4-H exchange — and the world never let her go. Decades of leading small groups across East and Southern Africa taught her exactly what makes a hosted journey work: the right pace, the right pause, the moments people remember a year later.
She fell for India in early 2025 — the diversity, the colour, the rituals, the warmth of strangers. Now she partners with the Chopra brothers to bring small groups of North American travellers into the country she has come to love. The Nagaur Fair tour is her February 2027 invitation.
"I will be there from arrival to farewell — to translate, to introduce, to make sure every traveller feels at home in a country that has felt like home to me from the first morning."
An extra night in Jaipur, a night at Nagaur for the Fair, and the same beloved boutique hotels of our North India route.
Traditional welcome with fresh marigold garlands at Terminal 3. Air-conditioned private transfer to our hotel. Evening at leisure.
Rashtrapati Bhawan, Parliament, India Gate. South to the 72.5-metre Qutub Minar (1200 CE). Gandhi Smriti — the home where the Mahatma spent his last 144 days.
Lunch at Khan Market. Then the Sikh Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, Shah Jahan's Jama Masjid, and a storyteller's walk through Old Delhi — Meena Bazaar, the Jain Digambhara temple, Chandni Chowk and Kinari Bazaar. Cycle rickshaw and metro back.
Out by 0800 on the new expressway. Lunch and downtime, then Agra Fort — Akbar's red sandstone capital, with Shah Jahan's later white-marble palace. Sunset at Mehtaab Bagh on the far bank of the Yamuna.
Guided dawn-view of the Taj. Back for breakfast, then west — stopping at Chand Baori, the 9th-century stepwell with 3,500 stairs cascading thirteen stories deep. Evening with a Jaipur family for cooking and dinner.
Up early — Amer Fort by 4×4 open jeep. The Anokhi Museum of textile with a hand-block-print workshop. Lunch. An astrologer accompanies us to Jantar Mantar — Jai Singh's UNESCO-listed observatory.
Morning prayers at Govind Dev Ji Temple, then Muhana Mandi's flower, vegetable and milk markets — masala chai and lassi. A women-only gemstone factory in the afternoon.
Optional supplements: a 6 AM open-jeep leopard safari at Jhalana Park, or a visit to an ethical elephant sanctuary near Amer with a farm-fresh lunch.
Out by 0800 to Nagaur — a 12th-century fort restored to its frescoes, ornate palaces and water systems. Then the Fair itself: 70,000 animals, painted and ribboned, owners in moustaches and turbans. Mirchi Bazaar (the country's largest red-chilli market), camel-leather workshops, tug-of-war, camel races, jugglers, puppeteers, storytellers.
Through the countryside to Jodhpur, with stops at a local village school and a working farm for lunch. Evening: the Clock Tower walk and Sadar Market. Dinner overlooks the floodlit Mehrangarh Fort.
Mehrangarh Fort (founded 1459 by Rao Jodha). A heritage walk through the indigo lanes with a food-tasting stop. Late afternoon, the Umaid Bhawan Palace Museum and the story of the curse, the famine, and the lavish palace built to give farmers work.
Through shepherds' villages to the jungle lodge at the edge of Kumbhalgarh National Park. Afternoon jeep safari for leopards, sloth bears and four-horn deer. High tea in a hill-tribe village. Dinner with folk music and dance.
A stop at Sadri village to visit the Jain community, then on to the Ranakpur Jain temples — one of the five holy palaces of the sect. Lunch in Ranakpur. Late afternoon into Udaipur, the City of Lakes.
The City Palace — entry through the Hathi Pol, the Elephant Gate. A miniature-painting workshop. Lunch at Lily Court. Optional Eklingji Temple (734 AD, 108 temples carved out of sandstone and marble). A sunset boat across Lake Pichola, the Lake Palace floating on white marble.
Direct afternoon flight. Met on arrival, transferred to our hotel. Evening through Colaba, past the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, with a stop at Leopold Café.
Pre-dawn drive into the working Mumbai. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, newspaper and milk distribution, fresh pav at a bakery, the Dadar Flower Market, and Sassoon Dock with the fisher-folk. The Dabbawala route, Dhobi Ghat (the open-air laundry), and Victoria Terminus. Late evening transfer for flights home.
Final tour cost is shared on enquiry — comparable boutique-class pricing. Group of 10 – 15 travellers.
Includes 12 nights' accommodation, daily breakfast, two dinners (Pushkar & Ghanerao), exclusive A/C mini-coach, English-speaking guide, all monument fees, cycle-rickshaw & metro in Old Delhi, open-jeep at Amber, home-cooking dinner in Jaipur, astrologer at Jantar Mantar, jungle safari at Kumbhalgarh, village high-tea at Ghanerao, boat ride on Lake Pichola, and 5% GST.
To secure your place: reserve your spot by paying a fully refundable booking deposit. Once confirmed, we'll share final pricing, supplements and bank details for the remaining balance.