“Bullet” to the Desert Tour (15 days)

You’ll board a taxi/bus coach from your hotel for the Railway station from where a 3 hour express train journey will bring you to Bharatpur (ETA 1530 hrs). Here you shall meet your Royal Enfield motorcycle, your companion for the rest of the tour.  The remaining day shall be utilised for paperwork & tour briefing.

Early morning you can visit the Keoladeo Ghana National Park and do some bird watching. Soon after breakfast, we shall be doing a “familiarisation” ride (in an effort to know your bike better, to get familiar with its controls and the riding conditions in India) to Deeg where we also visit the beautiful Palace. The rest of the evening is free for leisure.

It really begins! After breakfast you’ll kick-start your motorcycle tour and head towards Jaipur, the state capital of Rajasthan.

The day is yours for sightseeing and Jaipur has a lot to offer!  A bus coach and an English speaking guide will take you around the most popular spots.

Leaving Jaipur, you head north-west on the NH-11 towards the Shekhwati region, to the town of Nawalgarh.   Referred to as the “open air art gallery” of Rajasthan, the entire Shekhawati region is dotted with fascinating mansions (havelis) embellished with frescoes & colourfully painted walls. A short sightseeing tour will be organised later in the afternoon.

Joining the NH-11 again, you’ll head westwards towards the city of Bikaner, one of the famous desert cities of Rajasthan. Bikaner’s spectacular landscape is dominated by the indomitable Junagarh Fort and the red sandstone Lalgarh Palace.  The afternoon can be well utilised to visit the old city and it’s bazaars.

Today we turn south-westwards on NH-15 and head for Jaisalmer, another beautiful desert town located in the Thar desert. It’s the longest riding day of the tour so you’ll have rest stops along the way (for a lunch) as well as short detour towards the village of Khichan to see hundreds of migratory Demoiselle Cranes.  You’ll reach Jaisalmer just in time to see the sunset behind the “Golden Fort”.

The day is yours for visiting the “Living Fort” (yes, it’s the only fort with a fourth of Jaisalmer’s population living within its walls) and other inquisitively carved mansions which make for some of the most beautiful buildings in the state.

After spending the morning in Jaisalmer, its time to move further into the Thar desert. A 3 hour’s ride zig-zagging through the desert landscape will bring you to Khuri, a small village amongst sandunes. Accommodation is in comfortable tented camps inclusive of a (optional) Camel or Jeep ride into the Sunset and a cultural program of Rajasthani music & dance.

Continuing eastwards through some more desert landscape and rural Rajasthan, you’ll make your way to Jodhpur, one of the most spectacular destinations in Rajasthan.  Famous for the 15th century Mehrangarh fort built on a 122 M hillock surrounded by plains (one of the largest fort complexes in India) and the Umaid Bhawan Palace, one of the world’s largest private residences, the principal residence of the former Jodhpur royal family (part of it is a luxury hotel and a museum).

 A sightseeing tour shall be organised to visit the Mehrangarh Fort & The Umaid Bhawan Palace. In the remaining free time, you can explore the bazaars of the old town.

Leaving Jodhpur, you’ll head north east to Pushkar, a holy town famous for its lake, various ghats and temples spread all around it. Pushkar’s bazaars will offer you many options for doing some souvenir shopping and some good bargains too.

The days ride will take you further north-east as you head back towards the origin point of this tour. It will be yet another mix of motorways, state highways and district roads which will bring to yet another charming heritage property which shall be hosting you on the penultimate night of the tour.

Today, you’ll saddle-up one last time and head back to Bharatpur. Having gone around the best of Rajasthan you’ll be “homing” back to this bird sanctuary. Tonight’s dinner will be a “Farewell” dinner.

Today, it’ll be time to say good-bye to the Royal Enfields & Rajasthan. After breakfast, you’ll be boarding a bus coach for the last leg of this journey. However, first stop of the day will be the city of Agra where you will see the most spectacular of the monuments on this tour, The Taj Mahal. From Agra you shall proceed to New Delhi (ETA 1700 hrs). If you’ve purchased a “Farewell” add-on you’ll be transferred to our partner hotel where your accommodation has been arranged.

If you have concerns regarding the standard of accommodation on our tours, we’d like to assure you that our selection of hotels will not disappoint you.  In fact, if you read just a few of our TripAdvisor reviews of Rajasthan tours you’ll see that most of our previous customers have made a mention about it; some calling it “sensational” and some saying that “it was one of the highlights of their tour”.  The reason for that is that we have carefully selected (and fine tuned over a decade) a good mix of Havelis/ Heritage homes/hotels (which have a good balance between the old charm and modern travelers needs) without sending our tour prices “through the roof”.  Some have been chosen for their charm, some for their convenient location and some just to give you a taste of “maharaja” style living.  The reason we don’t share photos here is to keep the surprise element.  Nonetheless, we’ve provided a small “glimpse” of it on one of our Gallery webpage (scroll down to “Rajasthan Accommodation” slide) as evidence 🙂

Please note:  On all our tours the space on the support vehicles is limited.  Hence, we request that you limit your baggage to 25 KG.

• Driver’s license*
• International Driving Permit
• Travel insurance**
• Protective Riding Gloves
• Riding boots
• Riding jacket & pants (summer mesh jacket would be most suited)
• Helmet
• Riding goggles
• Balaclava
• Eye drops
• Sunscreen
• Insect repellent

Suggested

• Sunglasses
• Hat
• Scarf/Bandana
• a fleece/pullover for the evenings
• Ear Plugs

*Full and valid for  min 411cc motorcycle

**Must cover riding motorcycle overseas for leisure

All Rajasthan tours start and end in New Delhi. Average daytime temperatures in winter in New Delhi is 16°C to 21°C. Night time temperatures average 2-8°C.  In Rajasthan, daytime temperatures can range between the high twenties and low thirties from November to February. However, the temperature can plunge in the late night/early mornings (below 10°C).  The tours scheduled in October or March are warmer, with mercury hovering around the mid-30’s during the day at some locations.

Rain is very very unlikely during these times of the year.  Even if we do encounter a rare “passing shower”, it’s not cold and you’d dry off in the wind.  Hence, unless you have too much spare room in your luggage, you need not worry about rain gear.

The following vaccinations are recommended for your trip to India* (if visiting for less than 5 months):

• Hepatitis A
• Diphtheria
• Typhoid
• Malaria
• Tetanus
• Japanese Encephalitis, Poliomyelitis
• Rabies

Please ensure you are also up to date with routine vaccinations such as:

• Influenza
• Chickenpox
• Polio
• Measles/Mumps/Rubella (MMR)
• Diphtheria/Pertussis/Tetanus (DPT)
• Rotavirus (for children)

If you are arriving from the following countries it is required for you to have the Yellow Fever vaccine:

• Angola
• Benin
• Burkina Faso
• Burundi
• Cameroon
• Central African Republic
• Chad
• Congo
• Cote d’lvoire
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Equatorial Guinea
• Ethiopia
• Senegal
• Sierra Leone
• Somalia
• Sudan
• Tanzania
• Togo
• Uganda
• Zambia
• Bolivia
• Brazil
• Colombia
• Ecuador
• French Guiana
• Guyana
• Panama
• Peru
• Suriname
• Venezuela
• Trinidad
• Tobago

*This is a general guide. Please consult your doctor for country specific medical advice.

Telephone: Country code is 91

Mobile phone: Roaming agreements exist with most international mobile phone companies. Coverage is limited to major towns.

Internet: Wi-Fi is available in most hotels and cafes.

Post: Airmail service to U.S and Western Europe takes up to two weeks.

When travelling to India you will need the following documents:

• Passport (valid at least 6 months past the intended period of stay)
• Indian Tourist Visa

Indian Tourist Visa

Travelers should apply for a tourist e-visa before they visit India. Processing time is generally between 36-48 hours, you can apply for an e-Visa here. These are single/multiple entry visa’s that are valid for a 30/60-day stay. To see if you are eligible for a tourist e-visa visit this website.

We’ll get back to you within a couple of days with a registration form and a full list of T’s & C’s.  Once you’ve submitted the completed registration form we’ll send you an Invoice of the tours/services opted by you.  If the tour start date is more than 3 months away, a 25% advance payment will secure your spot on the tour.

To pay for your tour, we only accept Bank telegraphic (wire) transfer.

It’s our preferred option because it’s safe, transparent & cheap. While it may seem like outdated technology where you’re from, it’s still standard business practice here.  Transfer of funds takes place from your bank account directly to our bank account (with reasonable commissions or charges levied by the banks).

Our T’s & C’s document details more info about our payment policy, but if you’ve got questions about ‘wiring’ money please don’t hesitate to contact us or your bank.

We’ll send you an email with confirmation, a receipt, and everything else you need to know – so you can get ready for new experiences, with new friends, in foreign lands!

The open road beckons. See you at the airport.

Booking shall be subject to availability & eligibility. Your booking is confirmed after deposit is received as per the terms & conditions. Your privacy is protected and we agree not to share the information provided with third parties for any purpose, commercial or otherwise, unless legally required.

The price of the tour is per person on the basis of twin-share accommodation. “Twin Share” means sharing a “double bed” or a “twin bed” room with your companion, or another member of the tour of the same gender.

If you don’t want to share a room you can purchase a single accommodation add-on.  Single Accommodation is subject to availability.  On the Himalayan Tours, it cannot be guaranteed at locations where we stay in “tented camps” as the availability of such accommodation is scarce during the high season.

We reserve the right to impose a “single accommodation” price on a participant, like a minor participant or an unaccompanied participant, if he/she cannot be accommodated with another member of the tour due to any reason(s).

To participate as a rider an individual has to be an adult above the age of 18 years at the time of the tour, holding a valid full motorcycle driving license authorizing him/her to ride a 411/500cc motorcycle and in sufficiently good health to undertake a motorcycle journey without any pre-existing medical condition(s) which may be detrimental to the participants health & safety.   To participate as a co-rider on the pillion an individual has to be above the age of 12 years.

Further details will be available for your perusal in the terms & conditions appended to the tour registration form.