Most Popular

Chicken Curry Recipes from India

Butter Chicken Recipe - Deliciou...

In Pictures - Rahul Gandhi in 20...

Goa : A synonym for Vacation & H...

Chitrakoot Falls - The Largest W...

10 Things you didn’t know about ...

Bhangra The Folk Dance of Punjab

Koregaon Park, Pune - A Foodie's...

The Top 10 Medical Colleges in I...

Nandi Hills: Travel Guide and At...

Paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese) A...

Cars in Rs.15 - 20 Lakh Price Ra...

Yamaha FZ-S The New Sports Bike ...

A Guide to Common Indian Attires

Palace on Wheels - Luxurious Train Tour to India

by: Meenakshi

How do you define a luxury vacation? Some say that a luxury vacation starts right after you board to travel. The trip should start with a bang and then the whole journey accounts to be the luxurious vacation. Getting to the tourist destination should be half the experience; this is the point in mind when anybody thinks of a luxurious holiday.

In India, the term luxury travel is best possible with the “Luxurious Trains”. These trains give you a royal treatment and you’ll never feel that you are in a train. The ambience, the looks, furniture etc. everything is so royal in these trains. You get a completely private compartment, dinning area, bar and various other things that you can’t even imagine on a train travel.

Palace on wheels
The very first luxury train in India was the Palace on Wheels. It was launched on January26th, 1982. The train takes you to a luxury tour to Rajasthan, one of the royal cities of India. The complete tour comprises of 7 nights and 8 days spend across the eight cities.

Image credit: http://mapsofindia.com/railways/palaceonwheelsmap.gif

Facilities:

The luxurious accommodation: The train has about 14 air-conditioned saloons. Each saloon has attached 4 cabins and attached bath and shower. These cabins are well equipped with satellite phones, channel music and intercom. The cabins are decorated with wall-to-wall carpets and wooden furniture that gives the look of a royal suite.

The Lounge: The lounge is an area where passengers can sit and relax when they come out of their bedrooms. It is an area where they can indulge in conversation with other co-passengers and have a chit chat. Each lounge has various books, color television, CD player and almost all the newspaper journals.

The Restaurants: On board there are two restaurants named Maharaja and Maharani. These restaurants provide Indian, continental, Chinese and traditional Rajasthani cuisine.

The Bar: A small bar caters to all the drinking needs of the passenger. It has a stock of International and Indian brands, a variety of scotch, wines and various types of cocktails and mocktails. The best part of the bar – it is always open.

The Bazaar: Luxury travel with some on-board shopping is like a wish come true. In “Palace on Wheels” there is a shop named “Bazaar” that stocks souvenirs, small gift items and also the handicraft.

Image credit: http://images.google.com/url?source=imgres&ct=img&q=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_DPqKQp9pCA8/R1Q8kbvLGaI/AAAAAAAABOQ/OE58txg7gFE/s1600-R/Palace-on-Wheels.jpg&usg=AFQjCNElzrPbqVHhmhYFbYgHZpsnGnVqDw

The Itinerary
7 nights and 8 day of the luxury travel in the “Palace on Wheels” are the most memorable moments of your life. The royal treatment you get is to be cherished life long. These days will become the best days of your life.

Image credit: http://www.blogcdn.com/www.gadling.com/media/2008/01/dsc_0099.jpg

Day 01 – The journey begins from Railway Station at Delhi Cantt. The guards welcome all the passengers in a very traditional way and train leaves from Delhi to Jaipur. Dinner is served in the train at about 8:00 pm.

Image credit: http://tdil.mit.gov.in/E_TOURISM_CDAC/tourism1/images%5Cpow-attendants.jpg

Day 02 – The train arrives at Jaipur Railway station. Huge decorated elephants and shehnai music greets all the royal passengers of “Palace on Wheels”. The tourists then taken for lunch to the Rambagh Palace Hotel. Tourists then proceed to a sight seeing tour to Amber fort, Jantar Mantar, Hawa Mahal, Nahargarh fort and various other places in Jaipur. The tourists return to the railway station and head towards the next destination. Dinner served on-board.

Image credit: http://images.google.com/url?source=imgres&ct=img&q=http://luxurytrainsinindia.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/palace_on_wheels.jpg&usg=AFQjCNFvtMQEBBDNMV54-xLOHIPd_m96QA

Day 03 – The train arrives at Jaisalmer, which is one of the popular tourist attractions of Rajasthan. The most attractive and famous tourist spot in Jaisalmer is the Golden Fort. The fort is made of the yellow sandstones that give it a Golden color and hence known as Golden Fort. The other tourist attractions of the city includes Nathmal ji ki haveli, Patwon ki haveli, sand dunes outside Jaisalmer (famous for Camel ride) etc. The highlight of this tour is the dinner served in the sand dunes. After dinner passengers return on-board to leave for Jodhpur, the next destination.

Image credit: http://images.google.com/url?source=imgres&ct=img&q=http://www.visittnt.com/luxury-train-tours-india/gifs/palace-on-wheels.jpg&usg=AFQjCNH9sz5aoWN5ayaqo0oFybh2laj0Ug

Day 04 –Jodhpur is the second largest city in the state of Rajasthan. Jodhpur is bounded by a great wall that has seven gates. The tourist attractions include Moti mahal, Phool mahal, Mehrangarh fort, Sheesh Mahal, Daulat khana and Sileh Khana. Lunch is served at Umed Bhawan Palace, which is another famous spot in Jodhpur.

Day 05 – Train arrives at Sawai Madhopur. Sawai Madhopur is home to the famous Ranthambore National Park. Here passengers can indulge in wild life safari ride and can explore various wildlife including, deer, monkeys, tigers etc. Other tourist attractions include the Ranthambore fort. Tourists return on-board and leave for Chittorgarh.

Chittorgarh – Chittorgarh is another beautiful and historic city of Rajasthan. The city has witnessed and fought many wars in order to protect the Queen, Rani Padmini. The places to see are Kirti Stambh (Tower of Fame) and Vijay Stambh (Tower of Victory). After visiting these places, the passengers return on-board to leave for another destination, Udaipur.

Image credit: http://www.greatrail.com/media/6524139/Palace-on-Wheels-dining-car-540300.jpg

Day 06 – Udaipur is another beautiful city of Rajasthan and is known as “The city of Lakes”. There are numerous tourist spots to be seen when in Udaipur. These spots include temples, forts, palaces, gardens etc. After visiting these place passengers are taken to Lake Palace hotel for Lunch and return on-board to leave for next destination Bharatpur.

Day 07 – The train arrives at Bharatpur and after breakfast tourist are taken to the world famous Bird Sanctuary “The Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary” also known as Keoladeo Ghana National Park. The sanctuary is home to various rare birds including the migrating Siberian Cranes.

Agra – From Bharatpur the next destination is Agra, the city of Taj Mahal. Passengers are taken on a tour to Fatehpur Sikri and then to a hotel for Lunch. Post lunch tourists are taken to the Majestic taj Mahal, a monument of love built by Shah Jahan in memories of his beloved wife Mumtaz mahal. Today, Taj Mahal is included in the Seven Wonders of the World and is famous all across the globe.

Day 08 – You are served dinner and breakfast the next morning and later train reaches Delhi Cantt. Railway Station, the final destination of this luxurious tour. The mesmerizing journey on “Palace on wheels Comes to an end and leaves passenger with some memories to cherish all life long.

Image credit: http://images.google.com/url?source=imgres&ct=img&q=http://www.sensesholidays.co.uk/media/img/holiday/55-262-palace-on-wheels-tours-luxury-train.full.jpg&usg=AFQjCNE4G7WZzMu_Pr7Kea2oJxuRIklUPA