3 wks-delhi, dharam,amritsar,rajast,agra?

tacita

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Darmabum

Without knowing the specifics of getting to and from places by plane, the timing at least seems good . . . HOWEVER (that's a BIG however), once I got to Dharamsala - l arrived the day before the first day of the New Year Festival - I got hooked on Dharamsala. What was to have been a week long stay turned into three . . . or so. BUT (and that's a BIG but) with the desert festival hanging out there for you, I think you could pull yourself away from Dharamsala.

I understand your schedule, and while you could (as I did) spend much more time in each place (other than Amritsar), the schedule you've posted gives you a good feel for each. What a great time to go to Rajasthan! Dharamasala might be a little wet, but it sounds like a great trip.

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capt_mahajan

Doable, and not too rushed, and interesting.

tacita

thanks, DB. actually, my primary motivation for going to dharamsala is to visit a young tibetan woman, orphaned when her parents both died within a week of each other from tuberculosis, who i met and befriended in darjeeling. she was on her way to te tibetan children's village school in dharamsala to finish her last year of school. she'll head back to darjeeling in march, when the term ends, after final exams. we've been corresponding since we met, and i promised i'd next see her in dharamsala--for some reason, i was certain, even back in feb, 2006, that i would. i've just mailed off (a bit late, i guess) a bunch of pix i took of her and her friends, as well as some of her and her siblings in their home, festooned with new years decor. really a lovely experience.

anyway, if i am there for losar and in time to see her, my cup will already hath runneth over...anything more would be serendipitous but, at least for this trip, not essential to the experience for me. and, true, that beckoning festival will be something to look forward to as i pry my fingers from the doors that one last buddhist temple in dharamsala...

tacita

isn't it? it's just like my sikkim trip...i fixated on the rumtek chaams and the entire trip just blossomed--thanks to IM friends--into a perfectly assembled itinerary, balanced, interesting and diverse. gotta love IM.

tacita

sat eve, 2/2, arrive delhi from NY

sun, 2/3 to tues, 2/5, in and around delhi

tues nite, 2/5, overnight train to pathankot, bus or hired jeep to dharamsala.

wed afternoon, 2/6 to saturday, 2/9, in and around dharamsala/mcleod ganj (for losar festities)

sunday, 2/10, bus (or hired jeep) to pathankot; bus, train (or hired jeep?) from pathankot to amritsar (or by hired jeep all the way from dharamsala to amritsar?)

sunday eve, 2/10-tuesday, 2/11, in and around amritsar (golden temple; "beating retreat" in atari)

tuesday, 2/11, bus/taxi from amritsar to bhatinda/bathinda (sp?); train from bhatinda to bikaner.(train # 9224?); 1 night hotel in bikaner; 1 desert safari night in bikaner--safari company recommendations?

thursday nite 2/14, to nagaur for cattle festival, (it runs from the 13th to 16th)

precise timing less clear for next few days:

nagaur to jodhpur

jodhpur to udaipur

udaipur to mt abu (only if this necessary to get train to jaiper--looks like it goes from mt. abu, which had not been a priority.)

train from mt abu to jaipur

jaipur to agra (agra fort destination station?)

arrive agra, wed, 2/20 (to be at taj for full moon, 2/21, and holi)

fri 2/22 or sat 2/23, agra to delhi for 11:55 pm flight back to NY

this plan would cut jaisalmer from the itinerary completely. i'd thus miss the desert festival, but would instead attend the cattle festival in nagaur and do a desert camel safari from bikaner. i'd like to see jaisalmer, of course, but can't see a reasonable way to squeeze it in without backtracking somewhere and unduly crowding the trip, which may already be too crowded. read as i will about different cities/sights, it's hard to prioritize "blind".

i can't more finely tune the nagaur-to-jaiper segments until i decide how best and most efficiently navigate rajasthan. for that part, does a private car make sense if my budget allows it? that way, i avoid being at the mercy of the train schedules. however, of i can get around just as efficiently (or almost) by bus/train, i'd actually prefer that. in sikkim, however, i did like having the option of asking my driver to stop anywhere along the route for photos, etc.

comments? suggestions? admonitions? sight recommendations?

capt_mahajan

Looking good.

Some distances for your reference


Bikaner/Jodhpur is 243 km, 4.5/5 hours

nagaur jodhpur 135, 3 hours
http://nagaur.nic.in/tourism.htm

Jodhpur/Udaipur is 260km, 5 hours.

Udaipur/Jaipur is 350km, 6/6.5 hours drive , maybe better than going 185km Udaipur to Mount Abu just to catch a train to Jaipur??

Clickable Rajasthan map also good for general layout , and to help in avoiding backtracking or add other places... Ajmer?? http://mapsofindia.com/maps/rajasthan/rajasthan.htm

Mount abu if you change your mind
http://www.rajasthantravelguide.com/city/mount_abu.html

Distances between some major cities in Rajasthan
http://www.rajasthan.gov.in/Distance%20Chart.SHTM

tacita

most excellent and helpful reply, captain! great map resources, too. the "sub-links" on the "maps of india" site are excellent as well.

these would be great "sticky" resources.

thanks very much, as always.

capt_mahajan

Some more temptations thrown your way, and my favourites, even though you don't really have time for these.

Dilwara temples Mount Abu
http://www.rajasthan-tour-package.co...a-temples.html

Chittorgarh
http://www.info2india.com/rajasthan/...rh-travel.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chittor

ajmer, the Dargah of Chisti, and the fort.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajmer
http://www.chishti.ru/sufi_photos.htm
http://www.pbase.com/chadsmith/image/56383682

shashank.aggarwal

Not sure about the rest but this is 450 Km for sure...and would take 8-9 hours...

Delhi to Udaipur is 700 KM on NH8 and Jaipur is around 250 from Delhi...

And Mount Abu should not be missed just for Delwara Temple alone...

they are simply amazing..you got to see that work in marble they have done..

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capt_mahajan

Shashank, Udaipur to Delhi is 665 as per my log

But the distance I quoted earlier between Udaipur/Jaipur may be out by 50km.. that was from the tourism site
http://www.rajasthan.gov.in/Distance%20Chart.SHTM

However, these two tables say Udaipur/Jaipur is 405 km
http://www.mapsofindia.com/distances/udaipur.html
http://www.jaipurmart.net/road_distances.htm

shashank.aggarwal

I am not sure about these site...it might be difference because of the Jaipur byepass...I clocked around 680-685Km 3 years back..

from Jaipur it took us more that 8 hours with 2 breaks...and we were constantly doing above 120 Kmph..(It was a Brand New Honda City..lovely car you know..touched 160 as well.. could have done maybe higher but for those *****ing trucks...)

tacita

i now see--as if i needed anything more in this itinerary--that the "Baneshwar Fair" will be held just 13 km from udaipur just when i'd be passing through that way, feb 17-21.

is this something worth considering? as a religious festival, it would provide a nice contrast to the cattle fair earlier in the week, no?

steven_ber

A lot to consider there Janice, I'll look into the Amritsar-Bikaner bit later, though I'm not suggesting you've chose the wrong option.


Bikaner - Nagaur

A taxi from Bikaner to Nagaur may be a good idea, I hear Deshnok is a good place to visit and it's on the route.

Train 4707 departs Bikaner daily at 09:45, then Deshnok at 10:15, Nagaur at 11:33 and Jodhpur at 14:45. (2A, 3A, SL.)


Nagaur - Jodhpur or Pushkar

I like Jodhpur, but cant help wondering if a taxi from Nagaur to Pushkar would be a better idea, if the cattle fair is busy, then a relaxing place like Pushkar may be needed.


Ajmer - Udaipur

Train 2992 departs Ajmer daily at 06:15 and gets to Udaipur at 11:40 (air con Chair Class (CC) = Rs 346, bookable 2nd class (2S) seat = Rs 103, not air con)


Udaipur - Jaipur

Train 2966 departs Udaipur daily at 21:35 and gets to Jaipur at 07:10 (2A, 3A, SL.)


Jaipur - Agra

Train 2987 departs Jaipur daily at 06:10 and gets to Agra Fort at 10:15 (3A, CC, 2S.)

Also on Wednesdays....

Train 5631, Jaipur 08:40, Agra Fort 13:25 (2A, 3A, SL.), part of the same train is....5631A (3A, SL.) in case you can't get bookings for 5631.

Train 4864, Jaipur 15:50, Agra Fort 21:10 (2A, 3A, SL.)


Agra - Delhi

The following trains are the only short distance trains from Agra to Delhi, other trains come a long distance and can easily be a few hours late, all the following trains have air con Chair Class.

Train 2279 Agra Cant 18:55, Nizamuddin (Delhi) 22:00

Train 4211 Agra Cant 06:00, Nizamuddin 09:30

Train 2001 Agra Cant 20:30, New Delhi 22:30

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Train information.

tacita

you're amazing, steve, and amazingly generous, too. thank you.

i seem to recall you responding somewhere to another poster about the amritsar-to-bikaner route. that poster didn't actually want to go to bikaner, however. the departure station was south of amritsar, but i don't recall the name and couldn't find the thread again. bhatinda seemed to fit, as it was relatively close and appeared to be a transportation hub. it had a train to (or through) bikaner, so i assumed it was the correct station, although there may be a better option. if so, i'm sure you'll set me straight.