I am going to India on the New Year on business. I plan to take a couple weeks vacation after and would like to solicit your suggestions. My business is in Shimla, concluding the last weekend in January. I don’t want to break the bank on this trip but my primary concern is not in the expense but in making the most of my time. I will gladly hire a tour service if someone recommends one that can meet my objectives.

I’m not very keen on any of the tours I’ve yet found advertised online; they squander entirely too much time traveling from place to place. I figure to limit travel time by concentrating on at most three locations (four, if Delhi and Agra are taken separately). I would prefer to spend no fewer than three nights in each hotel. And I don’t need someone to schedule shopping time for me. If I see something I want, I’ll stop and buy it but I do not have the shopping gene. I see no need to fritter away holiday time on collecting so much bric-a-brac.

I’d really like to see tigers, preferably from elephant-back, and would be willing to dedicate as many as five days to the effort. But I’m not so fixated on tigers that I wouldn’t give them amiss if I were convinced of a more intriguing use for the time. Or that the search for tigers is in itself a waste of same.

Although I list this second, it actually is my principal objective. Since it was prohibited for 20 years, I must see the Taj Mahal at night. Because of the phase of the moon, I’d prefer it be as near to the end to my trip as possible (I fly out of Delhi on 12 February). The only full moon during my stay in India will be 14 January, a Saturday, and I might be able to sneak out of Shimla for a couple of days for that purpose but I’m not banking on it.

So, please, I am eager to hear your recommendations about the feasibility of a tiger safari, and about what to do and what not to miss in India in general.

Flame on!!

here are a couple of contacts you might inquire from:

compass tours: [email protected]

castle and king: [email protected]

i find both of these companies very helpful and willing to assist...

a. The nearest Tiger reserve to Shimla is the Corbett & the same is fabulous in the month of February & March. Though no body can guarantee you a glimpse of this biggest & most beautifull of our cats, but a go at it is really worthwhile. Gone are those days when armed with a 30-06 for wild boars/ghooral, I saw leopards & occasionally tigers, on the cliffs. But then for every one time you see a tiger, he has seen you a 100 times. Corbett is again a place where you can take an elephant safari for viewing wildlife. The jungle is amazing with Cheetal deer in thousands, bears, wild elephants in hundreds, crocs,otter, mahaseer weighing as much as a 100lbs.; 500 species of birds & most colourful at that...the list is simply long.
b. You may also try your hand at angling for Mahaseer, at Marchula on the river Mandal, just outside the park. But then you have to have a very good bait as mahaseer is a smart game fish & does not bite easily!
c. You have great hotels in the buffer zone, but the most enchanting way in the indian jungle is to stay inside the park & listen to the jungle folk as you go off to sleep.
d. From Shimla you may stop over at either Rishikesh or Haridwar to visit the ghats for the evening aarti.
e. The last on your list of destinations could be Agra for viewing the Taj on a moonlit night. The full moon is on 13th Feb. & the ASI allows Taj viewing for five days including two immediately preceding the full moon.
f.Ofcourse, while in Shimla don't miss a game of golf at Naldera...it is quite challenging!
Happy Hunting!

The Golden Triangle i.e. Delhi, Agra, Jaipur plus Ranthambore is very doable and satisfies your 4 location constraint (which I think is great)- we did the same thing last year. We used a Delhi based agency, President Travels, [email protected]. I highly reco splurging on Amar Vilas in Agra and making it up on cheaper hotels in Jaipur and Ranthambore where options exist. Our TA found us a lovely small palace hotel, Raj Mahal in Jaipur, we stayed at a new property Dev V

Sorry - hit reply too soon. Dev Vilas in Ranthambore. My fav Ranthambore property Sher Bagh was not an option in April as the tents are not a/c. You could stay there in feb tho - most authentic safari experience you can have, incidentally last year tigers were sighted on the periphery of the Sher Bagh hotel! VPSIngh is right that your chances of seeing tigers may be better in Corbett so that's something to consider.

Thank you one and all for your advice. I can get a jump start on being a tourist because I will be a day and a half in Delhi before traveling to Shimla. That provides opportunity to tour some of the city and takes some of the burden off what I must do once I leave Shimla.

And I am focusing on viewing the tigers in Corbett National Park. I didn't realize how close Shimla is to Corbett because I searched for it in MapQuest.com and it was misplaced. When I searched for 'Simla' and not 'Shimla', it showed the correct location. I am trying to find a service that will let me spend the entirety of four to six days in the forests and jungles, preferably all on elephant-back.

Since I already will have seen a good bit of Delhi, I am considering visiting two more cities before returning there. I think I will make Jaipur one, but which other?

I look to travel to Agra on 10 February. The three-quarter moon rises about 4:30 that afternoon so, provided the weather is clear, the Taj Mahal should be spectacular. And I also will get to see it at sunrise the following morning.

Can anyone tell me what to expect of the weather in that region in February?

a. The fog clears up over the river Yumna, on which the Taj situates by 15th January. The worst period is from about the Christmas to 10th January. The month of Feb is generally bright & sunny, unless there is western disturbance over Pakistan, that brings occasional rain. As your trip is around 10th Feb, the weather is likely to be nice & warm.
b. To miss Jaipur & be in India is a mistake.
c. please note that to be in Corbett, particularly Dhikala which is at the centre of the core area of the park, and where all wild action takes place, you need a permit. The accomodation is very limited & therefore, it is necessary to apply as soon as possible.Fortunately, as you shall be visiting in Feb, the crowds that one encounters on Christmas & New Year & not necessarily tiger enthusiasts, abates. The genuine tourist & the tiger can breath easy!! If you are looking for service, may be you can email me.

Options of another city to add to this itinerary could be Udaipur or Varanasi. I assume you are not intetested in cities hence am not suggesting Bombay. From Jaipur you could transfer to Udaipur by road or train then fly from Udaipur back to Delhi then take the train to Agra. Varanasi is also fascinating but hotels there are quite basic. Another options near Jaipur is Bundi. VPSingh is quite right that all tiger safaris in India need permits and you should apply soon as Feb is round the corner. Feb is great weather for India in geenral. Shimla will prob be the coldest place you stay. IT is peak tourist season in Delhi and Rajasthan courtesy the great weather.

Hobbes, it isn’t that I’m averse to the cities. After all, that’s where the culture is most concentrated. I’m just attempting to optimize my ‘tourist time’ by minimizing ‘travel time’. I can’t avoid traveling through Delhi so I thought to concentrate my travels around it as much as possible.

I’m presently in Shimla. The bus trip from Delhi was slated for 9 hours (yikes!!) but the ‘deluxe coach’ broke down twice along the way and I finally reached Shimla after 12 hours (and in an “emergency” taxi). I’ll make the return trip by airplane, even if I have to buy one and fly it myself ;-). Since I’m …ahem …enjoying the traveling _SO_ much, I think the original plan probably was a good one.

BTW, I’ve found out that, even though Corbett is closer to Shimla, I can’t get there from here. I have to return to Delhi, even if it’s to catch a plane to Corbett.

Sorry to hear about your unpleasant journey to Shimla. This sometimes happens, when you draw an itinerary, sitting in your cosy drawingroom/office, without realising the difficulties on ground.
BTW, the route to Corbett lies through Nahan, Herbertpur, Dehradun,rishikesh, Haridwar, Sahanpur, Nagina, Afzalgarh, Kashipur, Ramnagar. I must have done this atleast 15 times in the last 15 years, with minor changes...but in my personal 4-wd (Suzuki)...it will take a lifetime to do it in a 'deluxe coach'.

again.
anyways, WELCOME TO INDIA & to the summer capital of the Raj days...Have a whale of a time!!