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Aravali Valley Adventure Camp Itinerary
Travel Scope India

Aravali Cycling Trails

Pedal along Rajasthan's lesser-known bylanes

Most tourists fly in and fly out of India’s urban hubs, and partake our culture amidst the hustle and bustle of cityscapes. For the truly intrepid, India’s rustic, rural countryside offers an ever changing vista of crops, cattle and colour. Over sixty percent of the country’s total area is agricultural land and the rural stretches are peppered with villages and wells, farms and fields. The countryside often throws up little surprises; ruins or forts, forest patches or wayside shrines, abandoned houses or haunted hamlets. The best way to take in these sights is at a slow, leisurely pace on foot or by cycle. Pedal along lesser-known backlanes, through fields with their ploughing, sowing and reaping rhythms, past villages with its colourful folk engaged in their indigenous livelihoods – and explore India in an unhurried, unusual way.

Along the way, you can stay at some of the most offbeat, experiential destination stays – restored heritage palaces, a cliffside fort, luxury wilderness camps; an intrinsic part of Rajasthan’s rural landscape. These destination stays offer an insight into the lore of historic fiefdoms and empires, set against a backdrop of agricultural fields and forested hillsides.

Highlights

  • Stay at remote experiential properties like Ramathra, Shahpura Bagh and Chanoud Garh

  • Explore rustic countrysides with village walks, fort visits and jeep drives at our experiential stays

  • Navigate across Chambal’s riverbed on a 4 wheel drive

  • Discover Ranthambore’s wildlife on a jeep safari

  • Enjoy sunset views over one of the world’s most romantic cities, Udaipur

  • Learn indigenous arts like jal sanjhi, phad and miniature paintings

  • Trek up to the Kumbhalgarh Fort for a view of India’s own Great Wall

  • Experience glamping in Jawai’s rugged landscape

  • Track the leopard with the Rabari herdsmen in Jawai

  • Walk down Jodhpur’s streets for a look at local, colourful textiles & handicrafts

  • Add to your adventure with equestrian safaris at Rohet

Destinations Covered

Best Time to Visit

  • Great time to visit

    jan

  • Great time to visit

    feb

  • Great time to visit

    mar

  • Good time to visit

    apr

  • Not advisable

    may

  • Not advisable

    jun

  • Not advisable

    july

  • Not advisable

    aug

  • Not advisable

    sep

  • Good time to visit

    oct

  • Great time to visit

    nov

  • Great time to visit

    dec

Travel Scope India

New Delhi

Day: 1-2

Upon arrival at Delhi International Airport T-3, you will be met by a Travel Scope representative, who will assist in your transfer to the hotel and check-in.

After breakfast at the hotel, head down Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi, partly by rickshaw, partly on foot, to palpably experience the sacred yet secular way of life that is so typical of India. The trail takes you past several monuments dedicated to different faiths, spanning a few centuries. You could then visit the majestic Bangla Sahib Gurudwara, with its eye-catching golden dome glistening in the sun. A holy place for Sikhs across the world, the Gurudwara grounds include a community temple, a community kitchen, a school, a library and an art gallery.

Recommended Accommodations

Karauli

Day: 3

This morning you will be transferred to the Nizammuddin Railway Station to board your train to Gangapur, and upon arrival, you will drive on to Karauli. Upon arrival, you will be met by a Travel Scope representative who will assist in your hotel check-in. After lunch, take your cycles out for a spin in the afternoon to explore the surroundings. Later, head off to the City Palace to discover, followed by a wine tasting and snacks.

Recommended Accommodations

Ramathra

Day: 4-5

After breakfast this morning, you will drive to the Kaila Devi Sanctuary from where the first phase of your cycling adventure begins. Stop off en route for a picnic lunch, before cycling on to the Kaila Devi Temple located at the heart of the sanctuary. From the temple, continue cycling through beautiful countryscapes towards the imposing Ramathra Fort. Stop off at the Ramathra Village and trek up to the fort for a warm welcome at your overnight accommodation, Ramathra Fort.

This morning you will proceed on one of the most interesting and experiential walks through Ramathra’s rustic landscape. Glimpse the lifestyle of the villagefolk before heading back to the fort for a leisurely lunch, followed by some rest and recreation. At sunset, enjoy a boat ride on the lake with a folk music performance around a bonfire on a private lake island.

Recommended Accommodations

Ranthambore

Day: 6-7

Today, start off with a two-hour drive to the Chambal riverbed; you may chose to cross the river using 4 wheel drive jeeps. (Subject to season of travel and depend on the level of water in the Chambal river). After a picnic lunch, begin cycling towards Sawai Madhopur through backlanes that wind their way through the desert terrain. Upon arrival at Ranthambore, you will be met by a Travel Scope representative and assisted with your hotel check-in.

Ranthambore’s sweeping hunting grounds of watering holes and ruins is best explored by jeep, a perfect vantage point to see wildlife in its natural environs. Start the day early, with a morning Jeep Safari through Ranthambore, once the private hunting grounds of the Maharaja of Jaipur. Apart from the famed royal Bengal tiger, Ranthambore is also home to the common leopard, nilgai or blue bull antelope, wild boar, sambar, hyena, sloth bear, gray langur, rhesus macaque and chital, among others. The numerous watering holes also support a rich birdlife, and reptiles. Keep an eye out for one of the largest banyan trees in the country!   You will then return to the hotel for a brunch and time to relax before embarking on your afternoon drive into the park.

Recommended Activities

Recommended Accommodations

Shahpura

Day: 8-9

After breakfast, a three hours drive from Ranthambore will bring you to the little town of Deoli. From Deoli, set off on your cycles to Jahazpur, passing pasturelands and farms along the way. Stop off en route for a picnic lunch before continuing on to Shahpura, your overnight halt.

After a leisurely breakfast this morning, explore the nearby Shahpura village on foot. From there, you can cycle to a private farm for picnic lunch and head back by car Shahpura Bagh.

Recommended Activities

Recommended Accommodations

Udaipur

Day: 10-11

The following day, start off early from Shahpura and cycle upto the Dhikola Fort - which offers sweeping views of the countrysides. Unwind over a picnic breakfast and a photo shoot amidst the fort ruins. After breakfast, cycle on past lakes and small villages towards the outskirts of Bhilwara, another town en route where you can load your cycles onto vehicles and drive on to Udaipur. A three hour drive would bring you to Udaipur, an oasis nestled in the lap of the Aravalli Mountain range and has a tranquil serenity that belies its tumultuous past. Udaipur, originally a thriving caravanserai later became a capital of local, royal clans. Udaipur’s serene lakes, beautiful gardens and magnificent palaces lend it a nostalgia that has often earned it the acclaim of being one of the most romantic places in the world.  Apart from a place in history, Udaipur has been immortalized in contemporary culture in iconic films from Jewel in the Crown, James Bond’s Octopussy to Gandhi.

Spend the day, discovering the city of Udaipur. Start off with the City Palace, with its blend of stern Rajput military architecture and lavish Mughal-inspired decorative art. This is Rajasthan’s largest palace sprawled out over an area of five acres, built between the 16th and 20th centuries. Continue on to the Jagdish Temple, a three-storied wonder of architecture comprising of an intricately sculpted spire, beautifully carved pillars, decorated ceilings and painted walls dedicated to Lord Vishnu, the sustainer in Hindu mythology.

Recommended Activities

Recommended Accommodations

Jawai

Day: 12-13

After an early breakfast, drive from Udaipur to Iswal village, a forty minute commute. From Iswal, start your day’s cycling along dusty footpaths through farms and hamlets, towards the dominating hilltop fort of Kumbhalgarh. Kumbhalgarh fort, a massive 15th century fortress was once considered impregnable and even today, it has a forbidding façade with seven spiked gateways. En route, you might chance upon the many antelope, wild boar, chinkara, jungle cats or leopards that inhabit this area, as also many species of birds. Enjoy lunch at the Mountbatten Lodge and drive on to the Ranakpur temple, set in a secluded, wooded valley of the Aravalli Hills. The 15th-century Ranakpur Temple’s grand scale, architectural complexity and sculptural ornamentation rank it among the finest examples of temple architecture. The main temple is dedicated to the founder of the Jainism and Ranakpur is one among five holy places for the Jain followers. After visiting the temples, drive on to the village of Jawai. Jawai’s earth is etched with deep gorges, where nomadic Rabari herdsmen are as much a part of the earth's tales as the mysterious felines that grace these hills and vanish at will into their folds, where pastoral fields meet and merge with wild grasslands and the swells of the Jawai Bandh's waters lap at the toes of mighty granite formations.

On this day, you can explore the unique countryside of granite cliffs and open pastures around Jawai. Set off on foot or by jeep, to the nearby pastoral villages - where you can encounter the Rabari herdsmen, one of the world’s vanishing tribes. Head back to the camp for lunch. Spend the afternoon combing the countryside for signs of leopards, or in soaking up the sunshine, and head back to your lodge at sunset.

Recommended Activities

Recommended Accommodations

Chanod

Day: 14

Spend the following morning at leisure. Late morning, drive out to Chanoud Garh - a palace converted into a heritage stay. Sections of a family-owned palace have been painstakingly restored, and every detail to comfort and aesthetics has been considered, with each suite unique in its design. Spend the day exploring the countryside on foot, or visit the nearby villages to understand the socio-cultural tapestry of the region. At sunset, make excursions by jeep to the expansive salt pans - the life support systems of the desert biodiversity. Head back to Chanoud Garh at nightfall, for a dinner under the stars.

Recommended Activities

Recommended Accommodations

Jodhpur

Day: 15-16

Set off from Chanoud on cycles after a quick breakfast. Your guide will help you navigate your cycles through the bylanes to reach the Rohet - Jalore highway. Hop into the waiting vehicles, and drive further on to Jodhpur. Epitomizing the romance and feudal splendor of Rajasthan with the majestic Mehrangarh Fort towering over it, the city of Jodhpur was once a flourishing trade centre for opium, silk and copper. Painted a brilliant shade of blue, Jodhpur is the last bastion of fort ramparts, colourful bazaars, animated people with their storytelling traditions before the desert sands and dunes stretch away towards the horizon. Spend the rest of the day unwinding in Jodhpur.

This morning, you can discover Jodhpur’s Mehrangarh Fort - one of the most majestic of Rajasthan’s forts, described by the author Rudyard Kipling as “the creation of angels, fairies and giants”. Its forbidding ramparts are in sharp contrast to the flamboyantly decorated palaces within. Founded in 1459, the sandstone fort was added to by later rulers between 17th and 19th centuries. Explore the massive fort complex and the exquisite museum collection. From coronation thrones to pleasure palaces and sunken gardens, the Mehrangarh Fort houses a citadel of immense grandeur.

Recommended Activities

Recommended Accommodations

New Delhi

Day: 17

Post breakfast, you will be transferred to Jodhpur airport for your flight to Delhi. Upon arrival in Delhi you will be met and transferred to your hotel near the airport, where rooms will be reserved for wash and change. As per your outbound flight, you will be transferred later in the day to the airport and assisted with check-in.

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