16 nights from £1425
The Indian railway system contributed significantly to the romance of India during the British Raj. Evolving initially in the 1850s, its first line ran into Bombay, transporting as much in 16 hours as 2,500 camels could previously manage in a fortnight. Lines quickly sprang up all over the country, very often principally to transport freight and generally supported by private investment from Britain. However, the interest of the Maharajas had been ignited and many embarked upon grandiose railway projects of their own. Having traditionally travelled within their kingdoms on brightly coloured caparisoned elephants the Maharajas’ concept of what a train should look like was, to put it mildly, flamboyant. Rajasthan in particular was quickly endowed with a comprehensive web of royal railways and the number of railways in total in India swiftly rose to 175. In 1944 the state nationalised most of the rail network and today it is the largest in the world with 62,000 kilometres of track, 7,000 stations and 12,000 daily services.
This exciting itinerary takes in most of the major monuments of Rajasthan, utilising its impressive rail network to cover the vast distances between the capitals of its former princely states. Its second unusual and charming feature is its use of former royal residences as accommodations.
