With years of experience to our names, we have an eye for quirk and would prefer to offer you intelligent simplicity over impersonal luxury. We travel extensively in search of what’s really worth doing, rather than just what makes a good photograph.
Who we all aresome of our current favourite
experiences in India:
01.
Rajasthan Tour: Iconic & forgotten forts and palaces in Rajasthan
02.
A Kerala Homestay; home cooking and the best of life in Kerala
03.
Himalaya Trekking: Private treks in quiet Himalayan locations
04.
Searching for tigers on elephant back in Kanha
05.
Nose to nose with a rhino from the back of an elephant in Kaziranga
Request details for one of
these trips:
No visit to Rajasthan is complete without including one of its iconic cities but to find the real India head off the beaten track to some of its villages and smaller towns. Red and yellow and pink and green, orange and purple and blue – and that’s just the cow horns. Rural Rajasthan is the stuff of your imagination; sweeping deserts and craggy hills, forgotten forts and fairy-tale palaces, snooty camels and wandering cows, the very essence of India all in eye-popping glorious technicolour.
After the hullabaloo of the cities the Rajasthan countryside presents a great opportunity to slow down to a pace of life no faster than a trundling bullock cart. This is where the majority of Indians live, in small towns such as Rohet, Deogarh and Bundi where deposed royalty are still held in the highest esteem, and in villages like Bhainsrorgarh, Ramathra and Narlai centred round holy trees or elaborately decorated wells with tall pillars for travellers to find when crossing the deserts.
Our approach is to use small locally owned properties where the family has a strong relationship with the surrounding community so that you are welcomed into nearby villages. You’ll know that you’re on to a good thing when the road signs peter out, the potholes get bigger and a man on a moped is sent to meet you and show you the last secret mile to your lodgings. Swop your car for a jeep, bicycle or your own two feet and you’ll soon discover some hidden gems.
With our local guide to show you the way you’ll meet tribes with eco-friendly lifestyles, discover uses for fruit and vegetables you never knew existed and loop garlands of orange marigolds around blue faced gods. Linger a little longer and you’ll learn why voluminous shocking pink turbans are the local fashion and stand in awe as women in pea green saris elegantly saunter by with pots of water on their heads. Bring your camera as children in particular love to have their picture taken – in a seemingly quiet spot dozens appear out of nowhere at the sight of a Nikon. Don’t be shy as people will be curious about you too; be prepared to answer questions about your age, how many children you have and, perhaps, how many cows or goats you own.
See our suggested itinerary for ideas about how a trip to rural Rajasthan might look
Gently crumbling Bhainsrorgarh Fort with its magical setting on an escarpment above the Chambal River is an ideal spot to unwind in rural Rajasthan and indulge in the atmosphere of times gone by. Read more?
Located in a steep narrow alleyway leading up from a maze of streets, through an old stone archway and up a flight of steps the only way to get to Bundi Vilas is on foot. It feels the most appropriate way to enter this little 300 year old haveli sitting right beneath the walls of Bundi Palace. Read more?
Andrea Hulme’s travel experiences could fill a small novel; from a bit-part in a Tamil movie, to leading expeditions in Kyrgyzstan and negotiating landslides along the Karakoram highway.
