Heritage Odyssey (with Pre-Shimla)
New Delhi → Shimla → New Delhi
The Heritage Odyssey with Pre-Shimla is a 15-day, 14-night journey that weaves together two of India's most captivating landscapes: the cool Himalayan hill station of Shimla and the sun-baked royal heartland of Rajasthan. Beginning in New Delhi, the journey reaches north into the mountains before returning to the plains and boarding the magnificent Deccan Odyssey luxury train for a seven-night arc through India's most iconic heritage cities.
The pre-Shimla chapter takes guests by road and the UNESCO-listed Kalka–Shimla narrow-gauge railway — the beloved Toy Train — up into the foothills of the Himalayas. There, Shimla's Victorian architecture, pine-scented ridges, and colonial landmarks set a contemplative tone before the grandeur of Mughal and Rajput civilisation unfolds on the train. The Deccan Odyssey rolls through Agra, Ranthambore, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, and Jaipur, returning guests to New Delhi having experienced the full sweep of North India's history, wildlife, and culture.
This is a journey for those who want more than a single highlight reel: royal palaces and desert forts, tiger reserves and mountain air, hand-crafted inlay workshops and lakeside boat cruises — all connected by the rhythm of the rails and the gracious hospitality of one of Asia's finest luxury trains. For reservations or further information, contact Palace Trains at 1-800-724-5120 or travel@palacetours.com.
- ✦UNESCO Kalka–Shimla Toy Train through the Himalayan foothills
- ✦Victorian heritage walk in Shimla: Viceregal Lodge, Gaiety Theatre & Mall Road
- ✦Taj Mahal and Agra Fort — the twin crowns of Mughal India
- ✦Open-vehicle Bengal tiger safari at Ranthambore National Park
- ✦Lake Pichola boat cruise with City Palace views in Udaipur
- ✦Sundowners over the Thar Desert dunes at Jaisalmer
- ✦Seven nights aboard the Deccan Odyssey through the royal cities of Rajasthan
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Day 1 — Arrive New Delhi
Guests arrive at Indira Gandhi International Airport and are transferred to a five-star hotel in the heart of New Delhi. The evening is at leisure — a chance to adjust to the time zone over a welcome dinner and take in the vibrant energy of India's capital before exploration begins in earnest.
Day 2 — New Delhi: Imperial Capital
A full day guided tour of Old and New Delhi reveals the city's layered history. The tour takes in the colossal Red Fort (Lal Qila) and the great Jama Masjid mosque, followed by a rickshaw ride through the bustling lanes of Chandni Chowk. Afternoon visits to Humayun's Tomb — the Mughal precursor to the Taj Mahal — and the soaring Qutub Minar, a 12th-century minaret and UNESCO World Heritage Site, complete the day. In the evening guests explore Connaught Place or India Gate before returning to the hotel.
Day 3 — New Delhi to Shimla via Kalka Toy Train
After an early breakfast and hotel check-out, guests are driven to Kalka (approximately 4 hours north of Delhi) to board the Kalka–Shimla Railway, a UNESCO World Heritage narrow-gauge line that has been threading its way through the Himalayan foothills since 1903. The journey climbs 96 kilometres over more than 100 tunnels and 800 bridges, offering breathtaking views of pine forests, terraced hillside villages, and snow-capped peaks in the distance. Arrival in Shimla is mid-afternoon; guests check in to The Oberoi Cecil, a landmark heritage hotel on Mall Road that has welcomed guests since 1884. The evening is spent at leisure on the famous promenade.
Day 4 — Shimla: Heritage Walk & Viceregal Lodge
The morning is devoted to a guided heritage walk through Shimla's colonial core. Highlights include Christ Church on the Ridge — one of the oldest churches in North India — Scandal Point, and the Victorian Gothic facades lining Mall Road. The afternoon is reserved for the Viceregal Lodge (now Rashtrapati Niwas), the grand residence built in 1888 for the Viceroy of India and the site where the partition of India was planned in 1947. Its baronial turrets and manicured gardens offer a vivid window into the British Raj. Dinner at the hotel concludes a full day of history.
Day 5 — Shimla: Gaiety Theatre, State Museum & The Ridge
The morning centres on the Gaiety Theatre, a restored Victorian gem that has staged performances since 1887 and remains one of India's most beautiful heritage cultural spaces. Guests then explore the Himachal State Museum, home to a rich collection of hill-state miniature paintings, sculptures, and costumes. The afternoon is free for independent exploration — the Ridge and Lower Bazaar are ideal for shopping local woollens, handicrafts, and Himachali shawls. Sundowners from the hotel's terrace over the pine-clad valleys are a highlight.
Day 6 — Shimla: Leisure Day in the Hills
A free day in Shimla allows guests to tailor the experience to their own pace. Options include a walk to the forested Jakhu Hill for panoramic Himalayan views and the centuries-old Jakhu Temple, or a day trip to Kufri, a scenic village and wildlife sanctuary 16 kilometres above Shimla. Guests who prefer to remain in town can enjoy the hotel's spa, browse the Lakkar Bazaar's woodcraft stalls, or simply read on The Oberoi Cecil's garden terrace with views of the Shivalik range.
Day 7 — Shimla to New Delhi: Board the Deccan Odyssey
After a final breakfast in the hills, guests descend by road to Chandigarh and are transferred to Delhi by the afternoon. An early evening transfer to Delhi Safdarjung Railway Station sets the scene for embarkation aboard the Deccan Odyssey at 18:00 hours. Welcome drinks and a multi-course dinner are served as the train glides out of the capital, and guests settle into their elegantly appointed air-conditioned cabins — each with en-suite bathroom, climate control, and wardrobe — or into the more expansive Presidential Suites. The lounge car and bar are open for those who wish to savour the first evening on board.
Day 8 — Agra: Taj Mahal & Agra Fort
The Deccan Odyssey arrives near Agra at Tundla station early in the morning. Guests disembark and are driven to the city, arriving at the Taj Mahal at 09:30 — ideally timed to catch the monument before midday crowds. Shah Jahan's masterpiece of white Makrana marble, inlaid with semi-precious stone and flanked by reflecting pools, is rightly counted among the wonders of the world. After a city-hotel lunch, the afternoon is given over to the Agra Fort, a UNESCO-listed red-sandstone complex that served as the main residence of the Mughal emperors until 1638 and contains palaces, audience halls, and the poignant view of the Taj Mahal that the imprisoned Shah Jahan spent his final years contemplating. Guests also visit Kalakriti to watch master craftsmen demonstrate the Pietra Dura stone-inlay technique that adorns the Taj. The train departs at 20:00.
Day 9 — Sawai Madhopur: Ranthambore Tiger Reserve
An early morning arrival at Sawai Madhopur signals the train's entry into wildlife territory. Guests join an open-vehicle jungle safari at Ranthambore National Park — once the private hunting ground of the Maharajas of Jaipur and today one of India's finest tiger reserves. The 392-square-kilometre park is among the best places in the world to observe Bengal tigers in the wild; it also harbours leopards, sloth bears, sambar deer, mugger crocodiles, and over 300 species of birds. The ancient Ranthambore Fort, perched on a hilltop within the park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, adds an additional layer of drama to the landscape. A village safari exploring local rural life follows in the afternoon. The train departs at 19:30.
Day 10 — Udaipur: City of Lakes
The Deccan Odyssey reaches Udaipur — the most romantic city in Rajasthan — in the morning. A visit to the City Palace, the largest palace complex in Rajasthan, takes in eleven separate palaces, the dazzling Crystal Gallery, and Mor Chowk with its stunning peacock mosaics. A boat cruise on Lake Pichola reveals the fairy-tale silhouette of the Lake Palace hotel rising from the water, with the Aravalli Hills as backdrop. Lunch at a city-side hotel is followed by a walking tour through Udaipur's narrow-laned Old City bazaar — packed with blue pottery, silver jewellery, and miniature paintings in the Mewar school. The train departs at 20:00.
Day 11 — Jodhpur: The Blue City
Jodhpur greets guests with its dramatic skyline dominated by Mehrangarh Fort, one of the largest and best-preserved forts in India, rising 125 metres above the blue-washed houses of the old city on a sheer rock outcrop. The fort's museum holds an outstanding collection of Rajput armour, palanquins, and paintings. From the ramparts, the blue-tinted rooftops of the old city — painted blue traditionally to repel mosquitoes and denote Brahmin households — spread to the horizon. A Tuk-tuk ride to the Clock Tower and the chaotic Sardar Market brings guests into the thick of local commerce: spices, textiles, leather-work, and antiques. The Jaswant Thada cenotaph and the Umaid Bhawan Palace Museum round out the afternoon. The train departs at 20:00.
Day 12 — Jaisalmer: The Golden City
Rising out of the Thar Desert, Jaisalmer Fort — the so-called Sonar Qila or Golden Fort — is one of the last inhabited medieval forts in the world, its yellow sandstone walls glowing amber at dawn and dusk. Founded in 1156 AD by Maharawal Jaisal, the fort contains merchant havelis, Jain temples, and royal apartments still lived in by thousands of residents. Guests explore Nathmal Ki Haveli, an architectural marvel carved entirely in yellow sandstone by two brothers who each took a different half — creating a subtly asymmetrical façade of extraordinary intricacy. Lunch is taken on board before the afternoon excursion to the Thar Desert dunes for sundowners — watching the sun descend over the sand sea while camel silhouettes cross the ridge line is one of the journey's defining images. The train departs at 20:30.
Day 13 — Jaipur: The Pink City
Jaipur — named the Pink City after the terracotta-hued sandstone used to repaint the old city for the visit of the Prince of Wales in 1876 — brings the Rajasthan arc to a magnificent close. Guests visit Amber Fort, the formidable hilltop palace-fort of the Kachhawahas built in 1592, with its celebrated Sheesh Mahal (Hall of Mirrors) encrusted with thousands of glass pieces that flash like stars when a single candle is lit. The afternoon covers City Palace, still partly inhabited by the royal family and home to remarkable textile and arms collections, followed by a drive past the iconic Hawa Mahal — the five-storey Palace of Winds, its honeycomb façade of 953 windows designed to allow royal ladies to observe street life unseen. Optional visits to Jantar Mantar, the 18th-century astronomical observatory and UNESCO World Heritage Site, are available. The train departs at 20:00.
Day 14 — Travelling
A gentle final day aboard the Deccan Odyssey as the train makes its way back toward Delhi. This is a day for the lounge car and the landscape — for re-reading the journal, talking with fellow travellers over a leisurely brunch, and taking advantage of the onboard Ayurvedic spa and mini-gym. Staff hold a farewell reception in the evening. The train is scheduled to arrive at Delhi Safdarjung Railway Station on the morning of Day 15.
Day 15 — Arrive New Delhi: Journey's End
The Deccan Odyssey arrives at Delhi Safdarjung Railway Station at approximately 08:00 hours. Guests are assisted with disembarkation and transferred to the airport or onward accommodation. The 15-day journey from New Delhi through Shimla's Himalayan air and Rajasthan's sun-baked heritage has concluded — though its images — the Taj in morning light, tigers at Ranthambore, desert sundowners at Jaisalmer — will last far longer.
Destinations & Highlights
Shimla — Summer Capital of the Raj
Perched at 2,159 metres in the Shivalik ranges of the Himalayas, Shimla became the summer capital of British India in 1864 and remains the finest example of a Raj-era hill station. Mall Road, The Ridge, and Scandal Point preserve a Victorian streetscape virtually unchanged since the 1880s: Gothic churches, Tudorbethan libraries, and stuccoed arcades framed by deodars and oaks. The Viceregal Lodge (now Rashtrapati Niwas), where the Shimla Agreements of 1945 and the historic discussions preceding Indian independence took place, is the most historically resonant building in the region. The Gaiety Theatre, opened in 1887, is a jewel of the Victorian Gothic Revival and continues to stage productions today. Reaching Shimla by the Kalka–Shimla narrow-gauge railway — a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008 — is an experience in itself: 96 kilometres through 102 tunnels and over 800 bridges, threading between pine forests and mountain ridges.
Agra — The Mughal Zenith
Agra served as the Mughal capital under Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan, and its monuments represent the highest point of Mughal architectural achievement. The Taj Mahal, completed in 1653 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was built by Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, and its perfectly proportioned white marble dome, minarets, and inlaid calligraphy have made it the most universally recognised monument on earth. The companion Agra Fort, also UNESCO-listed, is a vast red sandstone complex of palaces, mosques, and audience halls that tells the full arc of Mughal power — including the melancholy later years of Shah Jahan, imprisoned here by his own son Aurangzeb with a view of the Taj he would never visit again.
Ranthambore — Royal Hunting Ground, Tiger Sanctuary
Sawai Madhopur's Ranthambore National Park occupies 392 square kilometres of dramatic landscape where the Aravalli and Vindhya hill ranges meet in a tangle of dry deciduous forest, lakesides, and rocky ravines. Once the exclusive hunting reserve of the Maharajas of Jaipur, it was declared a Project Tiger reserve in 1973 and today supports one of India's densest Bengal tiger populations. The spectacle of a tiger crossing the ancient Ranthambore Fort — a Rajput stronghold dating to the 10th century — is one of India's most photographed wildlife moments. Leopards, sloth bears, marsh crocodiles, nilgai, and sambar deer are regularly encountered on open-vehicle safaris.
Udaipur — Venice of the East
Founded in 1559 by Maharana Udai Singh II on the banks of Lake Pichola, Udaipur is among the most beautiful cities in India. The City Palace complex — an accretion of palaces, towers, and pavilions built over 400 years — stretches along the lake shore and houses the extraordinary Crystal Gallery, which displays a 19th-century royal collection of Osler crystal furniture and fittings considered among the finest in the world. Lake Pichola itself reflects palace walls, temples, and the cloud-capped Aravalli Hills; a boat ride reveals the fabled Lake Palace and the island shrine of Jagmandir. The old city's bazaars are celebrated for blue-glazed pottery, Pichwai paintings, and Mewar miniatures.
Jodhpur — Blue City of the Maharajas
The second city of Rajasthan was founded in 1459 by Rao Jodha and remains anchored by Mehrangarh Fort, one of the most imposing hilltop fortresses in the world. Rising 125 metres on a perpendicular outcrop above the city, Mehrangarh's bastions enclose seven gates, elaborate palaces, and a museum of exceptional quality. Below, the old city's flat-roofed houses are painted in every shade of blue — a tradition linked to the Brahmin caste, insect repellency, and simply the aesthetic that has made Jodhpur globally famous as the Blue City. The ornate Umaid Bhawan Palace, completed in 1943, is the last of India's great royal palaces and still the residence of the royal family.
Jaisalmer — The Living Fort in the Desert
Jaisalmer occupies a dramatic rise in the heart of the Thar Desert and its ancient sandstone fort — one of the few living medieval forts in the world, still home to thousands of residents — rises like a mirage from the dunes. Founded by Maharawal Jaisal in 1156 AD on the ancient Silk Road trade route, the city grew wealthy on camel caravan traffic and left behind an extraordinary legacy of carved havelis (merchants' mansions), Jain temples of white marble, and a fort so well preserved it carries UNESCO World Heritage status. The surrounding Thar Desert — India's largest — adds an elemental grandeur: its dunes, particularly the Sam Sand Dunes and the Khuri Dunes, turn gold and crimson at sunset.
Jaipur — The Pink City of Rajputana
Founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, Jaipur was the first planned city in India — its grid-pattern streets, pink-plastered facades, and monumental gateways designed according to the principles of Vastu Shastra. Amber Fort, perched above the Maota Lake and built in 1592, is the jewel of the region, its Sheesh Mahal (Hall of Mirrors) alone worth the journey from Delhi. The City Palace complex, still partly home to the royal family of Jaipur, contains museums of extraordinary textile and armoury collections. Jantar Mantar, the open-air astronomical observatory built by Jai Singh in 1724, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a monument to pre-telescope scientific ingenuity. The Hawa Mahal — the Palace of Winds — with its 953-windowed pink sandstone screen, is one of the most photographed facades in India.