Heritage of India
Mumbai → Delhi
The Heritage of India aboard the Maharajas' Express is a six-night, seven-day odyssey that sweeps from the sun-drenched harbour city of Mumbai deep into the heart of royal Rajasthan before culminating at the steps of the world's greatest monument to love. Departing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in Mumbai each Sunday morning, the train threads through the lake city of Udaipur, the Blue City of Jodhpur, the desert stronghold of Bikaner, the Pink City of Jaipur and the wilderness of Ranthambore, arriving finally at Agra before returning its guests to New Delhi — a journey of more than 2,000 kilometres through the living pageant of Indian history.
The Maharajas' Express itself is a rolling palace: 23 carriages fitted with handcrafted interiors, onboard restaurants, a lounge bar and a spa. Butler service is provided throughout, all meals and guided excursions are included, and each stop brings carefully curated off-train experiences — a royal lunch in a Udaipur palace, cocktails among Bikaner's sand dunes, a jeep safari through tiger country at Ranthambore, a champagne breakfast with the Taj Mahal at dawn. The train has been voted the world's leading luxury train by the World Travel Awards multiple times.
The Heritage of India itinerary operates between October and April, the ideal season when Rajasthan's desert days are warm and clear and wildlife sightings in Ranthambore are at their finest. It is the longest and most comprehensive of the Maharajas' Express journeys, and for travellers who wish to understand India at its most regal, most artistic and most untamed, there is simply no equivalent experience. To enquire or book, contact Palace Trains at 1-800-724-5120 or travel@palacetours.com.
- ✦Dawn boat ride on Lake Pichola and Crystal Gallery at Udaipur's Fateh Prakash Palace
- ✦Mehrangarh Fort soaring 122 metres above the Blue City of Jodhpur
- ✦Sundowner cocktails and barbecue dinner among Bikaner's desert sand dunes
- ✦Elephant ascent to Amber Fort and royal lunch at Rambagh Palace, Jaipur
- ✦Early-morning jeep safari for Bengal tigers in Ranthambore National Park
- ✦Akbar's UNESCO-listed ghost capital at Fatehpur Sikri including the Buland Darwaza
- ✦Champagne breakfast at dawn overlooking the Taj Mahal, Agra
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Day 1 — Mumbai
Guests assemble at the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower in Mumbai from 09:00 for a traditional welcome reception, tour briefing and registration. Transfers to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus — itself a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a masterpiece of Victorian Gothic architecture — depart at 09:45, and the Maharajas' Express rolls out of the station at 10:30 to a ceremonial send-off. Lunch and dinner are served aboard as the train crosses the Maharashtra plains and climbs into Rajasthan, carrying guests southwest toward the fabled lake city of Udaipur.
Day 2 — Udaipur
Udaipur reveals itself in the morning light — a city of white-marble palaces mirrored in the waters of Lake Pichola. Guests embark on a scenic boat ride across Lake Pichola, gliding past the famed Lake Palace (now a luxury hotel) and the Jag Mandir island. The centrepiece of the day is the City Palace complex, begun in 1559 by Maharana Udai Singh II and expanded by successive rulers over nearly four centuries into a 244-room labyrinth of courtyards, pavilions and terraces. Within the palace walls, the legendary Crystal Gallery in Fateh Prakash Palace displays a breathtaking collection of crystal objects — chandeliers, fountains, furniture and a unique crystal bed — commissioned in 1877 by Maharana Sajjan Singh from the Birmingham firm F&C Osler & Co. and only unpacked long after his death. Royal lunch is served in the Satkar Hall of Fateh Prakash Palace, offering views across the lake. Guests may browse the colourful Old Market before returning to the train for dinner as it heads northward to Jodhpur.
Day 3 — Jodhpur
The train arrives in Jodhpur, the Blue City — named for the indigo-washed houses that cascade down from the great rock on which Mehrangarh Fort stands. Rising 122 metres (400 feet) above the plain, Mehrangarh is among the largest forts in India, founded by Rao Jodha in 1459 and expanded by his successors into a complex of breathtaking palaces renowned for their intricate sandstone filigree and jali screen work. Guests tour the fort's museum, galleries and ornate royal apartments. A walking tour of the Old Clock Tower (Ghanta Ghar) market follows, winding through bazaars selling spices, textiles, lacquer bangles and Jodhpuri shoes, with optional tuk-tuk rides through the narrow lanes of the old city. The evening brings a private cocktail dinner at an exclusive Jodhpur venue — Khaas Bagh or the heritage Hanwant Mahal — before the train departs for Bikaner.
Day 4 — Bikaner
Bikaner, a walled desert city founded in 1488 by Rao Bika, was once a vital node on the old caravan routes. The highlight is Junagarh Fort, an imposing citadel completed in 1593 under Raja Rai Singh, who served both Akbar and Jahangir. Unlike most Rajput forts, Junagarh was never conquered. Its palaces — the gem-encrusted Anup Mahal, the Chandra Mahal and the Ganga Mahal — contain a remarkable museum of miniature paintings, royal costumes, manuscripts, arms and armour. As the sun sets over the Thar Desert, guests are driven out to the sand dunes for sundowner cocktails, Rajasthani folk music and dance performances, and a barbecue dinner under the stars. The train then proceeds overnight to Jaipur.
Day 5 — Jaipur
India's Pink City, Jaipur — founded in 1727 by Maharaja Jai Singh II and planned on a precise grid pattern — greets guests in the morning. The day begins with the ascent to Amber Fort (Amer Fort), a magnificent Rajput citadel dating to 1592, set dramatically on a ridge above Maota Lake. Its Sheesh Mahal (Hall of Mirrors), Diwan-i-Khas and temple to Shila Devi are among the finest palace interiors in Rajasthan; the fort's hilltop approach by elephant or jeep adds further spectacle. Lunch is served at the iconic Rambagh Palace, the former residence of the Maharaja of Jaipur. The afternoon offers guests a choice of optional activities: city shopping in the gem and textile bazaars, spa, golf, or a visit to the City Palace and Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds). The train departs overnight for Sawai Madhopur and Ranthambore.
Day 6 — Ranthambore & Fatehpur Sikri
At dawn, guests board open jeeps for a wildlife safari in Ranthambore National Park, one of India's premier tiger reserves. Established as a sanctuary in 1955 and declared a national park in 1980, Ranthambore covers 1,334 square kilometres of dry deciduous forest and lake habitat in the Sawai Madhopur district of southeastern Rajasthan. Its Bengal tiger population — now over 70 animals — is among the most visible in India, thanks to the park's relatively open terrain; leopard, sloth bear, sambar deer, chital, striped hyena and crocodile also inhabit the reserve. Breakfast is served aboard on return. The train then travels to Fatehpur Sikri, the ghost capital of the Mughal Empire. Built between 1569 and 1585 by Emperor Akbar to honour the Sufi saint Sheikh Salim Chishti — who predicted the birth of Akbar's heir — the city served as the imperial capital for barely 14 years before being abandoned, possibly due to water scarcity. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986, it preserves an extraordinarily intact ensemble of Mughal architecture: the Buland Darwaza, at 54 metres the tallest gateway in India built to commemorate Akbar's victory in Gujarat (1572); the Jama Masjid; the white-marble tomb of Salim Chishti; and the Panch Mahal, a five-storey pavilion of diminishing arcades. An Indian Evening and dinner follow as the train moves on to Agra.
Day 7 — Agra & Delhi
Before sunrise, guests transfer to the Taj Mahal to experience the monument at its most magical — its white marble shifting from pale grey to gold in the dawn light. Commissioned by Emperor Shah Jahan in 1631 as a mausoleum for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal and completed in 1648, the Taj is regarded as the finest example of Mughal architecture and one of the most beautiful buildings in the world; it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. A champagne breakfast is served at an exclusive venue overlooking the monument. Guests return to the train, and the Maharajas' Express makes its final run to New Delhi, where a farewell lunch aboard precedes disembarkation at Safdarjung Station at approximately 14:40, drawing the curtain on an unforgettable seven-day journey through the soul of India.
Destinations & Highlights
Mumbai — Gateway of India
Mumbai is India's commercial capital and its most cosmopolitan city, a sprawling metropolis of over 20 million people that rises from a peninsula jutting into the Arabian Sea. The city's storied waterfront is anchored by the Gateway of India, a basalt arch erected to commemorate King George V's visit in 1911, and by the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel (1903), one of Asia's grandest addresses. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus — from which the Maharajas' Express departs — is itself a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a soaring confection of Victorian Gothic domes, turrets and stained glass completed in 1888. Mumbai is the embarkation point for the Heritage of India journey, and it sets a suitably grand tone.
Udaipur — City of Lakes
Udaipur, capital of the former princely state of Mewar, is considered the most romantic city in Rajasthan. Founded in 1559 by Maharana Udai Singh II after the fall of Chittorgarh, it was built around a series of artificial lakes — Pichola, Fatehsagar, Udaisagar — whose shimmering surfaces reflect an extraordinary skyline of marble palaces and ghats. The City Palace, the largest palace complex in Rajasthan, spans 244 rooms across nearly five centuries of construction and contains museums, courtyards and the celebrated Crystal Gallery of Fateh Prakash Palace, whose 19th-century Osler crystal collection — including the world's only crystal bed — is without parallel. A boat ride on Lake Pichola, with the floating Lake Palace shimmering in the middle distance, is among the most iconic images in all of India.
Jodhpur — The Blue City
Jodhpur, founded in 1459 by Rao Jodha of the Rathore clan, is dominated by the colossal Mehrangarh Fort, which crowns a sheer 122-metre (400-foot) cliff above the city. The fort's palaces — Moti Mahal, Phool Mahal, Sheesh Mahal — are celebrated for the delicacy of their sandstone latticework, and the fort's museum houses one of India's finest collections of Mughal howdahs, royal palanquins, miniature paintings and arms. Below, the old city's houses are traditionally painted a vivid cobalt blue — originally a caste distinction for Brahmin households, now a citywide tradition — creating a visual spectacle best appreciated from the fort's ramparts. The warren of lanes around the Old Clock Tower (Ghanta Ghar) buzzes with spice merchants, sari shops and silver jewellers.
Bikaner — Desert Citadel
Bikaner, a walled city deep in the Thar Desert, was founded in 1488 by Rao Bika, youngest son of the founder of Jodhpur. Its strategic position on the old caravan routes brought great wealth, expressed most vividly in the Junagarh Fort — an unconquered citadel begun in 1593 whose palaces are lavishly decorated with glass mosaic, gold leaf, lacquer and mirrorwork. The Anup Mahal's red-and-gold throne room is particularly magnificent. Bikaner is also famed for its camels — the local Bikaneri breed, bred for the Indian Army — and the extraordinary Karni Mata Temple at Deshnok, 30 km south, where thousands of sacred rats are venerated as reincarnations of the goddess's devotees.
Jaipur — The Pink City
Jaipur, founded in 1727 by the astronomer-king Maharaja Jai Singh II, was the first planned city in India, laid out in a precise grid according to ancient Vedic principles. Its sandstone buildings were painted a uniform terracotta-pink in 1876 to welcome the Prince of Wales, earning the city its enduring epithet. The Amber Fort (Amer Fort), a magnificent 16th-century Rajput palace perched above Maota Lake, is the city's most visited landmark: its Sheesh Mahal (Hall of Mirrors), inlaid with thousands of convex glass pieces that amplify a single candle flame into a constellation, is breathtaking. The City Palace, still partly inhabited by the royal family, houses a museum of textiles, weapons and royal memorabilia, while the Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds, 1799) — a five-storey screen of 953 latticed windows — is one of the most photographed facades in India.
Ranthambore & Fatehpur Sikri
Ranthambore National Park, covering 1,334 square kilometres of the Aravalli and Vindhya hill ranges in southeastern Rajasthan, is one of the best places in the world to observe wild Bengal tigers in their natural habitat. The park's varied terrain — lakes, dry rivers, ruined Mughal walls, bamboo groves — offers habitat to over 70 tigers as well as leopards, sloth bears, striped hyenas, sambar, chital and a spectacular array of birdlife. The 10th-century Ranthambore Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, rises over the park's lakes. Fatehpur Sikri, 40 km west of Agra, is one of the best-preserved Mughal ghost cities in the world. Built by Akbar between 1569 and 1585 and abandoned after barely 14 years, it preserves an entire imperial capital in red sandstone: the Buland Darwaza (Victory Gate, 1572), at 54 metres India's tallest gateway; the serene Jama Masjid; the luminous white-marble tomb of Sheikh Salim Chishti; and the multi-storey Panch Mahal. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986.
Agra & the Taj Mahal
Agra was the Mughal capital under Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan, and it contains three UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Taj Mahal — a white-marble mausoleum built between 1631 and 1648 by Emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal — is universally regarded as one of the most beautiful buildings on earth and a supreme expression of Mughal art. Its perfectly symmetrical gardens, reflecting pools and soaring 73-metre dome draw visitors from every nation. Arriving at dawn, as the marble transitions through shades of pale rose and gold, is an experience that remains with visitors for a lifetime.