1

The route you could consider is Delhi/Agra/Delhi as a day trip and take an overnight train to Jodhpur, train to Jaipur, train to Udaipur, train back to Delhi. You can take a train to Amritsar from Delhi. You could consider going to Himachal ( dalhousie/dharamshala for instance) from Amritsar and drop Shimla. This will probably take up 3 weeks. You would probably need at least another 5 days for the Hardwar area including overnight train travel.

2

hi

i think that you should avoid either 'Rishikesh & Haridwar' or ' Amritsar & Shimla'. That would be better.

& as per your taste of culture, food & ashrams you should opt for some tailor made itinerary for better experience.

3

And I am sure that #2 would be pleased to arrange a tailor-made itinerary for you - clearly touting for business - if he sends you a personal message, then please report him and all other touts to the moderators.

A 3 week trip does not have to be tailormade and the vast majority of tavellers find their own way round with little or no problem- #2 wii undoubtedly suggest that you use his car+driver at treble the cost.

A 3 week trip to cver DElhi - Agra +Rajesthan is very standard and there ar dozens of routes on this site. As a general rule , allow an average of 3 days per site so 21 days is 7 locations. I would suspect that Amritsar and points North are best left for another day if you wish to visit Nepal.

So perhaps
DEL - just one day initially and spend loner at end of trip there - this will allow for contigency
AGRA - 2 full days to inc TM, Red Fort, fatehour Sukri
Jaipur - cos every one goes to blingcity and spends too long spending their money there
Train to Jodhpur
Overnite train JOD to Jaiselmer - 2 full days there - its unique
A day bus ride to Udaipur spend at least 2 full days then back to DEL. maybe Pushkar (bus UDA to AJMER).

Travel in India is unpredictable so you may be able to see more but dont rush it.

Presumably youu have already bought an up-to-date guidebook - with an LP or RG you wont need any other guide, there'll be plenty of other travellers en route if you stay in the right areas..

4

We did Rajisthan for 16 days and then 5 days to Shimla and Armritsa. Used a car and driver for both trips and was a relaxed (as much as it can be in India) with plenty of time to see and do everything we wanted. Have a look at the Namaste India Tours website for some ideas - we used them for the Rajasthan trip.

5

by train (just an exercise):
Delhi to Agra =
Udaipur to Jaipur
Jaipur to Jodhpur
Jodhpur to Jalandhar City
Jalandhar City to Amritsar
Amritsar to Haridwar
Haridwar to Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur to Raxaul

6

let's try again:

Delhi to Agra = http://erail.in?T=NDLS::AF:
Agra to Udaipur = http://erail.in?T=AF::UDZ:
Udaipur to Jaipur = http://erail.in?T=UDZ::JP:
Jaipur to Jodhpur = http://erail.in?T=JP::JU:
Jodhpur to Jalandhar City = http://erail.in?T=JU::JUC:
+ Jalandhar City to Amritsar = http://erail.in?T=JUC::ASR:
Amritsar to Varanasi = http://erail.in?T=ASR::BSB:
Varanasi to Raxaul = http://erail.in?T=BSB::RXL:
and then into Nepal...

(like we did... some ages ago)

http://irfca.org/faq/faq-map-01.html#map
http://irfca.org/faq/faq-map-04.html#map

7

and you could also do:
Amritsar to Haridwar = http://erail.in?T=ASR::HW:
(+ Haridwar to Rishikesh and back = by bus or by train)
Haridwar to Varanasi = http://erail.in?T=HW::BSB:

8

#3 ohh really:)
FYI, i am a university student, residing far away from these places.

9

I can help you with the food side of your journey. Last year my wife and I did Delhi, Agra, and Udaipur in three weeks (probably could have used a bit more time in Udaipur). We covered the traditional foods and where to get them (Old Delhi can be quite a task without some knowledge). Here is a link to those food lists.
http://eatyourworld.com/destinations/asia/india

Hope it helps and enjoy your trip!

10

@Habby -Did you enjoy shimla and amritsar? And are they worth visiting, from the info here im thinking our itinerary needs to be slightly amended but i cant decide on where to miss as all the places im considering have something to offer!! Ahhh proving to be a hard decision! and thankyou all for the information much appreciated! :)

11

Brienna,

I'm doing a similar trip on January, so it might help you sharing my itinerary :)

This is what I'm doing:

Fly to Mumbai (it's nicer than Delhi :) I've lived there before)
from there I'll visit Aurangabad (Ajanta and Ellora caves, which are really impressive) - train to go and come back, 2 days there
from Mumbai I'll go to Udaipur (by flight), 2 nights
Udaipur - Jodhpur (car, to visit Ranakpur temple on the way), 3 nights
Jodhpur - Pushkar (car), 3 nights
Pushkar - Jaipur (train), 3 nights
Jaipur - Agra (car, to visit the Abhaneri step Wells on the way), 1 night
Agra - Delhi (train), 1 night
Delhi - Amritsar (train), 2 nights
Amritsar - Dharamshala (car/bus), 3 nights
go back to Amritsar by car, and fly back to Mumbai

Hope it helps somehow,

Cheers!

12

Shimla is a totally different Indian experience from Delhi and Rajasthan. We had a day (and 2 nights) in the town and found it a pleasant relief with an interesting history as the old summer capital and a few things to do. You also have the Himalayas in the far distance. We had a car and driver however we caught the “toy train” on the narrow gauge railway line from Kalka to Shimla.

Amritsar is definitely worth the effort. The Golden Temple in Amritsar is a must see, for me probably better than the Taj Mahal. It is an active site of pilgrimage which is a special part of the atmosphere. Then there are the surrounding areas for pilgrims, the huge kitchens and eating halls. We were made most welcome to help with the food preparation and sharing a pilgrim’s meal.

Make sure you go to the evening Indian-Pakistan border closing ceremony at Wagah - it's a fantastic spectacle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ0ue-XGl9c

If you can’t fit in Rishikesh & Haridwar try Pushkar if you want the India pilgrim site experience. It gets mixed reviews on TT but is an important pilgrimage for many Hindus. We had the bonus of being there for the camel fair. (We didn’t go to Rishikesh/Haridwar opting instead for Shimla/Amritsar – with only 3 weeks you might have to make this choice if you want to get reasonable coverage of Rajasthan)

With our Rajasthan car and driver trip with Namaste we added Bundi (a little bit off the track) and with a an over night sleeper train from Jaisalmer back to Delhi for the India train experience.

Send me PM if you want more info on using a car and driver.

13

Amritsar: Totally agree with Habby...worth the effort...Golden Temple is such a peaceful place and you can offer your help in the big kitchen (called Langar) which makes approx. 50,000 meals everyday and the food is delicious...Wagah Border closing ceremony is nice to watch

Shimla: Haven't been there but I believe you can skip it...I would prefer anyday Dharamshala/McLeodganj over it (they may be litte farther)

Since, you are covering Rajasthan and have limited time on your hands, skip Rishikesh/Haridwar and include may be Pushkar in your trip. Else, skip 1 place in Rajasthan and go till Varansi for pilgrimage experience.

Food: Delhi is paradise for street food...you have umpteen options here..

Happy traveling!

Cheers!

14

Well we have amended our itinerary again thanks to some of the great responses, have decided against shimla as even though it would be nice it isnt as appealling as the other places! And it might be to cold in feb, even snowing!? So instead we are thinking still amritsar since it sounds so amazing especially in your response habby! then to mcleodganj for a day? Also What are everyones thoughts on jaipur and the amber fort aswell? Have read a few conflicting views! We are going to do jaipur and udaipur and cut out jodhpur (sadly) so we can add on a few days here and there to make it slightly less rushed! Thanks again! Also that would be great if i could get some info off you about hiring a driver and the costs habby! Will send a message over the weekend..