Journeys with Festivals
Journeys
with Festivals
Meticulously Orchestrated Journeys in India
At an unpretentious notch or two above luxury
At an Unpretentious
notch or two above luxury
Planning:
Personalized Itineraries
Responsiveness and Expertise
Infinite customization possibilities
- Personalized Itineraries
- Responsiveness and Expertise
- Infinite Customization Possibilities
Exploring:
Knowledgable and Passionate Guides
Personalized VIP Services Throughout
Unhurried Pace during Exploration and Travel
Suites and Upgraded Rooms at the Finest Lodging
- Connoisseur Guides
- Personalized VIP Services
- Exploration at Unhurried Pace
- Upgraded Rooms and Suites
Availability is limited
All journeys are mild activity & pace levels.
About Our India Journeys
Our Journeys in India are luxurious and unhurried introductions to this ancient land’s unique fusion of tradition, culture, and modernity. Select from meticulously planned luxury itineraries for first time visitors, premier wildlife experiences with or without cultural touring, luxury culinary travel, and more.
Your exploration will be personally orchestrated by an exceptional guide, and the best views at the finest luxury lodging, comfortable upscale transportation, attentive yet unobtrusive service, and a lot more is standard.
Our travelers are fascinated by the incredible diversity of colorful cultures in India, and we’re happy to include your choice of awe-inspiring ancient sites, storied jungles, crowded cities and charming towns, and anything else that you want.
Born in 2004, we are a small boutique specialist company and over 70% of our guests today are repeats or referrals. We facilitate seamless Luxury Plus private travel across the magical landscapes of India. Our unmatched local expertise and contacts open the doors to the most extraordinary experiences India has to offer.
There are thousands of festivals, fairs and celebrations in India each year. All the major festivals of India are fascinating for the locals, but our experience has taught us that some are much more interesting for a visitor to experience, while other festivals, although extremely important to the natives, do not offer much of an opportunity for visitors to really experience the actual celebration. As an example, India’s biggest festival, Diwali (unlike Dev Diwali in Varanasi), is primarily celebrated by families in their homes, just like Christmas. The listing of festivals linked below is listed in an order on what we feel are the most interesting for a visitor.
Pushkar Festival & Fair
The small town of Pushkar is spread around a holy lake that has been a pilgrimage destination for centuries. Devout Hindu’s from Rajasthan and neighbouring states visit the destination throughout the year to immerse themselves in the sacred water, but the numbers increase significantly during the days leading up to Kartik Poornima, one of the the holiest days in the Hindu lunar calendar.
Pilgrims start arriving a few days before the most auspicious day, praying to the God Brahma at his temple near the lake, and immersing themselves in the holy water. Our guests get to witness colorful religious processions parading through the streets of the now bustling town, where gypsy bazaars have cropped up everywhere.
The Pushkar Camel Fair takes place at the same time. It is the finest opportunity to explore true rural Indian culture in the heart of Rajasthan. As fall sweeps through the arid state of Rajasthan in North India, thousands of people begin driving herds of camels, horses, and cows towards the town of Pushkar for this yearly holiday that combines all the hallmarks of a typical country fair with the flair of the Hindu religion into a truly unique festival.
For most of the year, Pushkar is a quiet town resting on the banks of its holy lake, but the Pushkar Fair turns this usually sleepy village into the most colorful destinations in the world. Parades, camel safaris, acrobatic performances, races, and livestock pageants are just a few of the intriguing spectacles that can be spotted during the Pushkar Camel Fair.
Like most festivals on the Indian subcontinent, the holiday’s dates are determined using a lunar calendar, and as such, dates can shift several weeks each year. Typically, the Pushkar Camel Fair falls between late October and early November.
Holi Festival
Holi, the Festival of Colors, is one of India’s most recognized holidays. This festival, held annually near or on a full moon, celebrates the end of winter and the onset of spring with a riot of colors, sounds, music, and dance.
City streets across India erupt into a playful, carnival atmosphere during Holi as revelers spend the day throwing handfuls of dye at each other, dancing, singing, and playing mischievous pranks on each other. Parades of musicians and dancers are a common sight on many city streets across the nation, and public parks and temple grounds often see large and joyful gatherings of people. The holiday is universally celebrated across caste, class, and creed.
While there are a number of religious connotations and ceremonies that go along with Holi, like the traditional Holika Bonfire held the evening before, the holiday is mostly a secular event where neighbors, friends, and family gather together to celebrate the first blooms of spring.
India’s Holi festival coincides with Vernal Equinox, and as such the dates of the celebration vary from year to year. The festival is usually held towards the end of February or the beginning of March on western calendars.
The Holi festival is a great opportunity to get a taste of the subcontinent’s thrilling and distinct culture during one of our luxury tours of India. The riot of activity, sound, music, and color is one of the most unforgettable holiday experiences in the world, and the festival’s inclusive nature means foreigners are often active participants in the daylong celebration.
Holi is typically celebrated across India from the smallest villages to the largest cities. While there is some regional variations in the length of the festival, it typically runs all day and finishes with the setting of the sun, when festival goers head home to clean up, done their finest apparel, and head back out to exchange gifts and warm greetings with their friends, family, and neighbors.
During the daylight hours, it’s best to wear some older clothing you don’t mind getting a permanent color adjustment, and a good pair of stout shoes.