India

The Great India-Taj and Tiger Luxury Safari

Traveling in India can overwhelm your senses with countless and diverse sights, smells and sounds. One moment you might be gazing at the snowclad Himalayas in Ladakh and the next you’re in the tropical rain forests of the south. It is often said that India is not a country, but a continent encompassing an incomparable range of landscapes, cultures and people.

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- 14 days

A never-ending multitude of amazing and diverse experiences awaits as you travel this land, from vastly varying countryside to mesmerizing cities which merge old and new like nowhere else. Bustling old bazaars can be found adjacent to swanky shopping malls, and majestic historic monuments and landmarks accompany luxurious heritage hotels.

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India is also home to incredible National Parks that include the greatest biospheres on the Asian continent and many of the most amazing species of wildlife, including the elusive Bengal Tiger – king of the jungle.

On this tour, we will also discover the long and fascinating Jewish heritage that exists in this country, boasting historic synagogues of traditional Indian Jewish communities as well as European and Iraqi Jewish communities, some of which are still functional.

This unique gourmet kosher safari and luxury tour, will combine two of the best wildlife sanctuaries in India with a selection of its greatest cultural treasures, enjoying some of the most palatial hotels, and GKS signature cuisine and service.

This tour can be taken as a superior luxury, deluxe luxury or ultra luxury tour depending on budget. Please inquire about pricing and differences.

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We spend Shabbat in the seaside region of the India gate, where we are able to daven with the Indian Jewish Community, in one of its famous shuls, as well as visit the newly rebuilt Beit-Chabad, with its touching memorial to the late Rabbi and Rebbetzin Holzberg murdered on the site in the 2008 terror attacks.

Our locations also allow for numerous walks along the coastline and bustling Mumbai streets, where we might even see some street-cricket. All of India is cricket crazy, and there is hardly a person you will meet from businessman to porter that won’t be delighted to spend hours discussing his favorite team with you and describing his own prowess at the game!

Those interested in exploring more of what Mumbai has to offer, including its famous Bollywood and cricket scene, are invited to arrive a few days early.
Welcome to Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, India’s, and indeed one of the world's largest cities and the capital of Maharashtra.

The Greater Mumbai area occupies a long, narrow peninsula in the Arabian Sea on the west coast of India, its City is an island of 69 square kilometers.

Mumbai is the most populous city in India and in the top five in the world with an estimated population of over 20 million and is the financial center, economic powerhouse, and industrial hub of India.

Traffic in this metropolis is an experience in and of itself and one day is nowhere near enough to see its many highlights, however, we aim to get a taste with a visit to the famous “Gateway to India”, the Taj palace hotel, and the Dhobi Ghat, the world’s largest open-air laundry, where hundreds of people do laundry for hospitals, hotels, and private people around the city to deliver it back on time despite the traffic!
Mumbai is also one of the main centres of Jewish-Indian heritage relating to the incredible heritage shuls of the Bnei-Israel, who trace their Jewish-Indian roots back thousands of years, to the post first-Temple period. There is even a Jewish day school (today containing hardly any Jewish children) named after the famous Sephardi Sassoon Family!
It might be “just a building”, but there is little that can prepare you for the “Wow factor” experienced when you walk through the gates of the outer enclosure and see this famous mother of all buildings in person.

Built in 1632 on the south bank of the Yamuna River by its Muslim ruler as a memorial shrine to his beloved wife, the perfect architecture and sheer beauty of the design explains why the Taj Mahal is listed as one of the 7 wonders of the world.

On day 3, we fly from Mumbai to New Delhi, the Indian capital, and drive from there to Agra, the site of this incredible monument, where we spend the late afternoon exploring its various viewing points.

Sunrise photography at the Taj Mahal is said to be an experience of its own, and those who do not mind a little sleep deprivation are highly advised to rise early and get one last look at this amazing feat of human creativity.
We then set-off for Jaipur, capital of Rajasthan, land of the Maharajas. Known as the “pink city”, Jaipur has some of the most incredible forts and palaces in the world, some of which we will be able to explore and admire during the late afternoon.

In Jaipur, one can even ride an elephant up the historic fort, watch snake-charmers in action, and try one’s hand at Indian pottery!
From the chaos of Indian cities, we head into the jungles to spot the big cats.

Even for the most experienced safari addict, there is little more exciting that seeing a tiger in the wild, and the open semi-arid terrain of Rajasthan’s Ranthambhore National Park is considered the best place in the world to do so (the picture above was actually taken by us on our tour)!

Of course, like any genuine safari venue, this is no zoo and nothing is guaranteed, it takes patience and some prayers. As incredible as the tigers of Ranthambhore are, this unique game reserve offers plenty of other tremendous animals and an amazing jungle experience with views of the impressive Ranthambhore Fort, one of the oldest in India and itself a tourist highlight.

In addition to its famous tiger population, Ranthambhore is also home to four different species of deer, including the Sambar Deer (one of the largest on Earth), marsh-crocodile, various monkeys, amazing bird-life and even the evasive sloth-bear! It is also a great place to spot the world’s favorite bird in the wild, something unique to India, and with some luck, we might even get to see a Peacock dance!
As is usual on safari, we spend the early morning and late afternoon hours looking for game, and the middle of the day relaxing, eating, swimming, and catching up on much-needed rest at our incredible lodge.

On day 7, we rise early for our final exciting safari in this incredible park and one last chance to spot a tiger taking an early morning drink as well as some other early morning jungle delights. A lavish brunch at our lodge ensues and then we drive back to Jaipur in time to fly on to the far tropical South for the next exciting leg of our journey!
The “Venice of the East”, as it is known, Cochin (Kochi) India’s South-Western port city is one of the leading cities of the tropical Southern State of Kerala, the Spice capital of the world.

For thousands of years, this area has served as the centre of the spice-trade and one of the most important gateways to the East, while its numerous backwaters serve as natural canals that are a mainstay of transport in the region.

Today, we explore these backwaters by boat and visit the famous port Cochin area, where some of the landmarks’ names (like “Menorah” and “Shalom”) will astound you.

Cochin is also home to one of the oldest Indian Jewish communities, almost all of whom made aliya soon after the establishment of the State of Israel. We visit some of its historic synagogues and hear from the locals about its proud Jewish heritage.
There is something indescribably cool and surreal about spending Shabbos in what looks like a little piece of Safed in India.

Historic Shuls, shops with names such as “Sarah’s” (whose owner is in her late nineties, may she live long, and who still lives in the neighborhood), and even the kever of the Kabbalist of Cochin, all testify to the incredible Jewish life that once prospered here.

On this memorable Shabbat, with enough participants G-D willing, we will have the amazing opportunity of making a minyan in the historic Paradesi Synagogue and to meet some of the last remaining Jewish residents of this surreal place!
We spend the Weekend in “Jew-Town”, the neighborhood which, as its name implies, once served as one of the centers of Jewish life in the city, and whose heritage is proudly maintained by the current residents.
On day 9, we leave behind the historic legacy of Cochin, and fly inland to Bangalore, India’s fourth-largest city and its famous High-Tech capital.
Known as the Silicon Valley of India, Bangalore is the center of India’s booming technology scene. It is also the capital of Karnataka, the “Elephant State” and an important center for, believe it or not, kosher supervision!

America’s major kashrus agencies, from the OU to the Star K all spend time in this region, and we hope to have the local Rabbi explain to us how so many of the foods we eat contain raw materials originating from here!
We continue with another safari experience by visiting The Kabini River, jewel of the Indian Jungle, which winds its way along the border of two great National Parks, Badarpur and Navargole, and is one of the most pristine and unspoilt areas in the country.

Boasting the greatest diversity of flora and Fauna on the entire Asian continent, this is one of the best places to see the endangered Indian elephant in the wild (most elephant in this country are known to be of the working variety) as well as the Gaur, the feared Indian Bison, which is the world’s largest bovine species and even larger than the African Cape Buffalo and American Bison!
A long but extremely worthwhile drive takes us through wondrous and interesting towns and villages to this paradise, where the hustle and bustle of Indian urban sprawl and traffic give way to the tranquility and silence of the jungle!

We aim to arrive on time for our first afternoon safari in this incredible park.

Although good sightings of large herbivores are almost guaranteed, Kabini is also prime big-cat territory, and although the thicker jungle terrain makes sightings more challenging, the site of a tiger or leopard stepping out of the bush, crossing the road, and disappearing again, is truly the experience of a lifetime.
Kabini is also one of the only places in the world where one has a decent, though small, chance of sighting the incredibly rare black panther, something even the most regular safari enthusiast would travel the world to see. One who is lucky enough to get a quick glimpse of this beauty will immediately understand why he is known as the “Phantom of the Forest.”

In addition to elephant, gaur, leopard, black panther and tiger, Kabini’s “Big 7” can also include rare Indian wild-dog and sloth-bear, and with some luck, many other species, such as the Malabar giant squirrel, red mongoose, bonnet mccaw, and of course the dancing peacock, can also be sighted.
Kabini is truly a nature lover’s paradise, and saying goodbye involves many mixed feelings, yet good-bye we must say, as we set out for our journey back to Bangalore in-time for our international flights home following a gourmet kosher adventure of which most only dream.