A unique feature that can be included in your India tailormade holiday is a Jewish Heritage tour. According to legend, the history of Kerala’s Jews goes back as far as the time of King Solomon (10th century BC), when trade in exotic items from India such as peacocks, ivory, sandalwood and spices flourished.

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The Jewish community in Cochin grew significantly during the 16th century. Thus in the mid 20th century, Kerala had eight Jewish communities each having its own synagogue. Only a handful of Jews still live in Kerala today – however, their synagogues, cemeteries, houses and streets still bear witness to their 2000-year old association with India.

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If you are on an India tailormade holiday, include a visit to Cranganore which is an hour from Cochin. We can arrange a very interesting walking tour focusing on Jewish heritage. Before visiting Cranganore you can stop en route at Chennamangalam, to see the sensitively restored synagogue of the Malabar Jews. Based on Indian building traditions, but influenced by visiting traders and imperialists over the centuries, the Chennamangalam synagogue is a wonderful example of the traditions of Keralan vernacular architecture. After lunch, you will be driven to Fort Kochi. Here, you can visit the ‘Jew Town’ area, where Cochin’s Jews were given land by the Cochin King to build their homes and trading houses. You can visit the Paradesi synagogue, known for its hand-painted tiles and its quaint old chandeliers. You can go on a walking exploration through the narrow streets of this area, to absorb the atmosphere and to see the homes of Cochin’s Jewish community. You can also take a brief look at the Jewish cemetery if interested.

The India tailor made tour will also include visits to sights in Fort Kochi, such as the Matanchery Palace (Dutch Palace) and St Francis Church.

Camel treks in India

Camel Treks in India come in many guises. The most popular – certainly the image that is conjured up by the phrase – is of brightly turbaned men leading camel trains across scrubby desert interspersed with giant sand dunes with a romantic looking desert castle in the background. This is the classic camel trek or camel safari of Rajasthan which are conducted in the Thar desert beyond Jodhpur and all the way to Jaisalmer and Bikaner where the desert plunges into Pakistan. For all it’s clichéd images, this remains a fantastic experience. There is nothing that can match the camels ability to navigate across these inhospitable lands and open up a magical realm of desert communities, wonderfully colourful nomads, amazing if austere scenery and an unimaginable wealth of wildlife. The Rajasthani’s are a naturally large-hearted and hospitable folk to which qualities they bring tremendous style and panache. Typically an overnight camel safari will camp in the middle of the dunes somewhere with not another tourist in sight and under the glitter of desert skies, you will be treated to superb music and food lit by mashals or flaming torches.

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But camel safaris or treks are available across Rajasthan and can go from just a couple of hours to several days. One of the best places to head out into the country-side is in a remote corner of southern Rajasthan where the landscape – while arid, is broken by jagged, rocky hills which are the haunt of leopards and hyena amongst other wildlife. It is a fantastic place to experience the Rajasthan that is rapidly disappearing under the press of 21^st century development. This is still a place where the seasons dictate the pace of life; where a group of nomads on the move – with their sheep and goats, swaying camels loaded with baggage, straight-backed women clothed in bright swirling clothes and white clad, scarlet turbaned shepherds still evoke a timeless way of life – and it is entirely fitting that it should be explored from atop a camel!

Bespoke India is really where our heart lies. I mean, here is this incredibly vast and varied country, with so much choice of highly individual accommodation, so many options of activity in the same destinations as to be able to cater to virtually every individual taste. How can you package that? Why would you want to? A bespoke holiday allows you the luxury of choosing the most appropriate accommodation for each area. In Agra we unequivocally recommend the sumptuous Oberoi Amar Vilas. It is almost extravagantly indulgent but in an utterly appropriate manner, for Agra was the capital of the Great Mughals and every single room of this magnificent hotel enjoys uninterrupted views of the Taj Mahal – the central attraction that draws people to Agra from every corner of the globe. The Amar Vilas is built in sandstone and in a style that is a modern iteration of the grace and grandeur of Mughal architecture replete with filigreed stone work, screens, courtyards full of fountains and flowers. Perfect base from which to explore the marvels of Mughal architecture that grace Agra. On a package ‘luxury’ tour you would then willy-nilly be locked into similar opulence everywhere your itinerary takes you. And you will have a safe and predictably fantastic time – but it just could be that when you get to Jaipur for instance, rather than automatically stay at the Oberoi Raj Vilas you would take our recommendation and stay instead in the Samode Haveli – a nobleman’s converted town house which affords you the luxury of stepping out of a historic building bang into the middle of the crowds, colour and bustle of Old Jaipur – which is what you have actually come to Jaipur to see and experience. Samode Haveli is an authentic part of old Jaipur in a way that the Raj Vilas for all its extraordinary beauty and luxury, simply is not. A bespoke holiday allows you the choice.

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But it isn’t just about accommodations, its about people. The most extraordinary experiences for a traveller are when you connect with someone local on a human level and go away with insights about a culture and society that is impossible in large commercial establishments. One of the least ‘stylish’ small hotels that we use for example also is a highlight in terms of experience for people we have sent there. Simply because the experience here is so extraordinary, so remote, so authentically exotic – looking for leopards and wildlife that live amongst a stark rocky landscape at the edge of the desert and inhabited by a hardy, extraordinarily colourful shepherd tribe. The family you stay with are descendants of the feudal barons of the area who can trace their lineage to the mid-13^th century.  And they are the warmest, most gracious and hospitable people you can hope to be hosted by anywhere. It isn’t for everyone – but that’s what bespoke means. Understanding what you want and then designing the holiday to your tastes.

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