Thrilling mix of cycling and culture
We visited in Jan-Feb 2026. The trip includes interesting visits to a number of major palaces, forts and temples, and of course the fantastic Taj Mahal, but our key memory will be the chaos and cacophony of the traffic and the enthusiastic waving of the villagers as we passed along the country lanes. Our leaders took excellent care of us, enabling us to navigate our way around safely, whether on foot or by bike. Expect appalling road surfaces, litter strewn verges, and constant hooting, but expect also wide smiles, vibrant saris and a glimpse into a very different way of life to our own. I was worried about getting ill, but only one person in our group of 10 got a tummy bug (lasted 24 hours). One person came off their bicycle in a low speed collision in a village centre, with no harm done.
Most Inspirational Moment
The Taj Mahal was as amazing as it is reputed to be , while Kumbhalgarh fort was all the more impressive for being totally unexpected and somewhere we had never heard of.
Thoughts on Group Leader
We had two leaders - Manish and Manu, both excellent. The trip ran smoothly with a lot of attention to details that we hardly noticed but made all the difference; for example, when we needed to cross a busy road, they held up the traffic for us, apparently by force of personality.
Advice for Potential Travellers
The weather in January is cool in the evenings and we ate outside on roof top terraces on a number of occasions - take warm clothing for this. During the day however it is hot. You will also need warmish cycling clothes for the early ride in Delhi. Ear plugs are advisable, both for the night on the train and in case you are disturbed by wedding parties (Jan/Feb is wedding season). The pollution was no where near as bad as we had been led to believe, possibly because it had rained a lot just before we arrived, but a buff was still useful on the dusty roads.































































































