I’ve been itching for an excuse to visit India. I’m also a gluttonous bookworm. So when travel professional Marta Rabins told me about this January trip centered around the Jaipur Literary Festival, I was instantly tempted.
There’s space still available. Should we go? Read on for details…
Diggi Palace, Jaipur, India.
When?
January 11 - 26, 2014.
Why go?
While the annual Jaipur Literary Festival attracts world renowned speakers like author Gary Shteyngart and the Dalai Lama, it’s still a virtually unknown to U.S. travelers. The largest literary festival in the Asia-Pacific region, it’s held in the beautiful heritage Diggi Palace in Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan, one of the most colorful states in India. The festival draws authors, journalists, scholars and visitors from all over the world. While there, you can meet interesting people devoted to literature. You can also find fantastic new authors to follow, like Kota Neelima and Ashok Ferrey, a fabulous opportunity for anyone who enjoys discovering the world through books.
About the trip.
This journey with Ponte Travels begins in New Delhi, the nation’s thriving capital and a microcosm for the rest of India, and then takes you to Rajasthan to attend the annual Jaipur Literary Festival. Once the festival concludes, you’ll be off to Pushkar, Jodhpur and Udaipur, exploring and meeting village artisans along the way.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
I know I’d love to view tigers in the wild.
I know India is a mind-bending destination that’s been transforming travelers for centuries.
But knowing whether my tourism dollars should, or should not, go to supporting tiger tracking in India… not so much.
That’s why I rely on organizations like National Geographic, Sustainable Travel, and the Adventure Travel Trade Association, to help inform my travel choices.
So ever since Wildland Adventures’ Tigers and Travels trip to India was recognized by National Geographic Traveler magazine as a 2011 Tour of a Lifetime, I’ve been itching to go.
On this 19-day tour, guests search for tigers in the famed Bandhavgarh and Kanha National Parks, explore ancient forts and castles, and are immersed in the contemporary cultural fabric of modern India.
Based from sustainable jungle lodges and restored manor homes and palaces, travelers learn about the current state of tigers in India and how tourism-supported programs such as Wildlands’ 10,000 Tigers initiative are working to bring these big cats back from the brink of extinction by empowering communities to protect their habitat and end illegal poaching.
The best part? By participating on this trip you help save tigers, in part by supporting the local communities around the parks so they benefit from ecotourism.
I’m sold. You?
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".