We took a five hour train south from Dehli to Sawai Madhopur, our entry to Rajasthan and an intended brief luxury moment in a 17th century converted ‘palace’ close to Ranthambore National Park.

Intent being a short respite from our city tours and a potential chance to spot a Tiger in a Park safari!

Whilst I hadn’t booked earlier (and clearly should have given its peak season and Diwali too!), our hotel did manage to get us on an afternoon drive out to zone 10 of the park. That’s a back breaking and lung choking (very dusty ‘roads’!!) 40 mins drive into the park.

We weren’t lucky enough to spot a tiger, which we think is rarer than proposed, but we did see some wildlife in the park.

The scenery was great in places but no comparison to the richness and diversity of the African safari we took a couple of years back, although the cost profile possibly reflects that!

Ours hotel was very impressive though!!