EAT YOUR HEART OUT TOURS
STEPWELLS TEXTILES ARTS&CRAFTS
NORTHWEST INDIA
Gujarat - Kutch
October 6 - 21, 2024
Optional: Off Beaten Path Rajasthan
Oct 21-27, 2024
Our most loved tour is back...with a twist!
Says Jodie Watkins (Australia):
"One of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. Our leaders Shila and Nirav were a font of knowledge and bent over backwards to make sure our trip was as stress free and enjoyable -- words cannot do justice. We visited villages that tourists rarely go and were welcomed into homes. The sights I have seen, the experiences I was honoured to have undertaken, will stay with me forever. The quality of the work we saw was exceptional. Thank you Shila and Nirav.”
Webb Naas, VA
I can't even imagine the hours you spent in conjunction to make such an incredible journey possible. The window that you opened to India for us was not the stuff of the usual tourist circuit. The longer this tour recedes into the rear view mirror, the greater its impact. It was just incredible! Tours of India are ubiquitous. See the Taj Mahal, check out the traffic in New Delhi, maybe go as far afield as the beaches of Goa, but how many tours would take us to textile artisans in villages, or a visit to one of the few nomadic tribes in Rajastan? It was just totally incredible! Thank you, Shila and Nirav.
Guadalupe Alvarez, Mexico
Gracias is too small a word to express how I feel about this trip to India. Thank you, Shila, for your vision and knowledge. Thank you Nirav for teaching me so much, and your patience! You brought richness to my trip and I learnt so much.
Explore the essence of Indian craftsmanship in a 5,000-year old culture.
What sets this tour apart? A double hit of handmade textiles, arts and crafts AND stepwells.
Stepwells are an architectural marvel unique to Gujarat-Rajasthan. Much more than ancient water-harvesting systems, they are elaborate feats of engineering and craftsmanship to rival the most magnificent of Indian palaces . . . only, underground.
Read more here. Join us to marvel at an India far beyond tourist trappings.
NEW in 2024! Just opened Harrapan archeological site of Dholavira, India's newest UNESCO site and location of earliest known 5000 year old stepwell.
Led by handmade textiles leader and stepwell expert.
** 15 wonder-filled days**/ Optional 5 days blockprinting immersion in magical Jaipur.
USD 4460 pp double occupancy
USD 1300 pp single supplement
Optional 7 days off beaten path Rajasthan USD 2450 pp double occ. (group size 6)
Small group . . . write us today!
This way for a trip report and photos from 2022 tour. Click
Artisanal Villages
Access remote desert villages for exceptional artisanship. Be welcomed into local dwellings and enjoy camaraderie with village women through hands on workshops. Learn about traditions passed from mother to daughter through the language of embroidery.
Stepwells
Explore a vanishing and little-known underground world. Stepwells are masterpieces of early architecture and engineering in ancient societies' search for water, guaranteed to deliver a profound experience. Alongside our stepwells expert, we will explore several architecturally different stepwells including NEW! 5000 year-old UNESCO site of Dholavira.
Intricate tie-dye - Bandhani
Workshops and demos with award-winning artisans in UNESCO World Heritage recognised craft of Bandhani. Explore the traditions behind a textile craft prized for millennia. Learn about cultural and social norms of different communities and faiths.
Block printing heaven
From the complex 16-step Ajrakh to hands-on workshops to engaging your creative side, we cover every aspect of block printing: natural dyes, dabu resist, mordants, mordants, and motifs. Learn about the block-making process where artisans carve your own block while you wait. Continue your love-affair with hands-on blockprinting for 5 days in Jaipur.
Double-ikat Patan
Textiles over which wars were fought: the famous double-ikat of Patan. Visit with one of only two remaining families who carry on this fiendishly compex weaving of tie-dyed warp and weft, matched on the loom to produce a textile of unsurpassed beauty. Observe patola motifs echoed in stone in the stepwells we visit.
Stunning ancient temples
Beginning with 11th CE Sun Temple Modhera where ingenious architecture captures an explosion of the sun right inside the innermost sanctum. Incredibly intricate Jain and Hindu living temples in Ahmedabad. Wander relatively undiscovered monuments and retrace the rich, unsung history of this region on your own terms.
Culinary Beats
A given on every E.Y.H.O. tour -- we are huge foodies! We will introduce you to how locals eat, in a safe and hygienic way. Meals with local families and roadside eateries for a culinary immersion. Worried about getting sick in India? We have an enviable 10 year record of keeping our travellers healthy!
Unforgettable vistas
Surreal Salt Desert with stunning sunsets and the charm of rural Gujarat. The greatest forts and colourful lore of off the beaten track Rajasthan. Towns on lakes and villages perched on mountains. Vistas that will stay on in your memory long after the return journey home.
Jaipur blockprinting immersion
Optional 5 days add-on.
Continue your love affair with India in enchanting Jaipur. Hands-on workshops in natural dyeing, and Sanganeri-style and dabu resist block-printing. Museum of blockprint and Abhaneri stepwell (pictured), as well as iconic sites of Amer Fort, City Palace, and Observatory. Shop the vibrant bazaars and lose yourself in the magic of the Pink City.
Photo Gallery
