EAT YOUR HEART OUT TOURS
STEPWELLS TEXTILES ARTS&CRAFTS
NORTHWEST INDIA
Gujarat - Kutch
September 26-Oct 10, 2022
Optional: Off-beaten-track Rajasthan
Oct 10-16, 2022
COMPLETED - Visit Photo gallery for tour report!
Next tour: Tentatively February 2024. Write us
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. You will not regret it. Thank you Shila and Nirav.”
Patsy Anderson (Toronto):
"An exceptional tour . . . I was the clear textile rookie in the group and I learned so much. Superb tour leaders."
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.
Led by Canada-based textile expert steeped in the lore of her Gujarati ancestors and our expert, much-loved local leader.
** 15 wonder-filled days**/ Optional 7 days off-beaten track Rajasthan
USD 3995 pp double occupancy
USD 1650 pp single supplement
Small group . . . write us today!
This way for a trip report and photos from past tours. 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, little-known world under the ground. Masterpieces of early architecture and engineering in ancient societies' search for water, stepwells are guaranteed to deliver a profound experience. Along with a stepwells expert, we will explore six architecturally different stepwells across Gujarat and Rajasthan.
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.
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 temples at Dilawara. Wander uncrowded 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 home.
Off the beaten track Rajasthan
Optional 8 days add-on.
You've done the Golden Triangle. Now see the real Rajasthan. Village life, impregnable forts clinging to craggy cliffs, crumbling palaces, and another kind of stepwell suited to local geology. Kota Doria weaving, miniature paintings in frescoes, and the blue wonder of Bundi.
