New: Zipwire over Jodhpur Fort
Newly available in Rajasthan is the chance to zipwire over Jodhpur’s timeless, perfectly-preserved Mehrangarh Fort. With Flying Fox, visitors can travel along a course of ultra-strong cables linking ramparts and ridge tops, getting an invader’s perspective of Jodhpur: its indigo-coloured Brahmpuri quarter, more traditional red sandstone buildings,crenellated battlements and hidden lakes. This is also a journey which encompasses parts of the Fort complex – including the beautiful but rarely visited Chokelao Garden – which until now were inaccessible or required lots of walking. Trained guides accompany you at every stage, both to ensure your safety and to provide a commentary.
Explaining the Flying Fox conception, Director, Richard McCallum, said: “Currently, adventure tourism in Rajasthan is limited to camel cart rides, kite flying and driving down the NH8 after dark. We want to do our bit to change that.”
Flying Fox launched in 2009 at Neemrana fort. But Mehrangarh is a far more attractive, far more famous and far more spectacular fort, while Jodhpur has a better standard of local accommodation. Flying Fox are working closely with the Mehrangarh Museum Trust to ensure the experience fits harmoniously with the Fort’s ethos, and the installation is as low impact as possible – e.g. the cable is barely perceptible against the backdrop of the Fort, and anchor points are designed to blend into it’s stone fabric. Safety is also taken very seriously, with the zip tour constructed to Europe’s latest standard for high ropes adventure courses, and checked multiple times daily with scrupulous care.
Jodhpur zip wire tours cost from £25 pp. Real Holidays (020 7359 3938 / www.indiaportfolio.co.uk) has B&B in a luxury room at Jodhpur’s first-ever boutique hotel, Raas, from £137 pp per night. Flying Fox photographs are readily available. Minimum age for participants is 10.
New: Ulagalla Resort to open in July 2010
The first new Sri Lankan hotel to be commissioned in the post-war era, Ulagalla Resort will open in July 2010. Located in the ancient kingdom of Anuradhapura amid Sri Lanka’s ‘Cultural Triangle’, it consists of 25 detached, luxury chalets, scattered across 58 acres of paddy fields, vegetable plantations and two reservoirs. The 800 sq. foot chalets each have a separate living area, courtyard and private plunge pool.
Ulagalla’s reception building is a convertedwalawwa: a former farmhouse home to colonial chieftains that has been completely restored. While this evokes an old-fashioned aura, there’s plenty of modern thinking present, too. Ulagalla has the largest solar farm in Sri Lanka, and 50% of energy will be solar-powered. In addition, the resort has been constructed using the green building material, Durra. It will even use electric cars to shuttle guests around.
There’s also a fully equipped gym and pool to enjoy, plus an Ayurvedic spa, archery stations, and the option to go horse-riding or canoeing. Ulagalla Resort will host a soft opening in July and will be fully functional from the first week of August. Using a special introductory rate, seven nights’ half board will cost from £1,390 pp with Real Holidays (020 7359 3938 / www.srilankaportfolio.co.uk) including flights and transfers, until 31 October.
New: A most unusual spa offer – save £955 pp and save the world
Spa offers are two a penny right now, but here’s one with a difference. The Six Senses Maldivian hotels of Soneva Fushi and Soneva Giliare offering ten nights for the price of five – but only if you spend five hours on five of the ten days working on local community projects. Those projects include marine conservation, teaching children, planting trees and assisting local families. The offer is valid for combined stays (at Soneva Gili and Soneva Fushi) or stays at just one of the resorts.
The saving is a handsome £955 pp. Incorporating that, Real Holidays (020 7359 3938 / www.srilankaportfolio.co.uk) offers a 10-night stay for £3,165 pp, including flights, transfers, six nights’ B&B at Soneva Fushi, four nights’ B&B at Soneva Gili and the volunteering. The deal is only valid on stays completed between 1 June – 25 July and 26 August – 12 October, and also in the interim but at a slightly higher cost.
Mumbai almost back to normal
The Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai will re-open later this month, following extensive restoration and renovation after it was the target of terrorist attacks in November 2008. Located on Marine Drive in South Mumbai, the luxury hotel will be open again on 24 April. All its guest rooms and suites have been spruced up, while an Indian restaurant under the direction of Michelin-starred chef Vineet Bhatia has been opened.
Meanwhile, the Taj Mahal Palace & Towers hotel in Mumbai, which was also seriously affected by the terrorist attacks, is due to fully re-open on 1 May. Its Towers wing was re-opened in December 2008, but the Palace wing has been closed since the attacks. Given the Trident hotel has already resumed business, the full re-opening of the Taj and Oberoi hotels will signify the complete return to normal business for Mumbai’s signature hotels.
Contact Real Holidays (020 7359 3938 / www.indiaportfolio.co.uk) for rates at these various Mumbai hotels.
Real Holidays is a tailor-making specialist operator providing high-quality trips to India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Come for them not just for the staples – Rajasthan, Kerala etc – but for much more unusual destinations, itineraries and accommodation. Tiger safari? Boring – why not go track down the world’s smallest pig instead…?
Ends – 14 April 2010
Press:For pictures, press trips or simply more information on Real Holidays, contact Richard Mellor at Travel PR on 020 8891 4440 / r.mellor@travelpr.co.uk.