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About Us

About us

Aahilya Holidays are perfect for you if you just love stitch, embroidery, block printing, quilting and textile art. We specialise in really unique holidays that go off the normal tourist route and onto the off the beaten track. We love to explore rural villages, traditional textile techniques which honour the ethnic culture of each country that we visit. Always looking out for colour, culture, patterns and people, you will discover India presents a feast for the senses. On our textile trips, we really want to find the real event with the real people by taking you places that you did not even know existed. Some of our textile holidays are aimed at those who like a little more comfort - such as in Jaipur, we stay for the whole holiday in one hotel and take little day trips out from that one base. However, some of our textile trips are more intrepid - we have our own coach which travels around a specific area - such as the embroidery holidays - moving onto the next attraction each day. Whatever you love to do and see, you will be delighted at our magnificent little daily adventures together. So if you need a holiday that is for you, featuring visits to what you love, then our Aahilya Textile Holidays are designed for you! Come, enjoy and make new friends too. With a friend, a partner, a family member, or by yourself - we are all together having the time of our lives.

On our textile trips, we really want to find the real event with the real people by taking you places that you did not even know existed. Some of our textile holidays are aimed at those who like a little more comfort - such as in Jaipur, we stay for the whole holiday in one hotel and take little day trips out from that one base. However, some of our textile trips are more intrepid - we have our own coach which travels around a specific area - such as the embroidery holidays - moving onto the next attraction each day. Whatever you love to do and see, you will be delighted at our magnificent little daily adventures together. So if you need a holiday that is for you, featuring visits to what you love, then our Aahilya Textile Holidays are designed for you!

Come, enjoy and make new friends too. With a friend, a partner, a family member, or by yourself - we are all together having the time of our lives.

We love to share our enthusiasm with our guests to find something different, unique and most of all, authentic. That is quite a challenge these days, but not impossible! We work with a team of travel specialists in India. Our account managers are Anup and Isha who do all the on ground research to satisfy our requirements and organise the itinerary that we request. Great team work! Check out the videos to see and hear about previous trips and then go ahead and book your dream holiday. Need any more help? Then just email us info@aahilyaholidays.com with your questions.

Isha Sharma [Director]

Isha was born in the Northern State of Punjab and home is now the capital , Delhi. She has been in the travel industry for over well over a decade traveling to all regions in South India and now heads up our textile department organising trips all over the Indian sub-continent, Uzbekistan and Japan and her superb knowledge of all things travel textile provides us with a fantastic content that we offer or guests- all at great value too.

Isha’s deep passion for textile and the crafts helps her curate immersive rich experiences alongside internationally renowned textile artists – many of our textile theme guests have visited the region at least 5 times with us! There is a huge amount of logistics and finer detail that go into making a successful well run trip with plenty to keep folk occupied whilst at the same time allowing some time to breathe and take it all in and she is an expert at making sure all the trips run like clockwork. She will accompany trips where possible although she is always on the lookout for artisans well off the beaten track and is all consumed by the vast array on offer in South Asia and beyond – in her words its become ‘An Obsession’ which absolutely fits with the Aahilya Holidays culture.

She an avid collector of fabric so to understand different styles, weaves, and patterns and she loves accompanying the group to all the local bazaars and giving them all the best tips on haggling and of course making sure that what catches there eye is a quality piece worthy of the journey to back home.

Anup Singh Rana [Director]

Anup was born in the Northern State of Himachal and home is now the capital, Delhi. Anup has a Master's Degree in Tourism from Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla (former summer capital of British India period).

He has an experience of 12 years in travel service and worked with the prestigious travel companies like Cox and Kings, Western & Oriental & Travel Counsellors and learned the art of service delivery specifically to the inbound clients visiting India especially from UK, USA & Europe. He guided various Textile & Art holidays tours arranging block printing/art workshops in the different parts of India.

He has the expertise in handling the entire ground operations so that everything works well starting from the day of arrival until their departure by taking care of all the aspects. He has well-travelled in most of the parts of India and sub-continent having hands-on experience of various destinations. He ensures you to give the perfect holiday assistance and the broadest tour and travel solutions leading to an amazing holiday experience.

Anup Singh Rana [Director]

Anup was born in the Northern State of Himachal and home is now the capital, Delhi. Anup has a Master's Degree in Tourism from Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla (former summer capital of British India period).

He has an experience of 12 years in travel service and worked with the prestigious travel companies like Cox and Kings, Western & Oriental & Travel Counsellors and learned the art of service delivery specifically to the inbound clients visiting India especially from UK, USA & Europe. He guided various Textile & Art holidays tours arranging block printing/art workshops in the different parts of India.

He has the expertise in handling the entire ground operations so that everything works well starting from the day of arrival until their departure by taking care of all the aspects. He has well-travelled in most of the parts of India and sub-continent having hands-on experience of various destinations. He ensures you to give the perfect holiday assistance and the broadest tour and travel solutions leading to an amazing holiday experience.

Gulzar Bagri [Travel Consultant]

Gulzar Bagri is a Travel vlogger, Photographer and he made his career in the Inbound travel industry

He has done his graduation in Tourism Management from Delhi University and started his career in the travel industry in 2015 and gained 5+ years of experience in the Inbound travel industry. In his career journey he learnt a lot about tourism like Itinerary making, costing, file handling, transport, flight & train ticket bookings, interacting and briefing the guests.

He got the opportunity to travel around North, East and west India with travel groups. He has been to Rajasthan, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Maharashtra & Bihar

In 2020, due to lockdown he had to switch his industry and work in different industries where he learnt about Management, sales, strategy Making, team handling and client servicing.

Now he has come back to the travel industry with more experience and Managerial skills.

Testimonials

I feel that the holidays gave us much more than was advertised- every little...

need was catered for & much attention to detail. Two excellent guides with Wendy Dolan & Pushpendra. We couldn’t have been more cared for. I loved all the little pressies throughout the holiday eg. luggage labels, water bottle holder etc. A good mix of block printing and sightseeing - holiday was well paced. It was so good that we didn’t have to worry about drinking water etc. we had a wonderful receptions at Hotel Meghniwas & Mrs Singh couldn’t have been move helpful.


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I had the most wonderful trip. I am so sorry to be leaving Jaipur. I have felt so at home here...

I have learned a lot, had stack of fun, enjoyed the culture and loved the textiles. If I had been imagining the perfect holiday this would have been it! Many thanks to all those who helped us have a holiday of a lifetime.


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Thank you for an incredible holiday! I can’t believe just now much we enjoyed our stay...

Our guide Raju was the best ever kind, helpful and knowledgeable!! Mrs Singh our host a beautiful graceful lady indeed the gardens colourful, rooms clean & food exceptional.. all in one a fantastic holiday.


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United Kingdom
08 Oct 2019
I had a wonderful time & both Isha & Pushpendra were great. When I get round to ...

it I'll send you some pictures. Thank you for all your help with the trip, it's been an experience I'll never forget.


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I’ve had time to draw breath from Christmas and our wonderful trip to Rajasthan...

Teresa and I mistakenly left our assessment forms in our bedroom so couldn’t give them to Paula before we left. It was an amazing trip and I loved every minute of it. It was something I’d wanted to do with Colouricious for several years and it didn’t disappoint. I thought we were beautifully looked after and it was excellent value for money. Isha and Gautam were exceptional with all their information and care and nothing was too much trouble for them.


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Jan Moorhouse
4 March 2023
I’ve just returned from an amazing trip to Himachal and Punjab with the Aahilya holidays...

We stayed in wonderful hotels, had excellent guides, and visited extraordinary places. We took part in embroidery, painting, and drawing workshops and were welcomed everywhere with great enthusiasm. Too many things these days are described as an experience but I can truly say that this holiday was, can’t wait to book another!


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Jill Jordan
4 March 2023
Aahilya holiday trip to Himachal Pradesh was wonderful. From start to finish the organization was superb....

We visited and were welcomed into amazing villages and we visited places we could never have found on our own. Transport, hotels, guides, and drivers were all excellent. The workshops with skilled artisans were fascinating. There were many very moving moments, the meals provided in the Golden Temple, the visit to the Dalai Llama’s temple, and the site of the snow-covered Himalayas. A common love of textiles created a very happy group. I recommend Aahilya Holidays to anyone who also loves textiles or loves India.


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Graham Foster
4 March 2023
Aahilya holidays have given me an amazing flavor of northern India bursting with culture and textiles....

I can thoroughly recommend them and will definitely use them again.


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Angie SMITH
4 March 2023
Aahilya Holidays' recent tour of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh was a masterpiece. Isha Sharma's passion is for...

textiles but this tour included artisan textile production and so much more; history, culture, quality hotels, expert guides & attention to the minutest detail in caring for her clients; fabulous Himalayan scenery, workshops in rare embroidery & craft techniques, & so many extras added to the program. The tour of a lifetime. I am so grateful to have experienced this.


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Annette Bruton
4 March 2023
Fantastic holiday with Aahilya to Amritsar and Himachal. An excellent tour is full of culture, breathtaking landscapes...

, and heritage textiles. The company service is superb. Highly recommend.


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Sarah Baker
4 March 2023
An amazing holiday, my first visit to India. I have really enjoyed the varied itinerary...

knowledgeable guides, and great hotels, The textiles and workshops we have seen and had the chance to try will stay with me forever. I will come again!


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Wendy Dolan
20 March 2023
I'm enjoying an amazing tour of Himachal and Punjab with Aahilya Holidays. We have visited local villages,

taking part in many textile workshops, led by National award-winning makers. The organization throughout has been outstanding. I would thoroughly recommend Aahilya for all textile tours to India.


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Mary Parry
20 March 2023
I was on holiday with Aahilya Holidays a few weeks ago and can only give this first-class review...

The name of the holiday was Textiles of Gujarat. We visited textile artists in their own environments such as a slum in Ahamadebad where we met the most amazing family who was an a ward-winning fabric artist, and another family who specialized in weaving and produced the most fabulous bedspreads, shawls, and fabrics. We traveled through Gujarat visiting villages and hamlets and seeing where the real people lived and worked producing the most creative works. I will definitely book again with Isha at Aahilya holidays but must say it is very difficult to choose from all the holidays on offer as would love to go on them all. Well done Aahilya.


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Cherry Roomes
20 March 2023
I have recently returned from an amazing holiday in Gujarat. It was based on textiles, local embroidery & block printing...

Our guide was very knowledgeable & we went to places that I'm guessing a lot of visitors would never see. All the hotels we stayed at were excellent, the service was first-class. Our driver & bus-boy were so helpful. If you fancy a holiday in India & you want to do more than just visit well-known sites then try Aahilya Holidays. This is the second one I've been on, last time was block printing in Jaipur. You are accompanied by a qualified tutor in the subject and I am Looking forward to going again in the future.


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Mellymade Designs
20 March 2023
My third time with Aahilya holidays and they do not disappoint. The Gujarat holiday is amazing...

The guide Mr. Gautam Popat was the best guide ever. Isha the director was so attentive and went out of her way for each of the guests. It was wonderful to see the real India. The local communities made us feel very welcome and to see their textile art was fantastic. I saw so much more than I thought I would see. It truly was a holiday of a lifetime and I cannot wait to go back and travel with Aahilya Holidays.


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Dorcas f
20 March 2023
If you're looking for fun, fabrics, food, facts, friends & photography then Aahilya Holidays are just for you...

This is the second trip I've been on with Isha (the 5th with her associated company) From the moment I expressed an interest in going to Gujarat then all the way through till I was back on the plane home nothing was too much trouble for her. The group was taken off the beaten track to see amazing textiles; embroideries, weaving, block printing, and tie & dye. Often we were able to participate in workshops led by master craftspeople. A great experience!


Read more
Jonathan Dredge
20 March 2023
This was a holiday of a lifetime! Isha and Stewart were the most wonderful guides, and though...

we were only here for 10 days we visited and saw more than one could possibly imagine, with more laughs per day than any tour in India! I would unreservedly recommend a creative tour by Aahilya (we did Block Printing) and I would love to visit again and do another!


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Paula Watkins
20 March 2023
Aahilya Holidays are simply the best! The range of holiday destinations is superb and the experiences offered ...

are so beautifully arranged. They offer artistic, cultural, historic, and well-being experiences all wrapped up in each of the holidays. The guides are talented and knowledgeable. Their clients are so well looked after. A great many returns to savor the same places again or their wish list of new destinations, new artists, and new joys to be found. Highly recommended!


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Helen sill
7 April 2023
Great travel company. Excellent service.
Jane
7 April 2023
Thank you for a wonderful holiday in - Aahilya holidays did not disappoint...

Days packed with the best of what India has to offer - colors, crafts, flowers, food, sunshine, markets teeming with life - and beautiful fabrics, monuments, and palaces. Altogether a very efficient, personal, well-organised trip - I’ll be back


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Love Judith
7 April 2023
This is my fourth holiday with Aahilya Holidays and it has been absolutely fantastic. I loved Gujarat,...

the colors, the embroidery, and everything is super and I have been looked after really well. I will definitely come again anytime.


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Viki
7 April 2023
AN EXCEPTiONAL EXPERIENCE. AN INDEPTH JOURNEY LEARNING ABOUT CRAFTS & TexTIles...

The tour was well-curated and I ENJOYEd EVERy BIT and would definitely RECOMMEND Aahilya HOLIDAYS FOR AN EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME.


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Mary pary
7 April 2023
I was on holiday with Aahilya Holidays a few weeks ago and can only give this first-class review...

The name of the holiday was Textiles of Gujarat. We visited textile artists in their own environments such as a slum in Ahamadebad where we met the most amazing family who was an award-winning fabric artist, another family who specialized in weaving and produced the most fabulous bedspreads, shawls, and fabrics. We traveled through Gujarat visiting villages and hamlets seeing where the real people lived and worked producing the most creative works. I will definitely book again with Isha at Aahilya holidays but must say it is very difficult to choose from all the holidays on offer as would love to go on them all. Well done Aahilya.


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Amanda Boyd
7 April 2023
Isha, Anup, and the team provided a brilliant tour starting in Delhi and traveling to Jaipur...

Every moment was a pleasure of discovery. Good guides, lovely safe drivers, wonderful workshops, good food, and a choice of restaurants.


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Viki Maharaj
7 April 2023
WHAT AN INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE. While I AM Creative I AM NOT TRAINED IN ARTS...

-THIS HOLIDAY ALLOWED ME TO LEARN & DEVELOP NEW SKiLLS WhilE UNLEASHING My CREATIVE SIDE TO WORKSHOP CULTURAL TOURS # VARIOUS SURPRISE EXPERIENCES THAT WeRE INCLUDED MADE thIs a HolIDay Of a lifetime. I will DEFINITELY TRAVEL WITH AAHILA HOLIDAYS again


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Margaret
7 April 2023
I keep looking at all the pictures. The puppet-making family was just so special amidst...

what little they had I adored all the children, You wonder what will become of them all and whether will they have a better life I can’t stop thinking what a wonderful time we had and the new friendships which we won’t forget. Much love to you all.


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Amanda
7 April 2023
Hi Isha I so enjoyed my trip with you! Thank you so much A life-changing experience. I will travel again with Aahilya soon
This was a holiday of a lifetime! Isha and Stewart were the most wonderful guides, and though...

we were only here for 10 days we visited and saw more than one could possibly imagine, with more laughs per day than any tour in India! I would unreservedly recommend a creative tour by Aahilya (we did Block Printing) and I would love to visit again and do another


Read more
Paula Watkins
7 April 2023
Aahilya Holidays are simply the best! The range of holiday destinations is superb and the experiences offered...

are so beautifully arranged, They offer artistic, cultural, historic, and well-being experiences all wrapped up in each of the holidays. The guides are talented and knowledgeable. Their clients are so well looked after. A great many returns to savor the same places again or their wish list of new destinations, new artists, and new joys to be found. Highly recommended!


Read more
Dorcas Frazer
7 April 2023
If you're looking for fun, fabrics, food, facts, friends & photography then Aahilya Holidays are just for you...

This is the second trip I've been on with Isha (the 5th with her associated company) From the moment I expressed an interest in going to Gujarat then all the way through till I was back on the plane home nothing was too much trouble for her. The group was taken off the beaten track to see amazing textiles; embroideries, weaving, block printing, and tie & dye. Often we were able to participate in workshops led by master craftspeople. A great experience!


Read more
Cherry rooms
7 April 2023
I have recently returned from an amazing holiday in Gujarat. It was based on textiles, local embroidery & block printing...

Our guide was very knowledgeable & we went to places that I'm guessing a lot of visitors would never see. All the hotels we stayed at were excellent, the service was first-class. Our driver & bus-boy were so helpful. If you fancy a holiday in India & you want to do more than just visit well-known sites then try Aahilya Holidays. This is the second one I've been on, last time was block printing in Jaipur. You are accompanied by a qualified tutor in the subject and I am Looking forward to going again in the future.


Read more
Melanie missin'
7 April 2023
My third time with Aahilya holidays and they do not disappoint. The Gujarat holiday is amazing...

The guide Mr. Gautam Popat was the best guide ever, Isha the director was so attentive and went out of her way for each of the guests. It was wonderful to see the real India. The local communities made us feel very welcome and to see their textile art was fantastic. I saw so much more than I thought I would see. It truly was a holiday of a lifetime and I cannot wait to go back and travel with Aahilya Holidays.


Read more
Liz Grayson
7 April 2023
I’ve just returned from holiday to Punjab & Himachal. Full of color, cultural experiences...

history, beautiful scenery & of course textiles, We were well looked after by the Aahilya team. For anyone unsure about traveling to India for the first time - you will be well looked - after. I highly recommend this company.


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Stella hardy
7 April 2023
Aahilya Holidays provided me with a wonderful holiday specializing in looking at textiles...

They took us to places that the average tourist would not see. Their guides were very knowledgeable and entertaining. Any problems that arose with our group were sorted quickly and efficiently.


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Bethany threlfall
7 April 2023
Just back from a month in India, all arranged so well by Aahilya holidays - two weeks on a textile-oriented...

trip in Himachal and Punjab, and a week either side in Uttarakhand and then western Rajasthan. This team can arrange anything you ask for and do it with such enthusiasm! I will definitely travel with them again.


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