There is a fragrance called mitti attar — the essence of baked earth after the first rain — distilled in Kannauj for centuries and unreplicable anywhere else.
Kannauj has been India's perfume capital for over a thousand years, its attar makers using the same copper still technique that Mughal court perfumers used in the 16th century. This tour takes you inside a family run perfumery to watch live attar distillation — rose petals loaded into copper stills, sandalwood oil collecting drop by drop, the air thick with layered fragrance.
Rose attar takes 15 days of continuous distillation to produce a small quantity of oil. That is why perfumers in Paris pay what they pay for it.
The tour ends with lunch in the royal palace of the family who owns the perfumery.
Private car from Agra, expert guide and traditional palace lunch included.
5 Senses Tours is recognised by the Department of Tourism, a winner of the Outlook Responsible Tourism Award and the Tripadvisor Travellers Choice Award.