Gregory finds inspiration when on the move, falling in love with every place she visits. “When I return home, I try to recapture some of those memories by recreating recipes with local ingredients.” For Manchanda-Peres, it’s all about discovery. “You can read a thousand travel books,” she says, “but experiencing a place for yourself is completely unique.”

Both have worked in the travel industry and saw a niche for travel experiences – not just holidays. Tours n Detours was born in 2018, with a series of curated tours for women to explore India.

They plan one destination at a time, a year in advance, and send out questionnaires to interested clients, most of whom are aged 30 to 60. “We learn what they’re passionate about and work on wish lists,” says Manchanda-Peres. “India is a vast, chaotic, almost manic place and it can bring you to your knees if you are there alone. We just try to curate a tour unlike any other.”

On their last trip, other than the must-see sites of majestic forts and temples, it was rural Rajasthan that captured their clients’ hearts. Instead of admiring a beautiful dhurrie (rug) in a museum-like shop in Jaipur, they watched a weaver work on the dhurrie in his village with his family and pets around him, sharing a cup of chai.

The group spent a morning with a bangle-maker, having custom glass bangles made after admiring museum-quality murals on haveli (old palaces) in the Shekhawati district.

The pair specialise in “detours” – incorporating places of interest that other tour companies do not offer. Once, en route to Jodhpur, they spontaneously stopped at a temple dedicated to Mirabai. The Hindu saint is considered India’s first feminist as she rebelled against patriarchy, circa 1600.

At the temple, the group were handed castanets and tambourines to join in a sing-a-long with women rendering Mirabai hymns. “It was in a language we did not understand,” says Gregory, “Yet the sense of sisterhood and belonging we experienced was very real.”

Both Manchanda-Peres and Gregory have lived outside India for over 25 years. Despite returning to visit at least three times a year, Gregory realises now how little she knew of certain regions of India. No amount of research had prepared her for the sheer magnificence of rural Rajasthan and its people, she says. “The smiles and warmth were what made this tour for me and, yes, the chai.”

Most of their activities support women-owned establishments, and they have pledged to commit five per cent of profits from all future tours to an organisation empowering women in one of the host cities they travel to.

On tour, clients can also expect a half-day shopping trip, in-house stylist and personal shopper, yoga mornings, and dance and music cultural evenings.

“Anyone can put together a list of must-do itineraries,” says Toronto-based Deepika Ganeshan, one of 16 women on their last tour, “but very few can sprinkle it with their brand of pixie dust and leave you with memories of a lifetime.”

For their next trip, a six-day Tropical Kerala tour in October, they have planned an ideas exchange and conversations with local enterprising women through organisations that encourage women’s growth.

They tend to reserve everything a year in advance to keep costs low. Group sizes are limited, to only about 10 to 12 people. Now the pressure is on Gregory, as it’s her home state. In addition to the usual attractions, they have lined up a cookery class, village walk, a toddy shop visit to sample some ‘real’ food, and a working farm.

Their Kerala trip is already fully booked. For October 2020 they are planning an 11-day road trip through Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Orchha, Khajuraho and Varanasi.

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