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Itinerary
We've indicated the meals included in each day of the trip.
Please note: This is the itinerary we strive to follow, but due to local circumstances it is important for you to understand that we may not always be able to follow this plan in this exact order. The sequence of places visited and the days on which included features occur may vary.
Day 1 :Fly from Your country to Delhi. ( Late night arrival)
You fly from your country, where you connect to your flight and land in Delhi, India, where on arrival you will be met by a representative and transferred to the hotel.
Day 2 Tour Old Delhi
Breakfast leisurely. Tour manager meets you for small oreintation/ briefing. Start the tour with local guide of old Delhi. We visit Raj Ghat, a beautifully serene monument was on the bank of the Yamuna River. This is where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated. Next, we take a short ride by cycle rickshaw through the crowded lanes of the Chandni Chowk bazaar to visit the Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India.
Lunch in local restaurant and continue our tour of New delhi.
The British laid out the broad, tree-lined avenues and neat street grid of New Delhi (in contrast to the narrow alleyways of the old part of the city). Today the former "Imperial City" continues as the center of government for the world's largest democracy, and we see the buildings of India's Parliament and (from the outside) the residence of India's President, a palatial building called Rashtrapati Bhavan. Nearby we see the India Gate, where a popular park surrounds a memorial to Indian soldiers who served Great Britain in World War I and Britain's 19th ,century war in Afghanistan. We also visit Qutab Minar, a spectacular example of Indo-Islamic architecture topped by a 72.5 Merters high tower . Begun in the 12 th century, this is now a UNESCO World Heritage site and the symbol of New Delhi.
Delhi is famous for handicrafts from all over India , but the most spectacular opportunity amongst them is the handicrafts that comes from the " Valley of Kashmir ". Apart from ornate wooden handicrafts, there are the world famous "Paschmina Shawls", exquisite Kashmir silk carpets with some of the finest weaves and designs of the world, textiles and brass inlays.
We dine in a local restaurant this afternoon and evening.
Day 3 Drive to Jaipur ( 280 KM, 6 Hours)
After breakfast, we travel overland to Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. En route we stop for lunch at the Samode Palace, originaly built by Rajput ruler Jai Singh II's finance minister. Built on three levels with wide-open terraces, the palace is set against the dramatic backdrop of the Aravali Mountains. Darbar Hall inside is known for its Meenakari or inlay of glass mirrors and stones—be sure to notice the adjustable louvers on the windows.
Passing under the Samode gates and through the narrow streets we continue to Jaipur. Arriving at our hotel late afternoon.
We have dinner this evening in our hotel.
Day 4 Discovering the ancient city
After breakfast , we drive stopping at the picturesque stop , the Palace of Winds (Hawa Mahal, which has approximately 953 windows founded by Maharaja Pratap Singh in the eighteen century. The interesting thing about the building is that it has no foundation). We explore Jaipur's Amber Fort and Palace. We approach the hilltop Fort in the style of the Rajput rulers; on a cushioned seat on elephant back. The Fort is a stunning and well-preserved 16th-century structure, built on four levels. Among its many splendors is the Sheesh Mahal, a small room whose ceiling, covered with tiny mirrors, looks like a sky filled with brilliant stars. Here, in Rajput times, a dancing girl held candles during a dance of love for her Maharaja. We visit the Temple of Kali, dedicated to the blue-black-skinned goddess of blood and destruction, as well as the Hall of Victory. We make our way back down the hill by Jeeps to the parking area. We return to Jaipur, which is also world's biggest trading center for Gems and Jewelry. The heart of all semi precious and precious stones industry and for diamonds
We will have a lunch in a local restaurant.
Next we see the Jantar Mantar, a remarkable astronomical and astrological observatory built in the 18 th century. The giant sundials here are still accurate to two-tenths of a second! Then we go on to the City Palace Museum filled with an array of textiles, arms, carpets, paintings and manuscripts. Also, a great place for woolen carpets which are great value for money. A great center for colorful textiles with block printing and tie-dye prints dominating a vibrant range.We will Return to hotel in the evening and then you drive visitng a Royal family for dinner.
Day 5 Driving to Tigers's world ( 180 KM, 5hours)
After breakfast, we depart from Jaipur and drive through the rural countryside and into the low Vindhya/Aravali mountain range. The drive is about five hours in length along bumpy roads, but we break it up with a stop along the way—at a local school if it is in session on this day. Here you may have a chance to get acquainted with Indian culture with the help of its most charming ambassadors, Indian children.
Our destination is Sawai Madhopur (Ranthambore) Tiger Sanctuary, one of the eleven sites chosen for Project Tiger. India's national tiger conservation program, the largest such effort in the world. It extends over one hundred square miles of deciduous forest, and it includes several large lakes. We arrive in time for lunch at our rustic lodge, a historic hunting lodge once owned bv the Maharaja of Jaipur.
In the afternoon, you can join an optional tour to the Ranthambore Fort, a spectacular fortress built over 1000 years ago on a rocky outcrop with stunning views Today it sits in the middle of the Ranthambore sanctuary. You will ride in a Jeep, then hike to the fort , a huge fort, a huge structure with a fascinating history and visiting the Lord Ganesha Temple. You will return to the hotel and dinner will be provided in the hotel itself.
Day 6 Jeep Safari/Open Four wheel Drive (Canter)
Early morning wake up call, when nocturnal animals may still be active, we head out for game viewing before breakfast. Our mode of transportation today is an open four-wheel-drive vehicle. We usually see all the great Indian ungulate species: Sambar, Nilgai, Chinkara, and Chital, and always the cunning Langur monkey.
We return to the hotel for breakfast, the rest of the morning at leisure, and lunch. In the
afternoon we continue our exploration of the area. Though it is rare, we have seen the Royal
Bengal Tiger, usually sleeping by day in the tall grass. Conservation efforts have succeeded in
stabilizing the tiger population in recent years. We also see lakes that hold crocodiles, and a wide
variety of water birds in season. Over 272 bird species frequent this area, from crested serpent
eagles to painted storks.
You will have a dinner in the hotel.
Day7 World of Birds ( 180 KM, 6 hours drive)
Morning breakfast and checkout driving on a bumpy road to Bharatpur. Arriving at the hotel, checking in and having lunch and we will visit bird sanctuary accompanied by a naturalist. The Kelodeo bird sanctuary is a breeding Paradise for painted storks and many of the migratory birds. You can have exotic photographs over here. Your rickshaw will give you a slow and peaceful ride into the world of birds. In evening we will be back in the hotel. We will have dinner in the hotel.
Day 8 Overland to Agra Fatehpur Sikri
Leisurely breakfast and we check out at morning hours. As we continue our 30 minutes drive to Fatehpur Sikri, the deserted city, where we will be met by a local guide who will come from Agra to show us Fatehpur Sikri , world heritage monument decalred by U.N.E.S.C.O), tour of Fatehpur Sikri we experience the vast rural countryside of India as we ride towards Agra. The mysterious ghost city founded by the Moghul Emperor Akbar the Great in the late 16 th century. The city occupies a Red sandstone ridge, and the area around it is enclosed within a 117-mile-long wall. We'll stroll about the fort and palace. We then continue to Agra, where we will have time to freshen up and have a lunch at our hotel.
We will have a afternoon visit to the Taj , one of the ancient wonders of the world(closed on Friday).. ( Afternoon gives a better photography view of the Taj). We will stay there till sunset and watch the changing colors of the Taj. This grand edifice, built by the Shah Jahan in 1631 to enshrine the remains of his Queen Mumtaz Mahal, took 22 years and 20,000 craftsmen to build. We walk into the inner chambers of this renowned "Monument to Love," and seek out several vantage points to see the magnificent play of light. When the nearby Yamuna River is high, the reflection of the Taj in its waters is as clear and vivid as the real thing.
Dinner in the hotel.
Day 9
Lesiurely Breakfast, we start out tour to conquer the Red Fort of Agra which was founded by the Mughal Emperor Akbar had completed in 95 years, as this fort is the only fort where 4 Mughal Emperors set and rule the Mughal Dynasty. They ailed all of northern India having 3200 cities under them, from the early 16 th century until the consolidation by British colonial rule in the early 1800s. Agra Fort's architecture is an almost perfect fusion between military might and lavish beauty.
Agra is also the destination for the world famous marbles which created the monument to love - The Taj Mahal. Exquisitely carved white marble pieces with inlays of precious and semi-precious stones, is almost like paintings in stone itself.
We will have a lunch at the local restaurant. We will continue our sight seeing and visit Sikandara/Ittumaudullha ( Mini Taj) . You will be charmed by the magnificence and glory of these monuments and their beautiful architecture.
In the Evening we will have a dinner in the local restaurant.
Day 10 ( Train and by surface to Khajuraho)
You will have a early morning wake up call and breakfast , checking out and drive to the railway station of Agra. We will board the India's one of the fastest trains Shatabadi Express fully air conditioned. We will have two and a half hours journey to Jhansi, a center of Chandela civilization. At Jhansi we drive to Orchha (famous for cenotaphs of the mighty kings and sons), once the capital of a locally powerful Rajput kingdom. Today Orchha is an off-the-beaten-path village of medieval palaces and temples built by Bundela rulers. We see ruins here that are located in the middle of a primeval forest, with so-called extinct volcanoes on the horizon ( Photography to be done from outside). After lunch at a local restaurant, we continue overland toward Khajuraho, a four-hour ( Approx) drive. ( This includes toilet stops). We check into our hotel. In the evening we will see folk dances in Kandariya art and culture auditorium. It is a one hour show and theatre is totaly air conditioned. We return back to Hotel for dinner.
Although remote and very quiet today, in the 10 th century Khajuraho was the center of the
thriving civilization of the Chandelas. 85 temples were built out of which 22 are existing only.
Day 11 ( Site viewing of Western and Eastern group of temples)
After breakfast at our hotel, we visit the eastern and western temples. Also visit Laxman, Varah & Kandariya Temple. The erotic stone carvings here have come to symbolize the important role of love and prajna energy in Hindu thought. British archeologists excavated these intricate stone carvings during colonial times, when they scandalized post-Victorian English sensibilities! Kandariya Mahadev Temple - The main shrine has an exquisitely carved entrance arch with a multitude of themes. Celestial beings, lovers serenading musicians . . . movements captured in stone, frozen in time, yet retaining a quality of warm, pulsating life. The very stone seems to have taken on the living, breathing quality of the carved figures.
We will check out in the afternoon and will have a air conditioned drive to Bhandavgarh tiger sanctuary. ( Hot lunch on the way). Late evening check in the hotel. We will have a dinner in the same hotel.
Day 12 ( Tiger's world)
Early morning ride to Jungle through Jeeps. You will be accompanied by a naturalist. You will then return for a breakfast.
In the afternoon we will a drive to the Jungle.
The thick forest of Bandhavgarh National Park sits in a bowl encircled by cliffs and wooded Vindhyan mountains, and its plains have a number of grass and reed covered wetlands where Kingfishers dive and Egrets sit poised, hunch-backed, in the shallows. Up above, vultures nestle in holes in the sheer cliffs.
The Bandhavgarh jungle, when it is large enough, becomes a living self-sustaining organism providing its own climate, atmosphere, water and nutrition through its recycling systems. As more light fills the sky, Bandhavgarh begins to awaken.
Day 13 ( AM/PM Drive)
We will have a morning and evening drive to Bhandavgarh Tiger Sanctuary. The schedule will be same as above.
Day 14: (Drive to the oldest living city of the world)
An early morning wake up call and we will drive towards Varanasi ( After Breakfast). Roads are in pathetic condition ( 6 Hours Approx, including toilet stops) and the ride will be sound more adventurous to our less adventurous visitors. We will reach their afternoon checkin the hotel and have lunch . You can rest in the hotel for sometime and then we will continue our tour by visiting this city. It is one of the oldest cities in the world, with a written history dating back over 5,000 years ( It has no monumetal evidence). It has an intense, almost palpable atmosphere of spiritual devotion, a feeling of an unending religious festival. Hundreds of temples propitiate the thousands of deities in the Hindu pantheon. Pilgrims from every part of this vast nation crowd the narrow streets and the riverside ghats.
You will have a tour to evening Ganga Aarti. As the day comes to a close, we take the Rickshaw ride through the bustling streets to the bathing ghats located alongside the sacred River Ganges. People flock in large numbers every day to bathe and worship in the temples built beside the riverbank. Feel the timelessness of Varanasi as the sun sets and the temple priests perform Aarti, the sacred light ceremony, on the banks of Mother Ganga. The Aarti performance could be best viewed while having a boat ride in the river. After the puja ceremony is complete we again travel back on the Rickshaws to our hotel for a Dinner.
Day 15 ( Visiting the Ghats )
Ealry morning wake up call and drive to the nearest point of the Ghat and board a small boat for upstream and downstream seeing all the 64 Ghats of Varanasi on the Holy Ganges river. We can photograph riverside temples and ghats in a rich, golden dawn light. We see devotees performing their daily religious rites. At stone steps on the river's edge, we join our hosts in a feeling of pilgrimage: for them, the heart of their faith, for us, a superlative cultural experience. We then return to our hotel for breakfast. We will have a afternoon drive to nearby ancient Buddhist learning center of Sarnath. Here, Gautam Buddha preached his first sermon to his disciples, as portrayed in Bernardo Bertolucci's film "Little Buddha." We then visit Sarnath Museum, which houses some of the greatest treasures of Indian Buddism. We will have a lunch in local restaurant and continue our tour with a site seeing of Bharat Mata Temple.
Dinner at the hotel.
Day 16
After breakfast today, you have the morning at leisure in Varanasi. Lunch in a local restaurant and we transfer to the airport. You board a flight for Delhi ( One hour fifteen minutes). You'll arrive in the late afternoon and transfer to a hotel near the airport for wash and change. Later transfer to international airport and depart to your country( As per your schedule)
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