Day 01 : ARRIVE DELHI
Arrive Delhi, the capital city of India. Upon arrival, you will be met by ourrepresentative at Airport and transfer to your hotel.
Afternoon visit Lotus Temple followed by visit to Akshardham Temple.
Lotus Temple is a notable architectural marvel famous for its unique flowerlike (Lotus) structure. The temple has won several awards and recognitions for its style of building, the concept of religion and the beauty.
Later in the evening visit an exploratory temple Akshardham Mandir. Swaminarayan Akshardham at New Delhi is a Mandir – an abode of God, a Hindu house of worship, and a spiritual and cultural campus dedicated to devotion, learning and harmony. Timeless Hindu spiritual messages, vibrant devotional traditions and ancient architecture all are echoed in its art and architecture.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 02 : DELHI
Today, enjoy the day discovering Delhi, pacing through the city which is as historic as modern, like 2 sides of the same coin!
Enjoy a morning sightseeing tour of Old Delhi, which includes a visit to Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India; a rickshaw ride through narrow alleys and lanes in Chandni Chowk, one of the oldest and largest trading markets of the country; and drive past Red Fort, the place that marked the announcement of India’s freedom from the British Raj.
Later in the afternoon, discover the modern city of New Delhi, visiting the Qutab Minar, a fine example of Indo-Islamic architecture and the world’s tallest brick minaret.
Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, the largest Sikh temple of Delhi, with a gold dome, still in active worship.
Drive past President's House, Parliament House and other Government Secretariat Buildings, the most imposing features of Lutyens’s Delhi and take a photo stop at the iconic war memorial arch, the India Gate.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 3 : DELHI –AGRA (210 Km / 4.5 hours)
After breakfast, embark on a leisurely drive to Agra, city of the world famous Taj Mahal. On arrival, check-in at your hotel.
This afternoon visit the splendid Agra Fort, built in red sandstone, encapsulating magnificent palaces, halls of public and private audience and beautiful gardens.
Then, witness the surreal views of the Taj Mahal at sunrise. Step inside this eternal symbol of love and appreciate the intricate designs and symmetries that rhyme as a poem written in marble. Taj Mahal is an extravagant display of love, built by Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. You may choose to stay back to see the glistening white marble beauty at sunset.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 4 : AGRA – FATEHPUR SIKRI – RANTHAMBORE (300 Km / 08 hours including sightseeing)
After early breakfast, transfer by road to Ranthambore, acclaimed as one of the best places in the world to photograph tigers in the wild.
En-route, visit the deserted Mughal capital Fatehpur Sikri. The city itself was founded as the capital of Mughal Empire in 1571 by Emperor Akbar, serving this role from 1571 to 1585, when Akbar abandoned it due to a campaign in Punjab and was later completely abandoned in 1610
Continue your drive to Ranthambore. Upon arrival; check in at your hotel.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 5 : RANTHAMBORE
Today, enjoy an early morning and afternoon shared Jeep safari (accompanied by a trained naturalist) into the national park.
The Ranthambore National Park is one of the prime examples of India’s conservation program, Project Tiger. Once the hunting ground of Indian princes, this national park stands atop a 600m high hill range, and is covered with thorn trees, scrub and grasslands. Dotted with beautiful ponds, streams, lakes and old ruins, it is home to a large number of tigers, often spotted and photographed by visitors to the park.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 6 : RANTHAMBORE – JAIPUR (190 Km / 05 hours including sightseeing)
After breakfast, embark on a leisurely drive to Jaipur en-route visiting Galta ji Temple, which is an ancient pilgrimage center in Jaipur. Set amidst low hills, situated about 10 km away in the east of Jaipur in the town of khania-Balaji and locally called known as Monkey temple (Galwar Bagh). It gets this moniker because of a large group of resident monkeys. The green landscape and chattering monkeys add to the delight of the area.
Later continue your drive to Jaipur. On arrival, check-in at your hotel.
Jaipur - land of the Rajput’s. Jaipur is an exuberance of colour, dance and traditional arts and crafts. Known, as the 'Pink City', Jaipur is home to ancient forts and palaces and is one of India's most well planned cities.
Upon arrival check-in at your hotel.
Afternoon, explore the many facets of Jaipuri crafts such as semi-precious jewels, pottery, colourful embroidered fabrics with mirror work, woven carpets etc. – watch artisans at work and enjoy souvenir shopping in this colourful city of Jaipur.
Evening visit the Birla Temple to witness the Aarti Ceremony, is dedicated to the Hindu Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Vishnu (Narayan),[4] whose images appear inside, along with other Hindu gods and goddesses and selections from the Gita and Upanishads.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 7 : JAIPUR
After breakfast, proceed to city tour of Jaipur and Amber. Sightseeing includes Amber Fort, Fort is located 11 km away from Jaipur. Amber was once the ancient capital of Jaipur. The Fort is an excellent illustration of Rajput architecture, impressively situated on a hillside facing lake Mahota.
Visit Anokhi Museum– is a highly successful textile company which, from its beginnings almost 40 years ago, helped resurrect languishing Rajasthani block printing textile Industry. In this beautifully restored Haveli which won a UNESCO prize for restoration, you can admire textile traditions that the company has helped preserve.
Drive past Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds) constructed by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh in 1799, the Hawa Mahal is one of Jaipur’s main landmarks.
Later continue to City Palace: The City Palace is still the dwelling of the former royalty H.H Bhawani Singh Ji of Jaipur. This palace museum has an extensive collection of art, carpets and old weapons. Jantar Mantar (Observatory): It was built by Maharaja Jai Singh in 1728.
Jantar Mantar appears to be an inquisitive collection of sculptures but in fact, each construction has a detailed purpose such as measuring the positions of stars, altitudes, and azimuths and calculating eclipses. The most striking instrument is the sundial which is the 27-meter tall gnomon.
Rest of the day free. You can also plan for Bazaar “Local Market" to explore the crafts such as semi-precious jewels, pottery, colourful embroidered fabrics with mirror work, woven carpets etc – watch artisans at work and enjoy souvenir shopping in this colourful city of Jaipur.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 8 : JAIPUR – VARANASI (By Flight)
Morning in time transfer to Jaipur Airport to board flight for Varanasi.
Upon arrival, proceed to visit Sarnath. Lord Buddha gave his first sermon here after attaining enlightenment at Bodhgaya. The huge Dhamek Stupa marks the spot where Buddha first preached. The Sarnath Museum has a small but extremely impressive collection of Buddhist artefacts including the famous Lion Capital of Ashoka.
Varanasi is one of the major pilgrimage spots in India. Varanasi is located on the banks of the sacred river Ganges. Over 2000 years Varanasi has been a center of learning.
On arrival, check-in at hotel. Rest of the day at leisure.
Evening witness the grand ‘Aarti’ ceremony at Dasaswamedh Ghat, conducted every day at sunset by white-robed priests. Spiritually enlightening and fantastically photogenic, this evening aarti ceremony is a spectacular show with young priests in traditional Indian clothes swaying in seemingly choreographed movements, worshiping the river goddess with incense, flowers and earthen lamps.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 9 : VARANASI – DELHI (By Flight)
Rise early to enjoy a sunrise boat cruise on the Holy River Ganges. See the ‘bathing ghats’ where thousands of pilgrims pay homage to the Sun God by immersing themselves in the holy water of River Ganges, and the ‘burning ghats’ where cremations are conducted. The ghats of River Ganges in Varanasi are believed to be most sacred, engulfing the entire circle of life and death.
Follow the boat cruise with a guided walk through the old city, seeing morning life in the historic and ancient bylanes of Varanasi. You get an opportunity to closely observe some morning rituals at the various small street temples along the way. The most sacred and important temple here is Kashi Vishvanath temple.
Afternoon, in time transfer to Varanasi Airport to board flight for Delhi.
On arrival, check-in at your hotel.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 10 : DEPART DELHI
Morning in time transfer to Delhi International Airport to board flight for onward destination.
