Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Varanasi & Mumbai
On arrival in Delhi, you’ll be met by our executive and chauffeur and transferred to your hotel for a two-night stay in the capital of India. Spend the remainder of the day recovering from jetlag with a leisurely swim in the hotel pool. If energy levels permit, you may wish to visit the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, an atmospheric Sikh shrine in the late afternoon. Just let us know and we’ll arrange it for you.
Gurudwara Bangla Sahib: Made of white marble and crowned by a gilded onion dome, the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib and shimmering pool inside it are places of great sanctity for Indian Sikhs, and offer the most atmospheric introduction possible to the capital. The complex in its present form dates from the late-18th century and was constructed at a place associated with the eighth Sikh Guru, Har Krishnan. At a Langar, or ‘canteen’, in the temple, visitors and devotees are fed nourishing, free meals of chapatis and black dal by volunteers. If you’re lucky, you may see groups of Akalis, members of a Sikh warrior sect, dressed in traditional ceremonial garb.
Enjoy the evening and relax at the hotel. Overnight stay at a hotel in Delhi.
A full-day’s sightseeing today starts with a cycle-rickshaw ride of Old Delhi, typically including the Jama Masjid mosque. In the afternoon, visit Lutyen’s imperial capital, Humayun’s Tomb, and the spectacular Qutb Minar complex on the southern outskirts.
The narrow lanes of Old Delhi once formed the hub of the Mughal capital, formerly known as ‘Shajahanabad’ after the great Emperor Shah Jahan. An obligatory stop should be the splendid Jama Masjid mosque, whose giant white domes dominate the skyline of the old city.
After Jama Masjid visit, enjoy the rickshaw ride at bylanes of Old Delhi. From here we proceed to Raj Ghat to visit the cremation place of Mahatma Gandhi.
From Raj Ghat head into the colonial haunts of New Delhi including Lutyen’s grand architectural masterpieces designed to overwhelm and subdue the locals. We also visit Humayun’s Tomb, one of India’s greatest early Mughal buildings, which stands in manicured gardens a little further south and may be visited en route to the iconic Qutb Minar victory tower on Delhi’s southern outskirts, the day’s final stop.
Overnight stay at a hotel in Delhi.
After breakfast, drive via the new interstate highway to Agra to visit the city’s Mughal Fort and nearby markets, followed by a sunset tour of the Taj.
Shah Jahan, the emperor who created the Taj Mahal, was imprisoned towards the end of his life by his son, Aurangzeb, in the gilded splendour of the Mughals’ great fortress-palace overlooking the Yamuna River – your first sightseeing stop of the day. Through its finely carved pillars and cusp-arched windows you’ll be able to savour the same romantic views as the ailing ruler enjoyed. On the opposite bank, the Itimad-ud Daulah tomb encloses the remains of his Prime Minister, or ‘Wazir’. The mausoleum’s famously intricate inlay work foreshadowed that of the Taj, which you’ll visit towards the end of the afternoon, when the changing light transforms the marble surfaces from a pale ochre to orange and crimson. Overnight stay at a hotel in Agra.
Drive in the morning to Jaipur, pausing on the way to visit one of India’s most impressive stepwells. You’ll arrive in the Rajasthani capital around mid-afternoon.
Just off the main Agra–Jaipur highway, the magnificent stepwell at Abhaneri is your stop of the day. Comprising 3,500 carved steps spread over thirteen storeys, the well is the deepest and most intricate of its kind in India.
Most tourists prefer to spend the rest of the day relaxing by their hotel on arrival in Jaipur, but when suitably refreshed we recommend an evening visit to Birla Temple. Here we will stay for two – nights.
Overnight stay at a hotel in Jaipur.
Enjoy a full day’s sightseeing in Jaipur today, beginning with a trip out to Amber, followed by the Hawa Mahal, Jantar Mantar Observatory and world-famous City Palace museum.
Perched on the rim of a dramatic escarpment, Amber Fort retains some of the finest interiors surviving from the 16th and 17th centuries in India, notably a glittering ‘Hall of Mirrors’, or ‘Sheesh Mahal’, lined with intricate mosaics where the Maharaja and his consorts would enjoy music and poetry recitals.
Jaipur itself is a swirl of life and colour, and its numerous Rajput monuments and markets provide the focus for the rest of the day. You’ll begin at the famous City Palace Complex, which includes the much photographed ‘Hawa Mahal’, or ‘Palace of Winds’, a five-storey façade of elaborately screened windows from where the women of the royal household used to watch processions in the streets below. Treasures from the royal household are proudly displayed in the old pillared assembly halls below, and include jewels, weapons and regalia from Jaipur’s 18th-century heyday.
By late afternoon you will return to the hotel and relax.
Overnight stay at a hotel in Jaipur.
After breakfast, we transfer you to Jaipur airport for flight to Varanasi. Arrive in Varanasi in the afternoon for a one night stay. Witness the spectacular river Ganga aarti ceremony in the evening.
On the banks of the Ganges, Varanasi is among the oldest continuously inhabited places on earth. Hindu pilgrims still come here to bathe in the sacred waters, which are believed to wash away the sins accumulated in a lifetime. After watching worshippers perform rituals on the ghats leading to the water’s edge, you’ll return to Dashashwamedh Ghat to experience Ganga Aarthi, in which teams of young priests in ceremonial dress wave blazing oil lamps next to the Ganges.
Overnight stay at a hotel in Varanasi.
Take an early morning boat down the Ganges.
Sunrise, the time to take a boat ride on the river Ganges when the first rays of daylight illuminate the bathing ghats of Varanasi. Thousands of worshippers make their way through the predawn darkness to bathe in the river at this auspicious time, and the spectacle when viewed from the water, with warm sunlight accentuating the colours of the bathers’ sarees, is surely one of the most colourful and uplifting in India.
Later, go on a walking tour of the riverside ghats and temples. Return to the hotel and have breakfast.
Around noon or a little early, we will take you to Sarnath.
Sarnath, just outskirt of the city, was where the Buddha gave his first sermon in 530 BC, revealing the ‘Eightfold Path’ to his five disciples. The exact spot is marked by the cylindrical Dhamekh Stupa, built in 500 AD on the remnants of a much older one commissioned by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka.
Overnight stay at a hotel in Varanasi.
Our executive and chauffeur transfer you to New Delhi International Airport for your return or onward flight with cherishing memories of India & Nepal Tour.