India from North to East

1. Day 1 - Arrive Delhi
   Namaste! We are welcomed the traditional Indian way with hands clapped together. After immigration and custom formalities, we are met to our representative and driven through the city to our hotel. 
2. Day 2 - Delhi
   The capital of India is a true reflection of the old and new of India. We start our morning tour with New Delhi and visit the famous India Gate followed by the Houses of Parliament, Connaught Place, Humayun's Tomb and the Qutab Minar - a perfect minaret towering 102 meters / 112 yards into the sky. New Delhi is a blend of Mughal India, Hindu India, British India and certainly of modern independent India. Our afternoon concentrates on Old Delhi, starting with the famous Red Fort. Built by Shah Jehan, this was once the most opulent fort of the Mughal Empire. Next we visit another Mughal majesty, the Jama Masjid, India's largest mosque. We end our tour with the visit to Raj Ghat, the cremation site of Mahatma Gandhi. Please note: Red fort is closed on Monday.
    

   Meals Included

   • Breakfast
3. Day 3 - Delhi – Guwahati: By Flight Guwahati – Shillong (Drive 110 kms / 03 hrs)
   Today we are transferred to airport for our flight to Guwahati. Arrive Guwahati and straight drive to Shillong. Enroute stopover at Umiam Lake for photo stop and continue drive to Shillong. Arrive Shillong and transfer to hotel. Evening free to relax. Overnight stay at the hotel. 

   Meals Included

   • Breakfast
4. Day 4 - Shillong
   After leisurely breakfast visit Don Bosco Cultural Museum. Later visit Nohkalikai Falls. Evening stroll around the famous Police Bazaar Area (The Mall road) of Shillong. Please note: Don Bosco Museum is closed on Sunday’s for visitors.
    

   Meals Included

   • Breakfast
5. Day 5 - Shillong – Day trip to Cherrapunjee
   After breakfast go for a day excursion to Cherrapunji with enroute visit of Elephant Falls. Later proceed to Cherrapunji & visit Mawsmai Cave, Koh Ramhah (Rock Monolite), Seven sisters water fall (one of the longest in India). Later drive back to Shillong for overnight stay.

   Meals Included

   • Breakfast
6. Day 6 - Shillong – Kaziranga National Park (Drive 270 Kms/ 07 Hrs)
   Morning after breakfast drive to Kaziranga National Park. En-route lunch and continue drive to Kaziranga, arrive Kaziranga National park and transfer to your hotel. In the afternoon, take a jeep safari inside the park. Return to your lodge by dusk. Evening is at leisure.
    
   Kaziranga National Park is spread over 850 sq kms across Golaghat, Nagaon and Sonitpur districts. Kaziranga National Park is also designated World Natural Heritage sites by UNESCO in 1985. Originally established as a reserve forest in 1908, Kaziranga was declared a sanctuary in 1916 to counter excessive poaching, especially of its most prized inhabitant, the rhinoceros.
    

   Meals Included

   • Breakfast
   • Lunch
   • Dinner
7. Day 7 - Kaziranga
   Early morning enjoy Elephant safari to visit central range of the park. Return back to your hotel for breakfast. After breakfast Jeep safari in Central zone. Afternoon after lunch enjoy another Jeep safari into the park in western zone.
    
   Please Note: Elephant ride is subject to availability by the Forest authority.
    

   Meals Included

   • Breakfast
   • Lunch
   • Dinner
8. Day 8 - Kaziranga – Guwahati (approx. 230 kms/ 4 & ½ Hrs)
   Morning take your last jeep safari ride inside the park. Return to Lodge for breakfast. After breakfast drive back to Guwahati back and transfer to your hotel. Rest of the day is free.

   Meals Included

   • Breakfast
9. Day 9 - Guwahati – Bagdogra (By Flight) Bagdogra – Darjeeling (Drive 70 Kms / 3 & ½ Hours)
   After breakfast on time transfer to airport for your flight to Bagdogra.  On arrival we are driven to Darjeeling. The remainder of the day is free to relax.

   Meals Included

   • Breakfast
   • Dinner
10. Day 10 - Darjeeling
    Before sunrise, we get into our 4 x 4's and proceed to Tiger Hill to view an incredible sun rise from behind the huge lofty mountain peaks. This photo experience and on a clear day we can view also Mts. Everest and Kanchenjunga, makes this a photographers dream come true. With bird chirping we return to our hotel for the most awaited breakfast. As if that was not enough for the day, we visit one of the most unusual of the world Heritage Sites - the Toy Train. We not only see the Toy Train, but actually take a ride on it and also visit the Ghoom Monastery. The monastery, built in 1875, houses one of the largest statues of the Maitreya Buddha. Next stop is the Himalayan Zoo, home to Himalayan fauna such as the Red Panda, Black Bear, Yaks and Tigers in their natural habitat. We end the day with a visit to the Natural History Museum, which has a fine collection of preserved butterflies, birds, reptiles and insects of the Himalayas. Please Note: Himalayan Zoological Park & Natural History Museum remains closed on Thursday for visitors.
     

    Meals Included

    • Breakfast
    • Dinner
11. Day 11 - Darjeeling – Bagdogra (Drive 70 Kms / 3 & ½ Hours) Bagdogra – Kolkata by Flight
    After breakfast we are transferred to Bagdogra airport for our flight to Kolkata. Kolkata, formerly known as Calcutta is a compelling, effervescent city, teeming with life. Under East India Company and later under the British Raj, Kolkata served as the capital of India until 1911.  On arrival in Kolkata we are transferred to our hotel.

    Meals Included

    • Breakfast
12. Day 12 - Kolkata
    Today we start the tour of our cultural city with a visit to the famous Malik Ghat flower market beneath the Howrah Bridge. This is the place where the cities floral retailers buy their fresh merchandise. Next we visit Howrah Bridge, iconic symbol of modern Kolkata followed by visit to Belur Math, the headquarters of Ramkrishna Mission founded by Swami Vivekanand. The temple is notable for its architecture that features Hindu, Christian and Islamic motifs as a symbol of unity of all religions. Later we visit Dakshineswar Kali Temple.  Our afternoon concentrates on the British Calcutta, visiting St. John's Church, St. Paul's Cathedral and the Victoria Memorial, with its formal gardens and water courses, conceived by Lord Curzon to commemorate the British Empire at its peak. Please Note: Victoria Memorial is closed on Monday for visitors
     

    Meals Included

    • Breakfast
13. Day 13 - Kolkata – Varanasi (By Flight)
    In the morning after breakfast we are transfer to airport for our flight to Varanasi. Varanasi is the spiritual centre of Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims alike. This is also the pilgrim centre for the Hindus who come daily to dip themselves in the holy water of the Ganges. Upon arrival in Varanasi we are transferred to our hotel. 

    Meals Included

    • Breakfast
14. Day 14 - Varanasi
    Early morning a serene experience begins as we take a sunrise cruise on the River Ganges. One of the cardinal principles of Hinduism is the belief in the holiness of the Ganges. Every morning scores of pilgrim and priests fill the riverbanks performing the holy dip and various other rituals. This is a site that has to be seen and experienced as it is so different from anything else what may have seen anywhere in the world. After breakast we leave for Sarnath the site of Lord Buddha's first sermon after attaining enlightenment. At Sarnath we meet many Buddhist monks and followers before visiting local Homes to see in-Home silk weaving and soak up some local customs, culture and hospitality.  In the afternoon, we start our experience of Varanasi by visiting the Bharat Mata Temple which houses a big relief map of India made from marble. Varanasi is famous for its many temples and we visit the Durga temple, the Tulsi Manas Mandir, the Banaras Hindu University and the Mosque of Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb. The city is famous also for its Banarasi silk sarees and we visit some of the houses where such silk sarees are still being weaved. Evening is free to enjoy this 5000 years old city and experience sunset at the Ganges. Every evening at sunset, on the banks of the river Ganges, the devotional ceremony of Aarti is performed. Thousands of Hindus and tourists flock to the Ghats, particularly in the pilgrimage town of Varanasi. In the evening we witness the Aarti ceremony on the Ghats of Ganges.
    Please Note: Sarnath Museum remains closed on Friday. 
     

    Meals Included

    • Breakfast
15. Day 15 - Varanasi – Agra (By Flight)
    (Flight operates only on Monday, Wednesday & Saturday) 
    After breakfast we are transferred to airport for our flight to Agra. We are welcomed in Agra and transferred to our Hotel. In the afternoon we visit one of the most well-known wonders of the world, the Taj Mahal. Built by Shah Jehan as a mausoleum for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, the Taj is built of white marble, beautifully carved and inlaid with semi-precious stones. Next we visit Agra Fort, where Shah Jehan was imprisoned by his son in the later years of his life to prevent him from spending the family fortunes on the black echo of the Taj Mahal. Please Note: Taj Mahal remains closed on Friday’s 
     

    Meals Included

    • Breakfast
16. Day 16 - Agra – Fatehpur Sikri – Jaipur (Drive: 245 Km/ 5 Hrs)
    A short drive gets us to Fatehpur Sikri, the beautiful capital built in 1640 by the Mughal King, Akbar the Great. The city was later abandoned for lack of water. A superb example of Mughal architecture, it stands perfectly preserved in the desert. We also visit the artistically designed mausoleum of Salim Chisty who is reputed to have prayed for a son for Akbar leading to the birth of Salim Jehangir. From here we continue on a countryside drive to Jaipur. On arrival we check in our Hotel. 

    Meals Included

    • Breakfast
17. Day 17 - Jaipur
    Today we explore Amber Palace, a distinguished example of 17th Century Rajput architecture. Located in a valley formed by a range of Aravallis known as Kalikho hills. The Palace and Fort are located on top of the hill with the city on slopes, and the valley protected by fort walls with four gates in the four cardinal directions. The construction of  the fort began in 1592. It shows the evolution from the purely defensive fort settlements of the early medieval period to the palace fortress type of architecture typified in the 16th century. This palace fortress was never attacked or invaded. The fort comprises of number of gardens, courtyards and palatial spaces derived from Mughal architecture and are a distinguished example of 17th Century Rajput architecture. We return to Jaipur and experience the art of carpet weaving & block printing. Later we visit the majestic City Palace, which houses a rare collection of Indian art and the beautiful Hawa Mahal, the Palace of Winds, where the ladies of the royal harem used to watch the city from behind the intricately carved facade. We also visit the Jantar Mantar*, an astronomical observation site built in the early 18th century that includes a set of some 20 main fixed instruments designed for the observation of astronomical positions with the naked eye. It is an expression of the astronomical skills and cosmological concepts of the court of a scholarly prince at the end of the Mughal period. The evening is free to enjoy both shopping and the cultural experience in the bazaars. Jaipur is noted for its craftsmen, skilled in brass inlay, lacquer work and stone setting

    Meals Included

    • Breakfast
18. Day 18 - Jaipur – Delhi (Drive: 255 Km/ 5 Hrs) Delhi – Onward Destination (Flight)
    In the morning after breakfast, drive to airport in Delhi in time to board flight for onward destination.

    Meals Included

    • Breakfast

* DENOTES UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES INCLUDED