Explore India in 30 days OVERVIEW: This tour will ensure You experience many things India has to offer: from the sandy deserts with exotic camel and elephant rides, spectacular forts and museums. We will take you to the tour around the famous tourist attractions such as one of the World’s Seven Wonders, Hanging Gardens and introduce to the biggest cities with their sight to the future tendencies as well as give a chance to explore rural and very local places, with the beauty of culture within and tradition around. There will be a great opportunity to stay over at the heritage forts as well as nights spent in the desert. The tour will take you through the big as much as through the smaller cities, deserts, rivers, lakes, sights and architecture, wildlife and shopping culture. There will be nights in the train-sleepers as well as local flights from one destination to another. This is how you will experience most of what India has got. The tour is great to explore the Big India. DETAILS: DURATION 30 days / 29 nights HIGHLIGHTS A deep tour around India START CITY New Delhi END CITY Mumbai PLACES TO BE VISITED Delhi – Humayun’s Tomb, Raj Ghat, Akshardham Temple Complex, QutabMintar, India Gate, Raisina Hill, RashtrapatiBhawan, Lutyens Magnum Opus, Parliament House, Red Fort, Jama Masjid, The Bahá'í House of Worship (known as Lotus Temple), ChandiniChowk Kangra - western part of Himalayas McLeod Ganj - Tsuklakhang Palace, Dalai Lama’s temple, Namgyal Monastery, Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts.Gompa Dip Tse-Chok Ling, Mani Lakhang Stupa, Nechung Monastery, Norbulingka Institute Amritsar - Wagah border, Swarna Jayanthi gate, Golden Temple Bodhgaya - Mahabodhi Temple Complex Varanasi - River Ganges, with hindu rituals Khajuraho - Lakshman Temple (known for Kama Sutra erotica) Orchha – Betwa River, Rajmandir Mahal, Jahangir Mahal Agra – Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Pearl Mosque, Hall of Public Audiences, Hall of Private Audiences, Octagonal Tower, Jehangir Palace Fatehpur Sikri – Palace Jaipur - Amber Fort, Hawa Mahal, Albert Hall, Observatory, Jaipur’s Bazaars Pushkar – Lord Brahma Temple, Pushkar’s shopping market, camel safari, Pushkar Lake (optional). Chandelao – village, stay over at 300 years old Fort Jodhpur - Mehrangarh Fort, Thar Desert, Jodhpur’s Bazaars Ranakpur - Jain Temple, Sun Temple Udaipur - City Palace Complex, Jagdish Temple, Lake Pichola, Udaipur’s Bazaars Goa - Basilica of Born Jesus, St. Cathedral, St. Francis, St. Cajetan, Church of Rosary and Nunnery of St. Monica, Goa Beaches Mumbai - Gateway of India, 7thcentury sculptures of manifestation of Shiva, Prince of Wales Museum, Fish Aquarium, Jain Temples, Hanging Gardens TRANSPORTATION A/C vehicle, night train (sleeper), local flights PRICE INCLUDES Transportation and breakfast GROUP SIZE No limits ITINERARY: DAY 1: Delhi Assisted arrival at Delhi International Airport. Check in to the hotel. Delhi is a Melting Pot of cultures, politics and religions of India’s colorful past in its monuments, its palaces, and in the faces of its people that narrate the story of their glorious past as well as foresight to India’s future. The day is free from the activities. Stay overnight at the hotel. DAY 2: Delhi After breakfast at the hotel we will be visiting Humayun’s Tomb – UNESCO World Heritage Site. The rest of the day is for your own exploration, overnight stay at the hotel. DAY 3: Delhi Breakfast at the hotel. In the morning we will visit Raj Ghat, a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, and later visit the museum. In the afternoon, we will go to Akshardham, a hindu temple complex, which displays centuries of traditional Indian and Hindu culture, spirituality and architecture. And for the last bit, we will see the highest tower in India, QutabMintar.The rest of the day will be for your leisure. Overnight stay at the hotel. DAY 4: Delhi - McLeod Ganj (night train) After breakfast, check out from the hotel. We will proceed with driving along Delhi’s Diplomatic Enclave, which is characterized by the presence of diplomatic missions along with their staff compounds and major international schools. Our first stop will be at the India Gate, a war memorial arch. Then we will drive to Raisina Hill to the Viseroy’s House (now it is called Rashtrapati Bhawan – the official residence of the president of India) and Lutyens Magnum Opus, architectural fusion of Indian and Western design.Our next stop will be at the Parliament House, which Lutyen built in a circular coliseum design. Later in the day, we will visit the Old Delhi, where we will have a good opportunity to drive cycle-rickshaws and ride past the Red Fort, which is a palace citadel. The fort is a complex of marble buildings with balconies, filigreed windows, massive red sandstone walls, ramparts and gateways. Then we will visit Jama Masjid, the principal mosque of the old Delhi. We then proceed to the Chandini Chowk or the Moonlit Square. It is a medieval area in which we will recognize not just Cairo or Istanbul, but also Chester and Heidelberg. This is perhaps one of Delhi's most populated areas and the largest marketplace – jewelleries, spice merchants and food vendors. After Dinner we will proceed to the railway station where we will catch a train to Mclordganj. DAY 5: McLeod Ganj / Kangra Reaching Maclordganj in the early morning. On our way we will have a stop at Kangra, the western part of Himalayas, we will have our breakfast. We will continue sightseeing to many ancient temples: Jawalaji, Brijeshwari Devi, Chamunda Devi, Chintapurni, Baba Baroh, Masroor and Baijnath temple. We will settle in McLeod Ganjat the hotel for overnight. DAY 6: McLeod Ganj - Dharamsala McLeod Ganj is a suburb of Dharamshala in Kangra district. We will be visiting the most important site in the town: Tsuklakhang Palace, Buddhist palacial Monastery, the Dalai Lama’s temple. We will also be visiting other Buddhist and Tibetan sites in McLeod Ganj: the Namgyal Monastery, the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts.Gompa Dip Tse- Chok Ling (a small monastery), the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Gangchen Kyishong, Mani Lakhang Stupa, Nechung Monastery, Norbulingka Institute. The rest of the day is for your leisure. We will overnight at the hotel in a nearby city, Dharamsala. DAY 7: McLeod Ganj - Amritsar (Punjab) (6 hour drive) After breakfast we will drive to Amritsar (Punjab). In the evening we will be visiting Wagah border, a border between India and Pakistan. The international borderline between India and Pakistan, Wagah is always been in the news headlines of both countries. Convoluted buildings, barriers and roads mark both sides of the border. The fencing between the borders is electrified with a high voltage. The Swarna Jayanthi gate, which is the entry gate of the outpost, commands the magnificent scenery of verdant landscapes. Situated in between Lahore and Amritsar, evenings in this army post are very charming and colorful with the "Beating the Retreat" ceremony. The pageantry and pomp, and the change of guard with in a short expanse make an appealing spectacle, which grabs large gathering. The most important segment of the ceremonial parade is the bringing down of the respective flags of both countries. Tourists and the locals throng near the border to witness the ceremonial parade of the Soldiers of the two countries. When the sun sets in the horizon, the soldiers take their departure amidst the beatings of the drums and beguiles. The entire ceremony nearly takes thirty minutes. The rest of the day you will spend for your leisure. We will be staying overnight at the hotel. DAY 8: Amritsar We will start our sightseeing tour after breakfast at the hotel and head towards Golden Temple and have some time for our own exploration. Overnight at the hotel. DAY 9: Amritsar – Bodhgaya (whole day travel) After breakfast in Amritsar we will take a flight to Patna and then drive to Bodhgaya (180 km from Patna). This will take us another 4 hours of the day, therefore, we will reach the hotel in the evening. Time is for your own activities. DAY 10: Bodhgaya Bodh Gaya or Bodhgaya is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple Complex in Gaya district in the Indianstate of Bihar. It is famous for being the place of Gautama Buddha's attainment of Enlightenment. In 2002, Mahabodhi Temple became a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site. After breakfast we will have a full-day sightseeing tour to: Mahabodhi Temple Complex and we will get some time for meditation in a Buddhist monastery. The rest of the evening is for your own activity. Overnight stay at the hotel. DAY 11: Bodhgaya – Varanasi (5 hour drive) After breakfast at the hotel we will take a long drive. When we reach Varanasi, you will have an easy day for your own leisure. DAY 12: Varanasi Varanasi also commonly known as Benares or Banaras and Kashi is a city situated on the banks of the River Ganges in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is regarded as a holy city by Buddhists and Jains, and is the holiest place in the world in Hinduism (and center of earth in Hindu cosmology). It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and probably the oldest of India.People often refer to Varanasi as "the city of temples", "the holy city of India", "the religious capital of India", "the city of lights", and "the city of learning." We will be taking a long sightseeing tour around the city monuments and Buddhist sights. Varanasi is generally believed to be about 3,000 years old. Varanasi was a commercial and industrial center famous for its muslin and silk fabrics, perfumes, ivory works, and sculpture.