GOLDEN TRIANGLE WITH RAJASTHAN AND SOUTH INDIA 18 NIGHTS /19 DAYS)

Day 1. ARRIVE AT DELHI AIRPORT. OVERNIGHT DELHI.

International flights usually arrive late in evening or at night, so we would recommend to consider arriving a day earlier to recuperate and relax from jetlag and it also serves as an insurance against international flight delays and cancellations, besides an additional night’s stay can also be added at the time of the booking.

on arrival, you will be greeted by our executive and will be escorted to your respective hotel and your tour plans will be briefed to you there only, mostly, your necessary documents and travel vouchers will be handed over to you along with the interstate tickets.

DAY 2. DELHI SIGHT SEEING AND OVERNIGHT DELHI.

Today your tour guide will take you for exploration of country’s capital city, which is said to have been founded and destroyed and again habited more than seven times in the last 5000 years. your tour will be started with visit of Jama masjid, a 17th century mosque built by the Mughal emperor Shahjahan, who also commissioned the construction of the famous landmark of India, the Taj Mahal. The mosque also consists a large courtyard where 20000 devotees could pray at a time. then, you will also taste the experience of rikshaw ride in the narrow by lanes of Chandni chowk, founded by Shahjahan’s daughter, and is famous for spices, wedding dresses for bride and dry fruits. Here the way he drives the rikshaw is really a skill to cherish and are suggested to keep your hand in the boundaries of hand rest to avoid scratch from other overtaking rikshaws. Then, next stop will be Rajghat, the cremation site of mahatma Gandhi where eternal flame is burning at his final resting place and is surrounded by lush green lawns. Then you will be driven to Humayun’s tomb, which is also known as dormitory of the Mughals, considering the large number of tombs of Mughal emperors and their many relatives built there. The beautiful tomb is the first example of double dome and Charbagh (Islamic design of laying gardens) in india.it is said that the

tomb was built by Humayun’s second wife hazi Begum for her husband with the help of Persian craftsmen in 16th century. Now, you will proceed to the last attraction of your tour in Delhi, the Qutub Minar, a five storied minaret built in 13th century by the kings of slave dynasty to commemorate the arrival of Islam in India after Mohammed Ghori from Ghor defeated the then Hindu ruler Prithviraj Chauhan in 2nd battle of Tarain in 1192. in the campus they have many tombs, mosques etc. as well and later you will be driven back to the hotel. Overnight hotel, New Delhi.

Day 3. Delhi to Agra (240 kms) and half-day sightseeing. Overnight hotel Agra

After breakfast proceed for a 4-hour drive to Agra, check-in in the hotel after lunch, late in the afternoon, proceed for a half day tour of the city, including Taj Mahal the world-famous monument for eternal love built in 17th century in white marble and this majestic structure stands 2 meter taller than Qutub Minar, is indeed a perfect example of Persian symmetry. The only thing which offsets the symmetry of this great building is the tomb of its founder itself as he planned to himself buried elsewhere, rest of the details I’m leaving for the guide to reveal as would really not like to give spoiler as this is no doubt the best monument of north India and is now a UNESCO protected monument in world heritage list. After visit return back to the hotel, overnight hotel Agra.

DAY 4. DRIVE TO RANTHAMBORE.

After breakfast you will be driven to Fatehpur Sikri. The fort was built in 16th century and was the seat of kingdom until they moved it to Delhi. After visit of fort, you will also visit Fatehpur Sikri enroute Jaipur, a place from where Mughal emperor Akbar ruled for fifteen years, though later he had to move the capital back to Agra as here they started having shortage of drinking water and irrigation difficulties. Hence, the place is also sometimes called as the ghost city. After the visit enroute Ranthambore you can have lunch break. After lunch you can also visit Abha Neri where they have a 10th century stepwell popularly known as Chand Baori located next to a beautiful village. The depth of this step well is equalent to a modern 7 story building. There are stairs made on three sides of the stepwell which were used in the good old days by

people to fetch water, though no more accessible now. Then continue your drive to Ranthambore though rural landscape.in Ranthambore royal Bengal tigers are the main attraction, besides one can see a variety of deer, antelopes, the sloth bear, crocodile, leopards and over 300 species of birds. The park covers an area around 400 square kilometres and runs along eastern spurs of the Aravali Mountain range until it meets Vindhyachal. it was once a hunting ground of the Jaipur royal family and was declared a sanctuary in 1972.and was brought under the tiger conservation platform project. Hence, here also, like other national wildlife parks, safaris are operated by the forest department with their own naturalists and drivers. Safaris here are usually 4-hour excursions and are conducted twice a day ,morning and late afternoon. Guests usually have two to three safaris. Besides the safaris if you are interested then you can also go for the Ranthambore fort visit, for which you have to start early in the noon after lunch. The stairway to the fort is right next to the park entry gate. The fort built in 944 ad, is a chronicle full of blood and chivalry and valour of the Rajput rulers. The access to the fort is a steep climb of 300 stairs. There is an ancient temple also which is a major shrine for pilgrims from near and far. Here one is advised to stay away from the aggressive langoors (large south Asian monkeys) which are in abundance in the fort. These monkeys may snatch away eatables or belongings. Overnight hotel. Ranthambore.

DAY 5) SAFARIS IN RANTHAMBORE, MORNING AND EVENING.

DAY 6) AFTER BREAKFAST CHECKOUT AND DRIVE TO JAIPUR

On arrival in Jaipur, check in in the hotel. Overnight hotel Jaipur.

DAY 7) FULL DAY SIGHT SEEING TOUR OF JAIPUR.

After breakfast proceed for a full day excursion of the beautiful pink city. Today the tour will start from Amber palace, which could be accessed by car, elephant or by foot. Elephant ride is also quite safe but should you wish, you can also take the car all the way up to the top. It was the old capital and seat of the ancestors of Jaipur kings up to 1727 till the time when they moved the capital to Jaipur city itself. After the palace should you wish, you can have a small refreshment break and should you wish to buy local souvenirs or other artefacts you can go for that also as

Jaipur has been a paradise for shoppers as here the city houses some of the best jewellers, block printing industry ,local rugs, blue pottery and other handicraft items are also exported from here to all round the world. Then you be brought back to the old city where you will now visit the city palace museum, which houses old artefacts of the royal family of Jaipur viz their throne, beautiful chandeliers, old carpets, paintings and mural frescoes etc. The museum s still run by the royal family. Then in neighbourhood of the museum in adjacent campus is the Jantar Mantar, which is an astronomical observatory consisting of around 18 instruments all used for different purposes like calculating time, knowing zodiac signs, calculating angle of altitude of the sun, angle of rotation of the earth etc. After the visit return back to the hotel. Overnight hotel, Jaipur.

DAY 8) DRIVE TO NARLAI. (340 KMS)

After breakfast, start your drive to Narlai, a beautiful village located at a drive of 6 hours. There an heritage property is holding your stay. If you want to book your stay in new wing but old wing is all designed on heritage theme and takes you back in time as how the heads of hereditary fiefdoms used to live. Here, one relives the aura of royal splendour. Rawla means the residence of head of fiefdom. The lodge has been restored quite meticulously by its owners. Here the cuisine is also all made by products from their organic farms and nearby areas.in the evening, you will be transported to an ancient 300 year old stepwell on traditional bullock carts where your dinner is hosted amid live local cultural performances. Here during the performance hundreds of lamps ignite the stepwell and makes the dinner unforgettable. After dinner return back to your lodge. Overnight lodge, Rawla Narlai

DAY 9) NARLAI UDAIPUR.

In the morning, you can choose from two activities, either you can have leopard safari in nearby area by lodge jeeps along with their naturalist or you can join the lodge steward for elephant boulder ascent. If you go for the safari, the ride is bit bumpy as you ae going to drive through local rough terrain .and if have opted for the ascent then be ready to to climb 700 hand carved steps which leads to the top

of the giant rock. The view from the top is fabulous and you can also enjoy the beverages brought by the steward on the way up. Then get down the rock and enjoy your breakfast in the lodge followed by checkout. Now you will be driven to Udaipur via Ranakpur, a shrine famous for intricately carved Jain temples, and is still an active place of worship. Jain community is vegetarian and usually have their meals during day hours. Here the temple’s 29 halls are supported by 1444 intricately carved pillars and none of them are alike in design. The beauty of the temple needs to be seen to be believed. After the visit can have lunch in the neighbourhood and later drive to Udaipur which is 90 kms from here. on the way, you can see how the villagers manage their day to day lives, live stocks of camels, sheep etc. This is one of the most picturesque drives in throughout India. On arrival check in in your hotel. Overnight hotel, Udaipur.

DAY 10. After breakfast proceed on a drive to monsoon palace, located on a hill and offers a fabulous view of city and its lakes. The drive is through forest area and chances are that on your way up you may catch sightings of some of the wild species. After the fort’s visit get back to the city and proceed for a walk in the narrow by lanes and bazaars of lake city and also visit a photo gallery where accomplished painters are busy making Udaipur’s famous miniature paintings. Then later tuk-tuk (an auto rikshaw) will take you to your lunch place. This ride will not be as smooth as the car journey though as these vehicles don’t have any shock absorbers, but are used a lot by common mass and is easily available at stone’s throw. After lunch the guide will take you for the visit of city palace where they have a great collection of massive ivory doors, stain glass windows, inlaid marble balconies and well decorated rooms with hundreds of exquisitely carved mirrors studded in walls.

adjacent to city palace is crystal gallery.it houses world’s largest collection of priceless crystal artefacts for instance crystal bedroom, crystal furniture, crystal fountain etc. ITS VISIT IS OPTIONAL.

Sunset cruise: -After city palace visit you will proceed to the palace jetty and board your boat for a cruise on mesmerising lake pichhola. After the cruise, disembark and return back to your hotel by your car. Overnight hotel, Udaipur.

DAY 11. UDAIPR-AURANGABAD BY FLIGHT.

After lunch you will proceed to airport to board flight for Aurangabad via Hyderabad. There will be three hours layover at Hyderabad. Here you will visit the famous Ajanta and Ellora caves. These monuments are world’s most remarkable achievements of mankind are are UNESCO world heritage sites. Overnight hotel, Aurangabad.

DAY 12. AURANGABAD-AJANTA-AURANGABAD

After breakfast proceed to Ajanta, which is around 100 kms away. The excavations, sculptors and paintings here are done by local craftsmen and Buddhist monks around 2nd century b.c. The sculptures are created in hard rock using ingenious tools and paintings too are made with colours from natural sources. The quality of art and paintings is unique and can’t be seen anywhere ELSE IN THE WORLD.

DAY 13. AURANGABAD -ELLORA CAVES-AURANGABAD.

After breakfast you will be assisted in checkout and taken for a tour to Ellora, which is located at a distance of 22 kms, in opposite direction of Ajanta. Here you will explore the monasteries and finely sculpted cave temples. in total of 34 caves, all seems to excel the other, and were built around 600 a.d.-1000a.d. and are devoted to Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Here the wonderful Kailash temple, cave number 16, is remarkable for its minute details and largescale art. There, six generations of craftsmen worked continuously for hundred and thirty years to get this beautiful temple ready to evoke Shiva, one of the three trinities of Hinduism.(in Hindus they have three prime Gods, Brahma, the creator of universe, Vishnu, the preserver of universe and Shiva, the destroyer of universe to get the next aeon started.it is said that Vishnu already took nine incarnations and tenth incarnation is still awaited, all to save mankind.) Then later board your flight to Mumbai. Overnight Mumbai.

DAY 14. MUMBAI SIGHTSEEING.

After breakfast proceed for the tour of the economic capital of India and the

Bollywood city. Your tour starts from the gateway of India, overlooking Mumbai harbour. This beautiful gateway was built to commemorate the visit of king George v and queen Mary. From here a short drive takes you to the beautiful Chhatrapati Shivaji terminus previously known as Victoria terminus, a UNESCO world heritage site, is a fine example of gothic architecture and one of the world’s busiest railway stations. Then take a walk around Mumbai’s local architecture and ancient buildings, like flora fountain, Horniman’s circle, Mumbai’s town hall, the prince of Wales museum which is now renamed as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vaastu Sangrahalaya, made in Indo Saracenic architecture and includes natural history, architecture and paintings. Then can have a lunch break in nearby Leopold café, serving since 1871 and was one of the targets during 2008 attacks. Then proceed to dhobi ghat where you will see hundreds of washermen flogging Mumbai’s laundry on stones since the last century and hang the clothes on cloth lines whose end is difficult to see. Then continue your exploration by driving further up to Malabar hills and the hanging gardens. Then return back to the hotel. Overnight hotel, Mumbai.

DAY 15. MUMBAI COCHIN FLIGHT.

Drive to airport with packed lunch and board flight to cochin. Upon arrival you will be driven to fort Kochi. Check into the hotel. Fort Kochi is famous for ayurvedic massages, kathakali dances and its fusion of British, Portuguese and Dutch architecture. Here day is at leisure and in evening guide will take you for a kathakali dance show, an art of storytelling through dance and is mother of many south Asian dance forms.

DAY 16. FORT KOCHI TOUR.

First thing in the morning will be the tour of the Chinese fishing nets. Folklore has it that these nets were first brought here by Chinese explorer Zhang he about 600 years ago. the local fishermen uses these massive nets with an ease that comes from centuries of generational experience. Ownership of these nets and its specific location is handed down from generation to generation. The way they lower and raise these nets is a sight to watch and the synchrocity is awe inspiring. Later proceed for a walk through the colonial architecture and visit chic cafes,

boutique stores and many more. You will also see colourful artwork at Santa Cruz cathedral basilica and St. Francis church, established by a Portuguese Franciscan friers in 1503 proudly boasting to be the first European church built in India. The famous Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama, the first European to reach India by sea was initially buried in its courtyard for few years until they took the mortal remains to Portugal. Then proceed to David Hall, a 17th century building which houses a rotating selection of art exhibits. Here you can also enjoy local cuisine in nearby café. The food is cgh earth quality, serving Indian, continental and drinks. Here wood fired pizza with thin crust prepared in Indian clay Owen is the speciality of the place. After lunch the guide will take you to Paradesi synagogue built in 1568 and is still in use. Then visit Mattancherry palace built by the Portuguese in 1555 and is famous for detailed carved wooden murals depicting scenes from Indian epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Then return back to the hotel. Overnight hotel, Kochi.

DAY 17. KOCHI ALLEPPY(55 KMS)

Checkout from hotel and drive to Alleppey, the land of backwaters.at arrival you will be assisted in boarding your houseboat. There they have incredible lushness and vegetation around the water canals, rivulets and lakes, with in numerous water bodies and abundance of coconut trees and other exotic plants creating a subtropical neighbourhood which is quite rare anywhere else. here you will get a chance to experience local life from close quarters.as of now they even have paved roads to most of the houses but the residents were always dependent on waterways for movements and are still using the same. Here the local water streams serve as their streets and alleys. Most of the time you are cruising through thin backyard. The main occupation of the inhabitants s fishing and agriculture. Overnight houseboat, ALLEPPEY.

DAY 18.ALLEPPY-COCHIN AIRPORT.

Do the checkout after breakfast and drive to Cochin airport. On the way you will also explore vypin island and visit the cherai beach where you will see the Azhekkal temple, famous for its chariot, then you will see the Portuguese fort, built in 1503,oldest European structure in India. Then you can also visit Balli

Puram church, built in 1577 by the Portuguese only. Later you can enjoy walk along the coastline followed by lunch. After lunch drive straight to the airport to avoid rush hours. From here board your flight to home/Delhi. Upon arrival at Delhi, you will be driven to your upscale airport hotel, near the airport. There you can bid farewell to your guide/driver.

DAY 19. CHECK OUT FROM THE HOTEL AND YOU WILL BE DRIVEN TO AIRPORT TO BOARD YOUR INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT EITHER BY JOY TOURS CAR OR BY PRIVATE HOTEL VEHICLE.

OR

DAY 20. DELHI VARANASI BY FLIGHT.

You will be driven to airport to board your flight to Varanasi. Lunch will be served in the flight. On arrival you will be driven to your luxury hotel. This is the oldest and continuously inhabited city on the surface of earth, and holiest city in India. Cardinal ancient Hindu tenet is that if somebody is cremated here he gets rid of continuous cycle of death and rebirth and achieves moksha or salvation. OVERNIGNT VARANASI.

DAY 21. VARANASI TOUR

Today you have to start your day quite earlier than the dawn. In the hotel you can have beverages and cookies and head start for an enchanting experience with your guide to the ghats or banks of the river Ganges. Ganges is a sacred river and is believed to appear on earth with the blessings of the gods. Even now in Hindu families, they have a tradition to flow the ashes of the dead relatives in Ganges for their moksha. Today it is going to be a lifelong and surreal experience to witness the devout Hindus waiting at the ghats to greet the rising sun and taking dip in the holy river to wash away their sins, done knowingly or by fault or ignorance. While you can see many others standing on the stairs of the ghats doing meditation and practicing yoga. Your boat offers an excellent view of the activities on the Ghats. During your cruise you will also experience a live performance of the traditional Benares gharana music. Banaras gharana is an old sect of music incorporating tabla and sitar. The ambience created by the fusion of

classical music and the surrounding ghats is awesome and rare and need to be felt to believed. After the cruise return back to your hotel for breakfast and relaxing during day hours. Should you wish, you can have lunch outside at chowk restaurant at taj hotel or in your hotel itself. Then proceed for a walk in the old bazaars of Benares catering to visiting pilgrims and all. later when you will walk through the banks of the Ganges you will witness some of the ancient and iconic rituals of the Hindus. There at the same time you will see contrast of activities strong enough to make one ponder regarding emotional front, as at one time you will see somebody getting his head shaved to give tributes to the dead relative, somebody cremating their relative and at the same time you will also witness people orchestrating name of their newly born child by the local priest and at the very place you will also see newlyweds getting blessed by the priests.

later in the evening, you will be escorted to the banks again to board your cruise for second round to witness the evening activities from your cruise and also the famous Ganges Aarti, prayer ceremony. Around sunset the cruise pauses around Dashashwamedh ghat for a close-up view of the aarti ceremony. Here you will watch people in gathering of hundreds in number praising songs in praise of mother Ganges and floating lamps to get their wishes granted by the goddess. During the aarti thousands of lamps are floated and you can also float your lamps from the boat itself and make a wish from mother Ganges. Later you will disembark at an outer bank to avoid rush and catch your car for returning back to your hotel.

DAY 22. CHECKOUT AND SARNATH VISIT AND LATER BOARD FLIGHT TO DELHI.

After breakfast check out from your hotel and proceed for Sarnath, which is around 10 kms from Varanasi. The place holds important position in Buddhism as it was here where Gautam buddha the prophet of Buddhism delivered his first sermon after attaining highest knowledge at Bodh Gaya. In Buddhism it is said that Gautam buddha attained salvation while being alive only by conquering his ego. it is a Buddhist pilgrimage site that is on the tentative UNESCO heritage list. Here they have 2300 years old dhamekha stupa located near the place where buddha preached his first sermon. The stupa was built

Ashoka, who also spread the religion to far and wide in 3rd century before Christ. First Buddhist Sangh (community of Buddhist monks) was also formed here. The area is home to number of Buddhist monuments that you will drive by. The highlight of the Sarnath tour is a brief stop at a very small archaeological museum with its impressive collection of artefacts, which include the four headed lion that is Indian national emblem. Then later in the evening slightly after lunch you will board flight for Delhi. On arrival in Delhi, you will be received by joy tours car and driven back to your hotel. Day will be at leisure and you can enjoy the extensive facilities of your hotel. Overnight hotel, NEW DELHI.