Into the Heavens: 13-Day Trip to India and Nepal

Breakfast. Our representative will be waiting for you in the hotel lounge to introduce you to your guide and driver. We will begin the visit with a photo stop at the Red Fort, nearby is Chandni Chowk, once an imperial avenue that Shah Jahan liked to ride along, passing through the narrow streets of Old Delhi, leaving us at the door of Jama Masyid, one of the largest mosques in India, built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in the 17th century.

Next, we will visit Gandhi's tomb and drive through the New Delhi area to see the India Gate, the Presidential Palace and Parliament. Next, we will visit the Sikh temple and sit for about 10 minutes in the prayer hall to watch the visitors and listen to the prayer.

A visit to New Delhi will allow us to discover the Qutab Minar (12th century), gracefully fluted and entirely hand-carved on its shaft; nearby is the Iron Column, which has stood impassively by the misfortunes of Time and is not even rusty, after 1,500 years of history. Return to the hotel.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast. In the morning, departure by road to Jaipur.

JAIPUR: The pink city of Rajasthan. Jaipur is perhaps one of the most picturesque cities in the world. It was built according to the canons of the Shilpa Shastra, the ancient Hindu treatise on architecture. Divided into seven rectangular sectors, with well-designed streets and right angles, its planning is a marvel of 18th century urbanism, when not even in Europe did a similar systematization exist. Surrounded by steep hills on three of its cardinal points, the city is guarded by a powerful fortified wall with seven gates.

In the afternoon, the visit with a photo stop at the Albert Hall (Palace built by the Maharaja of Jaipur to commemorate the visit of King George of England), now converted into a museum, then we will visit the Birla temple of the Hindu religion to see the ‘Aarti’ ceremony.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast. In the morning, an excursion to Amber Fort, the former capital of the State until 1728. A unique experience: we will ride on elephants to reach the top of the hill on which the fort stands.

Next, a panoramic tour of Jaipur (which takes its name from Maharajah Jai Singh, prince and astronomer, who designed and founded the city in 1727). We will visit the astronomical observatory that the monarch himself built, equipped with instruments designed by himself, of considerable size, and whose precision is difficult to match even today. We will also visit the Maharaja's Palace, former royal residence and today a museum of manuscripts, Rajput and Mughal paintings, and weapons. We will drive through the residential and business areas of the "pink city", passing in front of the Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds), one of the most famous monuments in Jaipur.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast. In the morning, departure to Agra visiting on route the stepwell of Abhaneri and Fatehpur Sikri. ABHANERI - This is Chand Baori a famous stepwell located in the village of Abhaneri near Jaipur, in the state of Rajasthan. It is located in front of the Harshat Mata temple and is one of the largest and deepest in India. It was built in the 9th century and has 3,300 steps, 13 levels and 100 feet deep.

Rebuilt in the 10th century, the incredible stepwell of Chand Baori was a practical solution to the water problem in this area of ​​India, where the arid climate forced local inhabitants to dig deep in search of underground streams. According to legend, the building was built by ghosts in a single night.

FATEHPUR SIKRI: Just over 40 km from Agra lies the dead city of Fatehpur Sikri, built by Emperor Akbar in 1569 and abandoned due to his inability to provide it with a water supply. The buildings of the city are incredibly preserved, notably the Jama Masjid mosque, the tomb of Salim Chisti, the Panch Mahal and other places.

Arrival in Agra and check-in at the hotel.
Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast. In the morning, visit including one of the most important monuments in the world, the Taj Mahal, a hymn to love built by Emperor Shah Jehan in 1630 to serve as a mausoleum for his queen, Mumtaj Mahal. This architectural marvel is a proportioned masterpiece, entirely built in white marble. Craftsmen from Persia, the Ottoman Empire, France and Italy took 17 years to complete it, aided by 20,000 workers (ATTENTION: THE TAJ MAHAL CLOSES ITS DOORS ON FRIDAYS, A MUSLIM HOLIDAY).

Next, we will visit the Agra Fort, on the banks of the Yamuna River, in the heart of the city. It reflects Indian architecture under three Mughal emperors: Akbar, Jehangir and Shah Jahan. Within the complex there are some interesting structures, such as the Jehangiri Mahal, the Anguri Bagh, the Khas Mahal and the Moti Masjid mosque.

We will visit the Mehtab Bagh Garden located on the other bank of the Yamuna River, from here you can get some very good photos of the Taj Mahal.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast. In the morning, transfer to the railway station to board the Shatabdi Express train (07.57-10.43 hrs) to Jhansi.
On arrival, transfer by road to Orcha (16 kms). We will have a brief visit to the town and we can have lunch here on a direct payment.
The magnificence of Orcha has been trapped in stone and frozen in time; a legacy rich in art and splendour. In this medieval city, the hand of time has gently touched palaces and temples built by the Bundela dynasty in the 16th-17th centuries, of pristine perfection. Orcha was founded in the 16th century by the Rajput Bundela chief Rudra Pratap, who chose this strip of land along the Betwa River as the ideal place to build his capital.

We will continue by road to Khajuraho, 3 hours. Arrival and check-in at the hotel.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast. In the morning, visit the world-famous temples of Khajuraho, built by the Chandela kings between 950 and 1050 AD. The most important is the Chaunseth Yogini temple, dedicated to the goddess Kali. Also impressive are the Mahadev temple, the Chitragupta or Bharatji temple with its delicate image of Vishnu with 11 heads, the Vishvanath and Nandi temples, the Lakshmana temple and the Visha temple dedicated to Shiva, which is the largest and most typical of all the temples.

Then transfer to the airport to take the flight to Varanasi.

Arrival and transfer to the hotel.

In the afternoon, we will visit the Bharat Mata temple with its large marble Indian relief and then visit the Ganges River to see the evening ceremony “Aarti”.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Early morning, boat ride along the sacred Ganges River to see the "Ghats" or ritual baths, and the cremation sites. Watching believers bathe and worship the river at the Ghats is one of the most extraordinary experiences a traveler can enjoy in India.

Millions of pilgrims come here to purify themselves in the waters of the river, attend ancient rites, consult astrologers and expel negative Karma. We will walk through the alleys of the old town to see the depth of the Hindu religion in the daily life of the people. We will pass by the Durga Temple, the Tulsi Manas Mandir, the Benares Hindu University. Return to the hotel and breakfast.

Excursion to Sarnath, the buried Buddhist city where Buddha gave his first sermon. Sarnath was a renowned centre of learning from the 6th century BC to the 12th century AD. Visit to the ruins, the Stupa, the Buddhist Temple and the Museum.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast. At the scheduled time, transfer to the airport to take the flight to Kathmandu.

Arrival and check-in at the hotel.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast. In the morning, half-day sightseeing tour: Durbar Square, the former royal residential district, with more than 50 important temples and the Rana Palace, called Singha Durbar; Hanuman Dhoka, the imposing gateway to the Royal Palace with its statue of the "monkey god". We will drive along the "geek" street, where hippies once relaxed, to visit the house-temple of the kumari, the child goddess, a living goddess. We end the morning at the great stupa of Swayambhunath, with the eyes of Buddha painted on all four sides. Its sacred location, on a hill, was decided 2,500 years ago, long before the advent of Buddhism in Nepal.

In the afternoon, visit Patan, touring the old city: Newar, the Golden Gate, the Teleju Templ,e and the statue of Yogendra Malla.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast. In the morning, visit Bodhnath, one of the largest stupas in the world. We will also visit the temples of Pashupatinath, one of the most important in the Hindu religion dedicated to the god Shiva, here we can see the cremation of corpses on the banks of the Bagmati River.
At the end of the excursion we will take you back to the hotel in Kathmandu.
Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast. Transfer to the airport to take the flight to Delhi or you can also leave for Dubai, Doha, Istanbul, Bangkok, etc.