A Taste of North India: Heritage, Culture and Food

Itinerary

• Day 1: International Arrival, Delhi at Leisure

  Welcome to India! On arrival at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, you will be met by our representative and be transferred to your hotel where our representative will help you check-in and brief you about the following days' tours. The rest of the day is yours to relax and recover from your journey.

  • Delhi

• Day 2: Delhi Sightseeing

  After breakfast at your hotel, your tour guide will pick you up in hotel lobby then head to Old Delhi for the magnificent Jama Masjid, India's largest mosque; and then a unique glance at local life by exploring the bustling local bazaar of Chandni Chowk by rickshaw.

  Pass by Red Fort before driving to New Delhi for the tallest stone tower in India, 800-year-old Qutub Minar surrounded by ancient Hindu and Muslim complex. Continue to Gandhi Smriti where Gandhi spent the last 144 days of his life. Drive among the city landmarks of India Gate, President's House, Parliament House and Government Secretariat Buildings. Finish today with an insight into the local religion at a colorful Hindu temple - Laxmi Narayan Temple.

  Tips: Female tourists are asked to wear robes before entering Jama Masjid. If you don't have one, you can rent from the temple for 50 rupees.

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  • Delhi

• Day 3: Private Cooking Class with Authentic Culinary Experience

  After a leisurely breakfast, you will proceed to visit Lotus Temple (Bahai Temple), which is an ideal place for meditation and obtaining peace and tranquility. Followed by a visit to "Dilli Haat" - the Food and Craft Bazzar. The Dilli Haat provides the ambience of a traditional Rural Haat or village market, but one suited for more contemporary needs. 

  In the afternoon, an Authentic Culinary Experience starts from understanding basic ingredients needed for creating the perfect dish, applying simple nuances to it and finally indulging the tummy and heart with it. It starts off by understanding how the spices and vegetables are picked by visiting a local market. Get a feel of how an Indian would purchase the ingredients to make delicious Indian dishes. Understand the time tested yet simple nuances that need to be kept in mind when preparing Indian cuisine. Relish this experience by enjoying the Indian delicacies cooked by you with some help from your new Indian friend. Share a few laughs along the way!

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  • Delhi

• Day 4: Drive to Jaipur (By Car, Approx. 4-5 Hrs, 265 Km)

  After breakfast, head to the "Pink City" of Jaipur by private A/C car, with stopovers for a coffee break or photo opportunities available at your request any time en route. Check into the hotel for some rest, and we will take you to visit a tailor's shop to enjoy the Turban and Saree trying. If interested, feel free to get petticoat and blouse made as per your body fitting.

  Note: The tailor-made petticoat and blouse may take a day or two. We will try to get it done before you leave Jaipur. Clothes making is at your own extra cost.

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  • Jaipur

• Day 5: Jaipur Sightseeing

  After breakfast, visit Amber Fort, the ancient capital of the State; inside experience the Sheesh Mahal (Palace of Mirrors).

  Drive to the towering Nahargarh Fort (Tiger Fort) on a hilltop, where you will get a bird's eye of Jaipur city.

  Drive back to Jaipur and stop at the façade of the famous Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds) and find the best angle for a perfect picture helped by your tour guide. Continue to the City Palace Museum and Jantar Mantar - the largest stone observatory in the world that still in service today. Checking the local time in person by the giant sundial is interesting. Drive through the pink rose residential and business areas before you are escorted back to the hotel.

  Tips: There are a lot of vendors selling goods around Amber Fort. If you have no interest in their goods, say no to them and do not show any interest at the very beginning.

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  • Jaipur

• Day 6: Jaipur - Agra (By Car, Approx. 5 Hrs, 289 Km)

  After breakfast, drive east to Agra, en route briefly exploring the former royal city of Fatehpur Sikri (about 1.5 hrs), one of the finest examples of Mughal architectural splendor at its height, built by Emperor Akbar in 1569 and abandoned after 15 years due to scarcity of water. Continue to Agra after lunch. On arrival, check in to your hotel and the rest of the day is yours at leisure.

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  • Agra

• Day 7: Dive into the Wonders in Agra

  In the early morning, visit the Taj Mahal (closed on Fridays), a white-marble world wonder built by a great emperor in memory of his beloved.

  Later, visit the palatial Royal Pavilions at the red sandstone Agra Fort for a glimpse of the royal Mughal lifestyle. In the afternoon, have a local family visit. The family will prepare a welcome dinner at home for you. You can enjoy a simple Indian meal in the style they cook every day and listen to the funny stories of Indian lifestyle and customs.

  Tips: A strict security check is required before entering the Taj Mahal. Foods, plastic bags, chargers are all prohibited. 

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  • Agra

• Day 8: Agra - Jhansi - Khajuraho (By Express Train, 2.5 Hrs; By Car, 4Hrs)

  After breakfast, be escorted to railway station and assisted to board your express train to Jhansi. When you arrive in Jhansi, be met by your tour guide who will show you around at Orccha Ancient Town nearby. This "Hidden Island" remains relatively undiscovered and sleepy and encircled by thick forest and dozens of aged temples; you will find it so easy to travel back in time when taking a quiet and less crowed walking tour around its Raj Mandir Palace and Jahangir Palace.

  Continue your journey to Khajuraho by private A/C car. Once the capital of the Chandela Dynasty, this little village is now famous for its temple architecture listed in World Heritage Directory by UNESCO. 

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  • Khajuraho

• Day 9: Khajuraho Temples & Departure for Varanasi

  After breakfast at your hotel, your expert guide will accompany you through the renowned Khajuraho Temple Complexes decorated with unbelievably exquisite, still almost intact 1,000-year-old sculptures. It is said that Khajuraho is so extremely mysterious that people can't even describe it in words. In the afternoon, fly to Varanasi. After settling down in your hotel, enjoy the rest of the day as your own leisure time.

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  • Varanasi

• Day 10: Varanasi Sightseeing, Yoga Class and Evening Aarti

  Varanasi presents a unique combination of physical, metaphysical and supernatural elements. Get up early to catch the amazing spectacle of sunrise on the River Ganges, which is full of pilgrims flocking in to take a morning dip that absolves them from all sins. Explore on foot about the fascinating narrow lanes of Bengali Tola area, one of the oldest continuously inhabited places on earth. Later, participate in an authentic Indian Yoga Class. 

  In the evening, you can enjoy the daily Aarti Ceremony performed at the Dashashwamedh Ghats. It is a beautiful, resonant, and majestic spectacle with very precise choreography involving rituals performed by several priests with the sound of bells, drums, cymbals, and Sanskrit mantras.

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  • Varanasi

• Day 11: Varanasi - Delhi (By Air), Delhi Departure

  This morning you will visit Sarnath (the Deer Park) where the Buddha preached his first sermon, followed by Sanarth Museum for Buddhist art and culture.

  Later, visit a community-run Silk Weaving workshop where local craftsmen make delicate silk articles through traditional punch-card looms. Surprisingly you will find very few old craftsmen there rely merely on memory but punch card to weave their unique family patterns passed down through generations.

  Leave for Varanasi airport to take the flight back to Delhi. After arriving in Delhi, transfer to city centre, you may take advantage of this time for last minute gift shopping before our representative escort you to International airport for departure flight. 

  Note: No hotel in Delhi.

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