Tour type: Small Group
Group size: Min: 2 | Max: 12
Accommodation: 3 to 4-star hotels and heritage properties
Meals:
Transport: A/C minivan/minibus, sleeper train, domestic flight
Highlights: Old and New Delhi, Pink city of Jaipur, Tordi Garh, Abhaneri step well, Keoladeo NP, Fatehpur Sikri, Taj Mahal at sunrise, Agra Fort, River Ganges at Varanasi, Buddhist Sarnath &Lumbini, Bardia NP wildlife safaris, Kathmandu tour
This 16-day India and Nepal tour travels from Delhi to Kathmandu, taking in some classic sites in northern India as well as exploring some little visited places before arriving in Nepal to visit the birthplace of the Buddha in Lumbini and search for tigers and other wildlife in Bardia National Park. This India and Nepal tour begins in India’s capital, Delhi, which is a huge sprawling city home to over 18 million people. It is one of the heartbeats of modern developing India while also being full of old culture and exotic street life.
After exploring the city we head into the arid state of Rajasthan and its capital, the ‘Pink City’ of Jaipur. Famous for its craft markets and jewellery, Jaipur is fascinating to explore. We leave the cities behind us now and travel on small roads through rural Rajasthan to the village of Tordi where we stay in a converted palace and explore the surrounding village on foot. Our next top is at the architectural marvel that is the Abhaneri step well, before we take to a cycle rickshaw for a guided exploration of Keoladeo National Park, which is famous for its birdlife and other wildlife.
One of this India and Nepal tour’s main highlights is our next stop, as we head to Agra to see the incredible Taj Mahal. We continue our theme of mixing classic sites with unusual and different places and experiences with two further tours in Agra; one of the fields and villages on the opposite bank of the Yamuna River from the Taj with a local villager, and the other of some of the city’s backstreets and temples by rickshaw. A sleeper train journey then brings us comfortably to the holy city of Varanasi, sitting on the banks of the River Ganges.
While in Varanasi, we’ll take an early morning boat trip on the river, take part in an evening Aarti ceremony giving candlelit offerings to the holy Ganges River, enjoy a home-cooked meal with a muslim family, explore a weavers village famous for making some of the best saris in the whole of India, and visit Sarnath, where the Lord Buddha preached his first sermon.
We leave India behind us next, and cross into Nepal to visit another important Buddhist pilgrimage site, his birthplace at Lumbini. The pace of life definitely feels slower and more relaxed now we’re in Nepal, and that is emphasised by our next few days as we base ourselves in Bardia National Park for three nights to catch our breath and take some safaris into the park in search of tigers, rhino, wild elephant and other wildlife. A short flight, with spectacular views of the Himalayan mountains to our left, brings us to Nepal’s capital city Kathmandu, to finish the tour. We have a couple of visits here, to the important pilgrimage sites of Pasupatinath temple (Hindu) and Boudhanath stupa Buddhist) complete our journey.
Extensions are available to see much more of Nepal if you have more time, whether that be to do some trekking, white water rafting, or more sightseeing and exploration.
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Restoration of the Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal, one of India's most iconic structures, is getting a much need facelift. The almost-four-century-old Taj Mahal is finally showing signs of ageing. Air pollution is unfortunately turning its ivory-white complexion - yellow. Adding to the colouration problems, the Yamuna River, with which the Taj Mahal shares a river bank, is contaminated and the insects that breed in its waters are leaving patches of green residue on its marble. In order to restore the Taj Mahal's glistening white marble, mud-pack therapy is being used. If you're worried that it might affect your India tour, this handy Taj restoration guide will tell you everything you need to know.
This tour is also available for booking privately for travel anytime through the year, and we can also customise the itinerary to fit your personal requirements. Please contact us for details and prices.
The hotels and accommodations listed below are the ones we most often use on this tour. From time to time we may exchange these for similar properties at the same level. In general, specific hotels cannot be guaranteed on our group tours, but you may select your preferred options if you are booking a tailor-made trip.
Our tours are designed to include all that you need to enjoy a really special time in the destination youre visiting. However, we do also offer some extra options to complement the tour and add some additional sightseeing or activities, or some extra time at either end of the tour.
All accommodation based options (e.g. Single supplements, extra nights, cruise upgrades) should be booked and paid for in advance so that we can make the appropriate arrangements. Other options may either be booked and paid for in advance or while you are on the tour, though we recommend booking in advance to ensure there are no issues with availability.
Many options are priced the same throughout the year, but some may incur single or high season supplements - full details are given on the tour reservation form or on request.
The detailed Tour Notes below have been written to give you some more detailed information about how the tour runs, what to expect, and how to prepare for your holiday. We recommend downloading an up to date copy of these shortly before you travel in case of any changes.
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