Day 01: 24 Mar.07 [Saturday]

Arrival DELHI, 01:35. Transfer to hotel for Overnight Stay Full day sightseeing including a visit to Freemason's Hall on Janpath. Evening attend Lodge meeting of Lodge Civil Lines 310 in Qudsia Gardens Masonic Hall.

Delhi is the capital of India. It is one of the oldest cities of India having a very rich past. Many dynasties ruled from here and the city is rich in the architecture of its monuments. Diverse cultural elements absorbed into the daily life of the city have enriched its character. Exploring the city can be a fascinating and rewarding experience.

India Gate: This solemn monument was built in memory of the 90,000 Indian soldiers who died in World War I. It was built in 1931, designed by Lutyens, and was originally called the All India War Memorial. The names of the soldiers are inscribed on the walls of the arc of the gate. Later in 1971, an eternal flame was lit here in memory of the unknown soldiers who died in the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war. India Gate stands at the end of Rajpath, and is a popular picnic site especially during hot summer evenings. At night, the Gate is brightly lit and the fountains near the Gate are lit with coloured lights. The sight is delightful.

Overnight: THE IMPERIAL /TRIDENT GURGAON (B)

Day 02: 25 Mar.07 [Sunday]

Morning dep Flt # CD 7471 DELHI-UDAIPUR (0715/0920).

Full day sightseeing in Udaipur.

Udaipur is known as the Venice of the east. It is also called the city of lakes. The Lake Palace on Jag Niwas Island in the middle of Pichola Lakes is the finest example of its architectural and cultural explosion. Going around the City Palace; A Lunch at The Lake Palace could be made as the high light of your programme for the day in the City.

Overnight: JAGAT NIWAS PALACE (B)

RANAKPUR Jain temples - one of the five most important pilgrimage sites of Jainism. The main Chaumukha Temple of Ranakpur is dedicated to the Tirthankara Rishabji. The most distinctive features are the 29 halls of the temple, which contain 1,444 pillars of which no two are exactly alike.

Lunch could be had at Maharani Bagh before proceeding to JODHPUR - the second largest city in Rajasthan and has landscape dominated by the massive Mehrangarh Fort topping a sheer rocky ridge. The old city is fenced by 10 km long wall with eight Gates leading out of it.

Overnight: Balsamand Palace (B)

Mehrangarh Fort- built on a steep hill. This formidable hill-top fort is among the best in India with exquisitely latticed windows in residential apartments within. Carved panels and porches, elaborately adorned windows and walls of Moti Mahal, Phool Mahal, Sheesh Mahal Sileh Khana and Daulat Khana, seem to make the medieval splendour come alive. 

Overnight: MANSINGH PALACE (B)

The rose pink capital of Rajasthan is surrounded on all sides by rugged hills, crowned with forts and enclosed by embattled walls.

Jaipur is a city rich in history and legend. Houses with latticed windows line the streets, their rose-pink colour lending enchantment to the scene, which is almost magical at sunset.  The City is noted for its craftsmen; skilled in the art of cutting precious stones and famed for its garnets and rubies… there are some excellent fabric stores too. 

Overnight: ALSISAR HAVELI (B)

City Palace – A delightful blend of Mughal and traditional Rajasthani architecture, sprawling over one- seventh of the area in the walled city, it houses the Chandra Mahal, Sri Govind Dev Temple and the City Palace Museum - displaying some of the most amazing treasures. Part of the City Palace houses the erstwhile Royal family even today.

Hawa Mahal – This ornamental facade of "Palace Of Winds" is a landmark in Jaipur. Its five - storied structure of pink sandstone encrusted with fine trelliswork and balconies have 953 niches and windows. Built in 1799 as a royal grand stand for palace women. 

Amber Fort Palace – Amber is the classic romantic fort palace. Its construction started by Man Singh I in 1592 -the rugged forbidding exterior belies an inner paradise, where a beautiful fusion of Mughal and Hindu styles finds its ultimate refinement. Painted scenes of hunting and war adorn the walls with precious stones and mirrors. You have an opportunity of having a royal ride on an Elephant. 

Overnight: ALSISAR HAVELI (B)

Fatehpur Sikri:

Today, Fatehpur Sikri is a deserted, phantom city. But the inner citadel is immaculately preserved. Its walls, palaces, baths, royal mint, courts and gardens still stand in splendid homage to a great visionary and builder. At the tomb of Sheikh Salim Chisti, a white marble canopy set in the great courtyard of the Royal mosque, pilgrims still come in thousands to offer flowers, tie a thread in the latticed screens, and to pray for the gift of a son, as did the great Emperor AKBAR, who then built a city, and made it his Capital for 16 years, before having to abandon it, due to lack of water.

Overnight: Taj View Hotel (B)

Taj Mahal: Mughal Emperor Shahjahan built a monument dedicated to love it in the memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz during 1631 AD to 1653 AD. Its pure white marble shimmers silver in the moonlight, glows softly pink at dawn and at close of day reflects the fiery tints of the setting sun. The Taj, in all its timeless beauty is still the inspiration of poets and painters, writers and photographers and the young lovers.

Overnight: Taj View Hotel (B)

The Red Fort: The banks of the Yamuna River laid out the Red Fort, with a circumference of over 2.2 kilometres, in the 17th century. The Mughal emperor Shahjahan built it with the ambition of concentrating the Mughal power in one monument. Monument is perhaps not the right word. A mini-city is more like it.

Jama Masjid: Built by Shah Jahan in 1658, it is one of the largest mosques in India with a seating capacity of more than 20,000.

The mosque is situated near the Red Fort in old Delhi. This is the area that still retains the traditional charm of markets in Mughal times.

Bahai Temple: The temple represents the Bahai faith, which is broad in its outlook, scientific in the influence it exerts on the hearts and minds of men. It signifies the purity and the universality of the lord and equality of all religions. Visited by over four million people, annually, this gleaming lotus- like marble structure is located on Bahapur Hills (South Delhi) and it is the seventh and most recent Bahai houses of worship in the world. The temple is a must visit for every tourist who comes to Delhi.

Qutub Minar: The highest stone tower in India, the Qutub Minar was built by Qutbuddin Aibak, the viceroy of Mohammed Ghori in 1192. It was built to celebrate Ghori's victory over the Rajput. The tower and the victory are very significant, because both heralded the birth of a new dynasty - Slave Dynasty. And it laid the foundations of the Delhi Sultanate. And the rest, as one would put it after witnessing this monumental tower, was history.

The Minar is a five-storey building with a height of 72.5 metres. The first storey of the Qutub Minar was completed in the lifetime of Qutbuddin. His son-in-law and successor, Iltumush, added the next three storeys. 

Overnight: The Imperial / Trident Hilton (B)

Bandhavgarh lies in the heart of Madhya Pradesh- traditional tiger country. This is where Rudyard Kipling found inspiration for his famous Jungle Book (remember Mowgli?). Bandhavgarh was mercifully declared a National Park in 1968. Today, the Bandhavgarh National Park is a compact reserve (448 sq. km) of sal trees, bamboo thickets and grasslands, teeming with birds, animals and the highest population of tigers anywhere in India. The park is now home to 22 species of wildlife, including the regal ‘gaur’, umpteen varieties of deer, and carnivores such as the striped hyena, jungle cat and sloth bear and over 250 species of birds. Within the park itself is the Bandhavgarh Fort, now in ruins and largely overrun by the surrounding forest.

Overnight: White Tiger Forest Lodge (B,L,D)

Morning Park round. Wandering through the Bandhavgarh national park on an Elephant back, you will find the chances of seeing a tiger pretty good. Trained Forest guides leave a little before the Park opening time.... and once a tiger has been tracked, deep in the jungle, they inform the Forest Officer, who then would let the visitors go, turn by turn, to the spot on the back of an elephant. 

After brunch drive to Khajuraho [210km, 5hrs], and see the temples on arrival in the evening. Overnight.

Overnight: Jass Radisson (B)

Khajuraho has some extra ordinary temples which rise spire upon spire like a mirage in the middle of nowhere. Built by the Chandela kings in the 10th century (950 to 1050) just 22 of the original 85 temples still remain. Their tall spires are balanced with horizontal bands of the most dazzling profusion of carved figures, animals, trees, chariots-sculpted with unerring perfection.

On arrival in VARANASI,transfer to Hotel  and later see the ARTI on the Ghats

Seeing the 'ritual ' of evening prayers -'ARTI', and watching this spectacle of devout pilgrims and holy men along with other curious onlookers evening prayers, sitting in a boat on the River Ganges itself, should be a spiritually uplifting sight. 

Overnight: Rashmi Guest House (B)

V

Varanasi, the world's oldest living city and Hinduism's most venerated pilgrimage site. The life and activities in Varanasi revolve around the holy river Ganga. Life on the banks of Ganga begins before dawn when thousands of pilgrims with intense thoughts of salvation come down to the river to wait for the rising sun. Soon after the sunrise, the Ghats burst into activity. On arrival in Bangalore transfer to Hotel 

Overnight: The Central Park (B)

Bangalore is the capital of Karnataka. With its salubrious climate, tree-lined avenues, trendy, yuppy downtown, and the software flood, Bangalore truly offers one a picture of striking contrasts. There are old beautiful bungalows, parks, hallowed places of worship and traditional market-places on the one hand, balancing with fashionable shopping malls, pubs, new architectural wonders and modern looking religious centres on the other. Evening attend Lodge Meeting of Lodge Star of the South 101

Overnight: The Central Park (B)

Cultural capital of Karnataka, Mysore is a majestic, mysterious and mesmerising city.  It has inherited all Indian traditions with modernity.  Mysore has a number of historical and heritage buildings.

After sightseeing board train # 2008, MYSORE-CHENNAI 14:20/21:30, Transfer to hotel. 

Overnight: The Green Hotel (B)

A silhouette of the Mysore Palace illuminated with ninety seven thousand bulbs shimmering against an inky black night is one of the most enduring images of the city. A priceless national treasure and the pride of a kingdom, the Mysore Palace is the seat of the famed Wodeyar Maharajas of Mysore.

An eclectic synthesis of architectural styles the palace is one of India’s most dramatic national monuments. Today it is a museum housing treasures from across the world reflecting the rich and colourful history of the erstwhile princely state of Mysore. 

Overnight: Chola Sheraton (B)

The THEOSOPHICAL Society and Free Masons Hall

 

Here the tour ends