12-Day Superior First Class Tour 

November 9-20, 2006   January 18-29,
February 15-26, March 8-19, 2007

Day 1: Overnight Flight 
Our journey begins this evening as we board our overnight flight to Delhi, India.   

Day 2: Arrive Delhi
Arrival and transfer to hotel, our lodging for the next two nights. 

Day 3: Delhi Sightseeing
A full day sightseeing in New and Old Delhi is in store for you. In New Delhi, we visit the 12th century Qutab Minar, gracefully hand-carved for its entire height of 234ft, the iron pillar, which has withstood the ravages of time and not rusted even after 1500 years, the mausoleum of emperor Humayun, and the imposing modern Lakshmi Narayan temple. Drive past India Gate (memorial to the Indian army soldiers who died in the World War I), the Rashtrapati Bhavan (formerly the viceroy's residence) and the Parliament House. Continue to Old Delhi to see the Red Fort - a marvel in red sandstone, the Raj Ghat, - memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, the Jama Masjid - the largest mosque in India. Spend some time in Chandi Chowk to savor the ambience of an oriental, crowded bazaar. 

Day 4: Country Roads to Jaipur
Meet the people and the diverse culture of rural India as we travel the scenic road to Jaipur.  We stop for rest, lunch and interaction with the friendly people along the way to Jaipur.  The remainder of afternoon is free go for a stroll and then enjoy the quality of your lodging for the next two nights.

Day 5: Charming Jaipur
This morning we enjoy a half day Jeep tour of Amber Fort. Amber is a classic, romantic Rajasthani Fort Palace. The rugged, time-ravaged walls of the Fort may not look beautiful from the outside, but the interior is a virtual paradise. Miniatures painted on the walls depict hunting and war scenes, apart from festivals. Precious stones and mirrors are embedded into the plaster. Inside the Fort visit the Jag Mandir or the Hall of Victory. Inside the Jag Mandir is the famed Sheesh Mahal - a room with all the four walls and ceiling completely embedded with glittering mirror pieces, which were specially imported from Belgium during that period. En route to Amber Fort, you will have a brief photography stop at Hawa Mahal - the Palace of Winds. The afternoon tour begins with a visit to the Maharaja's City Palace, the former Royal residence, part of it converted into a museum. A small portion is still used by the Royal family of Jaipur. Built in the style of a fortified campus, the palace covers almost one-seventh in area of the city. One of the major attractions in the museum is the portion known as Armoury Museum housing an impressive array of weaponry-pistols, blunderbusses, flintlocks, swords, rifles and daggers. The royal families of Jaipur once used most of these weapons. Later visit the Jantar Mantar, which is the largest stone and marble crafted observatory in the world. Situated near the gate of the city palace, the observatory has 17 large instruments, many of them still in working condition.  

Day 6: Fatehpursikri, Agra
The deserted beautiful city of Fatehpur Sikri was built by Emperor Akbar in 1569, in honor of the great Saint Sheikh Salim Chisti who blessed Akbar and predicted the birth of three sons to the heirless Emperor. Akbar used Fatehpur Sikri as his capital and the city was fully occupied for 14 years but slowly became deserted and ruined after he left the city, primarily due to the scarcity of water. Visit the remarkably well-preserved, graceful buildings within the 'Ghost City' including the Panch Mahal Palace and other palaces that speak of the grandeur and splendour of the Mughal empire at the height of its power.  Our lodging for the next two nights will be in Agra. 

Day 7: Taj Mahal & Free Time
Morning visit the world famous Taj Mahal built by Shah Jahan in 1560 in memory of his queen Mumtaz Mahal to enshrine her mortal remains. This architectural marvel is a perfectly proportioned masterpiece fashioned from white marble that stands testimony to the skill of 20,000 craftsmen brought together from Persia, Turkey, France and Italy and who took 17 year to complete this ' Love Poem in Marble'. (Friday closed). Later visit the Agra fort containing the halls private and public audiences and other palaces.  This afternoon we will enjoy a visit to a local school and then free time for shopping and strolling through the Agra Fort, a cluster of mosques and palaces on the banks of the river and the bustling spice market.  

Day 8: Agra to Khajuraho
Travel aboard the famous Shatabdi Express train to Jhansi and continue by coach to Orchha, a medieval city on the River Betwa. Proceed to Khajuraho, renowned for its splendid temples.  Our lodging for the next two nights will be in Khajuraho..

Day 9: Spectacular Temples
Today we tour the spectacular temples of Khajuraho, built by the Chandela kings between the 9th and 13th centuries, exquisitely carved with graceful statues and frieze of Gods and Goddesses.  You’ll see the Eastern and Western Temples, including the Kandariya Mahadeva Temple, the largest and most artistically and architecturally perfect. All of the Temples are superb examples of Indo-Aryan architecture, with extraordinary decorations and exceedingly fine and artistic stonework.  The remainder of the day is free to enjoy the quality of your hotel, shop or sightsee on your own. 

Day 10: Varanasi Rickshaw
Today we take a short flight to Varanasi and transfer to our hotel for this evening.  This evening we experience Varanasi intimately with a leisurely rickshaw ride through the narrow streets and alleys.  In the evening the Ghats and temples are lit with oil-lamp lights or candles.  Watch an Arti Ceremony (collective prayer) and see the floating Diyas (lamps) on the river Ganges. 

Day 11: Ganges Boat Ride  
The western banks of Ganges has a string of Ghats - the chain of stone steps, all built with pavilions, palaces and terraces, most of which are mainly used as Dharamsalas where the pilgrims stay during their visit to their holy city.  At dawn, the Ghats are abuzz with activity of the devotees performing their ablutions in the river or offering prayers to the rising sun and performing other religious rituals.  A boat ride along the Ghats gives you vantage views of this activity and the sunrise on the Ganges is a beautiful experience.  Later, we visit the Vishwanath temple, also called the golden temple because of the gold-plating on its roof.  This afternoon we tour to nearby Sarnath, from Varanasi it is a fabled place which bears testimony to its great past where Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon to his disciples.  The remains date back to as far as the 3rd-Century BC.  We will also visit the superb art collection at the Archaeological Museum before turning to the airport for our flight to Delhi and our lodging for one last night.

Day 12: Return Home
We transfer to the airport for our flight home.

 Price Includes: Superior first class hotels with full breakfast daily, all sightseeing, modern air-conditioned motorcoach transportation, domestic India air fare and train (with land package price), admissions, hotel porterage (1 piece), air fare from NYC (low rates nation-wide).

Not Included: gratuities to tour manager, guides and driver, lunches and dinners, visa, air taxes, fuel surcharges.

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