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Duration
: 11 Nights /
12 Days |
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Places to visit :
Delhi - Agra - Varanasi - sarnath - Bodhgaya - Nalanda
- Rajgir - Patna - Vashali - Kushinagar - Lumbini -
Balrampur - Lucknow - Delhi |
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 DAY
1:- Delhi - Park
Arrive DELHI. Meet on
arrival by company representatives. Proceed to hotel
and relax.
DELHI, the capital of kingdoms and empires is now a
sprawling metropolis with a fascinating blend of the
past and the present. It is a perfect introduction to
the composite culture of an ancient land. A window to
the kaleidoscope - that is India.
Overnight at Delhi
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DAY
2:- Agra - Howard Park Plaza
Early morning
proceed to Agra by Shatabdi Express Train.
Breakfast to be served in the train. Upon
arrival transfer to Hotel. Afternoon sightseeing
of the Taj and Fort.
Badal Singh established the city of Taj in 1475.
Agra finds mention in the Mahabharat as Agraban.
This city in those days was considered to be the
sister-city of Mathura, which was more prominent
than Agraban. Agra came into its own when the
Lodhi Kings chose this place beside the RIVER
YAMUNA to be their capital city. Sikander Lodhi
made Agra his capital but Babar defeated the
Lodhis to capture not only Agra but also laid the
foundation of the Mughal empire.
In the Mid 16th century and earlier 17th century
Agra witnessed a frenzied building activity and it
was during this time when the symbol of love Taj
Mahal was built. The buildings made during this
era were purely in the contemporary Mughal style
and of very high quality. The same is still
reflected in whatever monuments remain in Agra.
The narrow lanes of Agra filled with aroma of
Mughlai cuisine, the craftsman who are busy in
crating master pieces with their skill all remind
of the Mughal royalty which this city had once
experienced. Today whatever remains, has become a
major tourist attraction which has taken Agra
again to the heights of glory but this time as a
major tourist destination of India. |
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Visit the TAJ MAHAL - one of the Seven
Wonders of the World was built by Shah Jahan in
1631 AD and was completed in 1651AD. Taj Mahal -
The symbol of Love was built in the memory of
Mumtaz Mahal (Shah Jahan' s second Wife).
AGRA FORT - Built by the famed Mughal
emperor Akbar in 1565 AD, the fort is
predominantly of red sandstone. Ensconced within
is the picture perfect Pearl Mosque, which is a
major tourist attraction.
After Agra Fort we will visit BABY TAJ -
The interiors of which are considered better than
the Taj.
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DAY
3:- Agra - Varanasi (by AIR)
After breakfast drive to
Fatehpur Sikri and visit the Bulund Darwaza |
 The
deserted, red Sandstone City, Emperor Akbar built that
as his capital and palace in the late 16th century is
an exhilarating experience. It a veritable fairytale
city and its "ruins" are in pristine condition ...
it's not hard to imagine what the court life must have
been like in the days of its grandeur. Also visit the
Bulund Darwaza, the largest gateway in the world.
Transfer to airport for flight to Varanasi. Arrive
Varanasi and visit Sarnath
VARANASI IS THE WORLD'S MOST ANCIENT LIVING CITY.
SUNRISE ON THE
RIVERFRONT, AS SEEN FROM A BOAT, CAN BE SPIRITUALLY
UPLIFTING SIGHT. CROWDED WITH TEMPLES, AND ITS
LABYRINTH OF STREETS, THE CITY ATTRACTS THE MAXIMUM
NUMBER OF TOURISTS. THE RELIGIOUS CAPITAL OF HINDUISM,
VARANASI IS THE CARPET MANUFACTURING PLACE OF INDIA.
IT WAS PREVIOUSLY KNOWN AS KASHI - THE CITY THAT
ILLUMINATES. THE PRESENT NAME IS DERIVED FROM THE FACT
THAT THE CITY IS AT THE CONFLUENCE OF THE RIVERS
VARUNA AND ASI
Reach and proceed to Sarnath
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Sarnath - 5 miles
out of Varanasi for a day excursion:
One of the holiest Buddhist sites in the world, where
Buddha preached his first Sermon in 590 BC. Witness
the ruins of a once flourishing Buddhist monastery and
then visit a fine Museum which houses an excellent
collection of Buddhist art and sculptures found at the
site |
Overnight at Varanasi.
VNS - HOTEL HINDUSTAN INTERNATIONAL.
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DAY
4:- Varanasi - Bodhgaya.
Morning boat ride on the
Sacred River Ganges to rituals performed by priests
and devotees. Half day guided tour of Varanasi
including the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Gyanvapi Mosque
and Benaras Hindu University. After lunch proceed for
Bodhgaya.
Bodhgaya is one of the sacred places for the Buddhists
as well as for the Hindus. Here under the Bodhi Tree,
Gautama attained supreme knowledge to become Budhha,
the `Enlighted One'.
"The Buddha once lived here"
Lord Buddha the gentle colossus who founded the first
universal religion of the world, worked and lived much
of his life in Bihar though he was born in Kapilavastu,
now in Nepal. Most of the major events of
 his
life, like enlightenment and last sermon happened in
Bihar. Significantly. the state's name originated from
'Vihara' meaning Buddhist and Jain monasteries, which
abounded in Bihar.
Though the Buddha was born as a Sakya prince in the
Terai foothills of the Himalayas, Buddhism as a
religion was really born in Bihar and evolved here
through his preaching and the example of his lifestyle
of great simplicity, renunciation and empathy for
everything living. Perhaps the present day life of
trauma and tension reminds us of the other alternative
that was always available to us, the Buddha's way of
life, gentle and simple
Several centuries after Buddha's passing away, the
Maurya emperor Ashoka (234-198 BC) contributed
tremendously towards the revival, consolidation and
spread of the original religion. It is the monasteries
Ashoka built for the Buddhist monks and the pillars
erected to commemorate innumerable historical sites
associated with the Buddha's life, mostly intact to
this day, that helped scholars and pilgrims alike to
trace the life events and preachings of a truly
extraordinary man
The Buddha attained enlightenment in Bodhgaya, under
the Bodhi tree, 10 km from Gaya. the ancient Hindu
pilgrimage centre. The tree from the original sapling
still stands in the temple premises. It is the most
important Buddhist pilgrimage centre as Buddhisrn was
born here
The magnificent Mahabodhi temple in Bodhgaya is an
architectural amalgamation of many centuries cultures
and many heritages that came to pay their homage here.
The temple definitely has architecture of the Gupta
and later ages, inscriptions describing visits of
pilgrims from Sri Lanka, Myanmar and China between 7th
and 10th century AD. It is perhaps still the same
temple Hiuen Tsang visited in 7th century
Overnight at Bodhgaya. B'GAYA - LOTUS NIKKO B'GAYA /
SUJATA
Morning after an early breakfast proceed to Bodhgaya.
Packed lunch to be served |
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DAY
5:- Bodhgaya
Si ghtseeing of Maha
Bodhi Temple and Tree. Visit the Chinese Temple. In
the afternoon visit Niranjana Temple and River. Visit
the school of the destitute. Lunch and dinner at
Bodhgaya. Overnight at Bodhgaya. B'GAYA - LOTUS NIKKO
B'GAYA / SUJATA
DAY 6:-
Bodhgaya - Nalanda - Rajgir - Patna
Early morning proceed to
visit the historical towns of Nalanda & Rajgir. Have
lunch at Rajgir. Proceed to Patna after lunch.
Overnight at Patna. PATNA ASHOKA
NALANDA - Nalanda, where ruins of the great ancient
university have been excavated, is situated at a
distance of 90 km. south east of Patna by road. It
falls on way to Rajgir. It is also linked by rail with
Patna, Rajgir and Bakhtiyarpur (on Delhi-Howrah main
track).
Hieun Tsang, the renowned Chinese traveller of the
seventh century, says that according to tradition the
place owed its name to a Naga of the same name which
resided in a local tank. But he thinks it more
probable that Lord Buddha, in one of his previous
births as Bodhisatwa, became a king with his capital
at this place and that his liberality won for him and
his capital the name Nalanda or "Charity without
intermission". The third theory about the name of the
place is that it derived from Nalam plus da. Nalam
means lotus which is a symbol for knowledge and Da
means given the place had many lotuses
Nalanda has a very ancient history. It was frequently
visited by Lord Vardhamana Mahavir and Lord Buddha in
the 6th century BC. during his sajourns, the Lord
Buddha found this place prosperous, swelling, teeming
with population and containing mango-groves. It is
also supposed to be the birth place of Sariputra, one
of the Chief disciple of the Lord Buddha
RAJGIR - The Buddha lived in the sixth century BC.
Mahavir was born in 567 BC and the traveller in Bihar
will encounter them both constantly. Rajgir is 10km
south of Nalanda and sacred to the memory of the
founder of both Buddhism and Jainism. Lord Buddha
spent many months of retreat during the rainy season
here, and used to meditate and preach on Griddhkuta,
the 'Hill of the Vultures'. Lord Mahavir spent
fourteen years of his life at Rajgir and Nalanda. It
was in Rajgriha that Lord Buddha delivered some of his
famous sermons and converted king Bimbisara of the
Magasha Kingdom and countless others to his creed.
Once a great city, Rajgir is just a village today, but
vestiges of a legendary and historical past remain,
like the cyclopean wall that encircles the town and
the marks engraved in rock that local folklore
ascribes to Lord Krishna's chariot. This legend, like
many others associates Rajgir to that distant time
when the stirring events recorded in the epic
Mahabharata were being enacted. Rajgir is located in a
verdant valley surrounded by rocky hills
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An aerial ropeway provides the link with a hill-top
stupa "Peace Pagoda" built by the Japanese. On one of
the hills in the cave of Saptparni, was held the first
Buddhist Council. The Saptparni cave is also the
source of the Rajgir Hot Water Springs that have
curative properties and are sacred to the Hindus
Patna, the capital city of Bihar, is a historical
city, which has like Delhi, experienced the trauma and
pain of being conquered. The heritage of Patna or
Pataliputra as it was known, goes back to two
millennia. This city was the seat of administration
for many rulers and each of them ascended with a new
name for their capital.
Kusumpura became Pushpapura, Patliputra, Azeemabad and
now Patna. Pataliputra was the capital of Magadha, a
kingdom, which dominated and influenced the politics
of India for a long time. Located on the banks where
rivers Sone and Ganga merge, this city has witnessed
the rules of Chanakya, Chandragupta, Ashoka and the
Nanda rulers
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DAY
7:- Patna - Vaishali - Kushinagar
Ex plore the side where
Buddha was cremated and visit Mahaparinirvana Temple.
Overnight at Kushinagar
KUSHINAGAR - LOTUS NIKKO
VAISHALI - Vaishali has a past that pre-dates recorded
history. It is held that the town derives its name
from King Vishal, whose heroic deeds are narrated in
the Hindu epic Ramayana. However, history records that
around the time Pataliputra was the centre of
political activity in the Gangetic plains, Vaishali
came into existence as centre of the Ganga, it was the
seat of the Republic of Vajji. Vaishali is credited
with being the World's First Republic to have a duly
elected assembly of representatives and efficient
administration. The Lord Buddha visited Vaishali more
than once during his lifetime and announced his
approaching Mahaparinirvana to the great followers he
had here
Hundred years after he attained Mahaparinirvana, it
was the venue of the second Buddhist Council.
According to one belief, the Jain Tirthankar, Lord
Mahavir was born at Vaishali. The Chinese travellers
Fa-Hien and Hieun Tsang also visited this place in
early 5th and 7th centuries respectively and wrote
about Vaishali
While talking of the famous men and women associated
with Vaishali, Amrapali was the cynosure not only of
Vaishali but of the neighbouring kingdoms as well
Therefore, to avert bloodshed, the parliament of
Vaishali declared her to be a Court dancer besides
consigning her to lifelong spinsterhood. Later she
became a devout Buddhist and served the Lord Buddha
KUSHINAGAR - The Buddha is believed to have breathed
his last in this land with pastoral surrounding, the
small hamlet of Kushinagar, 53 km west of Gorakhpur.
The land is venerated as the site of the Buddha's
Mahaparinirvana, his death and cremation, that marked
his final liberation from the cycles of death and
rebirth
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DAY
8:- Kushinagar - Lumbini
B Y
ROAD. Proceed after breakfast. Reach and sightseeing
The birthplace of the Gautama Buddha, Lumbini, is the
Mecca of every Buddhist, being one of the four holy
places of Buddhism. Buddha himself identified four
places of future pilgrimage: the sites of his birth,
enlightenment, first discourse, and death. Hence the
birth of Gautam Buddha makes it one of the most sacred
places in the world. The Sal tree where Siddhartha was
born is difficult to locate now. But Ashoka, in the
21st year of his reign visited the forest and raised a
pillar on the spot where Siddhartha was born
The Mayadevi Temple : This Mayadevi temple
dedicated to the mother of the Buddha has been digged
out and restored. The temple has a stone artifact
depicting the nativity of the Buddha. Maya Devi, his
mother, gave birth to the child on her way to her
parent's home in Devadaha while taking rest in Lumbini
under a Sal tree in the month of May in the year 642
BC. The beauty of Lumbini is described in Pali and
Sanskrit literature. Maya Devi- it is said was
spellbound to see the natural splendor of Lumbini.
While she was standing, she felt labor pains and
catching hold of a drooping branch of a Sal tree, the
baby, the future Buddha, was born.
Overnight at LUMBINI - NIRVANA / PAWAN
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DAY
9:- Lumbini - Balrampur
By road, Sight seeing of
Shravasti visit : Saheth & Maheth BALARAMPUR LOTUS
NIKKO
During the time of Sakyamuni, a rich and pious
merchant named Sudatta lived in Sravasti. While on a
visit to Rajgir, he heard the Buddha's sermon and
decided to become the Lord's disciple. But he was
caught in a dilemma and asked the Lord whether he
could become a follower without forsaking worldly
life. To his query, the Buddha replied that it was
enough that he followed his vocation in a righteous
manner
 Sudatta
invited the Buddha to Sravasti and began to look for a
suitable place to build a vihara. A beautiful park at
the southern edge of Sravasti attracted his attention.
The park belonged to Jeta, son of King Prasenjit of
Sravasti. Jeta demanded that Sudatta cover the entire
park with gold coins. Sudatta painstakingly paved
every inch of the land with gold. Then Jeta said that
since the trees were left uncovered they belonged to
him. But finally, he had a change of heart and donated
valuable wood to build the vihara. The park came to be
known as Jetavana Vihara in recognition of Prince
Jeta's donation to the sangh
Buddha spent 25 years living in the monastery of
Jetavana. Many Vinaya rules, Jatakas and Sutras were
first discussed at this place. The Buddha is supposed
to have astonished rival teachers by performing
miracles at Sravasti. It is said that it was in
Sravasti that the Buddha transformed Angulimal from a
dacoit into a Buddhist monk. He also delivered many
important sermons here. King Ashoka erected two
pillars 21 meters high on either side of the eastern
gateway of the Jetavana monastery. Sravasti was a
flourishing center of learning during the Gupta
period. When the famed Chinese traveler Hiuen Tsang
visited this site, he found several damaged stupas and
ruins of monasteries and a palace
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Sravasti has two villages, Sahet and Mahet. From the
Balrampur-Sravasti road one can enter Sahet, which is
spread over an area of 400 acres and has a number of
ruins. A little north of Sahet, towards the Rapti
River, is the ancient fortified city of Mahet. The
entrance to the mud fortification of Mahet is
constructed in a beautiful crescent shape. Though an
ancient structure, its five gates and walls are still
visible. Pakki Kuti, Kuchhi Kuti and many other stupas
tell the story of the great monasteries that once
stood here
Remnants of Jetavana, a splendid monastery with
inscriptions dating back to the 12th century, is
thought to be one of the favourite sites of the
Buddha. Emperor Ashoka is also said to have visited
this site. There is a sacred pipal tree here, which is
a sapling from the original Maha Bodhi tree under
which the Buddha had attained nirvana. Today, Jetavana
has two monasteries, six temples and five stupas. One
temple was built by the monk Ananthapindika and called
Gandhakuti. This is the most sacred temple in Jetavana
since the Buddha is believed to have lived at this
spot
Sravasti was also under the influence of Lord Mahavira
the last Jain Tirthankar, and the splendid Shwetambara
temple here attracts thousands of Jain pilgrims. The
Sobhnath Temple is believed to the birthplace of the
Jain Tirthankar Sambhavnath
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DAY
10:- Balrampur - Lucknow
Reach and sight Seeing :
explore this royal city of Nawabs.
Lucknow is caught in a time warp. It exists in an
in-between land of the past and the present looking
back constantly to the memories of a colonial-Nawabi
past. There is at the same time a sense of pride at
the thought of being after Delhi, the most important
center of power in free India. Politics has indeed
been Lucknow's forte but culture has been its
historical identification
Despite the Indo-Persian legacy, Lucknow has a
composite Indian culture. The welding of various
cultural strains nurtured by centuries of Mughal and
later Delhi Sultanate rule, to the folk traditions of
the Indo-Gangetic plains has produced a complex, yet
rich synthesis. The Urdu language acquired its
baffling phonetic nuances and suave perfection here.
It was in Nawab Wajed Ali Shah's court that the most
advanced of all classical Indian dance forms, the
Kathak, took shape. The popular Parsi theatre
originated from the Urdu theatre of this city. The
tabla and the sitar were first heard on the streets of
Lucknow. LUCKNOW - PARK PLAZA
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DAY
11:- Lucknow - Delhi
By Shatabdi Express
(1545 - 2145).
Arrive
 Delhi
and check in at hotel.
DELHI: Full day tour of Old & New Delhi, Visit Raj
Ghat, Jama Masjid, Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb, India
Gate, Parliament House, Lotus Temple, Shantivan, Laxmi
Narayan Temple. Relax in the evening. Proceed for day
tour of Old & New Delhi. (0900 HRS)
OLD DELHI - A sightseeing tour of Old Delhi
would entail visiting the Raj Ghat - the memorial site
where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated; Jama Masjid - the
largest mosque in India and the Red Fort - once the
most opulent fort and palace of the Moghul Empire
Cycle rickshaw ride from Jama Masjid to Chandni Chowk.
NEW DELHI - An extensive sightseeing tour of
New Delhi would include a visit to the Humayun's Tomb,
the Qutub Minar, a drive along the ceremonial avenue -
Rajpath, past the imposing India Gate, Parliament
House, the President's Residence and would end with a
drive through the Diplomatic Enclave. Overnight at
Delhi
DAY 12:-
Delhi - Park
DELHI - Free to explore
city and last minute shopping. Check out in the
evening and proceed for The Dances of India Show. Have
dinner then transfer to Airport for flight home |
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