Early morning, you will arrive at Delhi Airport. Following customs, immigration formalities and baggage collection, our representative will meet you as you EXIT the ARRIVALS TERMINAL building after which you would be transferred to your hotel. (We would have room availablefor wash and change).
After breakfas, drive to north of the Punjab region and the first stop will be Patiala, once the capital of an independent state Sikhs founded by Baba Ali Singh. The welcoming city is famous for its "pagri", turbans, "parandas", laces for braiding hair and "jooti", the pointed shoes typical of Punjab.
On arrivall at Patiala, check-in at the hotel. Evening is free for independent activities.
Overnight at the hotel
Breakfast at the hotel.
In the morning visit the Patiala including the Qila Mubarak Fort, built in a style that blends Mughal and Rajasthani elements, appears to have been transported to the bazaar area directly from the great Thar Desert. Interesting is the New Palace of Moti Bagh , an imposing building adorned with a suspension bridge over a huge empty tank. (NB Some parts of both buildings could be closed for restoration works). Walk in the colorful and lively bazaar.
Afternoon, drive to Amritsar, the cultural and spiritual center of the Sikh religion, home of the famous Golden Temple also known as Harmandir Sahib. It is a typical Indian city, made of colors, smells and sounds that immediately remind the western visitor of his idea of India.
Upon arrival, check-in at the hotel.
Overnight at the hotel
After breakfast, morning walk to old Amritsar, founded in 1577 by the fourth guru Ram Das, which with its busy lanes extends around the Golden Temple, the holiest place of worship of the sick religion. This gold-laminated gurdwara (temple) stands in the center of its sacred lake, offering a spectacle that can be compared to the sight of the Taj Mahal. The architectural style of the structure, like the Sikh religion, is a mixture of Hindu and Islamic elements, but the result is absolutely original. The golden dome, which is said to have been coated with 750kg of pure gold, represents an inverted lotus flower, a symbol of the purity to which the Sikh aspire. The atmosphere is authentically spiritual, the faithful pray and bathe in the sacred pool, there is nothing that inspires awe. During the day Guru Granth Sahib , the original copy of the sacred text, is kept in the Harmandir Sahib, the marble temple that stands in the center of the basin. Inside the temple, four priests constantly proclaim the passages of the sacred text, to the rhythm of music in an environment of great suggestion and religiosity. Every evening Guru Grant Sahib is transferred with great solemnity to another building, Akal Takhat , to spend the night there.
Outside the temple a real maze of many alleys with the colorful bazaar full of all merchandise. Ideal place to shop for Punjabi clothes, books or souvenirs of an artistic and religious nature.
In the afternoon visit to a village near Amritsar where it will be possible to see rural life and interact with the locals.
Return to hotel for dinner.
After dinner we will return to the Golden Temple to attend the Night Palki Sahib ceremony or the suggestive procession to bring the sacred book back to Akal Takhat.
Overnight in the hotel.
After breakfast, excurssionfor the visit of the Sikh temple Tarn Taran, of great beauty with the sparkling golden dome and the sacred basin (23 km: about 45 minutes), whose foundation is due to the fifth Sikh guru Arjan Dev Ji (1563 -1606). The city of Tarn Taran was the center of the Sikh uprising in the years 1980-1990, the proposed capital for the independentist homeland of Khalistan (the state for which the Sikh independence activists fought during the 1980s and 1990s). After the political-military storm of those years, today Tarn Taran is a place of peace, little frequented and rich in spirituality.
We continue with a visit to Sarai Amanat Khan, an admirable example of architecture of the Mughal period.
In the afternoon we will go to see a very special secular ceremony: the salute to the flags of India and Pakistan which is done in the only open point of the entire Indo-Pakistani border, the Wagah Border. It is a gate that constitutes the only passage in a border around which India and Pakistan have fought on several occasions over the course of 50 years, and which today is a real "theater" where Indian and Pakistani soldiers in full uniform they march and stage the flag-raising, facing each other, while two large crowds of Indian and Pakistani citizens, on the two opposite sides of the border, praise each to their own country. A manifestation of nationalism that seems almost like a sports fan, truly one of a kind given its form of "secular rite".
Return to Amritsar for overnight at the hotel.
Breakfast at the hotel.
Departure for Dharamshala and along the way, after an hour and a half of travel, stop for a visit to Ram Tirth Temple. The temple is an ancient Hindu pilgrimage site, dedicated to Ram (the god Rama sung in the great epic poem Ramayana, avatar of the god Vishnu). Ram Tirth is sacred to Hindus but for centuries it has also been a meeting place for religions because there are the Bhaktas, the mystics who praise to God beyond all religious differences.
Continue to Dharamsala located at 1470 meters in the Himalayan valleys of the state of Himachal Pradesh. From 1960, when it became temporary home of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, has acquired internationalfame as "The Little Lhasa in India". The city is divided into a lower and of a high calling McLeodganj, at 2,082 meters above sea level, the official residence of Tibet's government in exile since 1959.
On arrival, check-in at the hotel for check-in and overnight
After breakfast, In the morning we will immerse ourselves in Tibetan spirituality and tradition with the visit of Dharamsala, which still retains a colonial atmosphere and a British style as the British made it their hill station from 1815 to 1847.
We will visit the Namgyal Monastery, Tibetan Library and the Katwali Bazar with the typical charm of the Himalayan market and with many objects of Tibetan culture.
In the afternoon we will visit Yol Camp; is an acronym for Young Officers Leave Camp. It was the site of an English prison camp that hosted German prisoners in the First World War, and 12 to 20 thousand Italian prisoners of war were kept there in the Second World War (1939-45). But unlike other camps here, prisoners were allowed to move anywhere, even to outside villages. From May 1947 to July 1947, it was a training camp for army officers. From August 1947 to October 1947, 12 thousand Muslims were kept there and then transported to Pakistan. From 1949 to 1952 it served as a refugee camp for Kashmir migrants. It was later used for many purposes and recently houses one of the youngest battalions of the Indian army called Rising Star.
Return to Dharamsala for overnight.
Two days to attend one of the most authentic religious festivals in India: Hola Mohalla . "Authentic" because it is almost unknown to non-Sikhs, and Anandpur Sahib also has nothing touristy about it. During Hola Mohalla the elite of the Sikhs - the Nihang warriors "defenders of the faith" - perform martial arts with sword and fire, on horseback and with spears, in tournaments of medieval flavor, to remember the refoundation in a martial sense of the community . They are dressed in blue dresses with bright saffron-colored decor feature majestic turbans adorned with silver jewelry, I put no emphasis imposing impossibly long mustaches and beards.
Not to be missed is the horse tournament, when the Nihang - excellent riders - challenge each other in crazy races and then bend to skewer small blocks of hay scattered on the lawn on their spears, then go back to their feet on their horses, or even in an upright position and poised on two horses.
Thousands of pilgrims gather in Anandpur Sahib to attend the prayer ceremonies that take place in the "gudwara" temple and to participate in the procession in the alleys around it.
Overnight at the camp.
After breakfast, drivee south for Chandigarh, capital of Punjab and Hariyana. City Built from scratch in 1948, designed by Le Corbusier and Maxwell Fry, Chandigarh is a typical example of an "ideal city" inspired by typically western criteria of functionality. Over the years, however, its inhabitants have gradually transformed the fabric or original by adapting it to their needs, their habits and their conceptions of life. Chandigarh has thus remained, despite its pre- modern architecture, a typical provincial Indian city. Among the most significant examples of the work of the team of architects led by Le Corbusier: the Palace of Parliament, the High Court of Justice and the Governor's palace and the University.
Another place of interest is the Rock Garden, created by the idea of the traffic police inspector, a Mr. Nek Chand, who used recycled material. After seeing around the villages, a lot of waste material produced by the construction in the new city, he thought of collecting both industrial and urban waste to make sculptures. He thus created a "particular" garden where waste materials come to life in statues of women, men, dancers and animals, creating a highly suggestive effect.
Overnight at the hotel.
- A partnership based on mutual trust and transparency,
- Equipped to handle the most complex travel logistics with meticulous attention to detail and impeccable service.
- Expert Tour Managers and Trail Leaders ,who, with their experience and knowledge share the regions history , customs, and culture.
- Stringent Quality Control to monitor guest feedback and constantly work on improving in areas that require attention.
- Language speaking staff both in Operations and Airport assistance .
- Independent Travelers- Customized & Tailormade.
- Group Tours
- Special interest Tours
- Incentives
- Cruises
- Conferences
- Active Holidays
- Soft Adventure
Kolkata - Guwahati - Kaziranga - Dimapur - Kohima - Khonoma - Kohima
Delhi – Haridwar – Rishikesh – Dehradun – Shimla – Kalka - Delhi
Delhi - Patiala – Amritsar – Tarn Taran – Wagah Border - Dharamasala
Delhi - Sultanant - Dynasties - Shajahanabad - Delhi - Abroad
Cochin -Alleppy - Calicut - Vythiri - Mysore - Hasan - Hospet - Badami – Bijapur – Solapur
Bangalore - Mysore – Hassan - Chikmangalur - Hospet – Hampi - Hospet
Bhubneswar – Konark – Puri – Raghurajpur- Pipili – Dhauli – Bhubneswar
Delhi - Agra – Fatehpur Sikri – Jaipur – Nimaj – Jodhpur – Journey to Marwar
Delhi - Nawalgarh - Khimsar - Jodhpur - Kumbalgarh -- Udaipur - Deogarh - Jaipur - Karauli
Mumbai - Nagpur – Pench - Kanha - Bandhvgarh - Kahjuraho - Orchha - Jhansi
Delhi - Samode - Jaipur - Ranthambore - Agra - Delhi
Delhi - Agra - Gwalior - Jhansi - Khajuraho - Orchha - Jhansi - Bhopal
Mumbai – Rajkot – Gondal – Palitana – Bhavnagar - Ahmedabad – Mount Abu
Bangalore – Nagarhole - Bandipur - Ooty - Munnar - Periyar - Alleppey
