Please find the first draft of the Northern India Tour. This may help in knowing the basic trip. This is only a first draft so that we can collect other suggestions for the tour. Please review and provide me your comments.
Thank you,
Karl Schulz
DAY-01: Arrive Delhi
Arrive Indira Gandhi International airport. Meeting & assistance on arrival by our representative & transfer to hotel.
Overnight at hotel.
DAY-02: IN DELHI
Morning visit of combined city tour of Delhi. First start with the city tour of New Delhi - visit the 12th century Qutab Minar, gracefully hand-carved for its entire height of 234ft. and the iron pillar, which has withstood the ravages of time and not rusted even after 1500 years, the mausoleum of emperor Humayun, the imposing modern Lakshmi Narayan temple. Drive past India Gate (memorial to viceroy’s residence) and the Parliament House, Old Delhi, drive past Red Fort – a marvel in red sandstone, the Raj Ghat – memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, the Jama Masjid – the larges mosque in India. Spend some time in Chadini Chowk to savour the ambience of an oriental, crowded bazaar.
Overnight at hotel.
DAY-03: DRIVE DELHI– AGRA (200 kms/4-5 hrs)
Morning transfer to Agra.
Upon arrival at Agra, meeting, assistance & transfer to hotel.
Agra: became the capital of Sikandar Lodi in 1501, but was soon passed on to the Mughals, both Babur and Humayun made some early Mughal constructions here . It was under Akbar that Agra first aspired to its heights of magnificence from 1570-85 he ruled from nearby Fathepur Sikri , when he abandoned that city he moved to Lahore ( now in Pakistan ) but returned to Agra in 1599 , all later Mughal rulers ruled from Agra till 1761 it fell to the Jats who did much damage to the city .
Afternoon visit Taj Mahal with Tonga ride. 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 years to complete this 'Love Poem in Marble' (Friday Closed).
Later visit Agra Fort.
Overnight at the hotel.
DAy-04: DRIVE AGRA – JAIPUR (221 kms/ 05-06 hrs)
Morning drive to Jaipur en-route visiting Fatehpur Sikri.
Visit to Fatehpur Sikri - the deserted red sandstone city that was built by Emperor Akbar as his capital. It was a veritable fairy tale city and its ‘ruins are still in a pristine condition. It is not hard to imagine what the court life must have been like in the days of its grandeur.
On arrival Jaipur, Check-In at the hotel.
Jaipur: The capital city of the state of Rajasthan is popularly known as the “Pink City “because of the pink paint applies to the buildings in the old walled city. (In Rajput culture, pink was traditionally a colour associated with hospitality.) The city owes its name, its foundation and its careful planning to the great warrior, astronomer Maharaja Jai Singh II (1699-1744). In 1727, with Mughal power on the wane, Jai Singh decided the time was ripe to move down from his somewhat cramped hillside fortress at nearby Amber to the new site. He laid out the city, with its surrounding walls and six rectangular blocks, according to principals of town planning set down in the Shilpa-Shastra, an ancient Hindu treatise on architecture.
Evening witness aarti ceremony at Birla Temple (Without guide)
Overnight hotel.
DAy-05: IN JAIPUR
Morning visit 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.
Afternoon city tour 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. Later visit the Jantar Mantar, which is the largest stone and marble crafted observatory in the world.
Overnight hotel.
DAy-06 : LEAVE JAIPUR
Morning transfer to airport in time to connect flight for onward destination.
Arrive Indira Gandhi International airport. Meeting & assistance on arrival by our representative & transfer to hotel.
Overnight at hotel.
DAY-02: IN DELHI
Overnight at hotel.
DAY-03: DRIVE DELHI– AGRA (200 kms/4-5 hrs)
Morning transfer to Agra.
Upon arrival at Agra, meeting, assistance & transfer to hotel.
Agra: became the capital of Sikandar Lodi in 1501, but was soon passed on to the Mughals, both Babur and Humayun made some early Mughal constructions here . It was under Akbar that Agra first aspired to its heights of magnificence from 1570-85 he ruled from nearby Fathepur Sikri , when he abandoned that city he moved to Lahore ( now in Pakistan ) but returned to Agra in 1599 , all later Mughal rulers ruled from Agra till 1761 it fell to the Jats who did much damage to the city .
Later visit Agra Fort.
Overnight at the hotel.
DAy-04: DRIVE AGRA – JAIPUR (221 kms/ 05-06 hrs)
Morning drive to Jaipur en-route visiting Fatehpur Sikri.
On arrival Jaipur, Check-In at the hotel.
Jaipur: The capital city of the state of Rajasthan is popularly known as the “Pink City “because of the pink paint applies to the buildings in the old walled city. (In Rajput culture, pink was traditionally a colour associated with hospitality.) The city owes its name, its foundation and its careful planning to the great warrior, astronomer Maharaja Jai Singh II (1699-1744). In 1727, with Mughal power on the wane, Jai Singh decided the time was ripe to move down from his somewhat cramped hillside fortress at nearby Amber to the new site. He laid out the city, with its surrounding walls and six rectangular blocks, according to principals of town planning set down in the Shilpa-Shastra, an ancient Hindu treatise on architecture.
Evening witness aarti ceremony at Birla Temple (Without guide)
Overnight hotel.
DAy-05: IN JAIPUR
Overnight hotel.
DAy-06 : LEAVE JAIPUR
Morning transfer to airport in time to connect flight for onward destination.
