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Day 01. Flight
to India (Delhi)
Around
Midnight arrival in
Delhi. The cosmopolitan City and capital Delhi
is the main gateway for travelers. You are met by an Indo Vacations
representative and transferred to your Hotel.
Day 02. Old - New
Delhi
We will start our day with the sightseeing
in Old Delhi. We take a Rickshaw ride parallel to the
Red Fort through the old city and famous Silk Road and
Silver Bazaar. Sightseeing of Old Delhi includes "Rajghat",
the place where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated and
Jama
Masjid, the great mosque of old Delhi. Today we also
visit the famous "Humayun's Tomb"
which is the first substantial example of Mughal
architecture in
India and "Qutub Minar"
which is 71 meter high and was constructed in 1199.
Before we proceed to the Hotel we will have a ride
through New Delhi through the area of the Government
Buildings and Embassies. Here we have a stopover at
India Gate, the 42m-high stone arch or triumph. India
Gate bears the names of 90,000 soldiers who died in
the campaigns of the 1st world war.
Day 03. Delhi - Amritsar (about 450 km by train)
In the morning we
start our train journey by Shatabdi Express and
proceed to Amritsar. Amritsar (meaning pool of Nectar)
lies in the northern state of
Punjab and is famous for
its Golden Temple. We visit the Golden Temple to know
more about the native Sikh population of the state
Punjab. Sikhs are meanwhile scattered in whole of
India and are easily recognizable through their mighty
colourful turbans.
Day 04. Amritsar - Dharamsala (about
200 km)
Today we leave Amritsar
and drive through the lower mountains of
Himalaya to
Dharamshala. Dharamshala has one of the most spectacular
settings for a Hill Station as it varies in height
from 1200 m. to 1800 m. In Dharamshala , there is a
strong Tibetan influence. The Dalai Lama settled here
after the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1959. There is
a monastery at Mcleodganj a short distance along from
the Dalai's Lama's residence. We have a walk through
Mcleodganj and visit a Tibetan monastery, the church
of St. John and a school complex.
Day 05. Dharamsala - Chandigarh (about 242 km)
In
the morning after having breakfast we will drive to Chandigarh.
Chandigarh, derives its name from the Chandi Mandir temple located
in the vicinity of the city and a fort or ‘garh" beyond the temple,
called Chandigarh. Chandigarh is a union territory, administered by
the Government of India and was designed by Le Corbusier. In the
evening arrive in Chandigarh and transfer to the hotel.
Day 06. Chandigarh - Delhi (about 252 km)
In the morning we have
sightseeing in Chandigarh. Today we visit the Rock Garden. This
garden was completed by Mr. Nekchand. This garden was built with
multicoloured fragments of China and waste ceramics and covers an
area of 6 acres. Along the way we visit the Secretariat and the Art
Museum. After the sightseeing in Chandigarh we drive to New Delhi.
Day 07. Delhi
- Leh (by air)
In
the morning flight
brings us to Leh, the capital of
Ladakh. Due to its
altitude (3500 m.) Ladakh is also known as the roof of
the world. Leh was an important place in the
historical times on the silk road to central Asia. The
rest of the day is at leisure to acclaim ourselves
to this high altitude of Leh.
Day 08. Leh
In
the noon we visit Leh Palace. Leh Palace
in the NW has been described as a miniature version of
Lhasa's Potala palace, with which this 17th century
building is contemporary. This Potala (palace) rises
up like mountain. From the town below it is dazzling
in the morning sun and ghostly at night. We enjoy the
wonderful view of the city and beautiful surroundings
from the roof of the palace. This palace was built by
the King Singe Namgyal and still owned by the royal
family. At present is this palace not occupied as the
royal family resides in the other palace in stock.
Day 09. Leh Excursion: Spituk, Phyang
Today we start our day
by visiting the monastery Spituk.
Spituk monastery
(15. Century) is 8 km from Leh and is situated on a
hilltop overlooking the Indus. Spituk valley has an
enormous statue of Kali whose face is unveiled once a
year during the Spituk festival. This monastery also
contains an ancient collection of masks. 135 yellow
capped monks resides in this monastery. After the
visit of Spituk we shall proceed to the Phyang Gompa
which is a traditional monastery setting for a
spectacular religious festival with masked dancing.
There are 50 red capped monks residing here.
Day 10. Leh Excursion: Tikse, Shey
Today we start our
excursion by visiting the monastery of Thikse. Thikse is
one of the most imposing monastery in Ladakh. The
monastery has 12 stories, 10 temples, a nunnery and 60
lamas in residence. It contains numerous stupas,
statues, tankhas, wall painting and a large pillar
engraved with the teaching of Buddha. We can also see
here a collection of Tibetan scripts. After the visit
of Thikse we visit the village of Shey on the eastern
bank of the Indus. Shay was the royal residence and
was located at an important vantage point in the Indus
valley. It has a large victory stupa which is topped
with gold.
Day 11. Leh Excursion: Hemis
Today we visit the monastery of
Hemis. The rich monastery of Hemis is the biggest in
Ladakh and is perched on top of a pleasant green hill
surrounded by spectacular mountain scenery. Every year
a colorful famous festival of mask dances takes
place in Hemis. This Monastery (Gompa) has an
important library of Tibetan style books and an
impressive collection of tankhas, the largest of which
is displayed every 11 years.
Day 12. Leh Excursion: Stok
We drive today to the small
village stok. The attraction of stok remains the
palace of stok which is 200 years old. The palace and
museum at stok is a showpiece for the royal Tankhas,
royal crown, dresses, coins, precious stones and turquoise head
dresses.
Day 13. Leh Excursion:
Alchir, Likir
In the noon we drive to
Alchi through the exciting landscaping of Ladakh.
Alchi has been declared as an UNESCO monument. The
Monastery of Alchi is a large temple complex and is
regarded as one of the most important Buddhist centers
in Ladakh and a jewel of monastic skill. After the
visit of Alchi we proceed to Likir.
Likir contains the
ruins of a Buddhist citadel impressively sited on a
spur overlooking the Indus Valley. It served as a
royal residence for several periods between 15th and
17th Centuries.
Day 14. Leh - Delhi (by air)
In the noon flight from Leh to
Delhi. In the afternoon we visit Bahai Temple, also
known as Lotus Temple which is built out of white
marble and in the characteristic Bahai temple shape of
a lotus flower. Bahai temples are 9 sided, symbolizing
comprehensiveness, oneness and unity. We visit this
unique building which gives the message of unification
of the human race. The rest of the day at leisure.
Day 15. Flight to
Home
Around midnight flight to home destination.
About
Hotels:
We provide you the accommodation as per your budget mentioned
above in the table of hotels category for any of the booked tour.
Hotels provided by us are from budget to luxury class hotels. Luxury
hotels are all five stars or of above standard. Deluxe would be a
combination of 3 and 4 star Hotels and standard would be a
combination of 2 and 3 star or similar hotels. The criteria for
selecting hotels by us remains the best value of your money. We also
provide you wherever possible accommodation in heritage hotels.
Heritage Hotels are old Palaces, Forts and Grand mansions of
Maharajas which have been later renovated and converted into Hotels.
Rooms are decorated all individually. Rooms are comfortable,
romantic and present the flair of olden Maharaja days.
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