Discover, Plan & Go!

Day 1: Departure

Afternoon: Overnight Flight

Day 2: Arrival

Evening: Late evening arrival in Delhi.

Accommodations: The Grand New Delhi

Day 3: Program Introduction and Sufi Islam

Breakfast: Hotel dining room.

Morning: Program introduction followed by a presentation on Islam, with special reference to Sufism.

Lunch: Hotel dining room.

Afternoon: General overview of Delhi by motorcoach, then board the 2:30 p.m. train to Agra. On arrival at 6:00 p.m., transfer to the hotel.

Dinner: Hotel dining room.

Evening: At leisure.

Accommodations: Trident Agra Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 4: The Taj Mahal, Mughal Craft and Sufi Music

Breakfast: Early morning tea and coffee. Full Breakfast upon return from the Taj Mahal.

Morning: See the sun rise over the Taj Mahal, an unforgettable way to first see this remarkable building. Explore the Taj complex, which includes a Mosque on the western side and a matching Rest House on the east, and learn about this remarkable monument to love. Post-breakfast visit to Agra Fort and a workshop, where the descendents of the workers who built the Taj still use the same techniques of marble inlay that have been practiced for centuries.

Lunch: Packed lunch provided for the drive to Fatehpur Sikri.

Afternoon: Excursion to Fatehpur Sikri, a city designed by Akbar the Great as his capital. He lived here briefly with his Hindu and Christian wives, but a lack of water spelled the city's doom. The buildings here display some of the finest examples of Mughal architecture.

Dinner: Hotel dining room.

Evening: Live performance of devotional music by Sufi musicians.

Accommodations: Trident Agra Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 5: Pranami Religion, Village Visits, & Khajuraho

Breakfast: Hotel dining room.

Morning: Depart to the train station for the 8:15 a.m. train to Jhansi. On arrival at 10:30 a.m. a short drive introduces Jhansi. Learn about the famous queen known as the "Indian Joan of Arc" because of her relentless fight against the British, which resulted in eventual martyrdom on the battlefield.

Lunch: In a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Drive through the deciduous forests and wilderness of the Vindhyachal Mountains, to a village where the locals practice a religion called Pranami, the religion of Mahatma Gandhi's mother. A site presentation followed by a walk though the villages will introduce you to the philosophy and practice of this religion. First hand interaction with the villagers adds purpose and deeper understanding of people. Continue by road to Khajuraho, a remote, 1,000 year-old temple complex created by the Rajput kings as a tribute to life and the ultimate fusion of humanity with its creator, arriving approximately 6:00 p.m.

Dinner: Hotel dining room.

Evening: At leisure.

Accommodations: Taj Chandela Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 6: Vishwanath Temples and the Jain Religion

Breakfast: Hotel dining room.

Morning: Begin with an on-site presentation that explains temple sculptures, their erotic and spiritual themes, and the mystery surrounding their creation and purpose. Then, explore the Western Group of Khajuraho temples, including Vishwanath, considered to contain the site's finest sculptures.

Lunch: Your choice to explore local fare.

Afternoon: Explore the Eastern Group of temples, which are scattered around the village of Khajuraho. Presentations at the site, and visits to places of worship introduce the Jain religion and philosophy. At sunset, drive past the Ken river to experience life in the Indian countryside.

Dinner: Hotel dining room.

Evening: At leisure.

Accommodations: Taj Chandela Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 7: Hinduism and the Ganges River

Breakfast: Hotel dining room.

Morning: A presentation introduces the origins and history of Hinduism, the oldest of the world's major religions. Fly to Varanasi.

Lunch: Your choice to explore local fare.

Afternoon: Arrive in Varanasi, the holy city on the holiest of rivers, the Ganges. An excursion to the Dasashvamedh ghat beside the Ganges River reveals the yearning for celebration and festivity in everyday life.

Dinner: Hotel dining room.

Evening: At leisure.

Accommodations: Taj Ganges Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 8: Ganges Sunrise Cruise and Buddha's First Sermon at Sarnath

Breakfast: Early tea and coffee. Late morning breakfast near the Ganges.

Morning: Leave the hotel at first light for a sunrise cruise on the Ganges. View hundreds of bathers taking their holy bath to cleanse them of their sins. Learn about Hindu life and its relationship to the river and its matter of fact attitude to death at the cremation ghats. Afterwards, a guided walk through the alleys that line the riverbanks explores shops and temples. Visit a unique temple, home to sadhus - Hindu holy men who have renounced their modern lives. Conversations with some of these men share insights into their ascetic lives. After breakfast, visit the silk weavers' quarters to witness first hand the ancient system of silk weaving where, for generations, Muslims have been the master designers and Hindus the weavers.

Lunch: Hotel dining room.

Afternoon: Drive to Sarnath, also called Deer Park, where Buddha preached his first sermon more than 2,500 years ago. This suburb of Varanasi is now home to numerous Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, founded by monks from around the Mahayana Buddhist world (Japan, Korea, Nepal, and Tibet). Learn the basics of Buddhism, life of Buddha and Emperor Ashoka.

Dinner: Hotel dining room.

Evening: Performance of Indian classical dance, Kathak.

Accommodations: Taj Ganges Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 9: Bodh Gaya, The Site of Buddha's Enlightenment

Breakfast: Hotel dining room.

Morning: Depart on the 10:00 a.m. train to Bodh Gaya, the site of Buddha's enlightenment.

Lunch: Packed lunch provided for the train journey.

Afternoon: On arrival at Gaya train station at 1:00 p.m., depart to Bodh Gaya by motorcoach. Visit the spot where Siddhartha Gautama sat under a banyan tree and attained enlightenment. Siddhartha was from then on known as the Buddha, or "enlightened one." There is still a banyan tree on the spot today, believed to have descended from the enlightenment tree.

Dinner: Hotel dining room.

Accommodations: Lotus Nikko Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 10: Schools of Buddhism

Breakfast: Hotel dining room.

Morning: A morning presentation addresses the early history of Buddhism and its eventual split into two schools, Mahayana (Tibetan and spin-offs) and Theravada (practiced throughout southeast Asia and Sri Lanka).

Lunch: Hotel dining room.

Afternoon: Free Time

Dinner: Tibetan themed dinner in the hotel dining room.

Evening: Visit Mahayana and Hinayana temples then return to hotel for an introduction to Tibetan Buddhism and an interactive discussion with a Lama.

Accommodations: Lotus Nikko Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 11: Nalanda University Ruins, Patna & Sikhism

Breakfast: Hotel dining room

Morning: Journey to nearby Rajgir, where the Buddha preached to his fledgling disciples. Visit the ruins of Nalanda University, the equivalent of "Harvard University" to Buddhists from the 5th through the 12th centuries.

Lunch: Picnic lunch.

Afternoon: After the visit, continue on to Patna, arriving approximately 5:00 p.m.

Dinner: Hotel dining room.

Evening: A presentation discusses another major Indian religion, Sikhism, and addresses its history and parallels with Jainism, Hinduism and Buddhism. Sikhism was founded around 1500AD by Guru Nanak, who preached a doctrine of oneness, equality, and righteous living. Male Sikhs are easily identified by their unshorn beards and turbans.

Accommodations: Maurya Patna Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 12: Sikh Temple/ Fly to Delhi for the Sleeper Train to Haridwar

Breakfast: Hotel dining room.

Morning: Explore Har Mandir, the second most important Sikh temple in India. This was the birth place of the last Sikh guru, Gobind Singh, who introduced the militia to protect this non-violent community from the Moghul rulers.

Lunch: Hotel dining room.

Afternoon: Fly to Delhi.

Dinner: Dine at a fine Delhi restaurant.

Evening: Board an overnight sleeper train to Haridwar.

Accommodations: Train - Delhi to Haridwar

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 13: Rishikesh in the Foothills of the Himalaya

Breakfast: In a restaurant, on arrival in Rishikesh.

Morning: Disembark the train and depart to Rishikesh, a major site of Hindu pilgrimage and a center of yoga, in the foothills of the Himalayas. It was here that the Beatles came to study Eastern philosophy. Spend the morning exploring the streets and riverbanks of the upper reaches of the now familiar Ganges River.

Lunch: Hotel dining room.

Afternoon: Free time to enjoy the hotel's idyllic setting beside the river.

Dinner: Hotel dining room.

Evening: At leisure.

Accommodations: The Glass House on the Ganges

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 14: Life in Himalayan Villages and a Discussion With Hindu Holy Men

Breakfast: Early breakfast in the hotel dining room.

Morning: Walk on footpaths above the river to a Gujar village. A visit to the community school provides and opportunity to interact with villagers, to gain insights into the rhythms of life in the remote foothills of the Himalaya. Late morning, return to the hotel via ferry boat. A hike explores the life of the people in hill villages. Experience the fresh air and admire the natural beauty while walking on a bridal path that has been cut on a steep Himalayan hillside, with the Ganges River roaring beneath the trail. Visit the village of a local tribal community called "Gujars" and interact with the villagers. Visit their community school, to learn the status and methodology of primary education in India. Then descend to the riverbanks where a boat awaits to ferry us across the Ganges back to the hotel.

Lunch: Hotel dining room.

Afternoon: Visit with some of the wandering ascetics, called sadhus, who frequent this and other pilgrimage sites.

Dinner: Hotel dining room.

Evening: Attend the daily public ritual of thanksgiving to Mother Ganga (Ganges), called Ganga Arthi.

Accommodations: The Glass House on the Ganges

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 15: Inter - Religion Relations and Travel to Delhi

Breakfast: Hotel dining room.

Morning: Discuss the relations between the major religions in India and drive to an obscure ashram where residents believe in a spiritual practice called Advita Vedanta. The residents of this ashram have a direct Guru lineage with Swami Vivekananda - the Hindu monk who delivered the famous speech at the Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1896. Another important facet of this ashram is a cave temple and meditation site.

Lunch: Hotel dining room.

Afternoon: Drive to Haridwar to catch an early evening train to Delhi.

Dinner: In the train's dining car.

Evening: Arrive Delhi and transfer to the hotel.

Accommodations: The Grand New Delhi

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 16: Islam and Indo-Islamic Architecture, Departures

Breakfast: Hotel dining room.

Morning: A morning presentation and interactive discussion to address Islam in modern India.

Lunch: Hotel dining room.

Afternoon: Check out of the hotel, and depart to explore Raj Ghat, the Red Fort and Qutb Minar, masterpieces of Indo-Islamic architecture.

Dinner: In a local restaurant.

Evening: Transfer to Delhi airport for the flight home.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

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Bodh Gaya General Overview

You can return to the Mahabodhi Temple (about a half mile from the hotel), or take a taxi to the cremation ghats at Vishnupad Temple.