Places:-
(Delhi - Agra - Varanasi - Bodhgaya - Nalanda - Rajgir - Patna- Vashali
- Kushinagar - Lumbini - Balrampur - Lucknow)Duration:-
(11 nights & 12 days)
Day
01: 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.
Day 02: 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.
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.
Day
03: 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.
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.
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Day 04: 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.
Day 05: Bodhgaya Sightseeing 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
06: 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.
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
Day 07: Patna - Vaishali - Kushinagar
Explore 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.
This small town in the former kingdom of the Mallas was
surrounded by dense forest. It remained oblivous to the outside world until
it was rediscovered by the archaeologists in the nineteenth century.
The modern Indo-Japan-srilanka Buddhist centre, Kushinagar is rediscovering
its roots, and is home to many viharas, including a Tibetan gompa devoted to
Sakyamuni, a Burmese vihara, and temples from China and Japan.
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Day 08: Kushinagar - LumbiniBY 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
Day 09: Lumbini - Balrampurby 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.
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.
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
Day 11: Lucknow -
Delhi : The Park 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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