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Day 1 Delhi
Flight to Delhi. Arrival in Delhi and transfer to the hotel. Check in at the hotel.
Day 2 Delhi
On
arrival, assistance and transfer to hotel.
Day 3 Delhi
Full
day city tour of Old & New Delhi.
Morning
visit Qutub Minar built by Qutub-ud-Din Aibek in
1199, Humayun's Tomb, India Gate (War Memorial
Arch) and Lakshminarayan Temple - a modern Hindu
Temple. Also drive past President's House,
Parliament House,
Government
Secretariat
Buildings
and
Connaught
Place
shopping centre.
Afternoon
visit Raj Ghat and Shanti Vana - the cremation
sites of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, Jama
Masjid, Red Fort and drive past Chandni Chowk.
Day 4 Delhi / Patna
Transfer
to airport to connect flight for
Patna
. On
arrival, assistance and transfer to hotel.
Afternoon
excursion of Vaishali - known for Buddha Stupas,
Ashoka Pillar and
Bawan
Pokhar
Temple
.
This is the place where Buddha announced his
Mahaparinirvana and happens to be the birthplace
of Lord Mahavira.
Day 5 Patna/Nalanda/Rajgir/Bodhgaya
Morning
drive to Bodhgaya enroute visiting Nalanda and
Rajgir.
Rajgir,
the place where Buddha meditated and preached;
first Buddhist Council was held here and further
is known for Hot Springs, which have curative
powers, and is sacred to Hindus.
Nalanda
is known for its Archaeological Complex and
Museum.
On
arrival, check in at hotel.
Day 6 Bodhgaya
Full
day visits - Bodhgaya, in the state of
Bihar
,
reckoned as the most important Buddhist pilgrimage
center, is the place where Lord Sakyamuni (Gautam
Buddha) entered into meditation after being moved
by the sufferings of mankind. The giant Bodhi Tree
(Peepal) that we see today is believed to have
grown from the original Bodhi Tree under which,
sitting on the raised platform, Prince Siddharth
meditated and finally attained Nirvana. Then there
is Chaukramana, the jewel Walk, where it is
believed that the Buddha strolled while in deep
thought.
Also visit Shaivite Monastery and famous
Jagganath
Temple
.
Day 7 Bodhgaya / Varanasi
Drive
to
Varanasi
and check in at hotel.
Day 8
Varanasi
Early
morning boat excursion
on the river
Ganges
,
a ferry pilgrimage from ghat to ghat. People bathe
early in the morning to offer the prayers to the
rising sun. The two cremation ghats are
Manikarnika
& Harishchandra where funeral pyre
burns day and night. Every pious Hindu believes
that to die in Kashi and to be cremated on banks
of the
Ganges
is to attain release from the cycle of birth and
death.
Morning
sightseeing tour of the city visiting the Bharat
Mata Temple with a big relief map of India in
marble, Durga Temple, Tulsi Manas Mandir, Banaras
Hindu University which has an Art Gallery and the
Mosque of Moghul Emperor Aurangazeb built on the
site of an ancient Hindu Temple.
Afternoon
excursion of Sarnath - visit the buried Buddhist
city where Lord Buddha gave his first sermon,
Sarnath was a renowned school of learning from 6th
century B.C. to
12th century AD. Visit the ruins, the stupa, the
Buddhist temple and the Museum (Museum closed on
Fridays).
Day
09 Varanasi / Kushinagardasar
Drive
to Kushinagar and check in at hotel.
Afternoon visits - Kushinagar, one of the
principal centres of Buddhist pilgrimage, is the
place of Mahaparinirvana. The monuments of
Kushinagar are situated in three distinct
comprising the main site of the
Nirvana
Temple
, the
central stupa and surrounding monasteries
Day 10 Kushinagar / Lumbini
Drive
to Lumbini and check in at hotel.
Afternoon visits - in
the
village
of
Lumbini
in
Nepal
,
the Queen Mahamaya gave birth to Prince Siddhartha
who later became the Buddha. Over 2000 years ago
the Emperor Ashoka set up a commemorative pillar
here. The
pillar carries the inscription - Here the Buddha
was born-. Another
shrine preserves an ancient image depicting the
nativity of the Lord.
Day
11 Lumbini / Sravasti
Drive
to Sravasti and check in at hotel.
Afternoon
visits - sacred city for Buddhists because it is
here that Lord Buddha performed the greatest of
his miracles to confound the Tirthika heretics.
These miracles include that of the Lord Buddha
creating multiple images of himself and have been
among the favorite themes of Buddhist art. Buddha
himself spent many summers here to deliver
important sermons. Here Anathapindaka was built in
the
garden
of
Prince
Jeta
for the
reception of the Buddha. Today, the remains
unearthed testify to the flourishing condition of
this sacred spot in the Gupta period.
Day 12 Sravasti / Lucknow
/ Delhi
Drive
straight to
Lucknow
railway station to connect train for
Delhi
.
On arrival, assistance and transfer to hotel.
Day 13 Delhi / Onward
Destination
Morning
free. Check out at 1200 hrs. Transfer to
international airport to connect flight back home.
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