Heart of India (2012)

You depart today on your overnight flight from the U.S. to Delhi, India.

 

You'll arrive in Delhi today, where your Trip Leader will meet you at the airport and escort you to your hotel.

After breakfast, gather with your fellow travelers for a briefing by your Trip Leader.

We start our discoveries this afternoon in Delhi by visiting Old Delhi. Even when Bombay and Madras were mere trading posts and Calcutta a village of mud huts, Delhi had been the seat of an empire for 500 years. Through the centuries, eight cities have been built on this site, by Hindu, Mughal and British rulers—with each adding their own flavor.

In the old part of Delhi, we visit Raj Ghat, a beautifully serene monument on the bank of the Yamuna River. This is where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated, and we will see an impressive shrine to India's best-known statesman. Next, after visiting the Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India, we take a short ride by rickshaw through the crowded lanes of the Chandni Chowk bazaar. Tonight, enjoy a Welcome Dinner at a local restaurant.

After breakfast, we head out to see the highlights of New Delhi.

The British laid out the broad, tree-lined avenues and neat street grid of New Delhi (in contrast to the narrow alleyways of the old part of the city).

 

Today the former "Imperial City" continues as the center of government for the world's largest democracy, and we see the buildings of India's Parliament and (from the outside) the residence of India's President, a palatial building called Rashtrapati Bhavan. Nearby we see the India Gate, where a popular park surrounds a memorial to Indian soldiers who served Great Britain in World War I and Britain's 19th-century war in Afghanistan. We also visit Qutab Minar, a spectacular example of Indo-Islamic architecture topped by a 234-foot-high tower. Begun in the 12th century, this is now a UNESCO World Heritage site and the symbol of New Delhi.

After lunch at a local restaurant, you have the latter part of the afternoon at leisure. Tonight, you'll enjoy dinner at a local restaurant.

After breakfast, we travel overland to Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. We stop en route for lunch and to explore a Rajasthani village and its local market. Then we continue to Jaipur. Arriving at our hotel in the early evening, you will have time to freshen up before dinner at the hotel.

We begin today's discoveries with a view of the exterior of Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds). This is actually not a palace, but rather a façade of 956 delicate, honeycombed sandstone windows used by the ladies of the palace to watch the outside world without being seen.

Next, we'll explore Jaipur's Amber (pronounced "am-er," with a silent "b") Fort-Palace. The Fort is a stunning and well-preserved 16th-century structure, built on four levels.

Among its many splendors is the Sheesh Mahal, a small room whose ceiling, covered with tiny mirrors, looks like a sky filled with brilliant stars. Here, in Rajput times, a dancing girl held candles during a dance of love for her Maharaja. We make our way back down the hill and return to Jaipur.

After lunch on your own at the hotel, your afternoon is free. Before dinner, we gather for a discussion of everyday life in India. Then we are the guests of an Indian family for a Home-Hosted Dinner.

An optional hot air balloon ride may be offered this morning (weather permitting). Rise early to enjoy a bird’s eye view of Jaipur and its surroundings. Float high above the fort, Jai Mahal Lake, or the countryside, going where the wind takes you. Don’t be surprised if you attract attention from the people below along the way! Please note: This activity is included at no extra cost on all August-December 2012 departures.

This morning, we enjoy a sightseeing tour of Jaipur, known as the "Pink City" for the rosy hue of its sandstone buildings.

Next we see the Jantar Mantar, a remarkable astronomical and astrological observatory built in the 18th century. The giant sundials here are still accurate to two-tenths of a second. Then we go on to the City Palace Museum filled with an array of textiles, arms, carpets, paintings and manuscripts. You'll complete your tour with an optional visit to a fabric block-printing center to learn more about the textiles that are so representative of this area. After lunch in our hotel, your afternoon is free.

Dinner is on your own this evening.

After breakfast, we leave Jaipur and drive through the rural countryside and into the low Vindhya mountain range. The drive is about five hours in length along bumpy roads.

Our destination is Ranthambore National Park. Located near the town of Sawai Madhopur, the park is one of the eleven sites chosen for Project Tiger, India's national tiger conservation program, the largest such effort in the world. The park comprises more than a hundred square miles of deciduous forest and several large lakes, and until 1970 it was a hunting preserve of the maharajas. After our visit, we arrive at the hotel in time for lunch. Please note: As Ranthambore National Park is closed in August and September, we will visit the Sawai Mansingh Animal Sanctuary instead during those months.

In the afternoon, you can join an optional tour to the Ranthambore Fort, a spectacular fortress built more than 1,000 years ago on a rocky outcrop with stunning views. Today it sits in the middle of the Ranthambore sanctuary. You'll ride in an open four-wheel drive vehicle (known locally as a canter), and then hike to the fort, a huge structure with a fascinating history and fine craftsmanship in its interiors. Please note: This activity is included at no extra cost on all August-December 2012 departures.

Dinner is included at our hotel this evening, along with a presentation on the local wildlife we’ll see tomorrow.

In the early morning, when nocturnal animals may still be active, we head out for game viewing before breakfast. Once again, our mode of transportation is a canter,a safari truck. We may see all the great Indian species: sambar, nilgai, the shy chinkara and chital, and the always cunning Langur monkey.

We return to our hotel for breakfast and the rest of the morning at leisure. Following an included lunch in the hotel, we regroup for a second safari expedition. Though it is rare, we may see the Royal Bengal tiger, usually sleeping by day in the tall grass. A recent census showed 26 tigers in the reserve. We also see lakes that hold crocodiles, and a wide variety of water birds in season. More than 450 bird species frequent this area, from crested serpent eagles to painted storks.

Dinner is included at our hotel this evening.

After breakfast, we'll stroll into a local village to visit with the students at a primary school (when in session) that OAT proudly supports through donations from Grand Circle Foundation.

Then we'll continue our Day in the Life of this village, meeting local people and seeing their houses and way of life. We'll be the guests of one family for a Home-Hosted Visit. Next we visit a cooperative where women are trained to make handicrafts. We'll learn about this enterprise from one of the women involved, with the opportunity to purchase its products.

After lunch, we begin our drive (totaling approximately four hours on a bumpy road) to our village camp retreat. You'll check in upon arrival.

Then we mount decorated camels for a thrilling trek to a nearby local village. Be sure to have your camera readily available to take photos of the rural countryside (and your travel companions) from the lofty perch of your camel's saddle. You can choose to ride in a camel-drawn cart if you wish.

Our campsite is nestled among small plots of land used by local farmers to grow a rich diversity of crops. Often, villagers will stop by to pay us a visit, or farmers will take a break from their work to share a laugh. Especially enchanting are the mustard blooms, which, in season, resemble thousands of buttercups waving in the breeze.

Join your travel companions this evening in the relaxed environment of the campsite to enjoy an authentic Indian dinner. Dinner is prepared with the freshest locally grown organic ingredients, especially for you, by our camp cook.

After dinner we'll relax around the campfire and enjoy being entertained by local dancers who proudly perform cultural Indian dances for us.

As we continue our journey, we experience the vast rural countryside of India as we ride toward Agra. En route, our Trip Leader entertains us with a discussion of the history of the Mughals.

We break up today's long drive with a stop at Abhaneri to view an ancient baolis, essentially a step-well or waterway built to provide a constant water supply to local inhabitants.

After lunch at Bharatpur, we continue to Agra. Dinner is on your own this evening.

Or join an optional tour to take in the view of the Taj Mahal from the Mehtab Bagh (“Moonlight Garden”) across the Yamuna River. From the garden we’ll proceed to a local restaurant to savor a South Indian dinner. Please note: This activity is included at no extra cost on all August-December 2012 departures.

Today we rise early to view a sight unlike any other in the entire world: sunrise at the Taj Mahal. Please note: Trips departing the U.S. on Mondays visit the Taj Mahal on the evening of Day 11.

This grand edifice, built by Shah Jahan from 1631 to 1653 to enshrine the remains of his Queen Mumtaz Mahal, took 20,000 workers to build. We walk into the inner chambers of this renowned "Monument to Love," and seek out several vantage points to see the magnificent play of light. The semi-translucent white marble is inlaid with thousands of semi-precious stones in beautiful patterns and the building has four identical facades, a perfect exercise in symmetry. It's truly a wonder of the world!

Later in the morning we visit the sprawling Agra Fort on the bank of the Yamuna River. This immense fort and palace were the seat of power for four generations of Mughal emperors; they ruled all of northern India from the early 16th century until the consolidation by British colonial rule in the early 1800s. Agra Fort's architecture is an almost perfect fusion between military might and lavish beauty.

We return to our hotel to enjoy the afternoon at leisure, then gather for an included dinner this evening.

To enjoy and make the most of this very long, overland, travel day, you'll need to approach it with curiosity, an adventurous spirit, and a healthy sense of humor.

We begin our journey early this morning, as we board a train for an approximately two-hour ride to Jhansi, a center of Bundela civilization. Upon arriving at the railway station in Jhansi, we will transfer to our coach and continue overland on the long (2.5–hour drive) and very bumpy road to Alipura. We'll stop for lunch at a local venue in this village of medieval palaces and temples built by Bundela rulers. After lunch we continue overland via coach on the long (3–hour drive) and bumpy road to Khajuraho.

Although remote and very quiet today, in the tenth century Khajuraho was the center of the thriving civilization of the Chandelas. The magnificent group of temples (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) was built between the ninth and tenth centuries by the Chandela Dynasty, which dominated Central India at the time.

We'll check in, and enjoy dinner at our hotel in the evening.

After breakfast at our hotel, we visit the east and west temple complexes that the Chandelas constructed. The erotic stone carvings here have come to symbolize the important role of love and prana energy in Hindu thought.

British archeologists excavated these intricate stone carvings during colonial times, when they scandalized post-Victorian English sensibilities.

We have time for lunch before transferring to the airport for our 40-minute flight to Varanasi, the holiest of Hindu cities. Known as Benares during British times, Varanasi is one of the oldest cities in the world, with a written history dating back more than 4,000 years. It has an intense, almost palpable atmosphere of spiritual devotion, a feeling of an unending religious festival. Hundreds of temples propitiate the thousands of deities in the Hindu pantheon. Pilgrims from every part of this vast nation crowd the narrow streets and the riverside ghats.

This evening, we'll witness the aarti ceremony on the Ganges. As the day comes to a close, we'll ride by rickshaw through the bustling streets to the bathing ghats located alongside the sacred River Ganges. People flock in large numbers every day to bathe and worship in the temples built beside the riverbank. Feel the timelessness of Varanasi as the sun sets and as the temple priests perform aarti, the sacred light ceremony, on the banks of Mother Ganga. The aarti performance is best viewed while having a boat ride on the river. After the puja ceremony is completed, dinner will be on your own this evening.

Please note: Travelers on August-December 2012 departures will enjoy an enhanced Spiritual Ganges experience. After observing the evening aarti ceremony, we will be joined by a Hindu priest, who will help us participate in the tradition of floating prayer lamps down the Ganges. Later, we'll join him in his home for a discussion on the Hindu faith. A scholar from a nearby Hindu university will join our discussion as well.

At sunrise, when the temples are bathed in soft light, we board our small boat for a cruise on the Ganges. From our boat we are witness to the everyday life in the holiest of cities, as the people arrive at the ghats at dawn to take a ritual dip, perform yoga asanas, wash clothes and offer flowers and incense to the river.

We can photograph riverside temples and bathing ghats in a rich, golden dawn light. Photography of the cremation ghats, however, is not permitted. We see devotees performing their daily religious rites. At stone steps on the river's edge, we join our hosts in a pilgrimage: for them, the heart of their faith, for us, a superlative cultural experience. We then continue our guided walking tour of the local temples before returning to our hotel for breakfast.

 

After breakfast, we'll visit the unique Bharat Mata (Mother India) temple, dedicated not to gods and goddesses, but to Mother India herself. Inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in 1936, this relatively modern temple houses an intricate bas relief map of the Indian subcontinent, carved entirely from white marble.

Later, we drive to the nearby ancient Buddhist learning center of Sarnath. Here, Gautama Buddha preached his first sermon to his disciples, as portrayed in Bernardo Bertolucci's film Little Buddha. We then visit the Sarnath Museum, (except on Fridays, when the museum is closed) which houses some of the great treasures of Indian Buddhist art, including Ashoka's Lion Capital—the National Emblem of India—and the beautiful Teaching Buddha, among the most beautiful sculptures in the world. We can explore and photograph excavated Buddhist stupas and pillars unearthed during the British archaeological explorations in 1836. We also have the opportunity to visit a silk-weaving workshop.

This evening, enjoy a Farewell Dinner with your traveling companions.

This morning we have the chance to begin the day with a relaxing yoga and meditation class before breakfast at our hotel. Learn basic yoga exercises and breathing techniques from a local expert.

After lunch on your own, you will be transferred to the airport to board a flight to Delhi, where you'll stay tonight. Or, if you’re continuing on the post-trip extension to Nepal, you will fly to Kathmandu instead.

If you're continuing on a post-trip extension to Kerala in southern India, board your flight this morning.

Otherwise, transfer to the airport very early this morning for your return flight to the U.S.