Grand Tour of Northern India

Fly overnight from London Heathrow, via Delhi, to Amritsar.

On arrival, transfer to the 4-star Hyatt Hotel for a two-night stay. Amritsar’s labyrinthine lanes, colonial avenues, and contemporary malls combine to create a showpiece of Punjab prosperity. In an optional event this evening, attend the Palki religious ceremony at the Golden Temple (£22, bookable locally).
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Visit the Golden Temple, gleaming with hundreds of kilos of gold leaf. Continue to the ‘world’s largest’ community kitchen, its thousands of volunteers feeding tens of thousands of pilgrims every day; and the garden memorial to those killed in the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Early-evening excursion to the Indo-Pakistan Attari Border village, to see the Changing of the Guard ceremony.
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Take the train (4hrs) to Ambala, and continue by road to Kandaghat to board the narrow-gauge ‘Toy Train’, crossing bridges and cutting through tunnels and pine forests on its spectacular scenic route to Shimla. A picture-perfect retreat, the British-era summer capital now blends cool colonial charm with colourful Himachal character. Two nights at the 5-star Oberoi Cecil hotel.
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Stroll along the Mall on a morning tour of Shimla, which includes a visit to the grand Viceregal Lodge, its majestic façade matched by manicured gardens, at the top of Observatory Hill; the Shimla Museum, recording its British colonial era; and the town’s Christ Church, known for the five windows of the Virtues. Afternoon at leisure for independent exploration.
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Travel by road (5hrs) to Kalka and board the Shatabdi Express for its 5hr journey to Delhi, with a light dinner aboard. Two nights at the heritage Maidens Hotel, imbued with old-colonial charm.
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A tour of Old Delhi passes the stately India Gate arch, parliament building, and Viceroy’s House; and visits the 17^th-century, Jama Masjid (‘Friday Mosque’), the second-largest mosque on the sub-continent; the Gandhi Smriti Museum, dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi and where he spent the last few months of his life; the Raj Ghat memorial to Gandhi, marking the place of his cremation; the National Museum, exhibiting thousands of objects from the Indus Valley (Harappan) Civilisation; and the Qutab Minar, a 12^th-century, 73m-tall ‘tower of victory’, now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
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Fly east to Bagdogra and drive (3hrs) to Darjeeling, clinging to steep sunset slopes in a twist of streets and steps, with stupendous mountain peaks as a backdrop, Raj architecture in the foreground, and lush tea plantations on rolling hills in-between. Two nights at the 4-star Mayfair Hotel.
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Enjoy sunrise views of the Himalayas from Tiger Hill, on a day of discovery which includes a ride on the ‘Toy Train’ and visits to a local market and a tea estate; Ghoom Monastery with its 15ft-tall Buddha statue; the Mountaineering Institute, dubbed the ‘mecca of mountaineering’ and displaying artefacts and photographs of pioneer expeditions; and the Zoological Park, with breeding programmes for the red panda, Tibetan wolf, and snow leopard.
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Transfer to Bagdorga airport for the flight to Kolkata, India’s old capital (as Calcutta) under the British Raj. Enjoy a sunset cruise on the Hoogly River. Two nights at the 5-star Oberoi Grand.
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 A full-day tour of ‘colonial Calcutta’ includes a short tram ride and takes you to the marble Victoria Memorial to the Empress of India, now a museum; Dalhousie Square’s collection of grand monuments, the Town Hall and Writers’ Building among them; and the flower market.
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Take a morning flight to Varanasi, lining the Ganges with a collision of colours and two thousand temples, jostling for space in its tangle of ancient streets. Visit the 2^nd-century BC ruins of Sarnath, one of the holiest Buddhist temples in the world, and its on-site museum. This evening, see the Aarti ‘ceremony of lights’ on the ghats, with floating flamed offerings to the life-giving Ganga Goddess. Overnight at the 4-star Taj Ganges Hotel.
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Start the day with an early morning boat trip on the Ganges, breakfast at the beautiful heritage hotel Brijrama Palace, and a walk exploring flamboyant Varanasi; before travelling by road (7hrs) to Lucknow, a charismatic state capital, revered as a city of culture. Overnight at the 5-star Hotel Taj Mahal Lucknow.
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Among the city’s enormous Nawab shrines, visit the Bara (‘big’) Imambara, known for its upper floor maze, and the imposing Chota, which became the mausoleum of the third Nawab; La Martiniere college, founded in 1845; and the ruins of the Raj-era British Residency complex. Drive (6hrs) to Agra, hemming the holy Yamuna River, for two nights at the 4-star Trident Hotel.
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Visits today include a sunrise start at the jewel in Agra’s crown, the iconic Taj Mahal, lauded by UNESCO as a masterpiece of the world’s heritage; the 16^th-century Agra Red Fort, also UNESCO listed, a lavishly opulent palace, encompassing the perfect and peaceful Pearl Mosque; the ‘baby Taj’, Itmad-ud-Daulah, a forerunner of its more famous monument; and the Mehtab Bagh (‘Midnight Garden’), perfectly aligned to view the Taj Mahal across the river. Take tea with a local family at a British-era colonial bungalow.
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Travel (6½ hrs) to Ranthambore National Park, stopping enroute to explore the UNESCO listed Mughal city of Fatehpur Sikri; a fortified enclave of red sandstone temples and monuments, founded in 1571, and completely abandoned in 1610. This evening, enjoy a ‘Tiger Talk’ by a naturalist. Two nights at the 4-star, family-run, Ranthambore Regency hotel.
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 Explore Ranthambore with morning and afternoon game drives by jeep. The renowned reserve is a wilderness of jungle, meadows, and forests, where tigers and leopards, wild boar and sloth bears, birds, bats, and flying foxes live undisturbed; and soft-shelled turtles share lake waters with snub-nosed marsh crocodiles.
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Travel (4hrs) to Jaipur; and visit the Amber Fort, known for its huge, gated ramparts and Hindu design, and crowning a small hill overlooking Maota Lake. Two nights at the Taj Amer.
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Take to the air to see the Pink City and its surrounds on an optional balloon ride this morning (£225, bookable locally, dependent on weather). Visit the pink-walled City Palace, its temples and pavilions spread between courtyards and gardens; and the 18^th-century Jantar Mantar Observatory, UNESCO listed as India’s most significant site for observation of astronomical positions; and view the Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds) its wall of windows allowing the women to observe the city, unseen. This evening, enjoy a cocktail and dinner at the Rambagh Palace.
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Travel (7hrs) to Rohet via the ‘Blue City’ of Jodhpur, its old-town buildings painted, top to toe, in indigo hues, creating the illusion of a sea amid the sands, where we visit the 15^th-century Mehrangarh (‘Fort of the Sun’), covering 1,200 acres of a rocky clifftop, 122m above the town; and the 19^th-century white marble memorial, Jaswant Thada. Overnight at the heritage hotel Rohet Garh.
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A short ‘safari’ to Bishnoi village shows you its crafts and culture, as a hub of weavers and potters, and a Hindu place of pilgrimage. Travel by road (6hrs) to Udaipur, ‘the romance of Rajasthan’, with lotus pools, fountains and marble statuary in a series of serene gardens; and the scenic Aravalli hills rising around the city. Enjoy dinner at the Amrai Restaurant, with a gorgeous view of the lake. Two nights at the 4-star Trident Hotel, on the lake shore.
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Sail on Lake Pichola to the City Palace, gracing the shoreline with its gloriously grand façade; and to Jagmandir Island, where a golden sandstone palace rises from the water’s edge.
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Fly to Mumbai, where a city tour includes the Marine Drive promenade, curving around the natural bay to the British-built Gateway of India at its southern tip; the UNESCO listed, Raj era, Victoria Terminus railway station; and the Prince of Wales Museum, the stately building housing collections of ancient artworks and artefacts. Overnight at the 4-star Hotel Trident Nariman Point. Dinner at a local restaurant. 
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Transfer to the airport for the return flight to London Heathrow.
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