Gods & Nababs of Central India

Day 1: Arrival Lucknow

Landing in Lucknow, welcome at the airport, and departure to your 30's Haveli style hotel to take rest after your long haul flight.

Day 2: Lucknow

After breakfast, we will visit the architectural wonders of this city of Moguls. Start with the La Martinière School, built like a palace by the French general Claude Martin. Then visit the Dilkusha Palace and Gardens, built for Nabab Sadat Ali and used as a country house and hunting lodge for his majesty. Later, you will delve into the eventful history of this city when you visit The Residency, the scene of the horrific mutiny of 1857. Trees, bullet-strewn walls, cannons, and spent firearms all scream aloud of the burden witnessed here.

Break for lunch at one of the many local restaurants in this city known as one of the culinary capitals of the country, especially for its kebabs and scrumptious desserts.

This afternoon you continue to explore the rich history and heritage of Lucknow with a visit to Sadat Ali's tomb and the Chatar Manzil Palace, built by a French architect, Claude Martin. Then you will go inside a unique Palace in the world, the Asifi Imambara, built for the Mogul Asif-ud-Daula. It contains the only room in the world without any pillar support, wood, iron beams or concrete walls. Enjoy a cup of freshly brewed Darjeeling tea for tea time. Then finish with its counterpart the Husainabad Imambara Palace, known for its beauty and fascinating decorations.

Then wander through the markets and stalls of this city of artisans, such as Chikankari sari embroiderers, the famous perfumers of legendary Attar scents (pure essence extracted from flowers), or the Naqqashi carvers, decorating metals with intricate designs.

Lucknow also attracts all the gastronomes of the country, eager to discover the traditional Awadhi cuisine, originating from the Mughal and Persian culture. This city has a whole colony of chefs, called Bawarchi Tola, and tonight we will take you to the alleys and lanes where you can find their best dishes. You will discover the true taste of the original Tundey Kebabs, Raheem's Nihari and Mobeen's Pasanda Kebabs, as well as the no less famous desserts. Your guide will explain the history and the recipe of each of these typical dishes. Later, back to the hotel for the night.

Day 3: Lucknow - Varanasi

This morning, at the end of your stay in Lucknow, you will be taken to the railway station where you will board your train to your next destination, the holy city of Benares (Journey time: 4hrs). you will be welcomed at the station and will be settle in your heritage hotel located near Ghats. In the late afternoon your guide will take you for a first night walk in the old city to discover the heart of this holy city and know its spiritual traditions. You will be back for dinner at your hotel.

Day 4: Sarnath

After breakfast on one of the terraces of your charming hotel, you will begin to follow in the footsteps of Buddha, with the discovery of a first emblematic place of Buddhism: Sarnath. In the Deer Park, the Enlightened One preached for the first time and founded the monastic community there. The remains of the main temple built on the site where Buddha would have lived, the Dhamekh and Dharmarajikapar stupas in which the emperor Ashoka spread Buddhism, remain, and you will discover a museum surrounded by both Hindu and Buddhist collections.

At the end of the day, you return along the Ganges to attend the ceremony of Aarti where for thousands of Brahmins (Hindu priests) pay homage to the river in sacred gestures accompanying the incantations to the sound of cymbals.

Day 5: Varanasi - Bodh-Gayâ

At sunrise at 5 am, you embark for a boat ride on the Ganges and along the Ghats where ritual baths are performed. A crowd of Hindus coming from all the country carry out their ablutions there or bury their dead relatives at the sacred fire of cremations which would burn there since more than 3000 years. Then you will be invited to continue your stay on the steps of the Sakyamuni god (Buddha), in direction of Bodh-Gayâ, famous to be the most important center of Buddhist pilgrimage (Journey: 7hrs). Upon arrival, check into your comfortable hotel for dinner and overnight.

 

Day 6 : Bodh-Gaya

Breakfast at the hotel. In the morning, visit the Mahabodh complex which houses the Bodhi tree, the most famous in the country. This is where it all began more than 25 centuries ago, when Prince Siddhartha became the Enlightened One, sparking a philosophy that has spread throughout Asia and the world. The adjoining temple, a 150-meter high structure from the Gupta period, was built to honor the seven weeks that the Buddha spent here. The small white temple of Animesh Lochana within the compound also marks the spot where Buddha stood and looked at the Bodhi tree in gratitude. Then you will pass the Niranjana River, and the Sujata Temple located on its banks, accessible in a 30-minute walk through the nature. Buddha entered into meditation here after being struck by the sufferings of humanity.

With pilgrims coming from all over Asia, Bodh-Gaya is full of delicious Asian food - some of the best you will eat in India. The Asian cuisine is authentic and homemade. Asian lunch during the visit. Near Bodh-Gaya are the remote Mahakala caves where Buddha is said to have spent many years of penance practicing severe self-denial. A short climb leads to a Tibetan monastery and a small cave shrine. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 7 : Nalanda - Rajgir

Departure with your driver for the city of Nalanda, which was home to the largest Buddhist university, founded in the 5th century and which was looted and destroyed by the Afghans in the 12th century. Legend has it that it could house up to 10,000 students. There remain ruins of the building and mainly the big stupa. You will be able to see in the archaeological museum many vestiges of this time.

Continuation towards Rajgirha (Rajgir) the old capital of the Magadham empire. Buddha stayed there more than 12 years and announced several important speeches. Discovery of the Vulture Hill, the World Peace Stupa and the Bamboo Garden. Return to Bodh-Gaya for dinner and overnight.  (Journey time: 6 hours).

Day 8 : Calcutta

Breakfast at the hotel then transfer to the airport for flight to Calcutta.

Landing, welcome at the airport, and departure to your charming hotel to take rest after your domestic flight. Stretched out on the banks of the Hooghly River, this former capital of the former British Indian Empire is home to beautiful vestiges of the colonial era, and has a real soul. During your stay we will invite you to discover the cultural and intellectual heart of this vibrant city.

Day 9 : Calcutta

Private transfer in the city for a day of visit on the traces of the past through the beautiful vestiges of the colonial time such as the Victoria Memorial, the district of the Raj Bhavan or the Church Saint John. It is still in its streets with the old-fashioned charm that the spectacle is even more bewitching, like the flower market at the foot of the Howra bridge, the Book Market of College Street with its famous coffee of predilection of the intellectuals the Coffee House or the Kumartuli district, kingdom of the potters of Kolkata where are created the Hindu idols which one sees at the time of the festivals. You will pass from the temple to the temple of Kalighat, following the line of pilgrims who have come to offer hibiscus flowers to the terrible Kali. You will discover how this goddess impregnates the life of the inhabitants of the city. Finally the Jain temple Pareshnath, made by one of the great jewelers of Calcutta, covered with semi-precious stones and small mirrors. Return to the hotel before you have your traditional Bengali dinner with a family. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 10: Calcutta

Today is a day dedicated to the traditions and art of this cultural capital of Bengal. First stop at the majestic family home of India's greatest modern poet Rabindranath Tagore, dating from 1784 and now its dedicated museum. It also houses a gallery of paintings by his family and contemporaries. You will then be invited to try the famous Bengal cottons, khadi and indigos in the city's renowned weaving workshops. The city is home to some of the best fashion designers in the country, such as Sabyasachi Mukherjee. Then browse the collections of paintings by major local artists in a charming collector's gallery. For lunch you will taste typical Sheherwali dishes, the traditional cuisine from the recipes of the royal families of Murshidabad, dating back nearly 300 years. This afternoon, you will explore the city and its neighborhoods on foot and by tuk-tuk with your private guide, around its local life, savoring along the way the cream of the crop of Bengali cuisine and learning all about the myriad of communities that have made this city, such as Parsis, Armenians, Jains, etc... You will also stroll through the various markets and bazaars of the old city. Return to the comfort of your heritage hotel for dinner and overnight.

Day 11 : Bhubaneswar

Breakfast at the hotel and transfer to the airport for flight to Bhubaneswar.  Landing, welcome at the airport, and departure to your charming hotel to rest after your domestic flight.

Start your off-the-beaten track journey in the tropical state of Orissa, bathed by the Bay of Bengal. Later with your guide, visit Bhubaneswar nicknamed the 'temple city' or the 'cathedral city'. Mostly famous for its temples built between the 7th and 13th centuries in the style of the successive dynasties such as the Shailodbhava, Bhauma-Kara, Somavamśī and Ganga. Visit of the Lingaraj temple which you will walk around as it is forbidden to non-Hindus, as well as the Parsurameswar temple, a group of about twenty temples, the oldest of which dedicated to Shiva, is said to date back to 650.

Stroll through the streets and bazaars of the city where you can find the famous weavings of the communities of the region such as the Siminoi saris made of thick cotton or the hand-woven Dhalapathar rugs of the tribe of the same name. Until 20 years ago, every home in Odisha proudly displayed its Dhalapathars.

Dinner in town at the local restaurant Dalma, offering one of the most extensive menus in Odisha with delicious dishes such as: Chhenatarkari (lightly fried cheese balls in a homemade coriander-cumin sauce), Chattu rai (local wild mushrooms cooked in a spicy mustard sauce), Machhamanjibhaja (fish roe fritters), Kakharuphulabhaja (whole pumpkin blossom fritters, etc.), etc... Return to the hotel for the night after this feast.

Day 12 : Puri

Departure for the small fishing village of Puri, where you will meet the fishermen who leave with their catamarans in the fishy waters of the Bay of Bengal. On the way, you stop to visit Ashokan Rock Edicts, the temple of Chousath Yogini Tantrik, the village of Pipili (known for its patchworks). In Puri, you will discover the Jagannath temple (from the outside as only Hindus are allowed). Feel the religious fervor of the crowds of pilgrims. Outside the temple try some of the city's specialties with your guide, such as desserts such as Chhenapoda, the quintessential Orissa cake, made of fresh curdled cheese with syrup, cashews and raisins, and roasted until caramelized. After a visit to the Terracotta market and a meeting with its artisans, return to your comfortable hotel located on the beach.

Day 13 : Konarak

Departure for the visit of the temple of the Sun of Konarak (1hr), dating from the 13th century and in perfect state of conservation. It is represented as a huge chariot, pulled by 7 horses, on 24 wheels carved in stone. The temple dedicated to the god of the sun: Surya, is covered with sculptures, from the base to the roof. Then you will go with your guide to Raghurajpur, a village totally dedicated to art, whose houses are decorated with frescoes related to each family, a real open-air gallery. Soak up the traditional cultures of this village.

Day 14 : Departure

Breakfast at the hotel. Free morning and transfer to the airport in the late afternoon for your return flight to Europe. End of the services.

Hotels :

Lucknow : Taj Mahal Lucknow 5* / Hotel Lebua Lucknow, Saraca Estate 4* / Renaissance Lucknow Hotel 5*

Varanasi : Hotel Ganges View 3*

Bodhgaya : Hotel Marasa Sarovar Premiere 4* / Niranjana Hotel 3* / Oaks Bodhgaya 4*

Calcutta : Hotel The Glenburn Penthouse 5* / Elgin Fairlawn hotel 4* - Calcutta Bungalow

Bhubaneswar : Hotel Trident 5*/ Mayfair Lagoon 5*

Puri : Mayfair Heritage Puri4* / Mayfair Waves 4*

Included :

- Accommodation in the mentioned hotels or similar according to availability at the time of booking in double room

- Full board

- Excursions and site entries

- Guide - French speaking guide

- Private transportation

- Local taxes

Not included :

- e-visa fees

- Drinks

- photo and video permits on the sites

- Tips and personal expenses.