This is an extraordinary journey back to the past where time unfolds one of the most significant dramas of the British Empire in India. This is a story of courage, folly, rage, fanaticism and fortitude, which compelled Queen Victoria to declare this day as a National Disgrace. We turn back the pages of the history so easily and take you to the British era in India.
Day 01 : Arrive Delhi
Upon arrival at the International airport traditional Indian welcome by company's representative. Later on transfer to hotel. Night stay at yourhotel
Day 02 : Delhi sightseeing tour
After breakfast meet our guide at your hotel who will take you for full days ightseeing of Delhi which includes Old & New Delhi. The sightseeing of Old Delhi includes .The Jumma Masjid (Jumma Mosque) built in 1650 A.D.- the India's largest mosque which is made of alternating vertical strips of red sandstone & white marble.Drive past the northern gate of the mosque which leads to fabled Chandani Chowk(Moonlight Square) and is the main areaof the Old Delhi.Also visit the breath taking Red Fort (1639-48) built by the builder of Taj Mahal Shah Jehan , famous for its delicately carved inlaid Royal Chambers.There after proceed to Raj Ghat- the cremation site of the Father of Nation " Mahatama Gandhi" who died in 1948 A.D. The sightseeing tour of New Delhi includes a visit to Humayun's Tomb (1565 AD).Drive past Safdarjang's Tomb (1753 AD) and visit the Qutab Minar 73 meters high which tapers from a 15 m diameter base to just 2.5 m at the top. The walls consist intricately carved quotations from Koran (the holy book of th eMuslims) and is one of the most perfect towers of the Persian world. Nearby amidst the ruins of Quwat-ul-Islam mosque stands the Iron pillar, which hasstood the vagaries of weather and has not rusted over 1500 years. The drive through New Delhi, includes the Embassy area (Diplomatic enclave),Rastrapati Bhawan (The President's House -1929 ) and the Government buildings (1921-30 ).
Day 03 : Delhi - Kalka - Shimla (Scenic train journey)
After early morning breakfast meet our representative at your hotel who will escort you to the Railway station for your train to Kalka. Arrive Kalka and immediately board on the toy train, which leaves for Shimla at 1155 hrs.The toy train journey from Kalka to Shimla is entrancing with 107 tunnels and lofty arched bridges. The dazzling view and the stop at the picturesque stations along the way add to the experience. Arrive Shimla and transfer tohotel. Shimla was the former 'summer capital' of British India and is the present day state capital of Himachal Pradesh. It still holds lingeringe choes of its colonial past. It is named after its patron goddess, Shamla Devi, a manife station of Kali. Shimla is located at an altitude of 7,267feet, is inhabited around a crescent - shaped ridge, which is blessed with perennially cool air and amazing views. It provides superb panoramic sightsof the valleys, and the lofty peaks of the great Himalayan range, on both sides. The colourful local bazaars of Shimla are sprawled over the southern slopes of the ridge. In the evening, stroll down on the Mall road and also visit the different Mall. Overnight at hotel.
Day 04 : Shimla
After breakfast meet our guide at the hotel who will take you for the fullday sightseeing of Shimla, which includes the Rashtrapati Niwas, for merlythe residence of the British Viceroy, the State Museum, which has a modest collection of stone statues from different parts of Himachal Pradesh, Jakhu Temple, dedicated to Lord Hanuman (Monkey God), Summer Hill, Prospects Hill and Windflower Hall. Kufri, a well - known ski resort in Himachal Pradesh,is 16 km from Shimla. Overnight at hotel.
Day 05 : Shimla - Delhi - Kolkatta (Connecting flights)
After breakfast meet our representative at your hotel who will escort you to the airport for your flight for Delhi.Upon arrival in Delhi meet our representative who will escort you to Discover House, where a courtesy room for wash & change will be provided until departure. In the afternoon,transfer to airport for your flight to Kolkata.Upon arrival meet our representative who will escort you to the hotel.Night stay at your hotel.
Day 06 : Kolkatta
After breakfast meet our guide at your hotel who will take you for the fullday sightseeing of Kolkata.Kolkata was the first capital of the British inIndia. The city was established in 1686 when the British moved to the small villages of Sutanati, Govindpur, and Kalikata from their trading port of Hooghly. It progressed well until 1756 when Siraj-Ud-Daula (Nawab of Bengal) attacked the town and drove away the British. Lord Clive retook Kolkata and until 1911, it remained the capital of the British government in India.Being the centre of power for so long created a unique culture and heritage,totally unlike any other city in India. The city retains some of the most striking colonial buildings of the country. It used to be the capital of the British East India Company and the evidence of the British colonization persists there in the city. The tour includes the visit of Victoria Memorial- a grand edifice constructed in the memory of Queen Victoria. This building houses a number of rare specimens of the historical preserves of the land.How rah Bridge is another landmark that denotes the city of joy. This hanging bridge is an architectural marvel of the country. The second largest planetarium in Asia, the Birla Planetarium is another site that attracts attention of all regardless of their age. The recently built Vidyasagar Setu, another architectural marvel, connects both the banks of the Hooghly River. St. Paul/'s Cathedral, National Library, Shaheed Minar, Fort William,Rat Park and Marble Palace. Return to hotel in the evening and overnight at hotel..
Day 07 : Kolkatta - Lucknow (By flight)
After breakfast leave for airport to connect your flight for Lucknow.-perhaps the only city in the world where it is so easy to turn back the pages of the history. Lucknow is also the only city where you will bead dressed with a second plural. . Upon arrival at Lucknow meet our representative who will escort you to the hotel.Later in the afternoon,visit the Mutiny site of Lucknow. If Delhi was the symbolic centre of the Mutiny, and Cawnpore (Kanpur) provided its most horrific episode, it was Lucknow that caught the imagination of the British public and became,perhaps, the most well known action of all Britain's 19th century wars. Ithad all the dramatic elements of a siege and even better, a happy ending. Itbecame indeed a paradigm for later British colonial conflicts. There werethe initial reverses, the spectacle of the 'thin red line' battling against over whelming odds, heroism in the face of adversity, the stoicism of the ladies living in appalling conditions, the death of a gallant commander, finally the sound of bag pipes on the wind and a relief column marching into the British position with flags flying and kilted highlanders leading the way. It was said the news of the relief was sent in the shape of a Latinsentence that when translated read, "I am in luck, now."Overnight at hotel.
Day 08 : Lucknow
After breakfast visit - The Immambara and the famous Ittar (perfume) market of Lucknow. Rest of the day at leisure. Overnight at hotel.
Day 09 : Lucknow - Kanpur (85 kms 2.5 hrs drive)
After breakfast leave for Kanpur. Upon arrival check-in at hotel. In the afternoon visit the Mutiny sights of the Kanpur. Kanpur was soon to become the epicenter of the outbreak of 1857, as some of the leading luminaries of the War of Independence hailed from her, namely - Nana Sahib, Tantiya Tope,Azimoolah Khan and Brigadier Jwala Prasad. The three strategic events of the1857 war at Kanpur were the fight at `wheeler's entrenchment', the `mass acreat Sati Chaura Ghat' and the `Bibighar massacre'. Nana Sahib had declared in dependence on the 7th of June 1857 at Kanpur. The British under Commander Hugh Wheeler retreated into a shallow earch entrenchment in the cantonmentarea, later known in history as `wheeler's entrenchment'. The English garrison surrendered in the last week of June 1857 on terms of safe passage to Allahabad. But when on the morning of 27th June, the soldiers along with the women and children were about to embark into the boats at Sati Chaura Ghat, fighting broke out and most of the men were killed. The survivors,women and children were rescued who were imprisoned into the Savada Kothi and later shifted to Bibighar in the `cantonment magistrates' compound. But when it became clear the relieving forces under General Havelock were nearing the city and defeat was inevitable, the captives-all women and children were massacred and their dismembered bodies buried in the well ofthe compound on 15th July 1857. The Bibighar was dismantled by the Britishand reoccupation of Kanpur and a `memorial railing and a cross' raised at the site of the well. The well is now bricked over. Only remains of a circular ridge survive, which can be still seen at the Nana Rao Park. The Kanpur Memorial Church - `The all soul cathedral' was raised in honour of the fallen at the north-east corner of Wheeler's entrenchment in 1862 by theBritish. The marble gothic screen with famous `mournful scarf' wastransferred to the churchyard of All Souls after independence in 1947, andin its place a bust of Tantiya Tope Installed as Nana Rao Park' After 1857,the development of Kanpur was even more phenomenal. Government Harnes and Saddlery Factory was started for supplying leather material for army in1860, followed by Cooper Allen & Co. in 1880. The first cotton textile mill, the Elgin Mills were started in 1862 and Muir Mills in 1882. Overnight at hotel.
Day 10 : Kanpur - Jhansi - Orchha (By Train)
After an early breakfast transfer to railway station to connect train for Jhansi departing at 0845 hrs from Kanpur arriving Jhansi at 1335 hrs,Upon arrival met our driver at Railway station who will take you to Orcha which is about 13 Kms from Jhansi. Rest of the day at leisure. Night stay at your hotel.
Day 11 : Orchha - Jhansi - Gwalior (120 kms / 3 hrs drive)
After breakfast visit the temples and the Fort - Orchha is an ancient capital of a powerful Rajput kingdom between 1531 & 1783, situated on a large rocky island in the Betwa River.
There after, leave for Jhansi and visit the Fort of Jhansi. When news of the mutiny in Meerut reached Jhansi, the Rani asked permission to raise a small bodyguard for her own protection, a measure to which Captain Skene readily agreed. Skene and the other British officers failed to take the Rani's leadto protect them selves against a possible mutiny. On June 5th, some timeafter the mutiny broke out else where, members of the Jhansi garrisonmutinied, took the more important of the two forts in the town, killing two of the British officers and wounding another. They plundered the town, and released the prisoners from the gaol. The remaining British and Eurasians sheltered in the other fort, the Town Fort. There were 61 people, over half of them women and children. One or two others sheltered in the town and were able to escape with the aid of local people. The survivors in the Town Fort appealed to the Rani for help.It is not obvious what she could do, she had alimited military force, the small bodyguard granted by the British at the outset of the mutiny, at her disposal, and no obvious political influenceover the mutineers. They owed no allegiance to the Rani.There after continue towards Gwalior.Arrive and check in at hotel. Overnight at the hotel.
Day 12 : Gwalior - Agra (200 kms/4 hrs drive)
After breakfast leave for sightseeing of Gwalior Fort. Gwalior is named after a saint who cured the local chieftain Suraj Sen from leprosy. History of Gwalior dates back to 8th century. From then onwards Gwalior was tobecome the cradle of dynasties. The massive fort, which overlooks the city,is a testimony to its glory and grandeur. Warrior kings, poets, musicians and saints contributed in making Gwalior the city it is. Gwalior is one place which was most affected during the Revolt of 1857. It was one of the centers, which experienced fierce encounters between the British and the 'Rebels'. The Maharaja of Gwalior was loyal to the British during the mutiny but his troops sided with the rebels who had laid their hands on the city.Towards the end of mutiny, Gwalior was subject to heavy fighting, after which British gained complete control over India. Among those who laid downtheir lives here in their attempt to capture the fort were Tatiya Tope and Rani of Jhansi.
In the mean time transfer to Agra - Synonyms with Taj - which is Amber atDawn & Dusk and Radiant at Noon. Mark Twain once said, " When thissoaring bubble of marble breaks upon your view you for sure can not keepyour emotions within bounds".Upon arrival check-in at hotel andovernight
Day 13 : Agra
After breakfast, meet our guide at your hotel who will take you for the sightseeing of Agra.Visit Taj Mahal, whose eternal beauty will astonish and mesmerize the visitors. It is also known as the "Crown of Palaces"built by the Emperor Shah Jehan to immortalize the memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal.There after, continue to discover the strong & magnificent Red Fort - built by the three generations of Mughal Emperors between 1565 and 1573, whose military power cannot be questioned. It was there sidence of the Mughal Emperors. Each one left there its print, Red sandstone of Akbar and Jahangir, White marble of Shah Jahan. This fort rises on the edges of Yamuna River; surrounded by a wall from 20 to 33 meters topand 2500 m perimeter. In the afternoon, excursion to Fatehpur Sikri - the extraordinary city built by Akbar the Great,and deserted 14 years later, but which, during its brief span, the city had more significant than London in both grandeur and population.Return to hotel and overnight.
Day 14 : Agra - Delhi (210 kms / 4 hrs. drive)
After breakfast leave for Delhi by surface. Arrive and check in to hotel. Rest of day at leisure for souvenir shopping.
Day 15 : Leave Delhi
In time transfer to international airport to board home bound flight.
