Erfgoedroute: Gouden Driehoek rondreis met Kolkata

Arrive at New Delhi’s ‘IGI International Airport’. Meet with our company representative, warm welcome with fresh flower garlands & then transfer to hotel in your private Vehicle.

On arrival, check-in. Rest of the day free for leisure and acclmatization. Overnight at hotel.

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Breakfast at hotel. Proceed for sightseeing of Delhi.

Visit Humayun’s Tomb, Humayun’s tomb is sublimely well proportioned, seeming to float above its symmetrical gardens. It’s thought to have inspired the Taj Mahal, which it predates by 60 years. Lotus Temple for a short exterior photography stop; drive through Parliament’s street, & around the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Short photography stop at India Gate; This imposing 42m-high stone memorial arch was designed by Lutyens in 1921. It pays tribute to around 90,000 Indian Army soldiers who died in WWI, the Northwest Frontier operations and the 1919 Anglo-Afghan War. (note: photography stop at India Gate is strictly subject to security clearance and subject to vehicle parking availability at the day)

Arrive at the Bangla Sahib Gurudwara; This magnificent white-marble gurdwara (Sikh temple), topped by glinting golden onion domes, was constructed at the site where the eighth Sikh guru, Harkrishan Dev, stayed before his 1664 death.

Post visiting the Bangla Sahib, proceed to Qutub Minar; The Qutab Minar, soaring Afghan-style victory tower and minaret, erected by sultan Qutb-ud-din in 1193 to proclaim his supremacy over the vanquished Hindu rulers of Qila Rai Pithora.

Visit a Kashmiri Co-operative, enjoy a Kashmiri Tea ‘Kahwa’ here when you witness the artisians presenting their local arts & products

Transfer to your hotel at the end of the tour & overnight.

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Breakfast at hotel. Proceed for Old Delhi’s tour before leaving for Agra.

Start the tour by visiting Raj Ghat, this peaceful, very well maintained park contains a simple black-marble platform marking the spot where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated following his assassination in 1948.

Next you will be driven to Old Delhi market, just before entering the market you will embark on a ‘Rickshaw’ to steer through tiny lanes of Chandni Chowk. Ride past the majestic Red Fort & through the main Chandni Chowk street straight to Khari Baoli; Asia’s biggest wholesale spice market selling all kinds of spices, herbs, nuts & food products like rice, tea etc. Hop on to your rickshaws and pass through the tiny lanes of Kinaari Bazaar; lane for Indian attire accessories like borders etc, Dariba Kalan; lane for Silver market. Hop off and bid bye to your Rickshaw Puller at Jama Masjid; A beautiful pocket of calm at the heart of Old Delhi’s mayhem, the capital’s largest mosque is built on a 10m elevation. It can hold a mind-blowing 25,000 people.

End the tour around mid-afternoon and then drive to Agra (200kms,4 hours). On arrival check-in & overnight in hotel.

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Early morning wake-up call and sunrise visit to the Taj Mahal. (timings would vary as per season). Sunrise is by far the best time to visit the Taj Mahal. Not just because the early morning light turns the dome of the temple a soft, golden colour, but because this is the time when there are the least amount of tourists. Described by Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore as “a teardrop on the face of eternity”, the Taj Mahal is undoubtedly the zenith of Mughal architecture.

Return to hotel, daily routine & breakfast at the hotel.

Later checkout and proceed to visit Agra Fort; Agra has one of the finest Mughal forts in India. Visit a Marble Workshop; local artisans showcase their skill of Marble Inlay work in these workshops. The artisans in Agra are believed to be the descendants of the artists who were actual workers of Taj Mahal.

Post sightseeing drive to Fatehpur Sikri(50kms,1-1.5 hours), best example of the culmination of Hindu and Muslim architecture. And said to be a copy of the mosque in Mecca and has designs, derived from the Persian & Hindu architecture. Highly popular amongst them is Buland Darwaza, which is titled as the largest gateway in the world.

Continue your drive toward Jaipur(200kms,4-4.5 hours). On arrival, check-in & overnight at hotel.

Breakfast at hotel. Proceed for sightseeing of Jaipur

We start with Amber Fort, where you can enjoy an Elephant ride uphill & Jeep ride downhill at the fort. Nostalgic Amber Fort, near Jaipur in Rajasthan, is one of the most well-known and most-visited forts in India. During downhill, visit a very heritage structure – Panna-Meena ka kund, which is a square-shaped stepwell, with adjoining stairs on all four sides and a room on the northern wall.

We will make our way back to the city, en-route we will stop at Jal Mahal, Possibly the most serene sight amidst the chaos of Jaipur is the beautiful Jal Mahal Jaipur, the Water Palace. Short stops at the Jewel & Carpet Workshops in Jaipur are must to witness how the local artisans create marvels from raw materials.

Later in the second half of the day, visit Jantar Mantar, a large grassy enclosure containing eighteen huge stone astronomical measuring devices constructed between 1728 and 1734. City Palace, originally built by Jai Singh in the 1720s and having lost none of its original pomp and splendour. Before you start exploring the local markets, stop for photography at the one world’s most famous façade Hawa Mahal.

Post your exploration in the local market. Return to hotel & overnight

Post breakfast and check out from the hotel and proceed to the Jaipur airport to take flight for Kolkata. On arrival in Kolkata, transfer to hotel & check-in.

Think of Kolkata and the word that never fails to pop up in our mind is Misti or Sweetmeats! If there is to be a world capital for sweetmeats, then it has to be Kolkata. Nowhere, in the world is so much of sweetmeats consumed and nowhere does so much research and innovation go into sweetmeat making.

So authorities & people of Kolkata conceptualized Mishti Hub, a complex which houses most of Kolkata’s oldest & most famous sweetshops. Learn and indulge in Bengali Sweets here.

As the sunsets, visit Eco Park, which is an expansive urban park designed to promote eco-tourism in the city. It is the biggest urban park in India and occupies over 475 acres of land. The beauty of the location increases ten folds because of a water body that surrounds the park and forms an island in the middle.

Overnight at hotel.

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After breakfast proceed for a city tour of Kolkata.

First visit Dalhousie Square, The Square is surrounded by some of Kolkata’s most enduring Raj-era monuments like the magnificent GPO (General Post Office), the regal Raj Bhawan, the St. John’s Church and the Gothic style Writer’s Building. In terms of heritage, no other city square is as rich as Dalhousie Square.

Continue the tour with Flower Market. It can also be termed as Heritage Market. Beneath the east end of Howrah Bridge, Mullick Ghat Kolkata Flower Market is eastern India’s largest flower market with hundreds of stalls and people sitting on the ground. Visit Howrah Bridge, Howrah Bridge in Kolkata spans over river Hooghly and is considered to be a marvelous engineering work by the British. The Howrah Bridge is enumerated amongst the busiest cantilever bridge in the World.

Post the bridge we continue towards Victoria Memorial. This is one of India’s most beautiful monuments built between 1906 and 1921 on the lines of white marble. Indian Museum, One of the oldest museums in Asia, the Indian Museum was founded in 1814. St. Paul’s Cathedral Church. The Cathedral measures 71m in length 24m in width the spire rising 60m high. The interior has exquisite scriptural scenes.

End today’s tour with Mother Teresa’s House, a Roman Catholic religious congregation, which in 2012 consisted of over 4,500 sisters and is active in 133 countries.

Later return to the hotel & overnight.

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Breakfast at hotel, checkout and proceed to visit Kumartuli.

At Kumartuli – the Colony of Potters, you would find almost 400 sculptors etching through clay brought from the nearby River Ganges to create some of the most fascinating idols of Hindu Gods and Goddesses.

Later transfer to airport for the scheduled flight to your home country/ongoing destination to cherish the memories in your heart.

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