11-Day North India Highlights Tour with Delhi, Jaipur and Varanasi

• Arrive in Delhi, the cosmopolitan city and the main gateway for many travellers. You will be received by the tour representative and transferred to the hotel.

• Spend the morning at leisure.
• Afternoon sightseeing in Old Delhi. Take a Rickshaw Ride parallel to the Red Fort through the old city, famous Silk Road, and Silver Bazaar.
• Sightseeing of Old Delhi includes Rajghat and Jama Masjid, the great mosque of old Delhi.
• Visit the famous "Humayun Tomb", the first substantial example of Mughal architecture in India and "Qutub Minar", 71 meters high and constructed in 1199.
• Before we proceed to the hotel, see the India Gate, Government Buildings and Embassies.

• Drive to the Pink City, Jaipur. This city owes its name, foundations and careful planning to the great warrior and astronomer Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II. Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan and is famous for its handicrafts and precious and semiprecious stones.
• In the afternoon, visit the City Palace, which is still the formal residence of the royal family, built in a blend of the Rajasthani and Mughal architecture. In the museum of the City Palace, visit the private collection of the Jaipur Maharajas.
• Continue to Jantar Mantar, a stone observatory, the largest of Jai Singh's five remarkable observatories. Its complex instruments reveal the secrets of medieval Indian astronomy.

• After breakfast, drive to the ancient capital of Amber, lying 11 km away from Jaipur. Ascend to the Palace Fortress on the back of an Elephant.
• Visit the Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds), built-in 1799 AD. It contains 953 small casements, with each having its balcony. The windows enabled cool air to circulate and the ladies to watch processions below without being seen.
• Walk through the colourful Bazaar of Jaipur and visit a factory to see the famous block printing work.
• Drive through the new city of Jaipur and visit “Laxmi Narayan Mandir”, a Hindu temple made out of white marble. We might have an opportunity here to observe a prayer ceremony.

Have dinner with a presentation of Indian music and dance.

• Drive through a series of fields, small towns and villages to Agra.
• Enroute, make a stop and visit Fatehpur Sikri, which was once an imperial capital frozen in time, constructed by Akbar the Great in the 16th century.
• Late evening arrival in Agra.

The rest of the day is at leisure.

• Visit the Agra Fort, built by three of the most extraordinary Mughal emperors. This massive structure began in 1565 under Akbar's reign and continued until his grandson's reign, Shah Jahan, who built the impressive imperial quarters and mosque.
• Proceed to visit the most beautiful monument of India, the Taj Mahal, an enduring monument to love with a continually fulfilling beauty. The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan built it between 1631-52 as a tomb and memorial to his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal (Jewel of the Palace), who died at the age of 39, giving birth to her 14th child. We spend enough time at the Taj Mahal to take this impressive memory home.
• Drive to Orchha. Orchha's grandeur has been captured in stone, frozen in time, a rich legacy to the ages. 

• Visit the temples and palaces in Orchha.

• Drive to Khajuraho. Khajuraho was the capital of the Chandela dynasty. The Chandela Kings claimed descent from the moon. The temples of Khajuraho are among the finest examples of temple craftsmanship in the whole of India.

Spend the rest of the day on your own.

• Visit the temple complex of Eastern Group and Western Group to see the most beautiful temples in India. The most famous among them is the Laxmana Temple, dedicated to the god Vishnu. The presence of erotic sculptures in the Temples at Khajuraho is one of the expressions of the celebration of all human activities displaying different aspects of Hinduism.

• Take a flight to Varanasi.

Spend the rest of the day on your own.

• Take a boat ride on the holy river, the Ganges and enjoy the sunrise on the boat. Ghats (flight of steps) and the activities of pilgrims on that are the principal attraction for visitors to Varanasi. Thousands of pilgrims and devotees visit this city to make holy prayers, meditate and purify themselves through taking a bath in the sacred river Ganges.

• Visit the city of Varanasi and drive to Sarnath (10 km). Sarnath is the place where Buddha delivered his first sermon at deer park.

• Take a flight from Varanasi to Delhi.

• Visit the nearby bazaars, markets and go shopping.

• Depart to the airport for your onward journey.