Ganges tour, Delhi to Calcutta
| country: | India |
| departures: | 2009: 21 Feb, 7 Nov |
| price: | From £1530 (16 days) excluding flights. We can arrange flights from the UK. |
the amazing things you'll be doing
A herd of buffalo wander back from the fields, a blue jays dart overhead, smoke rises from the cooking fires and the aromatic smell of spices flood the air. Women in brightly coloured saris carry water from the well and children play on the path. It’s that magical time when dusk settles in a thousand villages across the subcontinent and the night creeps in. The Indians have a word for it, Godhuli… ‘the homecoming’.
Sadly, very few visitors get to experience the day-to-day beauty of rural India, focusing instead on well known urban centres on or around the Golden Triangle.
We believe the time has come to step off the well-worn tourist trails and head into the heart of India, allowing you the chance to witness firsthand the life that the vast majority of Indians live.
On this tour you will experience a combination of village life, wonderful mountain scenery, the tranquil world along India’s holy river bank and the hustle bustle of some of her most vibrant city centres. From Delhi to Calcutta, via the Himalayas and the Ganges, this is a wonderful trip that will stay with you for a very long time.
Sadly, very few visitors get to experience the day-to-day beauty of rural India, focusing instead on well known urban centres on or around the Golden Triangle.
We believe the time has come to step off the well-worn tourist trails and head into the heart of India, allowing you the chance to witness firsthand the life that the vast majority of Indians live.
On this tour you will experience a combination of village life, wonderful mountain scenery, the tranquil world along India’s holy river bank and the hustle bustle of some of her most vibrant city centres. From Delhi to Calcutta, via the Himalayas and the Ganges, this is a wonderful trip that will stay with you for a very long time.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | London – Delhi. Depart UK on day flight to Delhi departing at 1000, arriving into Delhi at 2300. On arrival we will transfer to excellent city centre hotel, have a drink and crash. |
| Day 2: | Delhi – Kathgodam. After breakfast we will visit the splendours of the new town before going on for a walk through the old town, taking a stroll from the Red Fort, down Chandi Chowk – the old town’s main thoroughfare – through the narrow alleyways of Shahjehanabad, to emerge at the beautiful Jama Masjid Mosque. |
| Day 3: | Kathgodam – Mukteshwar. Arrive Kathgodam, where the foothills of the Himalayas rise spectacularly out of the Indian plains, at around 0730 and from here drive towards Almora. |
| Day 4-5: | Mukteshwar. Sitla Estate is situated in an old apple estate at the top of the village of Mukteshwar. Here you will drink coffee on the roof at dawn watching the sunrise over the Himalayan peak of Nanda Devi. |
| Day 6: | Mukteshwar – Corbett Tiger Reserve. After Breakfast we drive back down out of the hills towards the famous Corbett Tiger Reserve. |
| Day 7: | Corbett Tiger Reserve. Today we will travel into the park to stay in one of the jungle lodges from which we will take elephants into the forest to spot the tigers. |
| Day 8: | Corbett Tiger Reserve – Rishikesh. After early breakfast we move on the Rishkesh. Arriving early afternoon we will have plenty of time to wander this fascinating town and religious centre. |
| Day 9: | Rishikesh – Allahabad. Today we will drive along the Ganges River Plain to Allahabad – the holy town at the confluence of the Yamuna and Ganges Rivers. |
| Day 10-12: | Allahabad – Slowly Down the Ganges. Today the adventure really begins as we spend the next three days drifting slowly down the Ganges. This will be a peaceful and exotic trip as we pass interesting villages, temples and settlements, many of which we will stop at to see how life is in this most sacred of rural settings. |
| Day 13: | Varanasi. Arriving in Varanasi in the afternoon we will check into our hotel, and a wash and change and then take a stroll down the famous ghats. Here we will witness the evening arti – when the pujas are given and the candles lit and floated on the river. |
| Day 14: | Varanasi – Calcutta. Early morning we will take a boat ride on the Ganges to see the morning prayers. |
| Day 15: | Calcutta. Arrive Calcutta in the morning and transfer to quiet Tollygunj Club – a veritable oasis amid the chaos that is Calcutta – and check into garden cottages. |
| Day 16: | Calcutta – UK. Up bright and early for BA flight at 0800 to LHR arriving 1230. |
how this holiday makes a difference
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In our opinion the whole concept of Village India – where we steer our clients off the main tourist circuits and into the rural regions of the subcontinent, to interact directly with local people – is responsible travel at its most immediate and effective. On all of these tours we stay with local families, visit local industries (learning how to milk a buffalo, make a sari, cook a meal) and call on local organisation to learn more about the problems of the region and how we might help. Not only does this allow local people and visitors to interact and learn about each others culture, it ensures that the revenue generated by tourism goes directly to local communities.
On our ‘Slowly Down the Ganges’ trip which runs through Uttar Pradesh from Delhi to Calcutta and, most importantly, along India’s holy river, we will be visiting a number of local communities – from Sadhus to farmers – to learn about their lives and ways, all of which will be putting money directly into the local community. We will also be visiting one of our main Indian NGO partners, The Hope Foundation, in Calcutta to see where the financial support we give is going. Added to this on all our tours we employ local guides and drivers, stay in locally owned hotels and private homes, which again diverts important funds directly into the area. These are regions that have seen precious little from the boom in tourism, it is our aim to change this. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |