To enlarge your map please click on the icon in the top right corner of the map
Summary Itinerary
Clicking on the days of travel in the summary itinerary will take you to the detailed itinerary for that day and vice versa clicking on the day in the detailed itinerary will return you to the summary itinerary. In the detailed itinerary, in addition to the images and description of the days, we also have the day of the month and the week
Main Program
From December 31st 2024 until January 11th 2025
Extension
From 11th until 16th January 2025
Detailed Itinerary
Main Program
Arrival
Lunch (South Indian cuisine as suggested)
Gurudwara bangla sahib
Lakshminarayan Temple
Welcome to India! After the group's arrival and assisted transfer to the hotel, this afternoon we will take a walk to the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, an important Sikh cultural and religious center. Afterwards, we will visit the Hindu temple complex Lakshminarayan, opened by Mahatma Gandhi in the 30s. These two religious/cultural centers have free entry, regardless of caste and religion.
Old Delhi
Kartavya Path
India Gate and President House
Early in the morning, we will head to the old part of Delhi known as Chandni Chowk. We will do this before local businesses even open their doors. We will visit the Kinari and Spice Bazaar (open part), the Paratha Wala, the Naughara Gali and a precious and ancient Jain temple in the heart of this market. We will pass in front of the historic Sikh temple, Gurudwara Sis Ganj, and the iconic Red Fort (outside). We will stop to visit one of the most important Muslim mosques in all of India, the Jama Masjid.
Lunch (suggestion) – North Indian cuisine.
Right after lunch we headed to the Delhi and Indian government esplanade, the Kartavya Path, culminating our journey with the President's house and India Gate.
Gandhi Smriti
Craft Museum
Cultural activity
In the morning we will visit the Gandhi Smriti, a memorial to the man known as the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi. Important place as it is the last house in which Gandhi lived. We will visit his room and where he prayed with those who lived there at the end of his days. In the afternoon we will visit the National Craft Museum, a very pleasant and wooded place, containing rich galleries with permanent art exhibitions.
Lunch (suggestion) – contemporary cuisine. At the end of the afternoon, I suggest we watch some cultural activity included in the Delhi theater agenda.
Hawa Mahal
City Palace Museum
Jantar Mantar
In the morning we will travel by car to the capital of the state of Rajasthan, the pink city, Jaipur. This state is known for the glorious past of Rajput culture. Its majestic palaces and forts have witnessed many kingdoms, including Jaipur.
We will visit the Hawa Mahal, also known as the Palace of the Winds, built by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh in the 17th century. XNUMX, so that women could observe the street without being seen. We will visit the City Palace Museum, the royal residence and former administrative headquarters of the ruler of Jaipur. We will also visit Jantar Mantar, an astronomical observatory protected by UNESCO, made up of large instruments of incredible precision to this day.
Amber Fort
We will start our day with a visit to Amber Fort. We will walk through the halls, gardens, chambers and secret passages, with views of the palace area of the Rajput general of Akbar's army, Man Sing. In the same village as the palace, we will visit a museum of traditional Rajasthani handmade printing, which preserves and updates the printing process using block printing.
We will travel by car for approx. 3h to the small important Hindu pilgrimage city, one of the oldest in India, Pushkar. The creation and name of this city, which means Blue Lotus, has a close connection with the god Brahma, who chose it for an important ritual offering to Agni, the Vedic god of sacred fire. There are very few temples dedicated to Brahma across India. One of these, with a current structure from the 14th century. XNUMX, but over two thousand years old, is here in Pushkar.
We will stay in a hotel on the edge of the sacred lake of Pushkar, where we will have a beautiful view of the sunset. A traditional, typically Rajasthani hotel.
Walk
Ghats
Brahma Temple
Local market
Gayatri Temple
We will explore Pushkar. We will walk through the ghats and small temples around the sacred lake, through the streets of the center and visit the Jagatpita Shri Brahma Mandir, a temple of Brahma.
In the late afternoon we will watch the sunset from Mount Savitri, at the Gayatri Mandir, a temple dedicated to the Saktis of Brahma, Savitri and Gayatri, with a beautiful view of Pushkar.
Walk
Tempo Livre
Rajasthani Kalbeliya Music and Dance
We will visit Rangji Mandir, dedicated to Vishnu, a beautiful example of the meeting of Dravidian and Rajasthani architecture. We will have free time for walking and shopping or even contemplating the banks of Lake Brahma.
On this day we will also have a folk music and dance performance, known as Kaubelia. Kaubelia is a cultural expression of a nomadic people from the Thar Desert. The music and dance performed by women and men are an integral part of their culture.
Flight
After breakfast on the banks of Pushkar Lake, we will return to Jaipur by car. We will have lunch in Jaipur and head to the airport to fly to Rishikesh. Rishikesh is one of the holy cities in India. Due to its location at the beginning of the Himalayas, and because it is a region populated by centers of philosophy, yoga and meditation, it has earned it the status of the world capital of Yoga. We will arrive at the end of the day at our hotel, from where we can admire the Ganges River.
Flight 7JAN IndiGo 6E7468 Jaipur 18:05 pm Dehradun 19:30 pm
Vashista Guha
Walk
Aarti
The purpose of our stay is to be able to absorb a lot of the atmosphere of this special place. In the morning we will visit the cave of the legendary sage Vashistha, who meditated for decades in this place on the banks of the Ganges River. A very special place visited over the centuries by countless sages, masters and students of yoga, Vedanta and meditation. Those who wish can bathe on the banks of the fine white sand banks of the Ganges.
We will walk across the jhulas, the suspension bridges that join the two banks of the Ganges River, and at the end of the day, we will participate in the arthi held at Parmarth Niketan Ashram. Arthi is a part of the ritual of a Vedic ceremony, carried out through the singing of hymns and mantras, the use of fire as an element of transmutation, transformation. These arthis in Rishikesh, and also in other sacred places in India, are performed on the banks of the river Ganges.
Kunjapuri Temple
Swami Dayananda Ashram
Aarti Triveni Ghat
In the morning we will visit the Kunjapuri Temple in one of the highest locations in Rishikesh. This small temple on top of a hill was dedicated to one of the aspects of the Divine Mother who, in mythological narratives, is associated with Sati, the first wife of the god Shiva. I will share a little of the stories that surround this place and this form of the Divine Mother, while we will delight in the image of the snow-capped peaks of the Himalaya.
In the afternoon, we will take a walk to Swami Dayananda's Ashram. A modern ashram dedicated to the transmission of Vedanta, one of the countless philosophical currents in India. From here we will continue to participate in a second Arthi ceremony, also on the banks of the Ganges, at Triveni Ghat.
Flight
Free afternoon
In the morning we will fly to Delhi and in the afternoon, we will go to Dilli Haat, a typical and charming open-air market run by the Delhi government, where you can shop directly from the artisans and producers.
Those returning to Brazil that night will have a group transfer available to take them to the international airport.
For those who do not follow the Extension Program, we have the possibility of organizing an extension to visit the Taj Mahal. Already accustomed to the culture and logistics of travel in India and with personalized support from Chörten, it is quite simple and very peaceful to go to Agra with another day of travel.
Flight 10JAN IndiGo 6E2343 Dehradun 10:10am Delhi 10:55am
The flight back to Brazil can be in the early hours of January 10th to 11th, in the morning of the 11th or, if you prefer, later that day. We will talk about each possibility.
Flight
Kala Bhoomi Craft Museum
On that day we will fly from Delhi to Bhubaneswar, the capital of the state of Orissa. Orissa has a vibrant, unique and still unknown culture to the vast majority of travellers who visit India. It is not for nothing that Orissa is called the soul of India by the Indians themselves, and this is due to the fact that it is a culture and region that has suffered very little influence from foreign cultures over the centuries.
In the afternoon, we will visit the beautiful craft museum of Oryia culture, the Kala Bhoomi Odisha Craft Museum. The first step in this journey is to get to know the Oriya culture through its exquisite crafts, which tells us about their customs, traditions, and the way these people live and celebrate life.
Flight 11JAN IndiGo 6E5096 Delhi 09:55 Bhubaneswar 11:55
Mukteshvara Temple
Parasurameshvara Temple
Vaital Deul Temple
Lingaraj Temple
Lunch (suggestion) typical Orya cuisine
Kandagiri and Udaygiri Cave
In the morning we will take a walk in the old part of Bhubaneswar, to visit the temples from the medieval period, true Templar jewels that witnessed the evolution of different religious lines of Hinduism. We will observe how art is an integral and fundamental part not only of architecture, but also of the rituals that have animated these temples for countless centuries. In the late afternoon we will visit an important archaeological site, an artistic/cultural complex built by King Karavela in the 2nd century BC From this same hill, we will watch the sunset.
konarak temple
Ragurajpur Village
Gotipuas
Early in the morning we will visit the Konarak temple, a UNESCO world heritage site, a temple dedicated to the Vedic god Surya, the sun god. The walls of this temple are decorated with reliefs, with miniature details with jewelry quality. These details relate the customs of the time, their arts, their daily life, legendary animals and their traditions. From there, we headed to a historic village called Ragurajpur. This is a village where residents live almost exclusively from handicrafts, including patrachitra, paintings made with natural pigmentation on palm leaves. This craft is known and appreciated worldwide, given the delicacy of the manual work and its historical value. This village still keeps the Gotipua tradition alive. A tradition that began in the 16th century. XNUMX in which boys dance and sing the glories of the god Krishna. We will watch a performance of these dancers with live music. Right after these two visits, we will return to Bhubaneswar.
Hirapur
Dhauli
Mukteshvara Temple
In the morning we will visit the Yogini temple in the village of Hirapur. This is a tantric temple from the 9th century also known as the temple of the 64 yoginis. A small and unique gem of the tantric tradition in India. This is one of only three tantric temples in all of India. From there we headed to Dauli, a modern and magnificent Buddhist stupa, erected at the epicenter of the battle led by the emperor of the Mauryan dynasty, the great Ashoka. It was there that the emperor converted to Buddhism.
In the late afternoon we will participate in the much-awaited annual music and dance festival at Mukteshvara temple, a temple dedicated to Shiva, dating back to the 9th century. XNUMX. This festival is an important artistic presentation platform in India.
Flight
Free afternoon
In the morning we will fly to Delhi.
We will have the afternoon free to, depending on the group's choice, visit a shopping center for those last minute purchases.
For those who can stay a little longer in India and are interested, we have the possibility of organizing an extension to the Taj Mahal. Already accustomed to the culture and logistics of travel in India, with very personalized support from Chörten, it is quite simple and very peaceful to go to Agra with another day of travel. Other destinations, individual or not, can also be organized.
Those returning to Brazil will have a group transfer available to take them to the international airport.
Return to my country