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From November 03, 2023 to November 05, 2023
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
Detailed Itinerary
Main Program
Arrival
Lotus Temple
Hare Krishna Temple
Gandhi Smriti
Humayun's Mausoleum
Very welcome, Viviane! Upon your arrival, you will be assisted by the local partner who should be waiting with a sign with your preferred name inside the airport (we'll talk). We monitor the arrival of each Chörten Traveller, maintaining telephone contact with the representative team, in the case of the hotel, at the airport, from before the plane lands until the moment we speak. So you can rest assured that we are monitoring you and making sure your arrival is being taken care of. Transfer to the hotel, located in a central region, with interesting possibilities for tours and cultural activities. On our first day we will be arriving, adjusting to the time zone and trying, despite the tiredness of the hours of flight, to sleep at the right time. Not during the day like in the time zone we are used to. For these reasons, the suggestion for the first outings is that they be very light., because we are not yet processing the information very well.
Further south of the city, we will visit the beautiful Lotus Temple. Built in the format of its name, it belongs to the religion called Bahá'í, founded in the XNUMXth century. XIX, in ancient Persia, when visiting it we will all be invited to be silent for a moment. An interesting opportunity and experience in the midst of this great bustling city. After visiting the temple, which is sometimes open, further along the way out (before turning right to the street gate), there are stairs that lead to an exhibition about the history and work on this religion. Interesting to take a look and get in touch with brief expositions about his thoughts.
Another special visit for our day, is the last house where Gandhi lived, known as Birla House. We will learn a little about this important part of the history of this nation, as well as about the life and the final moment of this great leader, an example of the practice of Ahimsa (non-violence) and the culture of peace until today all over the world. Today, in the format of an interactive museum, with a collection of photographs and objects by Gandhi, called Gandhi Smriti. We probably wouldn't recommend looking at the entire museum with all the time in the world to allow time to experience the museum, Gandhi's history up close, like other important places in Delhi. A walk around the museum, looking longer at one or another part of Gandhi's life, usually works very well. Suggestion: go to the back of the house where Gandhi was assassinated on the way to the place where he said his daily prayers. Go back into Gandhi's room by visiting this floor. When going up the stairs, there are volunteers, sometimes students, available to present the museum. Experience: They can be really cool while presenting them can take a lot of time. Ask if they can come up with the 3 or 4 most important parts and then go on your own.
Second of the six main Mugal emperors, Humayun (1508-1556), his mausoleum was built in Delhi, the first with architecture associated with a garden and the use of red sandstone stone on this scale in India. Thus, the predecessor and of a beauty close to the Taj Mahal, some people consider this monument even more beautiful.
Old Delhi.
Red Fort
Raj Ghat
National museum
We will begin our tours with what is actually one of several Delhis, which have existed at different times and empires in a succession of neighboring cities. The last and eighth Delhi is where we stayed, built by the British, called New Delhi. The seventh was built by Shah Jahan, one of the great Mughai emperors, the same one who built the Taj Mahal, then known as Shajahanabad. Today we call it Old Delhi or Old Delhi. We will visit the great mosque of the Emperor, the Jama Masjid. In it, for those who want, there is the possibility of a walk up the minaret! From where we have a view of the city and the Red Fort from above. Talk to your guide. He doesn't need to go up. Just be very careful on the platform above, please.
Then we'll walk through the alleys of its old bazaar. There is a very old shop, passed from father to son for a long time, selling essences (sandalwood, etc.) and incense called Gulab Singh Johri Mal, which in itself is a walk. You can buy an oil in a box along with one of the very typical bottles of this Muslim region of Delhi. Following the walk through the alleys of the bazaars, most guides like to do a bicycle rickshaw. We highly recommend that you do the walking tour, to have more contact and to be able to see the bazaar better. Possibility to visit a small Jain temple, very old, with beautiful paintings. There is more than one Jain temple in the region, this one is in the village called Naughara Gali, in the Kinari bazaar. We then continue until we reach the Red Fort, where the important Lahori Gate is. It was there that important talks about the history of India took place, such as the independence of this country, today the largest democracy in the world, in which millenary values and customs coexist at the same time with extremely modern knowledge and technologies.
We will save our visit to one of the Red Forts for the one in Agra, with more history, prettier and better preserved.
We will visit the Red Fort, built in red sandstone and white marble in the 200th century. XVII, also by Emperor Shah Jahan. Used by the Mughal Empire for approx. XNUMX years, we will understand how they lived, with their gardens, rooms, public and private audience halls. We will see that it was also used by the English army.
On the way back to our hotel area, we will pay tribute to the memorial where Gandhi was cremated, Raj Ghat. We will see what was his last word, a sign of great accomplishment on his spiritual path. Those who like photographs, look for images made by Cartier-Bresson, one of the great photographers that ever existed, who was in Delhi that day.
A very interesting visit in Delhi is the National Museum. It is possible to spend many hours or days to appreciate each hall and exhibitions about the history, arts and peoples of India. A good way to take advantage of this opportunity is to visit a main hall and the relics of Buddha. The backpack needs to be kept in a storage locker before entering the museum building (small women's bags or belt bags can usually go in) and then, just before going up the stairs at the entrance, be sure to take a look to your left at one of the not the first charter of human rights, carved in stone, according to the laws of the great Indian emperor of the century. III BC, Ashoka. Soon after entering, one of the first halls is that of Mohenjodaro and Harappa, the cradle of this Indian culture, between 3500 and 1500 BC. C.. Right at the entrance to this hall there is a comparative interest in the eras of humanity's ancient civilizations. Next we have objects from that time, the main ones being: the seal with what must have been Shiva (in the form of Pashupati possibly), and the sculpture of the head of the priest and the dancing girl. From there we walked (take care of your time, please), without stopping for long with the aim of using a shorter period of our day at the museum, through the other halls, until we arrived at a relic of Buddha (now located in a new building that can be visited after the main building). It is common to find practitioners of this Nepalese/Indian master's method (Sakya), sitting in meditation around his relics. This can certainly be a beneficial mental mark that we can offer ourselves for a few minutes, in this training and familiarization with the natural state of our minds, more at peace and better able to benefit a greater number of people and sentient beings (simplified: beings with awareness) in general. If you want to take a quick look at the halls of the Indian tribes and the instruments on the top floor, with a lot of focus and time, hurry ;-)! Joke. But take care of your time and use of your day in this incredible city.
We will check the city's cultural agenda for the days in Delhi, as a possibility of a special activity, where great artists from the country perform.