The Land of Snow and green valleys

Arrive at Delhi International Airport. Welcome on arrival and transfer to the hotel. Overnight at hotel.

Morning drive to the city of Chandigarh and discovery of the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana. This new city was built after independence of India in 1947 by a team of architects led by Le Corbusier himself to replace the former capital of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan allocated. Today it is a spacious city with wide straight avenues and gardens, has remarkable buildings such as the Parliament, the High Court of Justice or the Government House. Overnight at hotel.

Morning drive to Pragpur in the Kangra Valley. In 1997, the place has become a Heritage Village and really deserves this name. This village, very lively, with cobbled streets lined with houses with whitewashed walls, gardens, temples and bazaars are full of charm. The village also houses a famous painting school. Then visit Garli, near which is a little twin Pragpur. Overnight at hotel.

Morning drive to Amritsar, the “Basin Nectar“. Amritsar is the religious capital of Punjab and holy city of the Sikh community. City tour and garden Jalianwala Bagh with its memorial to the memory of the Indians massacred by the British in 1919. Then, towards Wagah place on the line established in 1947 during the Partition. The village, thus found bisected with a side Pakistan and other, India. Every night is held the ceremony of closing the doors of this boundary in the presence of the soldiers of both countries. Back to Amritsar for the religious ceremony at the Golden Temple, which stands in the middle of a basin surrounded by marble balustrades. The Sikh holy book, the Adi Granth, written in gold letters, is preserved in this peaceful and serene sanctuary. Overnight at hotel.

Departure to Dharamshala, seat of the Tibetan government in exile after the Chinese invasion of Lhasa in October 1959 visit to the Namgyal Monastery, including the Center for Tibetan Studies. Much Dharamshala is a big Indian village, as the very top, McLeod Ganj became a small Indian Lhasa since the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government found refuge. This Tibetan enclave in Indian territory, the Mecca of Buddhism, has a very special atmosphere both Tibetan and cosmopolitan with pilgrims from around the world. Stupas, temples, floating multicolored banners in the wind, lamas dressed in burgundy color dresses twirling their prayer wheels. Overnight at hotel.

Day visit and walk McLeod Ganj, a beautiful city with countless Buddhist temples and schools surrounded by a wilderness where the craft is important. But it is also the guarantor of Tibetan medicine with Tibetan Medicine and Astrology Institute founded in 1961 that heals and teaches. Visit the church St John-in-the-Wilderness whose cemetery contains the grave of Lord Elgin, a British East India viceroys, who died in Dharamsala late 1863. Its particular residence, Mortimer House, today houses the Dalai Lama. Overnight at hotel.

Morning drive to Taragarh. Along the way, stop at Palampur, popular hill station in the Kangra Valley, 1200 meters above sea level and surrounded by tea plantations and pine forests. Palampur, on the road from Manali, was created by the British when they set up their tea plantations. The city is known as the capital of the northern Indian tea. Continue to Taragarh, a paradise for travelers. Spectacular landscapes, snow-capped mountains, deep gorges, lush green valleys, mountain lakes and fast rivers. Walks, trekking, mountaineering, fishing, everything is made for relaxation. Overnight at hotel.

Morning drive to Manali hill station located at 2050 meters altitude. Crossing valleys of Kullu and Mandi. Mandi town surrounded by hills, has beautiful temples built by the river. Then the Kullu Valley, the Valley of the Gods to the mild climate, rich in its extremely fertile and verdant vegetation, its old wooden temples and its folklore. Kullu once was called “Kulanthapitha” the end of the inhabited world. Continue to Manali, a small town in the valley, amidst paddy fields and a backdrop of snowy peaks. Overnight at hotel. 

Manali, located in the middle of lush vegetation, is one of the most beautiful mountain resorts of India with its magnificent views of the snow-capped Himalayan peaks. The architecture of the surrounding villages is very beautiful with these stone houses with carved wooden facades. The lower level serves as a stable and surrender and above is the dwelling. Its cool climate during the sweltering summers of the rest of the country, makes it a real paradise. Overnight at hotel. 

Morning drive to Shimla the capital of Himachal Pradesh. The British discovered it when it was still a simple village and decided to make the summer residence of the viceroys of India in 1865. The British administration was leaving Calcutta, nearly 1,800 km away, to join the months scorching these regions cooler climate. Overnight at hotel.

Morning excursion to Kufri about fifteen kilometers from Shimla. This ski resort 2620 meters is known for a long time for its panoramic views of the mountain range, its rest areas that allow the contemplation of the place and its ski slopes. In good weather, the view is absolutely breathtaking. Himalayan Nature Park can observe white leopard, black bear, wolf mountains, the silver pheasant and a fauna you can see that altitude. There is also a small Tibetan market selling local crafts. Back to Shimla. This mountain resort has retained its English town of appearance with its golf courses, polo, its racetrack, many buildings in the Victorian architecture, its neo-Gothic churches, outdated wooden cottages, still haunted by the Kipling book characters who described so well pageantry and social life. The city is limited to two streets: the Mall, the shopping area and the Ridge, the alley of official parades; both pedestrian. Overnight at hotel.

Morning drive to Rishikesh located forty kilometers. This village, just charming with its narrow winding streets, is known as the Gate of the Gods country; that is, according to Hindu mythology, which is the passage that leads to heaven. Here is an intimate atmosphere on ghats, fervor is intense and the offerings are many floating on the river. In the evening religious ceremony on the banks of the Ganges, where many pilgrims come to perform their devotions. Overnight at hotel.

Morning drive to Haridwar, one of the seven holy cities of Indian mythology where the Ganges down from the Himalayas come to the plains. This is a very old city, as described by Chinese travelers in the 7th century. It is also one of four sites where takes place every twelve years, the famous Kumba Mela, a huge pilgrimage that brings millions of Hindus came to purify the foot of his ghat Har-Ki-Pauri to house the ‘footprints of Lord Vishnu. Evening on the ghats of Har-Ki-Pauri. Overnight at hotel.

Early departure for Delhi. New Delhi, the capital of the Indian Empire with wide tree-lined avenues designed as a garden city. Visit Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in the country, surrounded by narrow alleys and bazaars, the popular area of Chandni Chowk, Red Fort, the center of the Mughal splendor, Raj Ghat, Qutub Minar and the minaret. The boulevards of New Delhi and the inevitable Connaught Place Humayun’s Tomb. Panoramic tour of Old Delhi. Transfer to the airport for the return flight.