Lush Green Heart of India - Madhya Pradesh & Maharashtra

Arrival in Delhi, after the customs formalities, meet with MTA Representative. Our representative will be waiting for you outside the Gate number 5 with your name placard. Start your day with the visit of Old Delhi, also called Shahjahanabad. Visit the world famous Jama Masijd, the biggest Friday Mosque of India, which can host up to 20,000 worshippers. After the visit take a ride on a pedal rickshaw through the narrow alleys of famous Chandni Chowk Market.

Proceed towards Rajghat – the Tomb of Mahatma Gandhi, called the Father of the Nation. In the afternoon visit Colonial Delhi Monuments, drive through Rajpath to view the Parliament House, the President’s House and India Gate. End your day with the visit of Qutub Minar, a Unesco World Heritage Site. Proceed towards the hotel. Check-in and overnight in Delhi.

Inclusions: Accommodation, Transport, Tourist Guide, Entrance fees
Highlights: Old Delhi, Rickshaw Ride, Colonial Delhi, Qutub Minar, Jama Masjid.

Transfer to the train station and take the train to Gwalior. Arrival and transfer to the hotel. Visit Gwalior and its monuments. Gwalior is dominated by the fort, for centuries the bastion of the city, which rises on the top of the hill. Surrounded by imposing walls, it preserves palaces and temples inside. We will visit the palace of Man Singh and two interesting temples. Going down the hill, you will discover that an entire wall of the same is carved with a series of splendid Jain statues, dating back to the mid-fifteenth century. Overnight in Gwalior.

Inclusions: Train, Accommodation, Breakfast, Transport, Tourist Guide, Entrance fees
Highlights: Gwalior Fort, Jain statues around the fort.

Breakfast at the hotel. Continue to Orchha. Stop in Datia and visit the Royal Palace of Datia built by Bir Singh in 1610. Arrival in Orchha and check in at the hotel. Visit of Orchha. Once the capital of the Bundela dynasty, Orchha still features a number of beautifully preserved palaces and temples. We will visit in particular the Jahangir Mahal, a palace built in 1606, on the occasion of the visit of the Emperor Jahangir. Evening optional walk to the temple dedicated to god Rama and participation in the evening prayer. Overnight in Orchha.

Inclusions: Accommodation, Breakfast, Transport, Tourist Guide, Entrance fees
Highlights: Datia, Jahangir Mahal

Breakfast at the hotel and transfer to Jhansi railway station. Train to Bhopal. Arrival in Bhopal and transfer to the hotel. Visit of the city, the Archaeological Museum, which boasts sculptures, cave paintings, photographs and objects that trace the local and national history. Visit Taj-ul-Masjid, one of the largest mosques in India, built by the third ruler of Bhopal, ShahJahan Begum, which was left unfinished and completed in 1971. Overnight in Bhopal.

Inclusions: Train, Accommodation, Breakfast, Transport, Tourist Guide, Entrance fees
Highlights: Taj-Ul-Masjid, Archaeological Museum.

Breakfast. Day dedicated to excursions to visit the Sanchi Stupa. Some 46 km north of Bhopal, there are some of the oldest and most interesting Buddhist buildings in all of India. Although not directly linked to the life of the Buddha, the place was chosen by Emperor Ashoka, one of the most illustrious converts to Buddhism, to build the first stupas in the third century. We continue to visit Udaigiri caves, about 20 Hindu shrines excavated in the sandstone of a hill, which date back to the Gupta period (382-401). Return to Bhopal. Overnight in Bhopal.

Inclusions: Accommodation, Breakfast, Transport, Tourist Guide, Entrance fees
Highlights: Sanchi Stupa, Udaigiri Caves.

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure to the south for Bhimbetka where, hidden among forests of teak and sal trees, in an area of ​​steep cliffs, more than 600 shelters dug into the rock have been discovered, of which almost half preserve ancient cave paintings (UNESCO World Heritage Site). The oldest paintings, probably dating back to 12,000 years ago, present a wide range of figures: wild buffalos, rhinos, bears and tigers, hunting scenes, initiation ceremonies, childbirth scenes, collective dances and libations, religious rites and burials.

Continue to Bhojpur to visit the unusual Bhojeshwar Temple dedicated to Shiva. Continue to the fortified town of Islamagar, the first state capital founded by the Rajputs with the name of Jagdishpur. Return to Bhopal for overnight.

Inclusions: Accomodation, Breakfast, Transport, Tourist Guide, Entrance fees
Highlights: Bhimbetka, Bhojeshwar.

Breakfast at the hotel and departure for Indore. Along the way we visit Ujjain, in particular the Temple of Mahakal Shiva, the destroyer of evil. Also visit the Temple of Gopal, a magnificent building with marble spiers, in typical maratha style, built by the Scindias in the 19th century. Finally visit to the temple of Kalbhairav, where pilgrims offer alcohol.
Continue to Indore. Arrival in Indore and hotel accommodation. Overnight in Indore.

Inclusions: Accommodation, Breakfast, Transport, Tourist Guide, Entrance fees
Highlights: Shiva temple, Kalbhairav ​​temple in Ujjain.

Breakfast at the hotel and departure for Mandu, a country known for its splendid Indo-Afghan style monuments and love stories between Baj Bahadur and Rani Roopmati. Arrival and visit of Mandu: the Jahaz Mahal also called "Palace of the Ship" for its shape that looks very much like a ship, Jama Masjid, the tomb of Hoshang Shah, the first white marble construction in India, Hindola Mahal, Hathi Mahal or Elephant Palace, so called because the columns that support the dome have enormous proportions reminiscent of an elephant's legs, the Baz Bahadur Palace, the palace of the last ruler of Mandu, built in 1509. Overnight at the hotel in Mandu.

Inclusions: Accommodation, Breakfast, Transport, Tourist Guide, Entrance fees.
Highlights: Jahaj Mahal, Tomb of Hoshang, Baz Bahadur Palace.

Breakfast at the hotel and departure for Maheshwar, a spiritual city on the Narmada river, also known as Varanasi of Central India and as the ancient city of "Mahishmati", also mentioned in many holy books and Hindu epics. Arrival and visit of the Fort of Maheshwar within the walled city on the bank of the Narmada river. You can see an ethical collection of rifles, sedans, images and paintings in the palace courtyard. Continue to visit the Shiva temple built on the river bank and enjoy the Maheshwar ghat walk. Overnight at the hotel in Maheshwar.

Inclusions: Accommodation, Breakfast, Transport, Tourist Guide, Entrance fees
Highlights: Maheshwar Ghat, the walled city of Maheshwar.

Breakfast at hotel. Departure for Jalgaon with a stop along the way to visit Omkareshwar, the "Om" shaped island, which rises at the confluence of the Narmada and Kaveri rivers. We proceed to Jalgaon. Arrival in Jalgaon and accommodation in the hotel. Overnight in Jalgaon.

Inclusions: Accommodation, Breakfast, Transport, Tourist Guide, Entrance Fees
Highlight: Omkareshwar.

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure for Aurangabad, excursion to the Buddhist caves of Ajanta, protected by UNESCO and located 166 km south-west. They are believed to date back to a period between 200 BC and 650 AD. When Ellora became famous, the Ajanta caves gradually lost their importance, until they were rediscovered by the British during a hunting trip in 1,819. It consists of 29 caves carved into the side of a rock made in the shape of a horseshoe. They are famous all over the world for their frescoes and for their sculptures. Continue to Aurangabad. Arrival and accommodation in the hotel. Overnight in Aurangabad.

Inclusions: Accommodation, Breakfast, Transport, Tourist Guide, Entrance fees
Highlights: Ajanta Caves

Note: Ajanta caves are closed on Mondays.

Breakfast at the hotel and visit to the rock temples of Ellora, 30 km from Aurangabad. They have been declared a World Heritage Site and represent the pinnacle of Deccan's sculptural art. For over five centuries Buddhist monks and Hindu and Jain devotees dug monasteries, chapels and temples on the side of a 2 km long escarpment, decorating them with countless images of rare beauty and precision.

Transfer to Nashik. Arrival in Nashik and visit to the Buddhist caves of Pandav Leni, dating back to the period between the 1st century BC and the second century AD. Caves 19 and 23 have interesting sculptures, while the others are of little interest. Hotel accommodation. Overnight in Nashik.

Inclusions: Accommodation, Breakfast, Transport, Tourist Guide, Entrance fees
Highlights: Kailasanath Temple in Ellora, Pandav Leni

Note: Ajanta caves are closed on Tuesday.

Breakfast at the hotel and visit of the Ramkund, the basin for ritual baths, frequented daily by hundreds of pilgrims who go there to make ablutions, pray and even die, since it is believed that the water here grant the "moksa" (liberation of the soul).

Continue to KalaRama, the most sacred temple in the city. Nearby is the Gumpha Panchivati, where Sita hid from the evil Ravana. Transfer to Mumbai. Along the way, stop in Trimbak, a town located west of Nasik, to visit the Trimbakeswar Temple, one of the most sacred temples in all of India as it houses one of the twelve most important shrines of Shiva. Although entry is only allowed to Hindus, it is possible to have a look at the courtyard. Arrival in Mumbai and hotel accommodation. Overnight in Mumbai.

Inclusions: Accommodation, Breakfast, Transport, Tourist Guide, Entrance fees
Highlights: Nashik, Trimbakeshwar.

Breakfast at the hotel. In the morning excursion by boat to visit the ancient caves on the island of Elephanta, excavated between 450 and 750 AD, with magnificent statues. In the afternoon, tour of the city with the promenade of Marina Drive and the house-museum of Mahatma Gandhi. Along the way, you can admire the splendid monuments of Bombay dating back to the English colonial era. After that transfer to the airport. No overnight.

Inclusions: Breakfast, Transport, Tourist Guide, Entrance Fees
Highlights: Elephanta Caves, Mani Bhawan

Note:  Elephanta Caves are closed on Mondays. Excursion is subject to sea conditions.