Day 1 : Delhi
You are welcomed at Delhi airport by the representative of our local agency or by your French-speaking guide to welcome you to India. They will assist you with the transfer to the hotel we have reserved for you for two nights.
Dinner and night at the hotel.
Day 2 : Delhi
After breakfast, the day is dedicated to exploring Delhi. Bathed by the holy waters of the Yamuna, Delhi was twice the capital of an empire, first with the Mughals, then in 1911 with the British.
The city is divided into two very contrasting parts: New Delhi, the Victorian city with grand avenues, its business district, and parliament grouped around Connaught Place; and Old Delhi, the old town and capital of Muslim India, with alleys lined with bustling bazaars. The old town is home to the Red Fort, a witness to the power of the Mughal emperors, as well as the country's largest mosque: Jama Masjid.
You will explore Old Delhi on foot, then visit Raj Ghat, the mausoleum of Mahatma Gandhi. Next, you will visit the tomb of Humayun, a beautiful example of Mughal architecture that is said to have inspired the construction of the Taj Mahal. After lunch, you will visit Qutub Minar, the country's tallest tower, standing at 72.5 meters.
In the late afternoon, you will explore New Delhi by passing through RajPath, the Royal Way, before admiring India Gate, Parliament, and the Presidential Palace. In the evening, you will share a moment of fervor with the Sikh community at Bangla Sahib temple.
Dinner and night at the hotel.
Day 3 : Delhi / Varanasi (1h20 flight)
After breakfast, you will take a flight to Varanasi (Benares). Upon arrival in Varanasi, you will check in at the hotel. After lunch, depart to explore the city of Varanasi to feel the spiritual energy that emanates from the city. You will navigate the alleys in a rickshaw and then continue with a short walk through the old city bazaar to the Ashvamedha Ghats. These ghats are primarily used for prayer, bathing, purification, shaving (female pilgrims donate their hair to the river), playing cricket, washing clothes, giving alms to sadhus, or practicing yoga.
Next, you will board a boat to take you to Manikarnika Ghat, a cremation site in Varanasi, and for a glimpse of the magnificent "Ganga Aarti" fire ceremony performed by priests as a daily homage to the sacred Ganges River. You will also see devotees placing tiny clay oil lamps in the water, their dancing flames drifting away before disappearing with the current. The atmosphere is very different from the ceremonies at sunrise. Back on land, you will have the opportunity to participate in an offering and worship ceremony on the Ghats paying homage to the deities. Seeing these illuminated domes floating in the night will be a moment of wisdom you will remember for a long time.
Dinner and night at the hotel.
Day 4 : Varanasi
Early in the morning, you will take a boat ride on the river to witness the Aarti ceremony at sunrise, the bathing of pilgrims, and the awakening of the city. Your morning continues with a walk through the old city to the Aurangzeb Mosque, built in the 17th century. Then you will visit the famous Golden Temple for an overview of the most sacred temple in Benares with gold-covered roofs, whose entrance is reserved for Hindus. You will then discover the exterior of the Durga temple dating from the late 19th century, also known as the "monkey temple."
Return to the hotel for breakfast.
You will continue your day with an excursion to the nearby city of Sarnath where Buddha delivered his first sermon. The site, consisting of ruins of buildings constructed between the reigns of Ashoka and Akbar, also has an interesting museum displaying magnificent sculptures (both Hindu and Buddhist) excavated from the site during the excavations. The famous Ashoka Pillar, a symbol of India, is a major piece.
After lunch, you will explore the Bharat Mata temple, inaugurated in 1936 by Gandhi and dedicated to Mother India. It features a relief map of the Indian territory as its "divine" image. Studying this modern temple allows you to analyze the ambiguity of a place that hesitates between the status of a museum dedicated to a secular Indian nation and that of a temple to the deified Hindu nation. A museum temple that tourist pilgrims visit without genuine emotion or devotion, the Bharat Mata raises the question of the links between religion, history, and politics, and their evolution.
Dinner and night at the hotel.
Day 5 : Varanasi / Gaya / Bodhgaya (220 km- 5 h)
After breakfast, you will depart for Gaya, the sacred city of Hindus, just as Bodhgaya is for Buddhists. Visited by Vishnu who endowed it with the power to absolve sins, pilgrims come here in large numbers to make offerings on the Ghats along the Falga River. Then, you will visit the VishnuPad temple where Vishnu's footprint is said to still be visible (entry is reserved for Hindus).
Lunch on the way. We then head to Bodhgaya where Buddha attained enlightenment after 40 days of asceticism.
Dinner and night at the hotel.
Day 6 : Bodhgaya
After breakfast, you will visit the Mahabodhi Temple, the "Great Enlightenment" temple, where Prince Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment. A high pyramid of 50 meters in restored bricks dominates the site. A major pilgrimage site, it contains a golden statue of Buddha. It is one of the holiest places in the Buddhist world where pilgrims from around the world come to meditate.
Lunch before exploring several monasteries in Tibetan, Thai, and Burmese styles built by pilgrims in the architectural style of their home countries.
Dinner and night at the hotel.
Day 7 : Bodhgaya / Nalanda / Rajgir (110km / 4 h)
After breakfast, you will depart for Nalanda, a major center for teaching the doctrine of the Great Vehicle where up to 10,000 monks lived in the 7th century, the period of its heyday. Nalanda University was a major center of Indian thought whose influence extended over much of Asia:
Central Asia, the Himalayas, Southeast Asia, China, and Japan.You will discover ruins that still evoke the glorious past of this city and the daily life of that time.
After lunch, you will continue to Rajgir, the city of five hills, where Buddha liked to preach and retreat. He is said to have spent several years there. Then you will explore the cave of the first Buddhist "council" after the master's death, as well as the Jain and Shaivite temples.
Dinner and night at the hotel.
Day 8 : Rajgir / Patna / Delhi (flight)
After breakfast, you depart for Patna, with a stop in Bihar-Sharif, home to another center of Buddhist teaching, the Oran Tuburi University. The city was also the capital of the Pala dynasty in the 10th century. Once in Patna, the former capital of the Magadha kingdom, you visit the city museum, which houses beautiful sculptures representative of Maurya and Gupta styles, painted banners, thangkas, paintings, and terracotta objects. You also take a tour of the national library, which holds numerous Arabic and Persian manuscripts. After lunch, you are transferred to the airport for a flight to Delhi. Upon arrival in Delhi, you are directly transferred to the hotel.
Dinner and night at the hotel.
Day 9 : Delhi / Haridwar /Rishikesh :
After breakfast, you hit the road to Rishikesh. On the way, you stop in Haridwar where you visit the famous Mansa Devi and Chandi Devi temples aboard a cable car. You can also visit other important temples in Haridwar like the Maya Devi, Pawan Dham Parad Shivling, and Emma temples. You are then transferred to Rishikesh.
Dinner and night in Rishikesh.
Day 10 : Rishikesh
In the morning, you participate in a yoga session near the banks of the Ganges, then return to the hotel for breakfast. The morning is free to enjoy the serenity of this sacred city or take a walk along the Ganges. After lunch, you visit the Ram Jhula and Laxman Jhula bridges before exploring Parmarth Niketan Ashram and Geeta Bhawan Ashram.
In the evening, you head along the Ganges to Triveni Ghat to attend the religious Ganga Aarti ceremony.
Dinner and night at the hotel.
Day 11 : Rishikesh /Rudraprayag : (163 km - 6/7 h)
After breakfast, you depart for Rudraprayag. On the way, you stop to admire the confluence of the Devprayag rivers (Bhagirathi and Alaknanda), where you visit the temples.
After lunch, you stop to see another river confluence, in Rudraprayag (Mandakini and Alaknanda).
Dinner and night at the hotel.
Day 12 : Rudraprayag / Joshimath (189 km) (Trek-3 km – 10/12 h)
After breakfast, you set off on a 3 km hike and climb to the top to see the Karthik Swami temple located at 2,545 m altitude. After lunch, you can enjoy the magnificent view of the river confluence at Karan Prayag (Pindari & Alaknanda) & Nanda Prayag (Mandakini & Alaknanda).
Dinner and night at the hotel.
Day 13 : Joshimath / Bhavishya Badri /Joshimath : (34 km) (Trek - 6 km - 5 h)
After breakfast, you set off on a 6 km hike towards Bhavishya Badri (3,641 m), one of the Panch Badri and a sacred place in Hinduism. Lunch on the way, then, after visiting Auli at an altitude of 3,010 m and known for skiing, you take a cable car through the pine and oak forests. At the top, you can see the peaks of the snowy mountains. In the evening, you take a stroll near Joshimath-Shankaracharya math, where you will discover the Narsingh, Kalpavriksha, and Bhavishya Kedar temples.
Dinner and night at the hotel.
Day 14 : Joshimath /Rudraprayag : (189 km - 6/7 h)
After breakfast, you depart to Rudraprayag where you visit the Mahadeva Camille temple.
Dinner and night at the hotel.
Day 15 : Rudraprayag / Rishikesh : (139 km 3h)
After breakfast, you head to Rishikesh. There, you visit the Dhari Devi temple as well as the Vasisth cave.
Dinner and night at the hotel.
Day 16 : Rishikesh / Delhi / return flight
After breakfast, you are transferred to the airport for your flight to Delhi to catch your return flight.