Buddhism, one
of the world's great religions, traces back with the life of Siddharth when
a curious wandering prince from the small Shakya Kingdom located at the
foothills of the Himalayas in Nepal, began his quest for the ultimate truth
to solve the mystery of existence. He renounced his royal pleasures and
meditated beneath the sacred Bodhi tree at Gaya for years before he attained
spiritual enlightenment. Then, as the Buddha, or the enlightened one, he
spent the remainder of his life spreading the knowledge of The True Self in
the Indian sub-continent. However, it was during the reign of emperors
Bimbisara, Ashoka, Milinda and Kanishka that Buddhism flourished at its best
and became a global religion, especially in Southeast Asia, due to sincere
and untiring efforts of the missionary Bhikshus.
Destinations Covered : Delhi – Gaya – Bodhgaya –
Nalanda – Rajgir – Gaya – Varanasi – Sarnath –
Gorakhpur – Kushinagar – Lumbini – Gorakhpur – Gonda –
Sravasti – Gonda – Agra – Delhi
Duration : 07 Nights / 08 Days
Day 01 : Delhi – Gaya (990 kms)
13:00 hrs.– Assemble at the Delhi Safdurjung Railway Station.
Traditional Welcome and check in to your respective coaches.
14:30 hrs.– Departure of the train for Gaya. Evening Tea & Dinner
served on-board. Overnight stay on-board.
Day 02: Gaya – Bodhgaya (16 kms)
Arrive at Gaya Railway Station early morning. Disembark and assemble for
boarding the coaches for road journey of approx one hour to Bodhgaya.
Arrive at Bodhgaya Hotel and check-in. Wash & Change, followed by the
breakfast. After breakfast proceed by coach for sightseeing of Bodhgaya
including Mahabodhi Temple & Niranjana River.
Return to the Hotel for lunch and relax for some time. Proceed for
sightseeing of Thai Temple, Japanese Temple and Buddha Statue.
Evening. – Return to Hotel, dinner and overnight stay at hotel in
Bodhgaya.
Day 03: Bodhgaya – Nalanda – Rajgir – Gaya –
Varanasi
05:00 hrs. – Early morning tea & breakfast followed by checkout
from the Hotel. Departure for Rajgir by bus (85 Kms).
10:30 hrs. – Arrival at Rajgir. Sightseeing at Rajgir of Bimbimsara
Jail, Gridhakut hill, Venuvan.
12:30 hrs. – Proceed to a Restaurant in Rajgir for lunch. After lunch,
proceed to Nalanda for sightseeing covering ruins of world famous Nalanda
University & Nalanda Museum.
16:00 hrs. – Depart back to Gaya Railway Station.
20:00 hrs. – Arrival at Gaya Railway Station and board the train.
Dinner on-board. Departure from Gaya at 2330 hrs to Varanasi (220 kms) by
train. Overnight stay on-board.
Day 04: Varanasi –
Sarnath – Gorakhpur
Early morning tea on-board and arrival at Varanasi. Proceed to the hotel
for wash & change (room given only for wash & change) and breakfast.
After breakfast, visit Sarnath (10 kms) for to see Dhamekh Stupa, Sarnath
Museum, The Ashokan Pillar, Mulgandha Kuti Vihar.
Afternoon – Lunch at the hotel. Followed by some free time. Tourists
can either opt for shopping or other activities.
Evening – Visit to the river Ganges Ghat, Boat ride, Evening Arti.
Return to the Train.
20:00 hrs. – Arrival at the Varanasi Railway Station and board the
train Dinner on board. Departure for Gorakhpur (224kms) at 23:30 hrs.
Overnight stay on-board.
Day 5/6: Gorakhpur – Kushinagar – Lumbini – Gorakhpur
Early
morning tea on board. Arrive at Gorakhpur Railway Station. Proceed by coach
to Hotel at Gorakhpur/Kushinagar.
Arrive at the Hotel in Kushinagar and check-in. Breakfast at the Hotel.
After breakfast, visit Mahaparinirvan Temple, Rambhar Stupa, Mata Kutir
Temple etc.
Afternoon – Lunch at the hotel. Followed by some free time. Tourists
can either opt for shopping or other activities.
Afternoon – Lunch at the Hotel. Evening participate in a chanting and
meditation session. (Subject to availability of appropriate
teachers/instructors).Dinner and overnight stay at Hotel.
05:00 hrs. : Early morning tea and breakfast at the hotel.
06:00 hrs. – Check-out of the Hotel and proceed to Lumbini. (Nepal) by
bus. Tourists must obtain the Nepal visa from their respective countries.
Otherwise, lot of time required at the border to process the visa. Arrive
Lumbini and proceed to a hotel / restaurant for Lunch. Visit Lumbini
including Maya Devi Temple, Ashokan Pillar and Pushkarni lake.
16:00 hrs – Departure for Gorakhpur. Arrive Gorakhpur Railway Station.
Board at around 20:30 hrs and board the Train.
Dinner on-board, Depart by train to Gonda at 23:30 hrs. Overnight stay
on-board.
Day 07: Gonda – Sravasti – Gonda – Agra
Early morning tea on-board and arrival at Gonda Railway Station. Departure
for Sravasti (65kms) by bus. Arrival at the hotel, wash & change (room
given only for wash & change) and breakfast.
After breakfast, visit Jetvana Vihara, Pakki Kuti & Sehat Mahet, Thai
Temple.
Afternoon – Lunch at the Hotel and proceed to back to Gonda railway
station to board the train.
17:00 hrs – Arrival at the Gonda Railway Station to board the Train.
Depart by train to Agra (450 kms) at 18:00 hrs. Evening Tea and dinner
served on-board. Overnight stay on-board.
Day 08: Agra – Delhi
Early morning tea, wash & fresh and breakfast on-board.
After breakfast, proceed for the sight-seeing of the World famous Taj
Mahal.
12:30 hrs. – Proceed to the Agra Railway Station. Departure by train
for New Delhi (220 kms) at 14:15 hrs. Onboard lunch and evening tea.
Arrival at the Delhi Safdarjung Railway Station at approximately 18:30 hrs.
