India and Nepal – Buddhist Trail Holidays
- Who is this holiday for? People with an interest in the history and culture of Buddhism
- When to go? The best time to visit India and Nepal is from October to April
- Price? From £1,650 per person
- Type of Holiday? A guided tour of India and Nepal visiting sites important to Buddhism
To make a reservation or for further information - Contact Us
Our Buddhist Trail tour lets you walk in the footsteps of Buddha, discovering the sacred places and teachings as you travel. A private tour with an English speaking guide and great quality hotels throughout, this is a wonderful way to immerse yourself in the culture and history of Buddhism and experience these two wonderful countries. Experience the culture and history of Buddhism and meet the people whose lives today are still governed by this ancient wisdom.
Day 1 – Arrive in Delhi
A warm welcome on arrival by our representatives and a transfer to the hotel for your overnight stay.
Overnight at the Connaught Hotel or similar
Day 2 – Delhi
After breakfast enjoy a full day sightseeing tour of Old and New Delhi visiting Qutab Minar, one of the tallest towers of it’s time and Humanyun’s Tomb- one of the forerunners of the Taj Mahal. We drive past India Gate and President House and other government buildings before visiting the Red Fort, the symbol of mighty the Mughal empire and Jama Masjid, one of the biggest mosques in India.
Overnight at the Connaught Hotel or similar including breakfast
India Gate, Delhi
Explore Varanasi
Visit Bodhgaya
Qutab Minar
Day 3 – Delhi to Patna and Vaishali
Early this morning, we will be transferred to the airport to board a flight to Patna. You are met on arrival and taken to check-in at your hotel. We then set out for an excursion to Vaishali where Lord Buddha gave important teachings. At the time of the Buddha, Vaishali was a very large city, rich and prosperous, crowded with people and with abundant food. There were said to be seven thousand seven hundred and seven pleasure grounds and an equal number of lotus ponds.
Overnight at the Maurya Hotel or similar including breakfast
Day 4 – Rajgir
After breakfast you travel to Rajgir and check-in at your hotel. Rajgir is an important Buddhist pilgrimage site as the Buddha spent 12 years here, and the first Buddhist council was hosted here at the Saptaparni caves. Lord Buddha often went into retreat at the Jivkamaravana monastery in a beautiful orchard. One of his most devoted and prosperous devotees, surgeon Jivaka also lived here. The rich merchant community here soon became the Buddha’s followers and built many structures of typical Buddhist architecture. We also visit Nalanda University. Founded around the 3rd century, this university was a centre for profound studies of the Buddha-dharma for more than a thousand years.
Overnight at the Indo Hokke Hotel or similar including breakfast
Day 5 – Travel to Bodhgaya
This morning we travel to Bodhgaya, stopping en-route to visit the Mahakala Caves. This is where the Buddha did the severe penance that resulted in the familiar image of him as a skeletal, emaciated figure. After years of extreme self-denial at Mahakala, he realised its futility and walked down to Bodhgaya, where he eventually achieved nirvana under the Bodhi Tree. We arrive at Bodhgaya and check-in at the hotel for your overnight stay.
Overnight at the Indo Hokke Hotel or similar including breakfast
Day 6 – Bodhgaya
Bodhgaya, beyond any doubt is considered the most important site of Buddhism, the other three being Buddha’s birthplace, Lumbini in Nepal; Sarnath near Varanasi, where he preached his first sermon (”The Turning of the Wheel of Dharma”); and Kushinagar near Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, where he passed away. A giant Buddhist resort of international monasteries and temples has grown up around the imposing Mahabodhi temple, which holds the worlds most revered tree, an offshoot of the original Bodhi tree under which the Buddha sat.
Overnight at the Indo Hokke Hotel or similar including breakfast
Day 7 – Travel to Varanasi
After breakfast, we leave Bodhgaya and head towards the city of Benares, better known as Varanasi. A legendary city considered to be one of the oldest in the world. Varanasi is generally believed to be about 3,000 years old and was a commercial and industrial centre famous for its muslin and silk fabrics, perfumes, ivory works and sculpture. During the time of Gautama Buddha, Varanasi was the capital of the Kingdom of Kashi.
Overnight at the Ideal Tower Hotel or similar including breakfast
Day 8 – Varanasi and Sarnath
We enjoy a boat ride on the Ganges River, before a visit to Sarnath (Isipathana-Mrigadeva) the very well known “Gazelles Park” where the Buddha turned for the first time the wheel of dharma, and the first sangha of history was formed. After attaining enlightenment at Bodhgaya, the Buddha went to Sarnath; and it was here that he preached his first discourse in the deer park to set in motion the ‘Wheel of the Dharma’. It is in this place that the stream of the Buddha’s teaching first flowed. Overnight at the Ideal Tower Hotel or similar including breakfast
Day 9 – Kushinagar
After an early breakfast we head to Kushinagar, the place where the Buddha died. This event is called “The last Great Nirvana” (Mahaparinirvana). We visit the Mahaparinirvana Stupa, which is built on the place of Buddha’s Mahaparinirvana and the place of his cremation, which is a short distance away. Close to the Mahaparinirvana Stupa is located a 1500 year old image of the Buddha as he attained Parinirvana. The Mahaparinirvana Stupa is surrounded by ruins of ancient monasteries.
Overnight at the Royal Residency Hotel or similar including breakfast
Day 10 – Savatthi
A morning drive brings us to Balrampur. On arrival we check – in at our hotel. In the afternoon we get to visit the extensive ruins of this ancient city and the Jetavana Monastery. The Buddha passed the greater part of his monastic life in Savatthi.
Overnight at the Lotus Nikko Hotel or similar including breakfast and dinner
Day 11 – Lumbini
After breakfast we cross the border and enter in to Nepal. We head for Lumbini, the place where the Buddha was born more than 25 centuries ago. Lumbini is in the foothills of the Himalaya, where the Buddha is said to have lived till the age of 29. Also here is the Puskarini or Holy Pond – where the Buddha’s mother took the ritual dip prior to his birth and where he too, had his first bath.
Overnight at the Lumbani Hokke Hotel or similar including breakfast and dinner
Day 12 – Lumbini and Kapilavastu
Today we visit the Palace where Prince Siddhartha lived for more than 29 years. Here he saw sorrow and pain, disease and death. Finally when he saw a radiant happy Sadhu who had conquered all these, he decided to renounce all worldly riches and pleasures to seek truth and embark on the path of salvation. The place holds significant value for Buddhist pilgrims and has several Stupas. Archaeological excavations have revealed stone caskets containing relics believed to be that of Buddha’s.
Overnight at the Lumbani Hokke Hotel or similar including breakfast and dinner
Day 13 – Return to Delhi
After breakfast, you transfer to Gorakhpur railway station to board a train to Delhi. No visit to India is complete without experiencing a train journey. You will be travelling in 2A class. This provides seats by day, convertible to bunks at night. Coaches are not divided into separate compartments, but are open-plan, with berths arranged in bays of four (two upper, two lower) on one side of the aisle, and in bays of two along the coach side above and below the windows on the other side of the aisle. Each bay is curtained off for privacy, and an attendant distributes pillows, sheets and blankets in the evening.
Overnight onboard train
Day 14 – Depart Delhi
On arrival in Delhi you will be met and taken to the airport in time for your flight back home.
Vaishali Stupa
Take an Indian train
The Taj Mahal, India
The Buddhist Trail
Costs per person excluding flights to India
Min. 2 people travelling from £1,650 per person (twin/double rooms)
Single room supplement from £550 per person
If you wish to extend your stay in Nepal, this can be arranged as we have great deals on trekking packages and tours of the country. Call us for details.
06 Nov 2010 – 19 Nov 2010 – £1,479 per person (Available)
04 Dec 2011 – 17 Dec 2011 – £1,535 per person (Available)
Flights
We do not sell flights but can give you information on times and airlines.
The price includes the following features:
Accommodation on twin sharing basis
All hotels are on Bed & Breakfast basis except in Sravasti where hotel includes breakfast and dinner
Transfers, guided sightseeing and excursions in air condition transport
Airfare from Delhi to Patna
Services of local English speaking guides as per the program
Monuments entrance fees (single entry) during guided sightseeing
Train fare from Gorakhpur to Delhi in 2nd A/C class
Assistance on arrival & departure
All currently applicable tax
The price does not include the following:
Your international flights
Visa’s for India and Nepal
Expenses of a personal nature.
Any other services not specified above.
Travel insurance.
When to go?
We advise avoiding the height of summer when temperatures can be extremely uncomfortable. The height of winter will be cold in the northern regions. The best time to visit India and Nepal is from October to April. Around this time, the usually wet areas of Northeast become dry, making it easier to travel there. Visiting Nepal during this time you can expect great visibility, the air is fresh and the weather is good.
