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India - Extension 3: Ganges & Temples

**PLEASE NOTE: To do this trip you must also book the "Ultimate India - in Style", "Taste of India" or "Sunderbans Smiles" trip

Trip Highlights

• Varanasi – sunrise boat trip along the Ganges, abuzz with Hindu devotees
• Vishwanath temple
• The site of Buddha’s first teachings
• Khajuraho’s temples and erotic carvings

Trip Summary

We fly to the most sacred city in Hinduism, Varanasi, and have an afternoon to orientate ourselves. The western banks of Ganges has a string of Ghats - the chain of stone steps, surrounded by pavilions, palaces and terraces, as well as ‘Dharamsalas’ (rest houses) where the pilgrims stay during their visit to the holy city.

At dawn, the Ghats are abuzz with activity of the devotees performing their ablutions in the river or offering prayers to the rising sun or performing other religious rituals. It is an amazing sight – not to be missed, but please be respectful.

A boat ride along the Ghats gives you excellent vantage points of this activity. The sunrise on the Ganges is a soul-lifting experience. Later, we visit the Vishwanath temple, also called the ‘golden temple’ because of the gold-plating on its roof.

In the afternoon we go to Sarnath, the fabled place where Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon to his disciples, expounding the principles of Buddhism.

The next morning we visit Varanasi’s most important temples before flying to colourful Khajuraho in the afternoon. Here, with a morning tour, we visit its temples adorned with sculptures, carved in stone, depicting gods, goddesses and amorous couples.

We later visit the Eastern Group of temples dedicated to the "Vamana" or dwarf incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

Our short tour ends with a flight back to Delhi four days later.

* Note
Your accommodation is in high quality 5* hotels for 2 nights in Varanasi, and a 4* hotel for 1 night in Khajuraho.

For a full trip description in PDF format, click here (you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader).

Other Extension Trips
India - Extension 1: Colours of Rajasthan
India - Extension 2: Rajasthan Adventure
India - Extension 4: Chillin in Goa
India - Extension 5: Kerala Kruising
India - Extension 6: Nepalese Encounter