In supplier order. Some entries may cover multiple days; optional experiences are described by the supplier.
Sample itinerary. Choose a departure for its exact itinerary and hotel plan.
Day 1 — UK - In flight
Our nationwide shared chauffeur service collects you from home for your overnight flight to Delhi.
Day 2 — Delhi
Arrive in Delhi, the rest of the day is at leisure.
Meals: Dinner
Day 3 — Amritsar
Fly to Amritsar and transfer to the hotel for some time to relax. This evening, experience one of the great traditions of the city, the ‘putting to bed’ (Palki) ceremony. Twice a day, the holy book of the Sikh faith, the Guru Granth Sahib, is moved in a grand procession from a dedicated chamber in the Sikh Parliament to the Golden Temple, and back again. This daily ritual is really something to behold, hinting at the tremendous spirituality of Amritsar.
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
Day 4 — Amritsar
Return to the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine of Sikhism. At its heart, set within a sacred pool, is the Hari Mandir (Divine Temple). This gold-plated architectural jewel is topped with intricate spires and cupolas, and decorated inside and out with verses from the Granth Sahib. Explore the vast temple complex, including community kitchens which provide free meals to 10,000 pilgrims and the poor every day. Afterwards, head out to walk the busy bazaars of the city and visit the historic Jallianwala Bagh, and admire the Durgiana Hindu temple, which takes its inspiration from the Golden Temple.
In the afternoon, visit the Partition Museum, which tells the powerful and moving story of the 1947 Partition of India through photographs, personal accounts and artefacts. Afterwards, take to the streets for a guided street food tour of Amritsar, sampling local favourites while soaking up the city's vibrant atmosphere.
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
Day 5 — Dharamshala
From Amritsar, drive approximately 130 miles to Dharamshala, a small hill station surrounded on three sides by snow-capped peaks. This delightful town owes its fame (and its nickname, the ‘little Lhasa of India’) to one particular resident, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who chose it as a place of spiritual exile in 1960.
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
Day 6 — Dharamshala
A morning sightseeing tour of Dharamshala includes the residence of the Dalai Lama and the Norbulingka Institute, a registered trust dedicated to the preservation of Tibetan culture in art and literature. Follow with a visit to the nearby Tibetan Children’s Village, a boarding school at which orphans are provided with a Tibetan education, clothes, food and healthcare.
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
Day 7 — Pragpur
This morning, drive to the ornamental heritage village of Pragpur by way of a tea plantation and tea factory, to learn about the plucking and processing of Kangra tea.
In the afternoon, a walking tour of Pragpur’s cobbled streets, lined with richly decorated buildings, offers a glimpse of the village’s regal past.
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
Day 8 — Shimla
The next destination on our Himalayan holidays is Shimla, ‘Queen of the Hills’ and the summer capital during British rule in India. In this idyllic retreat, 2,200m above sea level, temperatures averaged 15 to 20 degrees cooler than Delhi and the baking hot plains. It’s an idyllic retreat, surrounded by pine, deodar, oak and rhododendron forests and criss-crossed by mountain streams - and all set against a backdrop of the snow-capped Himalaya.
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
Day 9 — Shimla
Enjoy a scenic rail journey aboard the Himalayan ‘Toy Train’ from Shimla to Taradevi. Later, visit the Sankatmochan Temple, before a walking tour of Shimla. Echoes of empire still abound in its churches, libraries and grand colonial edifices. Visit the Elizabethan style Viceregal Lodge, built in 1888 for Lord Dufferin and Christ Church built in 1844, before a stroll around the colourful mall.
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
Day 10 — Shimla
Today at leisure to relax in the beautiful surroundings of Shimla.
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
Day 11 — Chandigarh - Delhi
Travel to Chandigarh, stopping for lunch en route. At Chandigarh station, board the Vande Bharat Express, bound for Delhi.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 12 — Delhi
Take in the best of Delhi, ‘Old’ and ‘New’, from the hand-carved 12th-century Qutab Minar minaret and the garden-tomb of Emperor Humayun, to the grand avenues and government buildings of Lutyens’ New Delhi. Visit Raj Ghat, the memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, and the 17th-century Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India.
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
Day 13 — Delhi - UK
Transfer to the airport for your return flight to the UK. Upon arrival, your vehicle will be waiting for the journey home.
Meals: Breakfast
