EASTERN HERITAGE OF INDIA
A cultural tour of India

India has rightfully been referred to as the sub-continent rather than a country.
Within this massive land of people and culture, several civilizations have flourished in different areas. Hence what we see in one part may of the country is often surpassed in a different way in another part of the country. Our Eastern Heritage Tour of India is a story that is unique and very different. We start from the Central Eastern city of Hyderabad in Andra Pradesh and traverse through to the exotic North East of India covering enroute, Orissa’s Bhubaneshwar, Tezpur and Guwahiti in Assam, Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh and Darjeeling and Kolkata in West Bangel – each having a rich story of its own to tell us.

Tour Summary	Map
Day Place 01-02 Hyderabad 03 Hyderabad / Bhubaneshwar 04 Bhubaneshwar 05 Bhubaneshwar / Kolkata (Calcutta) 06 Kolkata 07 Kolkata / Guwahati /Tezpur 08 Tezpur / Dirang 09 Dirang / Tawang 10 Tawang 11 Tawang / Bomdila 12 Bomdila / Guwahati 13 Guwhati / Bagdogra / Darjeeling 14 Darjeeling 15 Darjeeling / Bagdogra / Kolkata	Incredible !ndia

Day 01: Arrive Hyderabad: Namaste!
We are welcomed the traditional Indian way with handsclapped together. After immigration and custom formalities, we are assisted and driven through the city to our hotel.
Overnight: Hotel in Hyderabad (2 Nights) (D)

Day 02: Hyderabad
The city and its environs are dotted with mosques, tombs, temples, forts, treasuries, armories and caravansaries. Most of them from Qutb Shahi period. Our tour of Hyderabad starts with a visit to the landmark of Hyderabad "Charminar", built in 1591 AD. With four imposing minarets, a mosque decorated with lotus buds and petals. Next we visit the Mecca Masjid. This glorious mosque is probably the greatest edifice of the Qutb Shahi period. Its enormous colonnades are monoliths, carved from single blocks of pink granite. Mecca Masjid can accommodate 10,000 worshippers. Falaknuma Palace is one of the most beautiful homes of its time. Other places of interest includes Husain Sagar Lake, a large artificial lake between Hyderabad and Secunderabad, s 1550, in the lake on an island is a statue of the Buddha. Salar Jung museum with a collection of fine art, tapestries, jade artifacts, weaponry and sculpture, is worth a vist.
(B, D)

Day 03: Hyderabad / Bhubaneshwar (flight)
A short flight gets us to Bhubaneshwar - one of the ancient temple towns of India. There are as many as 100 temples, some of which are masterpieces of Hindu architecture and contain exquisite carvings and sculptures. Afternoon we visit Rajarani, Mukteshwar, Parasurameswar and Lingaraja temple. The temples reflect a marvel in architecture, style and colour.
Overnight: Hotel in Bhubaneshwar (2 Nights) (B, D)

Day 04: Bhubaneshwar
Full day excursion to Puri and Konark. Puri has the world famous Jagannath temple. During the Rath Yatra, a festival when the Lord comes out to change his clothes and have a bath, Millions of pilgrims pull the mammoth chariot by the help of a rope tied on to the chariot. This is an awesome sight. From here we continue towards Konark to see the Sun Temple built out of stone and shaped like a chariot with 24 wheels.
(B, D)

Day 05: Bhubaneshwar / Kolkata (Calcutta) (Flight)
Morning is free to stroll around Bhubaneshaw before we take the early afternoon flight to the northeast part of the country. Our destination is Kolkata or as it is still more wides known as Calcutta. Upon arrival we are welcomed to West Bengal’s capital city and transferred to our hotel.
Overnight: Hotel in Calcutta (2 Nights) (B, D)

Day 06: Kolkata
Kolkata (Calcutta) is compelling, effervescent, teeming with life and traditions a medley of moods, styles, cultures, politics, industry and commerce. For 250 years Calcutta was part of the British Empire. Our tour includes the Victoria Memorial, St. Paul's Cathedral, Fort William, Raj Bhawan and the High Court are Highlight's of the tour. We also see the famous teahouses where Bengali academics sit and discuss. Evening is free to enjoy and maybe join the famous Calcutta Tea Houses well known as the meeting point of philosophers, writers, poets and students. (B, D)

Day 07:Calcutta / Guwahati /Tezpur (Flight & Drive - 192 km / 4 hrs)
A short flight gets us to Guwahati Airport. Situated on the north bank of River Brahamaputra, the largest River of India, 196 km from Guwahati, Tezpur is an important tourist destination. Tezpur was known as Sonitpur in the olden days and is a city steeped in mythology, legend and folklore. Besides its archaeological significance, it is known for its scenic beauty with the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas and the hills of Arunachal Pradesh in the North. Situated on the banks of river Brahmaputra, this town is known for its natural beauty and fascinating archaeological ruins. Undulating green valleys surrounded by the lofty hills and snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas, and lush tea gardens. Cole Park is, undoubtedly, one of the most Beautiful places in Tezpur. The park has two massive ornamented stone pillars, and the sculptural remnants of the famous Bamuni Hills. Agnigarh is the site of the legendary romance of princess Usha (the only daughter of king Bana) and Anirudha. Usha was imprisoned inside the palace which was surrounded by a wall of fire. The present day Agnigarh, now only a hillock facing the Brahmaputra, provides a panoramic view of the Great River and Tezpur. The ruins of Bamuni Hills are famous for their exemplary artistic Finesse. The sculptural remains date back to the ninth and tenth century A.D. The Bhairavi and Mahabhairab (where king Bana worshipped Mahabhairab, an incarnation of Shiva) temples and the twin tanks of Bar Pukhuri and Padum Pukhuri are the other architectural attractions
Overnight: Hotel in Tezpur (1 Night) (B, D)

Day 08: Tezpur / Dirang (Drive: - 160 kms / 6 hours)-
The journey is along a very scenic road traversing forested hills, and crossing over the Nichephu pass to the Tenga Valley. The road climbs up through a series of hairpins to the town of Bomdila, located at a 2800 m high pass of the same name. Hereafter the road descends to the picture postcard Dirang Valley at 1600 m, which is our destination for the day. We spend the day exploring this picture post card Valley. We will be visiting an ancient Monpa Village and Gompa, the Kalachakra Monastery, and the Sangti Valley to get a peep into the life styles of the Monpas, and see their unique method of agriculture.
Overnight: Hotel in Dirang (1 Night) (B, D)

Day 09: Dirang / Tawang Drive 146 kms / 5 hours)
Morning we visit the centuries old Dirang Dzong and the village with its traditional houses. Afterwards we drive to Tawang at 10200 ft. On the way we cross the Sela Pass at 14000 ft, the highest motorable pass in the Northeast. Evening we take a walk around Tawang town. Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, India’s North East is an unexplored paradise. The Monpas here are of Mongoloid descent having migrated from Bhutan and Tibet, the oldest record dating back to the 7th century. Guru Padmasambhav is said to have visited the area in the 8th century. It is a major center of Mahayana Buddhism.
Overnight: Private Lodge (2 Nights) (B, L, D)

Day 10: Tawang
Today we visit the famous 400 years old Tawang Monastery. Tawang is synonymous with the famous 400 years old Tawang Monastery It is the largest monastery in India and one of the largest in Asia. It is the fountainhead of spiritual life of the followers of the Gellukpa sect of Mahayan Buddhism. At 10,000 ft or 3100 meters it commands a picturesque view of the Tawan chu valley it looks almost like a fortress guarding the votaries in the valley below.
The Tibetan influence can be seen in the painted wooden windows and other motifs. Prayer flags flutter in the breeze outside whilst an 8 meter (24ft) high gilded statue of Buddha gives divine benediction in the monastery assembly hall, the Dukhang.Interact with the lamas (monks). Come back to the lodge for lunch. In the afternoon we visit a Monpa tribal village. (B, L, D)

Day 11: Tawang / Bomdila (Drive 180 kms / 7 hours)
Bomdila is a beautiful small town situated at a height of about 8000 ft. above the sea level from where one can see the brilliant landscape and snow-clad mountains of the Himalayan Range. The Buddhist monastery of Bomdila is the repository of culture and is among primary attractions of the area. Bomdila is the headquarters of West Kameng district located at the height of 8500 ft above the sea level. Its cool climate, Apple orchards, artistic people, Snow-capped Himalayan peaks and Buddhist Gompas. The Buddhist monastery of Bomdila is the repository of culture. This place has a tourist lodge, a craft centre displaying local crafts displaying version of Himalayan Buddhist. The Craft Centre turns out a range of superbly designed dragon carpets. Traditional thangka wall hangings, paintings and masks. Most of these are intricately crafted with minute details and varied themes.
Overnight: Hotel in Bomdila (1 Night) (B, L, D)

Day 12: Bomdila / Guwahati (Drive)
We come down from the lofty mountains to the plains of Assam as we drive down to Guwahati. Guwahati is gateway to an exotic and least explored region situated on situated on Southern Bank of Brahmaputra, The capital of Assam Guwati has incredible sights from ancient temples to wetlands to botanical gardens to Science Museums. Formerly known as Pragjyotishpur (the City of Eastern Light), Guwahati is the biggest city of Assam in India. Its etymological root is derived from two Assamese words, "Guwa," meaning areca nut and "Haat," meaning market. Fixed between the picturesque hills of the eastern flanks of the Himalayan mountain range, the gateway to the seven other northeastern states, also referred as seven sisters, Guwahati is a vital tourist base point. Guwahati is particularly famous for its Kamakhya temple located atop the Nilachal hill. Known to be the most revered among the tantrik shrines of Shakti worship in the World, Kamakhya, was built in the 10th century by the Koch king, Naranarayan. Animal sacrifice is a common practice here to appease the Goddess. Above Kamakhya is another small temple, Bhubaneshwari.The Navagraha temple - the "temple of nine planets," - an ancient seat of astrology and astronomy. Housed in a red beehive-shaped dome, the central lingam is encircled by further nine representing the planets (graha) - Sun (Surya, Ravi), Moon (Chandra, Soma), Mercury (Buddh), Venus (Sukra), Mars (Mangal), Jupiter (Brhaspati) and Saturn (Sani). Two more were added, Rahu and Ketu, the dragon's head and the dragon's tail, or the ascending and descending nodes of the moon.
Overnight: Hotel in Guwahati (1 Night) (B, L, D)

Day 13: Guwhati / Bagdogra / Darjeeling (Flight)
A short flight gets us to Bagdogra. On arrival at Bagdogra, we drive to one of the most scenic towns of Darjeeling. The apex is formed by the Phalut ridge where Nepal meets India. The eastern frontier lies along the rivers Tista and Rangeet, beyond is Rishi-La and Bhutan. The lower regions of the labyrithine hilly forest-clad ridges have been cleared for the cultivation of the world famous Darjeeling tea. Started in the area of only 14,000 acres in 1872, it had risen to 7,87,000 acres by 1956. The town itself is at an altitude of 2,134 m (lies between 26° 31' and 27° 13' North Latitude and between 87° 59' and 88° 53' East Longitude); moving up the hills one is greeted by smiling tea gardens, changing to firs, pines and fast moving torrents, while around 4,000 types of flowering plants and 300 varieties of ferns, including the rare tree fern. Beyond the town itself, modern elegant and sophisticated, lies nature in the raw in hills, valleys and forest, unbroken and untamed.
Overnight: Hotel in Darjeeling (2 Nights) (B, L, D)

Day 14: Darjeeling
Before sunrise, we get into our 4 x 4’s and proceed to Tiger Hill to view an incredible sunrise from behind the huge lofty mountain peaks. This photo experience and on a clear day we can view Mts. Everest and Kunchunjung, After breakfast, We visit one of the most unusual of the world Heritage Sites – the Toy Train. We actually take a ride on it and visit the Ghoom Monastery. The monastery, built in 1875, houses one of the largest statues of the Maitreya Buddha. Next stop is the Himalayan Zoo, home to Himalayan fauna such as the Red Panda, Black Bear, Yaks and Tigers in their natural habitat. We end the day with a visit to the Natural History Museum, which has a fine collection of preserved butterflies, birds, reptiles and insects of the Himalayas. (B, L, D)

Day 15: Darjeeling / Bagdogra / Kolkata (Flight)
Today we are transferred to Bagdogra airport for our flight to Kolkata. Arrive Kolkata and transfer to international airport for your flight to onward destination. (B)