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India
- the land to travel to, a haven of tourism delights,
a civilization to tour through. Tourists come to India
for its wealth of sights, cultural exuberance,
diversity of terrain and in search of that special
something, an extra punch that only India promises and
delivers. Teeming with over a billion people who voice
over a million concerns in fifteen hundred different
languages, India is where people live with variety,
thrive on diversity and are too familiar with
largeness to let it boggle them. Mud huts and mansions
face off across city streets. Lurid luxury and limp
living are inhabitants of the same lane.
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Mumbai, Ajanta-Ellora Caves Tour |
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Tour Duratation |
08
Nights / 09 Days |
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Places to be covered |
Mumbai
- Aurangabad - Mumbai - Goa - Mumbai - Delhi |
Day 1 : Arrive Mumbai
Arrive at Mumbai airport or station. Transfer
to hotel.
Check in and relax for the evening.
Mumbai's skyline is recognisable in
advertisements and pictorial depictions
stating the country's technological and
financial hub. It's an imposing skyline. The
contours are hazy but the residents don't seem
to mind. They love this place and this
all-encompassing love is infectious.
What are the few nail-on-the-head
characteristics of the city? A walk on marine
drive, the gateway of India, warden road,
university buildings, fort, townhall, Mumbai
high court to name a few. The waves splashing
against the embankment establish an essence of
Mumbai too, much in the same genre as the
skyline. The pub and bar scenario here is
quite state of the art and ranges from the
sophisticated ones in the five stars to the
hip and trendy ones in colaba and the suburbs.
Mumbai is also known as the Hollywood of India
or Bollywood (from the names Bombay and
Hollywood) and is the biggest film industry of
the world.Overnight will be at Mumbai.
Day 2 : Mumbai - Aurangabad Book
this Tour
Breakfast will be at hotel or onboard the
aircraft.
Relax in the morning or visit the local
market. Transfer to airport for flight to
Aurangabad.
Reach and check in at hotel.
The city of Aurangabad was founded in 1610, on
the site of a village, Khirki by Malik Ambar -
the Prime Minister of Murtaza Nizam Shah II.
When Fateh Khan, Malik Ambar's son turned
successor in 1626, he gave the city the name
'Fatehpur'. Later in 1653, when Prince
Aurangzeb became Viceroy of the Deccan, he
made the city his capital and called it
Aurangabad. Aurangzeb added the walls that
enclose the central part of the city in 1686
in order to withstand attacks from the
Marathas. There are four principle gateways to
the city - the Delhi Darwaza, the Jalna
Darwaza, the Paithan Darwaza and the Mecca
Darwaza. Nine secondary gateways also formed a
part of the defensive system of this city.
Aurangabad district has always been a
prominent region on the Deccan plateau. Having
been inhabited since the Stone Age, it has a
long artistic and cultural history - to which
several dynasties have made major
contributions over the years. Maurya rule
marked the arrival of Buddhism in Maharashtra.
Aurangabad today is a bustling city of
Maharashtra with diverse big and small
industries, fine silken textiles, and
exquisite hand woven brocades of silver and
gold fabrics, Himroo of world frame. To
scholars and lovers of art and culture the
city is more familiar as the gateway to the
ancient caves of Ajanta and Ellora, both
famous as treasure houses of Indian Art and
Sculpture.
Overnight will be at Aurangabad.
Day 3 : Aurangabad
Breakfast will be served at the hotel.
Proceed for a full day sightseeing with
excursion to Ajanta Caves.
Ajanta caves: Nestling in an inner fold
of the Sahyardi hills, 100 km from Aurangabad
in the shape of a mammoth horse- shoe, are the
30 rock-hewn caves of Ajanta. The Caves date
from the 2nd century BC. Discovered in 1819 by
a group of British army officers, these
startling achievements took around 600 years
to create. Carved with little more than a
hammer and chisel, Ajanta, once the retreat of
Buddhist monastic orders features several
'chaityas' (chapels) and 'viharas'
(monasteries). The exquisite wall and ceiling
paintings, panels and sculptures of Buddha's
life are famous throughout the world as the
earliest and finest examples of Buddhist
pictorial art.
Return to Aurangabad and overnight will be at
Aurangabad.
Day 4 : Aurangabad
Breakfast will be at the hotel.
Proceed for a visit to the Ellora Caves,
Daulatabad Fort and Aurangabad Caves.
Ellora Caves: Impressive in their own
right is the rock-hewn temples and monasteries
of Ellora that lie just 30 km away from
Aurangabad city. In all, there are 34 cave
temples, 12 Mahayana Buddhist caves (550-750
AD), 17 Hindu caves (600-875 AD) and 5 caves
of the Jain faith (800-1000 AD) 22 more caves,
dedicated to Lord Shiva, were recently
discovered. Kailas Temple (cave16), the
central attraction at Ellora, is the most
remarkable. Chiseled by hand from a single
massive rock, it includes a gateway, pavilion,
courtyard, vestibule, sanctum, sanctorum and
tower which bear testimony to the excellence
of Dravidian art. It is believed to have taken
7000 laborers, working in continuous shifts
and 150 years to build. Ever since the first
European visitors in 18th Century, Ellora has
attracted chroniclers, antiquarians, scholars
and in more recent years, ever- increasing
number of tourists.
Aurangabad Caves: The almost forgotten
caves of Aurangabad lie just outside the city.
Excavated between the 2nd and 6th century AD,
they reflect TANTRIC influences in their
iconography and architectural designs. In all
there are nine caves which are mainly viharas
(monasteries).
The most interesting among these are Caves
3 and 7. The former is supported on 12
highly ornate columns and has sculptures
depicting scenes from the legendary 'Jakata'
tales. Cave 7 with its detailed figures of
bejeweled women also has a dominating
sculpture of a 'Bodhisattva' praying for
deliverance. Daulatabad Fort:Once known
as 'Devgiri', this magnificent 12th century
fortress stands on a hill just 13 km. from
Aurangabad. It was given the name Daulatabad,
the 'city of fortune', by Muhammad Tughlaq,
Sultan of Delhi. Initially a Yadav stronghold,
it passed through the hands of several
dynasties in the Deccan. One of the world's
best preserved fort of medieval times,
surviving virtually unaltered, Daulatabad yet
displays the character that made it
invincible.
This is a Fortress that was conquered only by
treachery. A series of secret, quizzical,
subterranean passages lie coiled like a python
amidst the fort. Here flaring torches were
thrust upon an unwary enemy. Or hot oil poured
down his path, as he deliberated in the
labyrinth. Also the heat from a brazier was
blown into the passage by a process of suction
suffocating the entire garrison within. The
Fort itself lies in the body of an isolated
hill; the steep hill - sides at the base
falling so sharply to the moat that no hostile
troops could scale the height.
The moat, 40 ft. deep with mechanical
drawbridges teemed with crocodiles. A
5-kilometer sturdy wall, artificial scarping
and a complicated series of defenses made
Daulatabad impregnable. The 30-meter high
Chand Minar (Tower) built much later with 3
circular galleries had a defensive and
religious role in the fortress. 0vernight will
be at Aurangabad.
Day 5 : Aurangabad - Mumbai
Breakfast will be at hotel or onboard the
aircraft.
Reach Mumbai and transfer to hotel. Proceed
for an excursion to the ELEPHANTA CAVES.
On your way back, proceed to see the
interesting sites of Mumbai.
Overnight will be in Mumbai.
Day 6 : Mumbai - Goa
Breakfast will be at hotel. Transfer to
airport for flight to Mumbai and then
connecting flight to Goa.
Reach and transfer to hotel. Overnight will be
in Goa.
Day 7 : Goa
Daily breakfasts will be in the hotel. Relax
in the beach. Stay will be at Kenilworth Beach
Resort.
Day 8 : Goa - Mumbai Book
this Tour
Breakfast will be at hotel.
Transfer to airport for flight to Mumbai.
Reach and transfer to hotel.
MUMBAI - It is young, its lively and a
confluence of varied cultural currents and
cross currents have given Mumbai a unique
position of the most multi-ethnic city of
India. The capital city of Maharashtra State,
formerly known as Bombay lies in the
southwestern part of India and occupies a
peninsular site originally composed of seven
islets lying off the Konkan Coast of western
India.Oozing with the cocksure self-confidence
of a maverick moneymaker and "Bindass"
(carefree) attitude, Mumbai is also country's
financial and commercial hub and has a
principal port on the Arabian Sea. Mumbai is
the hub of Indian film industry, which has
played a pivoted role in the development of
cinematography. "Bollywood", as it is called,
produces the second most number of pictures in
the world every year, next only to Hollywood,
U.S.A. Mumbai claims to be the world's largest
production centre for films.
Relax in the afternoon and visit to the
markets. Overnight will be in Mumbai.
Day 9 : Mumbai - Home
Breakfast will be at hotel.
Proceed for "Elephanta Caves" Tour in the
seas. Return to the land for a city tour.
Relax and freshen up.
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