West India Cultural Tour

14 Nights / 15 Days

Mumbai - Ahmedabad - Palitana - Bhavnagar - Diu - Somnath - Gir National Park - Junagarh - Gondal - Ahmedabad - Champaner - Modhera Temples - Mumbai - Ajanta and Ellora Caves - Mumbai - Elephanta Caves- Mumbai

Day 1 - Arrive Mumbai

Arrival from your country to Mumbai International airport. Reception at the airport and transfer to the hotel. Mumbai is the financial capital of India and its largest metropolis with over 18 millions inhabitants.

Day 2 - Mumbai - Ahmedabad

After breakfast go for half day city excursion. The most important sights to visit are: The gateway of India, built on the occasion of the visit of George V in 1911 in the city area Colaba, the Victoria terminus (VT), one of the railway stations of the city (world heritage site), built in 1887, the Prince of Wales museum, the Crawford Market, the Dhobi Ghats, the "laundry" of Mumbai, the Mahalaxmi temple and the Marine Drive, the bank street and promenade Mumbai, at whose northern end are the Chowpatty Beach, hanging gardens and the Malabar hills.

Afternoon transfer to airport for the flight to Ahmedabad. Arrival and transfer to hotel for overnight stay.

Day 3 - Ahmedabad - Palitana - Bhavnagar

Morning make excursion to Palitana where you can admire the holy mountain Shatrunjaya with 836 Jain-temples and more than 10,000 statues. The most imposing place of the Jains out of the 15th and 16th centuries. The finely chiseled relief and sculptures as well as columns and pillar out of pure knowledge marble witness high culture and ability of the Jain. Continue your drive to Bhavnagar. The harbour city Bhavnagar is today main trade center products from Gujarat , especially for the textile products. Of the temple Takhteshwar , that lies on a hill, one has look at a beautiful the city and the bay of Cambay. Also visit the old town Darbargadh with its architectural interesting houses and the lively Bazaar. Overnight stay in Bhavnagar.

Day 4 - Bhavnagar - Diu

After breakfast, drive to Diu. Like Daman and Goa was Diu until 1961 a Portuguese colony. Diu is politically no part of Gujarat , but rather it is administered together with Daman by the central government in Delhi as a "union Territory". Diu comprises the island Diu (around 13 km long and 3 km wide) and two small enclaves on the mainland. The city Diu lies at the eastern point of the island, clamped between the old city wall and the fort. The city has around 38,000 inhabitants. The Portuguese influence can be seen clearly, however only one Catholic Church ( St. Paul ) is being preserved for its original purpose. The two other serve as a museum ( St. Thomas ) and as a hospital (St. Francis of Assisi ) today. Arrival and transfer to hotel. Rest of the day free to rejoice in the untouched, white sand baths beaches of Diu and the turquoise blue sea. Overnight stay in Diu.

Day 5 - Diu

Discover the tropical paradise Diu. You stroll through the province villages and visit the fort built by the Portuguese, one of the God Chandika dedicated temple as well as the St. Thomas-Church with its museum that mediates interesting insights into the regional story. Because you are leaving Diu at the coming morning again, we recommend a last leap into the warm water of the Indian Ocean to you. Overnight stay in Diu.

Day 6 - Diu - Somnath - Sasan Gir National Park

After breakfast drive to Sasan Gir national park. On the way, you visit the famous temple of Somnath. In Somnath lies a temple whose story loses itself in the legend. It should have been built by Gods, once out of gold or silver, once out of wood or stone. There are evidences that in the 11th century an afghan prince called Mahmud of Gahzni after taking the wealth of the temple plundered and destroyed the city. This was the prelude to a varied story: multiple destruction through Muslims, finally in 1706 through the Mughal king Aurangzeb, and multiple reconstruction through the Hindus. After 1706 resulted the reconstruction at the old place and again in 1950 in the old style. The temple is the place of one of the 12 holy shrines of Shiva, one of the most important Gods in Hinduism. Continue your drive to Gir national park. Arrival and transfer to hotel. In the afternoon, you undertake a jeep Safari in the 1412 q km large national park. This nature protectorate is homeland for lions, leopard, Sambar-deer, jackal and hyenas. This is the only national park to see the remaining Asiatic lions. Return to hotel for overnight stay.

Day 7 - Sasan Gir National Park

Morning and afternoon jeep safari in the national park.

Day 8 - Sasan-Gir-National park - Junagadh - Gondal

After breakfast, drive to Gondal. This trip leads you far into the past, into the year 250 BC back. On the way visit Junagadh, which lies in the interior of the peninsula Kathiawar on foot of a 1100 m of high volcano. Junagadh is echoed that exit plotted for the ascent of the Girnar. But the city itself has also interesting to offer. The story of Junagadh goes back to the period before Christ into the 4th century, when it was rule by the 1st emperor of the Mauryadynastie, Chandragupta, 319 BC and let The Uperkot fort (upper fort) erected. Within this gigantic fort, you see among other things an old mosque, two Baolis (stairways wells) and Buddhist caves that were chopped 1500 years ago into the rock.

On the way to the Girnar-mountain, you see the Ashoka-inscription struck into a granite block out of the 3rd century BC, which lets recognize, that the mountain landscape counted already at that time as a religious center. The Girnar-mountain with its impressing temples and shrines is among the holy sites of the Jains. At the late afternoon, you reach Gondal. Overnight stay in Gondal.

Day 9 - Gondal - Ahmedabad

After breakfast, check out from the hotel and go for Gondal excursion. Here you see the Orchard and Riverside palace out of the 19 th century and the Naulakha Darbargadh palace of 17 th century with its filigree stonemason work. Further drive to Ahmedabad. Arrival and transfer to hotel.

Day 10 - Excursion to Champaner

After breakfast, make excursion to Champaner. The archeological park Champaner-Pavagadh is the only world heritage site in Gujarat ( India ), which comprises of prehistoric sites. You can see there a fort on hill, which was, build by the kings of an early Hindu capital and remnants of the state Gujarat of the 16 th century. You can see palaces, religious buildings, residence places, which belong to the period from 8 th to 14 th century and the Kalikamata-temple on the Pavagadh-hill. Return to Ahmedabad for overnight stay.

Day 11 - Excursion to Lothal, Modhera Temples and Patan

Lothal was first discovered in 1954. At this place lies (after the cities Mohenjodaro and Harappa that both discovered in the beginnings of 1920 and in the current Pakistan lie) the third large city of the Harappa-civilization that developed in the valley of the Indus in the 3rd century BC and between 2500 and 1500 BC was at its highest peak. This culture did not erect its settlements arbitrarily but good planned with streets and sewage system. They developed writing and a measure and weight system. Their art produced figures made of bronze that are interpreted as the first images of Gods, whom one meets in the later Hinduism again.

The Harappas operated trade with another high culture of that time, namely with Mesopotamia. It is assumed by the historians that the flooding of the Indus valley and the beginning invasion of warriors called Aryans in around 1500 BC caused the ruin of this civilization.

Also, go for excursion to Modhera temples and Patan. Return to Ahmedabad for overnight stay.

Day 12 - Ahmedabad - Mumbai

After breakfast, go for city excursion. This city because of its industrial development - especially in the sector of the textile production, known as the "Manchester of the East". Visit in Ahmedabad Calico-Textile museum and the Sabarmati Ashram, which was center of the Indian freedom movement under Mahatma Gandhi. Afternoon transfer to airport for the flight to Mumbai.

Day 13 - Mumbai - Aurangabad

Morning transfer to airport for flight to Aurangabad. Arrival and transfer to hotel. Afternoon visit the monolithic rock caves in Ellora dating back to 3rd to 8th century AD. This is the world heritage site in India. The 3 groups of temples follow the Buddhist, Hindu and Jain belief. The Kailash temple, which is dedicated to God Shiva, is the most powerful and largest monolithic temple in the entire world. Return to hotel for overnight stay.

Day 14 - Excursion to Ajanta Caves

After the breakfast trip to the Ajanta caves, which are a group of 30 caves, that were created around 300 BC. The frescoes describe the life of Buddha. These are best frescoes in the world and the caves stand on the list of the UNESCO as a world culture heritage. The caves were discovered accidentally in 1819. Evening transfer to airport for flight to Mumbai. Arrival and transfer to hotel for overnight stay.

Day 15 - Mumbai - Excursion to Elephanta caves

After breakfast, go for excursion to Elephanta caves. Return to hotel for dinner. Afterwards transfer to Mumbai international airport for onward journey.

Note: You can extend your holidays by going to Goa to relax on Beach.