Tour Duration: |
11 Nights / 12 Days |
Tour Itinerary: |
Gwalior(2N) - Orchha(1N) - Chanderi (2N) - Bhopal(2N) - Indore(1N) - Mandu(1N) - Maheshwar(1N) - Indore |
Tour Theme: |
Given tour package is focused in heritage tourist destinations having forts, palaces, museums of Mughals, Scindia, Holkars with scenic nature. |
Our tour begins with arrival in Gwalior airport. Its flight connectivity is improved thus easy to reach and begin the tour. Here most of the arrivals are done by afternoon thus we will do limited activity like visit to Tansen tomb and try to attend evening sound and light show, held at Gwalior fort complex. Overnight at hotel in Gwalior
In this day, we will begin our activities from early morning. Guide service is recommended on this day. Just after breakfast, start the local sightseeing. We will first visit to Mitawali and Padawali monuments, located just outside the city. Do the photography of these ancient monuments. Later drive back to city and proceed for Jai Vilas museum (Monday closed). In order to understand the royal lifestyle of Scindia dynasty, we highly recommend to visit this museum. After lunch, visit to Gwalior fort complex. It is a hill top fort complex with collection of many tourist attractions. Start from Urvai gate and visit to Gopachal parvat with magnificent sculpture art of Jain community saints in meditation poses. Later drive upside and visit to Maan Singh palace, Teli ka mandir, Sas Bahu temple or Sahastrarjun temple, Gurudwara etc. This will be the hectic day with opportunity for lot of photography and amazing views. Overnight at hotel in Gwalior.
After breakfast, drive from Gwalior to Orchha which lies in 150 kms south-east of Gwalior city. In this day, we will not do too much sightseeing of Orchha as it will be done next day. While driving from Gwalior to Orchha, we will first visit to beautiful Datia palace, made by Bundela rulers. It is a small township thus we will do a limited sightseeing. Fort is photogenic thus do photography and proceed. On reaching Orchha, by lunch time, just have lunch and relax for sometime. If interested, attend the evening arti at Raja Ram temple and click some sunset views of Orchha cenotaphs. Attend evening sound and light show to understand the history of Bundela dynasty and its rulers. Orchha is a small but beautiful historic township on the bank of Betwa river. It was founded by Bundela rulers who ruled over Bundelkhand region for many years. Here we will explore places to visit on Orchha which includes Orchha fort, Jahangir palace, Cenotaphs, Ram Raja Temple etc. During visit, always carry your camera as streets of the town will offer lot of photogenic views which will become part of your memories. Just remember that here hotels are limited and during Nov-Dec months, due to marriages, they get sold out, in advance. Overnight at hotel in Orchha.
After breakfast, start our Orchha sightseeing. Here guide service is highly recommended to understand the stories behind erection of these massive structures. In this day, we will visit to monuments like Raj Mahal, Jahangir palace, Chaturbhuj temple, Laxmi Narayan temple, Ram Raja temple. Hardol baithak, cenotaphs, Rai Praveen palace etc. This will take almost half-day. After lunch, we will drive to Chanderi (100km). It is a hidden gem of Central India where we can explore heritage sites, ancient water wells, temples, mosques, palaces, cenotaphs, handloom cottage industry in local houses. Chanderi activities will be very limited in this day. Here hotel options are very limited thus must plan and confirm in advance. Overnight at hotel in Chanderi
Chanderi have large number of sites to see, scattered over a large area thus its sightseeing will be of longer duration, in compare to Khajuraho. In this day, we will try to cover sites like Chanderi Fort, Shri Jageshwari temple, Baiju Bawra samadhi, Johar kund, Jama Masjid, Shahzadi ka rauza etc. Overnight at hotel in Chanderi.
In this day, we will cover the remaining places like Badal Mahal, Chakla Baoli, Khandagiri Jain temples, Koshak Mahal, Chander Museum (Friday closed) and Ramnagar Mahal. Spend the evening in local shopping of famous Chanderi sarees and other silk clothes. Overnight at hotel in Chanderi.
In this day, we will drive to Bhopal city. After breakfast, drive to Bhopal. Before entering into Bhopal city, we will visit world famous sites Udaigiri caves and Sanchi Stupas site. Here we have to note that Sanchi Stupas are listed as UNESCO world heritage site. Both are popular heritage sites to visit. We can have lunch at any good hotel of Sanchi. Later drive to Bhopal. At evening, relax at hotel. Overnight at hotel in Bhopal.
In this day, we will do excursion tour for visiting Bhimbetka rock shelters and Bhojpur temple. Both the sites are away from Bhopal city. Bhimbetka rock shelter lies in Ratapani tiger reserve. Here we will find pre-historic period rock painting sites. Here guide service is recommended to understand the importance of this site and paintings.Later drive to Bhojeshwar temple in Bhojpur town. It is located on the bank of Betwa river, build during the rule of Parmar ruler Raja Bhoj. It is believed to be a incomplete temple still it is an active temple, built with red-sandstone. Later by afternoon, drive back to hotel for lunch. In second half of the day visit to tribal museum to understand the tribal culture of Madhya Pradesh state. Overnight at hotel in Bhopal.
In this day, we will drive to Indore city. Do post lunch sightseeing in which we will visit Krishanpura chhatribagh, Rajwada and famous 56-dukaan eatery market. Overnight at hotel in Indore.
After breakfast, drive to Mandu. Do half-day sightseeing. It is a scenic fortified township at hill top plateau with many historical buildings, museums, mosque, temple, and baobab trees. Guide service is highly recommended to understand the history of Mandu. Overnight at hotel in Mandu.
In this day of tour package, we will continue Mandu sightseeing in morning hours. Monuments list is long and can’t be possible to cover them all in half-day period. Important places to see in Mandu are Jahaz Mahal, Taveli Haveli museum, Roopmati Pavilion, Baz Bahadur Palace, Hoshang Shah tomb, Jami Masjid, Hindola mahal, Rewa Kund etc. Thus we will do more half-day sightseeing and after lunch, drive to Maheshwar. Distance is not so long thus able to do some local sightseeing. Overnight at hotel in Maheshwar.
Maheshwar morning is the best time to witness the surrounding nature. Whole township is located on the bank of Narmada river and here width of river is also massive thus offers a scenic view to whole destination. One must wake up early, before sunrise and visit the river site. If your hotel offers river view then visit the spot to witness the scenic sunrise. If your hotel doesn’t offers river view then visit the Ghat area to sit down and witness the sunrise. Whole experience give you expression as you are in Varanasi ghat and sun is rising behind the Ganges river. Carry your camera to capture these memorable moments. Later in daytime, visit the fort complex comprising temples, Rani Ahilya bai statue and a heritage hotel. Undertake a boatride on Narmada river to capture Maheshwar ghat pictures, visit river temple and back to hotel. By afternoon, we will leave this one time Holkar dynasty power center and drive back to Indore for departure