The Famous Aarti Ceremony and The Golden Buddha - A Two Night Flight Excursion To Varanasi And Sarnath From Delhi

Day 01 : Varanasi

You will be privately transferred from your Delhi hotel to the airport for your flight to Varansi (cost of airfare not included). Upon arrival in Varanasi, you will be met and brought to your hotel for your two night stay. Your afternoon is at leisure. In the evening, you will be picked up at your hotel in a cycle rickshaw and brought to the ghats (a ghat is a flight of steps leading down to the river). You will witness the traditional Aarti ceremony that is performed every evening at dusk. It is one of the most spectacular sights in Varanasi. Hundreds of pilgrims, photographers, and visitors watch the magnificent ceremony. Lamps are lit, fragrant smoke rises from incense sticks, and the chants of mantras can be heard. Fire is offered to Lord Shiva and the Ganges River. Fire is used as a link between this world and the spirit world. As the Aarti comes to an end, the priests offer flowers, milk, and floating lamps to the Ganges. Pilgrims follow and soon the whole of the river is filled with lit lamps and aromatic flowers. The experience wonderfully highlights local culture and religion in an effort by the participants to find peace. At the end of the ceremony, your guide will take you back to your hotel in Varanasi.

Overnight stay: Hotel Surya (Standard) (B)

Day 02 : Varanasi Morning Boat Ride, City Tour & Sarnath Excursion.

In the early morning, enjoy the sunrise on the Ganges River with a boat ride followed by a walking tour of the old city. The walk takes you through the courtyards of silk weavers, who have been hand-weaving the beautiful and intricately designed Silk saris for generations in their homes. Your guide will accompany you through alleys and local markets. You may have a chance to talk to locals, listen to their stories, and take pictures with them in their daily life in Varanasi. You may even visit a palmist or astrologer and find out what your own future holds. In the afternoon, you will visit Sarnath, the site of Buddha's first sermon. Visit the oldest museum of India’s Archaeological Survey, India’s government agency responsible for archaeological research. You will also see many Stupas, or shrines, and Mulagandha Kuti Vihar, a Tibetan Buddhist shrine, which contains a life-size golden image of the Buddha. Admire the colorful murals and frescoes.

Overnight stay: Hotel Surya (Standard) (B)

Day 03 : Varanasi

After breakfast, you will check out of your hotel and taken back to the airport for your return flight to Delhi (cost of airfare not included). Your tour concludes with a transfer from the Delhi airport to your Delhi hotel. . (B)