Best Known Tours in India

The Essence of India brings to you the quintessence of the country having rich culture through the journey covering the diverse tourist destinations. Ashoka Holidays brings to you some excellent and best value travel tour packages to India. The Incredible India package tours includes north India tour packages, south India tour packages, golden triangle tour, best of Rajasthan and many of those destinations that are very famous among tourists. For all its splendor, profuse with obscure and popular vacation tour packages we provide the best deal which enable the tourists to come across the various pieces of legends across different states of India.

Come with an open mind and take back an experience of a lifetime. To make the holiday package in India a memorable one, choose from the various India tour packages offered by us that are designed for those seeking peace of mind, fun and rejuvenation.

Golden Triangle Tour

Destinations Covered –                Delhi, Agra and Jaipur

Suggested Duration –                    07 Days

Golden Triangle with Khajuraho and Varanasi

Destinations Covered –                Delhi, Varanasi, Khajuraho, Agra and Jaipur

Suggested Duration –                    10 Days

Best of Kerala Tour

Destinations Covered –                Cochin, Munnar, Periyar, Kumarkom, Alleppey and Kovalam

Suggested Duration –                    10 Days

Green Triangle Tour

Destinations Covered –                Guwahati, Kaziranga and Shillong

Suggested Duration –                    07 Days

Rajasthan Forts and Palaces Tour

Destinations Covered –                 Jaipur, Mandawa, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Udaipur and Chittaurgarh

Suggested Duration –                    12 Days

Click here to BOOK A HOLIDAY IN INDIA or email us on info@ashokaholidays.com.  

Elephant Festival 2013

26th March 2013 - Polo Club Ground, Jaipur

The Elephant Festival is held every year at the Pink City of Jaipur or better known to people as the capital city of the colorful state of Rajasthan. Organised according to the Indian calendar on a full moon day when the Indians celebrate the popular and the most colorful festival of Holi. If you are planning to visit India, are slightly adventurous and keen to experience and explore various aspects of India, this could indeed be a perfect time.

During the elephant festival the elephants and nicely groomed and dressed with velvet clothes, paint and some elephant specific huge sized jewelry. You can enjoy various games like elephant polo, elephant race, tug of war etc at the venue. You can also witness some fine performances by local dancers and singers. Everything is very colorful and pleasing for the eyes. It is worth attending at lease once in a lifetime.

Amber Fort - Jaipur's Pride

Jaipur's Pride - Amber Fort

At a distance of 11 km from Jaipur, on the mighty Aravalli's stands the sprawling Amber fort palace. 

A view from the top of the Amber Fort

Raja Man Singh started its construction in late 16th century but a few additions were made by subsequent rulers later. This palace mainly built in red sandstone and marble is an excellent example of fusion of Hindu and Muslim style of architecture. The strong exterior of the fort symbolizes the might of the Rajputs while the delicate interiors (the fine lattice windows, frescos, finely sculptured pillars) speak about their refined taste. 

Elephant Ride to take you to the top

In front of the fort was the 'mawatha' lake, which sheltered the crocodiles to protect the fort. In the midst of the lake area lies the Mughal style saffron garden. In the fort, the 'Diwan-i-am, the Diwan-i-khas and the 'Sheesh Mahal' with exquisite mirror work catch attention. The technical water cascade cooling system and the sandalwood door in the Sukh Mahal are very appealing. Besides, the Kali Temple is also worth paying a visit. 

The most distinctive feature of the fort is the elephant ride that you can opt to climb up the fort but for it you have to shell out some money.

Finally reached the fort..  Thanks Mr. Elephant

The entry charges for foreign guest for this fort is around INR 150 per person. A combined ticket with Jantar Mantar can also be purchased for INR 300 here. You can save around INR 100 if you buy a combined ticket. The elephant ride charges are INR 900 per elephant on which either two adults or 1 adult with 2 children are allowed.  

For more details about places to visit in Jaipur and other cities of Rajasthan you are most welcome to visit our  http://www.ashokaholidays.com.

Promoting Tourism through Sports

Delhi City Tour.......  Taj Mahal Experience.....  Massive fort of Gwalior.....  Elephant Ride at Amber Fort... and on top of that 4 Cricket Matches...!!   Sounds like a lot of fun....   Right..??

At the India Gate

We at Ashoka Holidays try our best to come up with innovative tourism related products to give a new and wonderful experience to our foreign guests. Recently we had organized a 'Sports Tour' for a group of 21 people from South Africa who came in contact with us through our website www.sportstoursindia.com. The group comprised of 13 players, 1 coach, 2 team managers and 5 supporters all belonging to various provinces of South Africa and playing together as cricket club called Afrikaner Volkseie Sport. 

After arriving in India on 07th December 2012 this group stayed in Delhi for 3 Nights where they saw some popular tourist spots like Qutub Minar, Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb etc. We also took the group to the famous Akshardham Temple. On 09th December we saw an impressive game of Cricket when this U-19 cricket team played against Delhi Public School (RK Puram, Delhi) at the school grounds. 

At the Taj Mahal

After this we made the group to travel to Agra to see the epitome of love - The Taj Mahal. The group comprising mostly High School Students showed a lot of interest in knowing the history and fact and figures of this beautiful marble palace like structure. 

Playing at the Scindia School, Gwalior

The next destination for us was Gwalior where we saw the massive fort and the famous Scindia Palace. If was a nice experience for the group to know about the royal lifestyle of earlier days. On 12th December we made them play a cricket match against the very renowned Scindia School. The school being on a hill top had a beautiful ground and offered a very good cricketing experience for the foreign students. 

At Step By Step School

The last destination on our list for this tour was Jaipur where we made them stay for 3 nights. On day one we  did a full day city tour of Jaipur that included Amber Fort, Jantar Mantar, City Palace etc. The group also did a elephant ride at the Amber Fort. On 14th December we made them play a 40 over cricket match against Step By Step International School, Jaipur and on 15th December another match against Rukmani Birla Modern High School, Jaipur. This was a good opportunity for the Indian Schools to interact with foreign students and know about the academics and sports curriculum in that part of the world. 

At an Indian Residence

In order to give them a better insight of Indian culture and its diverse traditions, Ashoka Holidays had also arranged for these students to visit an Indian residence, meet Indian family and enjoy home-made Indian delicacies.

Such type of a tour gives a better experience to the travelers as it breaks the monotony of just cricket or only sightseeing. Apart from cricket, Ashoka holidays which is a leading travel agent of Rajasthan is also planning to offer inbound sports touring facilities for football, tennis and local Indian games like Kho-Kho and Kabbadi. Such endeavors provide opportunity to the international students to learn more about the game as well as sharpen their playing skills. 

Khajuraho Dance Festival

KHAJURAHO DANCE FESTIVAL 2013

Dates : 20 - 26 February 2013

Venue : Near western group of temples

Khajuraho Dance Festival takes place at the open-air auditorium in front of the Chitragupta Temple dedicated to the Sun God and the Vishwanatha Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. They are situated in the Western Group of temples, which is the largest, well maintained and most easily accessible temple group of Khajuraho. Now this one week festival has already become legendary with its outlandish classical dance performances presented in a dreamlike setting of splendidly illuminated temples. Khajuraho temples present sculptures depicting various skills and arts of courtly love including dance and music in stone and what venue can be more befitting to hold the cultural festival highlighting the various classical dances of India! 

The treasured art forms unfold amidst ethereal settings and not one but all eight forms of Indian Classical dances are performed and delineate the spiritual, the intellectual and the social heritage of India.  This festival of International repute is a destination awaited by connoisseurs, travelers and more so by the performers. In words of a performer, “Every dancer worth her mettle dreams of performing at the Khajuraho festival”. For someone looking forward to a heritage tour of India, timing the visit around the Khajuraho dance festival would be a wise touristic strategy.

INTERESTED IN ATTENDING THIS FESTIVAL - CLICK HERE

www.ashokaholidays.com 

Pushkar Fair

PUSHKAR FAIR, INDIA

20th – 28th November 2012

Pushkar camel fair is a grand display of Rajasthan's cultural and social spirit - spellbounding folk music and dances, camel races, tug-of-war, camel beauty contests and all. During the fair, Pushkar turns into a bustling temporary tent town when thousands of tourists, pilgrims, local rural people, traders, and camels and more camels tread this otherwise sleepy setting.


The grand affair actually centers on the trade mart of camels, horses and bullocks and the holy dip in the sacred waters of Pushkar lake and visit to the Temple of Hindu God of Creation, Brahma (the only one in the world). Tourists & pilgrims from around the world and traders from the nearby states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir flock in for their respective businesses.

| Pushkar - City Info | Pushkar Fair - Suggested Holidays | Other Holidays in India |

Varanasi - Travel Information

"Benaras is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together".

                                                                                  - Mark Twain

Every morning the sunlight bring just one change in this 3000 year old city… that is the change in date…  and nothing else..  Varanasi’s beauty lies in its retained heritage, rituals, traditions and customs. Sometimes you would feel that you are still living in that “Good Old World”.

The Ganga Aarti at Varanasi

The river Ganga, countless temples, chants of mantras and hymns, ringing of bells, devotion of pilgrims, holy dips at the ghats, boat ride at sunset and narrow lanes to move around. There are many images of Varanasi. Besides it is also called Kashi meaning ‘concentration of cosmic light’ and Banaras meaning ‘the place where juice of life is always readymade’.

The best thing to experience in this city apart from visiting the temples and walking along side the many ghats is the evening aarti of the Ganges. A hired boat would take you near the ghat from where you can see the seven decorated podiums set up on the banks of the river. Standing on each podium is a priest with an oil lit lamp (Diya) performing the aarti with various music instruments being played in the background with bhajans and hymns. This is something I would say is worth seeing at least once in a lifetime.

Varanasi is also the centre for some of India’s bigest universities. Banaras Hindi University, Mahatama Gandhi Kashi Vidhyapeeth are just to name a few.

How to reach Varanasi

Air : Well connected to New Delhi, Mumbai, Khujaraho and also has flight connections to Kathmandu.

Rail : Varanasi has its own station and is well connected to all major cities.

Road : Varanasi is 286 km from Lucknow, 565 km from Agra, 128 km from Allahabad, 330 km from Kanpur, 246 km from Patna, and just 10 km from Sarnath

Suggested Holidays

Best of North India – 19 Nights / 20 Days

Golden Triangle with Varanasi and Khajuraho – 09 Nights / 10 Days  

OTHER HOLIDAYS IN INDIA

WHAT IS THE 'GOLDEN TRIANGLE TOUR' in India?

Golden Triangle Tour in India comprises of the three most touristic cities of the country located in the north western area – Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. These cities are well connected by road and rail links. On the map, these form a roughly equilateral triangle, some 200-250km along each side. This triangle is called golden because of the brilliant cultural wealth and beautiful history it offers in each of the three cities.

You can spend weeks in the fascinating Indian capital of Delhi, and not see it all. Jaipur the capital of the desert state of Rajasthan is famous for its markets and Rajput culture. And Agra needs no description, the world famous Taj Mahal is located here. This tour is certainly the best for all those who have never been to the subcontinent before. So just get going by taking a flight to New Delhi.

Some people say that if India is a book then Delhi certainly is its Index page. Certainly it is a remarkably amiable entry-point to the nation. Exploring this city which has absorbed various cultures from all across the country over the time will give you a rewarding experience. At any time of the year you will find a lot of tourists roaming around in this city. You can spend some time to see the Red Fort, Purana Killa, Humayu’s Tomb, Qutub Minar, India Gate and other touristic spots in the city. Don’t miss out on ‘Delli Haat’ if you plan to shop in Delhi. Souvenirs from all across the country are available here. (Tourist Attractions in Delhi)

Jaipur as mentioned above is commercial and administrative capital of Rajasthan. What gives this place a special mention in all tourist guidebooks is the city’s alluringly frenetic old quarter popularly known as Pink City named after its red-washed building walls which now have become like a shopping paradise selling almost everything. Rajasthan is famous for its remarkable architecture a glimpse of this you can find in Hawa Mahal, Amber Fort, Jantar Mantar etc. Evenings can be utilized to roam around in the market areas. To buy or not to buy is entirely up to you. (Tourist Attractions in Jaipur)

Now moving on to Agra, which completes the triangle. Famous for its Mogul Architecture this place is the home town to one of the 7 wonders of the world – The Taj Mahal. Some other places to visit are Agra Fort, Tomb of Itmad-ud-daula etc. If time permits visit the Taj Mahal at sunrise to see the changing colors of this epitome of love. Not yet tired..  then use your evening to see a 6D show called ‘Mohabbat The Taj’ show at ‘Kalakriti Cultural and Convention Centre’ which is an  exceptionally inviting song and dance drama based on a love story set in the 17th century (the period of the construction of Taj) ambience and spun around this great edifice of love. (Tourist Attractions in Agra)

After the completion of this tour you will have enough of memories to take along from this country called India. This will surely make you think of visiting this country again to see more and more of it.

Abhaneri Step-Well in Rajasthan India

Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Bundi, etc etc. you would find in almost all the guidebooks on the state of Rajasthan. What you won’t find very easily is this small village called Abhaneri which has something so unique and beautiful to offer.

Located here is Chanda Baodi which is India’s one of the oldest and deepest step-wells. Built by a Rajput King these step-wells were once used as for royal baths along with serving the purpose of reservoirs. This step-well had separate royal bathrooms for males and females with big verandahs to stand in sunlight. All this over looks thousands of criss-cross steps which are steep and which make a pattern of upside down Vs. These steps were used to descend till the level of water.

Adjacent to this step-well is the Harshat Mata Hindu temple which was build way back in the eighth century. Devoted to goddess Durga this temple was worshipped after the royal bathing.

You can still find remains if stone carving throughout the walls of the step-well and the temple structure.

Excavation of this site began under the Archaeological Survey if India in 1955 and it was open to public in 1960. This place where you would hardly find any vendors or souvenir shops has now come in limelight and a part of many travel itineraries.

Abhaneri is located 90 Km away from Jaipur on the Agra Road. It can easily be used as a stopover destination between these two cities to give an altogether new look to the Golden Triangle Tour. 

Incredible India Experience..!!!

Delivered in the past, delivering at present and a promise to deliver the same experience in the future...


Yes, we promise to deliver to all our guests an Incredible India experience every time they travel in India with us.


Below are some pictures of Mr. Siegfried Trunk and family, our guest from Germany, who gave us an opportunity to serve them for yet another time due to a good past experience with us a few years back. 


As you say pictures speak more than words... so here you go..!!