Gujarat Historic Places & Wildlife Safari Tour

Arrive Delhi
On arrival at Delhi airport assistance and transfer to hotel (hotel check in/ out time 1200hrs afternoon early check in subject to rooms availability). Later city tour of Delhi.
Visit landmark of Old Delhi which include Red Fort the residence of the Mughal emperor for nearly 200 years until 1857. Jama Masjid one of the largest mosques in the world, built by Shah Jahan. Cycle Rickshaw ride in Chandni chowk & Khari Baoli Spice Market a busy shopping area with markets full of spices, dried fruit, silver jewelry and vivid saris, while the narrow side streets are crowded with tiny shops selling essential oils, stationery and traditional Indian sweets. Raj Gath the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi where he was cremated after his assassination.
In New Delhi visit Humayun Tomb the first garden-tomb in Indian subcontinent and an early example of Mughal architecture commissioned by Humayun's first wife Empress Bega Begum in 1569-70. Qutab Minar a 73-metres tall minaret that forms part of the Qutb complex a fine examples of Afghan architecture. Lotus Temple a Baháʼí House of Worship notable for its flowerlike shape open to all, regardless of religion. Drive thrugh VVIP areas passing President House, Parliament & India Gate etc.
Overnight at hotel.

Delhi – Ahmedabad (Flight)
Breakfast at hotel transfer to airport to board flight for Ahmedabad. On arrival assistance and transferred to hotel in Ahmedabad.
Hatheesing Jain Temple built in 1850 by Seth Hatheesing, who was a rich Jain merchant. This temple is dedicated to the 15th 'Jain Tirthankar', known as Dharamnath.
Bhadra Fort a beautiful monument that is famous for its intricate carvings, pattern works and beautiful frescoes suits. Arches at the entry gate, has some inscriptions that represents the history of the fort.
Jama Mosque there are different entrances to the mosque. Near the eastern entrance, stands the tomb of the Sultan Ahmed Shah, which houses the graveyard of three great rulers, namely Ahmed Shah, his son, Mohammed Shah and his grandson, Qutub-Ud-Din Ahmed Shah.
Kite Museum the city of Ahmedabad is popular for the Kite Festival so it doesn’t come as a surprise if you find an entire museum dedicated to kites. The popular Kite Museum that houses some of the rarest kites in the world is a first of its kind in India and second in the world.
Sabarmati Ashram on his return from South Africa, Gandhi’s first Ashram in India was established in the Kochrab area of Ahmedabad on 25 May 1915. The Ashram was then shifted on 17 June 1917 to a piece of open land on the banks of the river Sabarmati. Reasons for this shift included: he wanted to do some experiments in living eg farming, animal husbandry, cow breeding, Khadi and related constructive activities. Shaking Minarets one of the most unique monuments in Ahmedabad, located in Siddi Bashir's Mosque near the Sarangpur gate.
Overnight at hotel.

Ahmedabad – Pavagadh-Champaner - Kevadia (200kms/ 4hrs Approx)
Breakfast at hotel drive to Kevadia via visiting UNESCO World Heritage Site of Pavagadh-Champaner. The site encompasses forts, temples, mosques, mausoleum complexes, pavilions, wells and tanks and Champaner’s Jami Masjid, built around 1523, is considered the high water mark of 16th century Indo-Saracenic architecture. There are three groups of temples here. The first one is the Bhavanaderi temple also known as Navlakha Temple. The second group is the temples of Suparshvanath and Chandraprabhu. The third group of temples is located on the south-east point of Pavagadh Hill next to the Dudhia tank. It is said the temples were built in or around the 14th/15th centuries in white stone. However, they could be even more ancient. Unfortunately, Mahmud Begada laid waste the temples but devotees undertook repairs in 1880.
Continue drive to Kevadia and check in at tent city/ hotel. Later visit Sardar Sarovar Dam, Selfie Point and Valley of Flowers. Evening Laser Show - A Light and Sound show using laser technology projected on the Statue of Unity takes place every evening except Monday. The colourful laser lighting system is accompanied by an excellent narration of the history and life of Sardar Patel, his contribution to the Independence Movement and the unification of India as one nation. Dinner at the Dining Area along with Live Music.
Overnight at hotel.

Kevadia - Vadodara (100kms/ 2hrs)
Statue of Unity world’s tallest statue with a height of 182 metres. A huge exhibition hall covering an area of 4,647 square metres has been set up in the pedestal of the Statue of Unity. The hall showcases the life of Sardar Patel, his contributions to the Freedom Movement against British rule and his role in the merger of princely states. The high-speed elevators will take you to a height of about 400 feet through the core of the statue where you can get panoramic view of the surroundings.
Lakshmi Vilas Palace, reputed to have been the largest private dwelling built till date and four times the size of Buckingham Palace. At the time of construction, it boasted the most modern amenities such as elevators and the interior is reminiscent of a large European country house. It remains the residence of the royal family, who continue to be held in high esteem by the residents of Baroda. The Palace compound is of over 500 acres and houses a number of buildings, particularly the LVP Banquets & Conventions, Moti Bagh Palace and the Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum building.
Maharaja Fatehsingh Museum, originally built as a school for the Maharaja's children, now houses a wide range of antiques and art pieces that once belonged to the Maratha royal family. The exhibits range from portraits of the royal family and depictions of Hindu mythologies to flawless marble and bronze sculptures. Kirti Mandir, Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III built this monument to celebrate the fifty years of his mighty administration by commemorating the cremation of his family members. The 33 m high central arch is also ornamented with the sun, the moon and the earth and the rooms behold the sculptures and photographs of the members of the Gaekwad family.

Rest time fre and easy to relax. Overnight at hotel.
Overnight at hotel.

Vadodara – Bhavnagar (200kms/ 4hrs Approx)
Breakfast at hotel drive to Bhavnagar via visiting archaeological remains of a Harappa Port-Town at Lothal.
Lothal literally “Mound of the Dead”, is the most extensively excavated site of Harappan culture in India, and therefore allows the most insight into the story of the Indus Valley Civilization, its exuberant flight, and its tragic decay. Once a sleepy pottery village, Lothal rumbled awake to become a flourishing centre of trade and industry, famous for its expertly constructed system of underground sanitary drainage, and an astonishing precision of standarized weights and measures. Unlike many other doorways into Harappan culture, Lothal passed through all the phases of the society, from earliest development to most mature. In the height of its prosperity, it not only survived but was strengthened by three floods, using the disaster as an opportunity to improve on the infrastructure. The fourth flood finally brought the settlement to the desperate and impoverished conditions that indicated the end of a powerful civilization
Roam the ruins with your heart open to the ancient, and with the help of the local museum here, allow yourself to be transported to an era 4,500 years ago, and see in your mind’s eye the palace on high, and the artisans and crafts below, and the bustling dockyard that once reached out to the rest of the world.

Continue drive to Bhavnagar check in at hotel. Rest time free and easy to relax. Overnight at hotel.
Overnight at hotel.

Bhavnagar
Breakfast at hotel proceed for a full day excursion and safari in Velvadar Black buck sanctuary. The park covers 34 sq km, which is barely one-sixth the size of the city of Ahmedabad. Of this area, only a little over half (17.5 sq km) is usable grassland. An additional 5 sq km are covered by the invasive prosopis shrub, and just over 10 sq km is made up of saline lands and high tidal mudflats. These mudflats are the high tide zone of the Gulf of Khambhat, and the lower part of the park (not just the tidal area) also floods every so often.
The black-buck for which the park was created lives mostly in the grasslands on the northern side. Other animals in the sanctuary include the nilgai, jackal, wolf, jungle cat, and fox, but the other main attraction is the bird life. Pelicans, flamingos, white and painted storks, three kinds of cranes, many birds of prey, and the rare Stolizca’s Bushchat all live here, mostly in the southern part of the park, where all the wetlands lie. The extremely rare Lesser Florican, one of the 50 rarest birds in the world, breeds here. If you’re lucky, you might see one of its characteristic courtship displays, in which a male will jump upwards out of the grass to impress females. In the winter, thousands of harriers arrive from central Europe to spend the cooler months here; you can see them in the evenings coming back from feeding around the neighboring cotton fields.
Barton library and museum the oldest library of the city. , Barton has a huge collection of books from the genres of history and culture. With the fast-paced life today, not many youngsters can be spotted in the library, you will mostly spot adults and elderly people coming over to the library with their newspapers and help in its maintenance. Barton museum is found on the ground floor of Gandhi Smriti, where you can find a broad range of archaeological remains of the surrounding areas.
Overnight at hotel.

Bhavnagar – Diu (200kms/ 4hrs Approx)
Breakfast at hotel drive to Diu via visiting Palitana.
Palitana Temples Known for being the largest cluster of Jain temples. There are in total 863 temples from base to the peak of the Shatrunjaya hill on the banks of the Shetrunji River, where the Palitana temples are located. These hills have similarities to other hills where Jain temples have been built in Bihar, Gwalior, Mount Abu and Girnar. The Jain's sacred hill of Shatrunjaya have 865 temples atop itself. The hills were sanctified when Rishabha, the first tirthankara of Jainism, gave his first sermon on the top of this hill. The ancient history of the hills is also traced to Pundarika Swami, a chief Ganadhara and grandson of Rishabha, who attained Nirvana/ Moksha here. His shrine located opposite to the main Adinath temple, built by Son of Rishabha, Bharata. The path is climbed through 3950 steps spanning 3.5 km up the Shatrunjaya Hills. The construction of temples of Palitana spanned over a period of 900 years and was structured in two phases.
Overnight at hotel.

Diu - Sasan Gir National Park (90kms/ 2hrs Approx)
Diu Fort a very large and imposing structure, situated on the coast of the island. This fort was constructed between 1535 and 1541 AD after the treaty signed between the Sultan of Gujarat and the Portuguese. The fort is surrounded by the sea on the three sides and a canal on the fourth side. The fort offers a magnificent view of sea. On the fort stands a giant structure which now houses a Light House and the Diu jail. The beam from the lighthouse reaches to about 32 kms. Several canons are still located on the top of the fort and peep out of the holes on the walls of this gigantic structure. Fortress of Panikota is a magnificent stone structure in the sea, built right at the mouth of the creek. This fortress can be reached only by a canoe or a motor launch. This fortress has a light house and small chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Sea. The fortress offers a very beautiful view whether seen from the jetty, from the Fort, from the village of Ghoghla or from Diu proper.
Old Town has a few old mansions belonging to rich Portuguese and Indian merchants. The colorful three-story Nagar Sheth Haveli has porticoes, carved balconies, stone-made lions and intricate arches in European and Indian styles.
Later drive to Sasan Gir National Park and check in at hotel. Dinner & overnight at hotel.
Overnight at hotel.

Sasan Gir National Park
Breakfast at hotel. Safari in Gir Wildlife Sanctuary. Sprawling in an area of 1424 sq. kms, Gir with its dry deciduous forest is a luxuriantly rich ecosystem endowed with floral and faunal plentitude. Thirty species of mammals, twenty species of reptiles, several species of insects and birds are found here. The forest is the only place in the world, outside Africa, where the lion can be seen in its natural habitat. The forest also harbors a number of smaller birds and animals. Other predators are the panther and the hyena. The largest Indian deer, Sambhar, Chital (spotted deer), Nilgai (blue bull), Chinkara and the unique Chowsingha (four horned antelope) are found here along with the bear and the long tailed langur.
Gir is also one of the finest bird sanctuaries in India. Some of the typical birds of Gir are the crested serpent eagle, crested hawk eagle, brown fish owl, king vulture, jungle quail, paradise flycatcher, pygmy woodpecker, hard headed oriole etc. Adholia, Valadera, Ratanghuna and Pilipat are rewarding places for bird watching. Another attraction is a crocodile farm developed in the forest.
Breakfast at hotel, drive to Wankaner via visiting Junagadh, Gondal & Rajkot.


Overnight at hotel.

Sasan Gir – Junagadh – Gondal - Rajkot - Wankaner (220kms/ 5hrs Approx)
Junagarh an ancient fortified city rich in myth and legend. Junagadh lies at the foot of the temple-studded Girnar Hill. It derives its name from the 'old fort', which circles the medieval town. The Girnar Hills that landscape Junagadh are a holy sanctuary to the Jains. The history of Mount Girnar dates back to the awesome empire of Ashoka, one of India's greatest emperors. Ashoka inscribed 14 edicts on a huge boulder en-route to Mt. Girnar peak. Junagadh's main feature is the Uperkot fort (upper fort), a somber and inaccessible fortress.
Gondal the former princely state ruled by the Jadeja Rajput clan till the independence of India. Visit Navlakha Palace one of the oldest and most beautiful palaces situated on a riverbank, on a grand masonry base, rising to the monumental scale of at least 30 meters, above the riverbed.
In Rajkot visit Jubilee Garden a large and open park area in Rajkot. It features many monuments of colonial time. The centre of the city garden is the Connaught Hall and other notable places of interest near the Garden include the historic Mohandas Gandhi High School, Kaba Gandhi No Delo, Rashtriya Shala, Watson Museum, Lang Library, and Rotary Midtown Library. Watson Museum has a great collection of precious objects of colonial period and is considered to be one the finest in Gujarat. It was made to commemorate the works of the then administrator Colonel James Watson in 1888. The museum also houses a varied collection of old artefacts from the ancient city of Mohenjodaro.
Overnight at hotel.

Wankaner – Ahmedabad (210kms/ 4hrs Approx) / Ahmedabad – Delhi (flight)
Ranjit Vilas Palace built by Amarsinhji on a hill overlooking Wankaner town. The ground of the palace extends to two hundred & twenty five acres. The state guesthouse, Chandra Bhavan is also located in the same campus in the vicinity of the Ranjit Vilas Palace. Wankaner also has a step well, the last one to be built in Gujarat. In the Royal Oasis complex, the 3-storeyed step well, has 2 underground floors with cool subterranean marble rooms, fine sculptures and a fountain.
After sightseeing drive to Ahmedabad to board flight for Delhi. On arrival assistance and transfer to hotel. Overnight at hotel.
Overnight at hotel.

Delhi - Departure
Breakfast at hotel. Morning free and easy to relax and sightseeing. Later as per flight schedule transfer to airport to board flight for onward destination.