As a reference, I thought I would include a rough itinerary in case anyone would ever like a starting point to plan their own trip to India.  But first, what kind of trip was it?

My husband and I work for a university that emphasizes cross-disciplinary general education studies.  So we went with 15 other faculty members to collect data, pictures, and video.  We travelled together and had the great pleasure of bringing with us both a videographer and photographer.  We emphasized sites that would enhance our curriculum, which focuses on history, religion, the arts, philosophy,  and culture.

Was this a pleasure trip?  Certainly not.  This was a working trip.  Our schedule was packed nearly every day with either travel or educational sites.  It was a rigorous schedule as we were trying to fill up our days with as much beneficial knowledge assimilation as possible.  Needless to say, we didn’t really focus on fine dining, shopping, or pleasure spots.

With that in mind, here are the places we visited over our 2+ week visit:

Layover in London (several of us took cabs into London to view sites)

Delhi: Gobind Sadan Ashram, Q’tub Minar, Lotus Temple, and much more!

Amritsar: Golden Temple, Wagha Border Ceremony, Jallianwala Bagh

Agra: Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Fathepur Sikri, Jama Masjid/Chistiyya tomb

Varanasi: Boat rides, River Ganges, Religious ceremonies and cremation ghats along the river

Bodhgaya: Sarnath, museum, Jain temple

Kolkatta: Victoria Memorial, Dakshineshwar Temple

Kathmandu, Nepal: Flight to view the Humalayas, Swayambhunath, Bhaktapur/Dunbar square, Bodnath Stupa, Pashupati Temple, Patan/Golden Temple

As I complete more detailed posts about these places I will create links to them from this page.

We arranged most of our tour through Melissa Tours and Travels.  We were pleased with the results and recommend them!  The specialize in travel across India and Nepal.

If you are looking for spa recommendations, fine restaurant reviews, and pleasure sites then I won’t be able to help you much.  If you are interested in religious, cultural, and artistic sites then I will be posting a lot about that!