Duration : 08 Days / 07 Nights
Destination : Mumbai - Ratnagiri – Sindhudurg – Tarkarli
Backwaters – Dhamapur Village – Goa - Kolhapur – Pune -
Aurangabad – Ellora Caves - Jalgaon – Ajanta Caves – Nasik -
Mumbai
Day 01 (Wed) : Depart Bombay – Deccan Odyssey
Luxury Train
Departure in the evening from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Mumbai.
Day 02 (Thu) : Ratnagiri – Ganapatiphule –
Jaigadh
Morning – Alight at the Sindhudurg Nagari Railway station. Departure
by AC Bus to Malvan Jetty. From Jetty boat ride up to
Sindhudurg the
Ocean Fort & one time naval base of Maratha empire. Sindhudurg fort
stands on a rocky island, known as Kurte, barely a km, from the Malvan Town.
Sindhudurg Fort was built in 1664-67 AD by King Shivaji. One of the best
preserved forts of the Marathas, the 48 acre Sindhudurg fort has a four kms
long zigzag line of 9 metres high and 3 metres wide rampart with 42
bastions. Apart from the huge stones, the building material involved 2000
khandis (72,576 k.g) of iron erecting the massive curtain wall and bastions.
A notable feature is that the foundation stones were laid down firmly in
molten lead. It also houses some twenty Hindu-Muslim hereditary families.
Return to jetty and proceed to
Tarkarli beach resort.
Tarkarli a virgin beach at the confluence of river Karli and Arabian Sea.
The major attraction here is the long and narrow stretch of beach, with its
pristine water. On a clear day, you can see the sea bed through a depth of
20 ft.
Lunch & free time at Tarkarli beach resort.
Next, bus ride up to
Dhamapur Village. On way visit to Cashew
factory.
At Dhamapur visit ancient temple of Goddess Bhagawati and Bharadi Devi
situated on banks of beautiful lake. After this visit proceed by bus to
board the train at Kudal Railway Station.
Dinner onboard.
Day 03 (Fri) : Sindhudurg –
Tarkarli Backwaters – Sawantwadi
Morning arrival at Karmali – Goa. The most frequented tourist spots in
India.
Board the bus to reach Old Goa to witness the ruins of St. Augustine Church
once largest cathedral in Goa. Basilica of Bom Jesus, this is 16th Century
Church, the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier is enshrined here. Se
Cathedral and the Church of St. Francis of Assissi that began as a mosque
but now is an archaeological museum for Goan antiques. Walk through
Fontanhas, the Latin quarters at Panjim.
Departure to Verna Railway Station for typical Goan lunch on board the
train.
Free time onboard.
Evening depart by bus to beach hotel and enjoy Goan culture and traditional
meals.
Board the train from Madgaon railway station.
Day 04 (Sat) : Goa
Morning
– Arrival at Kolhapur City, known as Karveer or Dakshin Kashi of
Maharashtra. Situated on the banks of river Panchaganga.
Board the bus to visit;
New Palace, a royal palace partly converted into museum, The museum
houses rare paintings and artifacts used by the royal family. Royal weapons
and a tableau depicting court life of the last century create an
aristocratic ambience. Next visit to
Bhawani Mandap (The Town Hall).
Antiques found during the excavations at Brahmagiri, old sculptures,
filigree work in sandal wood and ivory, old coins and paintings of master
artists of the region are all displayed here. Then move on to see an
exquisitely carved
Mahalaxmi Temple, a temple of goddess Ambabai
visited by millions of pilgrims. From temple proceed to
Shalini Palace
built of intricately carved black stone & Italian Marble stands on the
west side of lake Rankala, Witness traditional Martial Art locally known as
“Mardani Khel” at Palace and cultural programme.
Kolhapur is well known for its textiles and cottons, in particular
Kolhapuri saris. But it is of course most famous for its jewellery and
leather sandals and Kolhapuri chappals. The selected and famous items would
be displayed in the stalls at the Shalini Palace so one can leisurely do
shopping.
At noon board the train at Kolhapur station.
Lunch and Leisure time onboard.
Dinner onboard.
Day 05 (Sun) : Kolhapur – Pune
Morning Arrival at Daulatabad station.
Proceed by road to visit;
Majestic fort Daulatabad. Rising dramatically over 600 ft above the Deccan
plain is the arresting sight of
Daulatabad. Once known as Devgiri,
this fort served as the head quarters of the powerful Yadava rulers. In the
13th century, Mohammed bin Tughlak, the Sultan of Delhi, made it his capital
and renamed it Daulatabad, or City of Fortune.
Next stop is
Ellora caves, a World Heritage site, having 34 cave
temples dedicated to three different religion- Hinduism, Buddhism &
Jainism. The cave temples and monasteries at Ellora, excavated out of the
vertical face of an escarpment, are 26 km north of Aurangabad. Extending in
a linear arrangement, the 34 caves contain Buddhist Chaityas or halls of
worship, and Viharas, or monasteries, Hindu and Jain temples.
Spanning a period of about 600 years between the 5th and 11th century AD,
the earliest excavation here is of the Dhumar Lena (Cave 29).The most
imposing excavation is, without doubt, that of the magnificent
Kailasa
Temple (Cave 16) which is the largest monolithic structure in the world.
Lunch & free time.
After lunch move on to see;
Bibi-ka-Maqbara, a replica of Taj Mahal is a grand piece of Moghul
architecture.
Free time for shopping Paithani, Himroo, Bidriwork from showrooms for a
perfect memorabilia.
Evening board the train from Aurangabad railway station. Dinner onboard.
Day 06 (Mon) : Aurangabad – Ellora Caves
Noon
arrive at Chandrapur Railway station. Board the bus for reaching to Tadoba
Wildlife Sanctuary. Sanctuary tours by open jeeps.
Tadoba Wildlife Sanctuary is among the most attractive sanctuary in
the country.
The park was established in 1935 and declared as a National Park in 1955
and since 1995, the area comprising the Tadoba National Park and Andhari
wildlife Santuary together was designated as Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve.
It is the second Tiger Reserve project in the State. The park consists
around 50 Bengal Tigers. Along with this other frequently spotted wildlife
are Sambar, Gaur, Chinkara, Leopard cat, Pangolin, Panther, Spotted deer,
Sloth bear, Chausinga, Nilgai, Barking deer, Indian bison, Wild dog, Hyena,
Jackals etc.
Tadoba National Park also an ornithologist's paradise with a varied
diversity of Migratory birds and Water Birds. Python, Bengal monitor lizard
and crocodiles are other inhabitants of this park.
Evening return on Deccan Odyssey.
Dinner onboard.
Day 07 (Tue) : Jalgaon – Ajanta Caves –
Nasik
Morning – Arrival at Bhusawal railway station. Board the bus to reach
Ajanta Caves.
Renowned Buddhist caves of Ajanta are World Heritage Site. Witness some of
the finest paintings and sculptures of the second century AD. ‘Bodhisattva
Padmapani’, ‘Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara’, The Birth of the
Buddha’ & ‘Thousand Buddha’s are a few amongst the many
fine murals & sculptures.
At noon board train at Jalgaon railway station.
Proceed to Nashik. Lunch on-board.
Leisure Time onboard till evening.
Alight at Nashik Road railway station to board the bus for departure to
Panchawati Ghat a holy place known for Kumbh Mela. Next, visit to Kala Ram
Temple built in 1794.
Evening board the train at Deolali railway station.
Farewell dinner on-board.
Day 08 (Wed) : Mumbai
Morning – Arrival at CST – Mumbai.
Journey Ends.
