13-Day Nepal & India Highlights Premium Tour

13 Days in India and Nepal

Days 1 to 2 | Delhi

Arrive in the capital and start with the monuments that shaped modern India. The Red Fort, built by Shah Jahan in 1638, has two kilometers of sandstone walls enclosing a city within a city. Raj Ghat is the black marble platform where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated in 1948, and a flame has burned there continuously since. You also see India Gate, Rashtrapati Bhavan, and the Qutab Minar, which at 73 meters is the tallest brick minaret in the world. The Lotus Temple, a Bahai house of worship built in the shape of a flower, is open to all faiths and asks visitors to stay silent inside.

Days 3 to 4 | Jaipur

Drive 260 kilometers southwest to Jaipur, the Pink City, capital of Rajasthan and one of the most architecturally consistent cities in India. The Amber Fort is a 16th-century hilltop palace, reached by jeep or on foot. The Hawa Mahal is a five-story facade of 953 small windows, designed so royal women could watch street life without being seen. Jantar Mantar, an 18th-century astronomical observatory built entirely of stone, is still accurate to within two seconds.

Days 5 to 6 | Fatehpur Sikri and Agra

Drive to Agra, stopping at Fatehpur Sikri, the Mughal capital Emperor Akbar built in the 1570s and abandoned within 15 years because of water shortages, preserved ever since as it was left. Then Agra and the Taj Mahal, and the Agra Fort, where Shah Jahan spent the last years of his life imprisoned by his own son, with a view from his window of the monument he built for his wife.

Days 7 to 8 | Khajuraho and Varanasi

Drive to Khajuraho for the Western and Eastern temple groups, built by the Chandela dynasty between 950 and 1050 AD. The temples are known for their erotic sculpture, but the carvings cover far more: celestial beings, warriors, animals, and scenes of daily life on every surface. The evening light and sound show is narrated by Amitabh Bachchan. On the afternoon of Day 8, fly to Varanasi, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.

Day 9 | Varanasi and Sarnath

A sunrise boat ride on the Ganges, along the ghats as the city wakes and the bathing, prayer, and cremation begin. The Kashi Vishwanath Temple, one of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva, was rebuilt in the 18th century with a gold-covered spire. Sarnath, seven kilometers from Varanasi, is where the Buddha gave his first sermon after reaching enlightenment at Bodh Gaya.

Days 10 to 12 | Kathmandu

An afternoon flight to Kathmandu and a traditional Nepalese welcome, then three full days in the valley: an early-morning mountain flight with a window seat for everyone and Everest (8,849 meters) on the horizon, plus Swayambhunath, Boudhanath, Pashupatinath, Patan Durbar Square, Bhaktapur, and Hanuman Dhoka. A farewell dinner of Newari cuisine with a live folk dance program.

Day 13 | Departure

A last morning in Kathmandu, then a private transfer to the airport for your international departure.

Day by Day

Day 1 Arrival in New Delhi Red Fort and Raj Ghat

We meet you at Indira Gandhi International Airport and take you to your hotel. The afternoon covers two very different monuments. The Red Fort, built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in 1638 as the main residence of the imperial family, is a complex of palaces, halls, and gardens inside 2.5 kilometers of red sandstone walls that rise 33 meters above the city. Raj Ghat is quieter: a simple raised platform of black marble in a park beside the Yamuna River, marking the place where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated on January 31, 1948. The eternal flame has burned here since that day. Both sites are in the old city.

Stay: Delhi Hotel

Day 2 New Delhi Sightseeing The Garden City

New Delhi, the planned capital built under British rule in the early 20th century, is on a much larger scale than the old city. India Gate is a 42-meter war memorial to the 82,000 soldiers of the British Indian Army who died in the First World War. Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Presidential Residence designed by Edwin Lutyens, is the largest head-of-state residence in the world by floor area. Qutab Minar, the 73-meter minaret begun in 1193, is the tallest brick minaret ever built and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Lotus Temple, completed in 1986 and one of the most visited buildings in the world, is a Bahai house of worship in the shape of a half-open lotus, open to visitors of any faith, who are asked only to keep silent inside.

Stay: Delhi Hotel

Day 3 Delhi to Jaipur The Pink City

A 260-kilometer drive southwest through Rajasthan brings you to Jaipur by mid-afternoon. Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II built the city in 1727, and it was painted its terracotta pink in 1876 to welcome the Prince of Wales. A municipal regulation has kept it that color ever since. In the evening, visit the Birla Temple, a modern marble temple to Laxmi and Narayan built by the Birla family in 1988, its white marble lit up at night against Moti Dungri hill.

Stay: Jaipur Hotel

Day 4 Jaipur Forts and Observatories

The Amber Fort sits on a hill above Maota Lake, 11 kilometers from Jaipur. Built in 1592 by Raja Man Singh I, the palace complex of red sandstone and white marble took over a century to complete. You go up by jeep, or on foot along the cobbled path to the main gate. Inside are the Hall of Public Audience, the Hall of Private Audience, and the Sheesh Mahal, whose mirrored ceiling turns a single candle into a thousand points of light. Back in the city, the Hawa Mahal is a five-story pink sandstone facade built in 1799 as an extension of the royal palace, with 953 small windows that catch the breeze and let royal women watch the street below without being seen. The City Palace Museum holds the royal collection of weapons, textiles, and art. Jantar Mantar, built between 1728 and 1734, is an open-air astronomical observatory with 19 large geometric instruments made entirely of stone and still precise to within two seconds. It is the largest and best preserved of the five observatories built by Jai Singh II.

Stay: Jaipur Hotel

Day 5 Jaipur to Agra The Ghost City

Drive 221 kilometers east to Agra, stopping at Fatehpur Sikri, one of the strangest places in India. Emperor Akbar built it as his capital between 1571 and 1585, a planned Mughal city of palaces, courtyards, and mosques in local red sandstone. He abandoned it around 1585, possibly because of water shortages, possibly for strategic reasons; historians still debate it. The city has been largely empty ever since and is almost perfectly intact: the Buland Darwaza, at 54 meters the highest gateway in India; the Jama Masjid mosque; and the Panch Mahal, a five-story pavilion built in stepped tiers. Because it stands exactly as it was left, it is called a ghost city. Arrive in Agra in the afternoon.

Stay: Agra Hotel

Day 6 Agra The Taj Mahal and Agra Fort

The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal between 1631 and 1653 as a mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their 14th child. The work took 20,000 workers and 1,000 elephants. The white marble came from Makrana in Rajasthan, and the inlay uses 28 kinds of precious and semi-precious stones from across Asia. The building is identical on all four sides, so it looks the same from every angle. In the afternoon, visit Agra Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in its own right: a 16th-century Mughal fortress of red sandstone enclosing palaces, mosques, and audience halls. Shah Jahan was imprisoned here by his son Aurangzeb in 1658 and spent the last eight years of his life in the Musamman Burj tower, with the Taj Mahal in view across the river.

Stay: Agra Hotel

Day 7 Agra to Khajuraho Light and Sound

A 400-kilometer drive southeast brings you to Khajuraho in the late afternoon. The Chandela dynasty ruled this region from the 9th to the 13th centuries and, at their peak, built about 85 temples over roughly a century. Of these, 22 survive. They are best known for their erotic sculpture, but the carvings cover the whole range of human life: celestial nymphs, warriors, animals, loving couples, and scenes of court life. Some of the sculpture is explicit, and it also carries a philosophy, presenting kama, one of the four aims of human life in Hindu thought, as a path toward the divine rather than a distraction from it. In the evening, a light and sound show at the Western Group of Temples, narrated by the actor Amitabh Bachchan, tells the story of the Chandela kings and how the temples were built.

Stay: Khajuraho Hotel

Day 8 Khajuraho to Varanasi The Temple Trail

Spend the morning at the Western and Eastern Groups of Temples. The Kandariya Mahadeo Temple in the Western Group is the largest and most elaborate, rising 31 meters and carved on every surface with some of the finest medieval sculpture in India. The Eastern Group has both Hindu and Jain temples and is quieter and less visited than the Western Group. In the afternoon, fly to Varanasi, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and a place of pilgrimage on the west bank of the Ganges for at least 3,000 years. Mark Twain described it as older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend. In the evening, go down to the river to watch the Ganga Aarti, the nightly fire ceremony at the main ghat.

Stay: Varanasi Hotel

Day 9 Varanasi The Holy Ganges

The boat goes out before sunrise. At dawn you see pilgrims bathing in the river, priests performing puja on the stone steps, and funeral pyres burning at Manikarnika Ghat, where Hindus believe cremation brings direct liberation from the cycle of rebirth. The ghats stretch for six kilometers along the west bank, each with its own character, and the city wakes slowly around you as the river moves past. After breakfast, visit the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, one of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines, rebuilt in the 18th century by the Maratha queen Ahilyabai Holkar, with its two towers plated in gold donated by the Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh. In the afternoon, drive to Sarnath, seven kilometers from Varanasi. This is the Deer Park where the Buddha, after reaching enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, gave his first teaching to five companions in 528 BC. That teaching, which set the Wheel of Dharma in motion, is the foundation of Buddhism, and the Dhamekh Stupa marks the spot. The Archaeological Museum holds the Lion Capital of Ashoka, the national emblem of India.

Stay: Varanasi Hotel

Day 10 Varanasi to Kathmandu Into the Himalaya

An afternoon flight takes you from the Gangetic plains to the Himalayan valley of Kathmandu. Varanasi sits at about 80 meters above sea level; Kathmandu is at 1,400 meters and ringed by peaks. After a traditional Nepalese welcome at the hotel, the evening is yours to rest and get ready for the three days ahead.

Stay: Kathmandu Hotel

Day 11 Kathmandu Medieval Valleys

The Kathmandu Valley has more UNESCO-listed monuments per square kilometer than almost anywhere else in the world, and today you visit three of them. Swayambhunath, the Monkey Temple, stands on a hilltop above the city: a white stupa topped by a golden spire, painted with the eyes of the Buddha looking out in all four directions. It has been a place of Buddhist pilgrimage since at least the 5th century. Patan Durbar Square, 6 kilometers south of Kathmandu, is the historic heart of Lalitpur and has the densest collection of old Newari architecture in Nepal: bronze statues, stone temples, and the old royal palace, built over many centuries by the Malla kings. Hanuman Dhoka, the original royal palace of Kathmandu, stands at the center of the old city, surrounded by the buildings that grew up around it over 400 years of royal rule.

Stay: Kathmandu Hotel

Day 12 Kathmandu Everest and Ancient Cities

An early-morning mountain flight from Tribhuvan International Airport follows the Himalayan range east for an hour, with a window seat and a clear view of the peaks for every passenger. On a clear morning you see Mt. Everest at 8,849 meters, along with Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, and the whole eastern Himalaya, and the pilots angle the aircraft so both sides of the cabin get the same view. After breakfast, visit Boudhanath, the great white stupa at the center of Nepal's Tibetan Buddhist community and one of the largest stupas in the world, and Pashupatinath Temple on the banks of the Bagmati River, the most sacred Hindu site in Nepal. Bhaktapur, the third of the valley's medieval cities and the best preserved, had much of its Durbar Square rebuilt after the 2015 earthquake, but it still has the 55-Window Palace and the five-tiered Nyatapola Pagoda. In the evening, a farewell dinner of traditional Newari cuisine with a live folk dance program.

Stay: Kathmandu Hotel

Day 13 Departure

Breakfast at the hotel, then a private transfer to Tribhuvan International Airport for your international departure.

Stay: International Departure

The Sherpa Standard

Every SherpaHolidays trip is fully supported. Here is what that means on this one.

Accommodation and Meals

• India and Nepal: 4-star and boutique heritage hotels throughout.
• Half Board: Daily breakfast and traditional dinner included at all locations.
• Farewell Dinner: A final Newari feast with live folk dance in Kathmandu.

Leadership and Logistics

• Local Guides: Professional English-speaking guides at every historical site and monument in both countries.
• Specialist Guidance: Dedicated guides in Varanasi and Sarnath with deep knowledge of Hindu and Buddhist philosophy and practice.
• 24/7 Ground Support: Private air-conditioned vehicles and in-country support throughout.

Transport and Experiences

• Mountain Flight: One-hour scenic flight from Kathmandu with a window seat for every passenger and views of Mt. Everest at 8,849 meters.
• Internal Flights: All domestic flights arranged: Khajuraho, Varanasi, and Kathmandu connections.
• Amber Fort: Guided visit to the Amber Fort in Jaipur, reached by jeep or on foot.
• Entry Fees: All monument entry fees, road taxes, and park permits fully covered.

What Is Not Included

• Indian and Nepalese entry visa fees
• Comprehensive travel insurance, which is a condition of every booking. Your policy must cover emergency medical treatment, emergency evacuation, trip cancellation and interruption, and repatriation. We can recommend providers.
• Personal expenses, including laundry, telephone calls, and shopping
• Tips for guides, drivers, and hotel staff
• Single supplement (for those taking a private room)

Five Highlights

The Taj Mahal

Emperor Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal between 1631 and 1653 as a mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. It took 20,000 workers 22 years, with white marble from Makrana and gemstone inlay from across Asia, and the design is perfectly symmetrical on all four sides. It is the most visited monument in India.

The Ganges at Sunrise

A slow boat along the ghats of Varanasi before the sun is fully up, past rituals that have been performed in this same place for at least 3,000 years: bathing, prayer, cremation, and the steady movement of pilgrims on the stone steps. Varanasi is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and the most sacred in Hinduism, and the river is the reason the city exists.

Khajuraho Temples

Built by the Chandela dynasty between 950 and 1050 AD, the surviving temples of Khajuraho are covered in some of the most elaborate medieval sculpture in the world. The erotic carvings are famous and striking, but they are one part of a larger program showing the whole of human life as Hindu philosophy understands it, a view in which the life of the senses is part of the spiritual path.

Everest Mountain Flight

A one-hour flight from Kathmandu along the Himalayan range, with a window seat for every passenger and a direct view of Mt. Everest at 8,849 meters. The pilots angle the aircraft so both sides of the cabin see the peaks equally. On a clear morning you can also see Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, and the whole eastern Himalaya. It is the closest most people ever get to the highest point on earth.

The Durbar Squares of Kathmandu

Patan, Bhaktapur, and Hanuman Dhoka are three medieval city centers built by the Malla kings of the Kathmandu Valley between the 12th and 17th centuries. Each is packed with Newari architecture, stone temples, bronze statues, and palace courtyards that have survived earthquakes, conquest, and centuries of change. People have lived and worked in these squares without a break, and they still do.