ITINERARY

HERITAGE TRAINSOF INDIA

February 2-16 , 2017

TRAINS MAGAZINETOUR

Heritage Trains ofIndia 2017

.

Travel withTRAINS Magazine and

Special Interest Tours onthis two week journey by

rail through historicIndia.

Tour Highlights Ride along the DHR (DarjeelingHimalayan Railway, a narrow

gauge rail)National Rail Museum in Delhi

Rewari Steam CenterTaj Mahal Tour

Sightsee Palaces and Tombs inDelhi and Jaipur

Passage through the'Batasia Loop’

Privately chartered groundtransport

Daily breakfast at the hotel, andone additional daily meal

14 nights luxury accommodation

** Group Flights Available**Please contact us if you

are interested in joining the groupflight.

Feb 2ndFly into Delhi in the evening. Fromthe airport we will transfer to the

luxurious Taj Mahal Hotel andsettle in for the night.

Day 2 Feb 3rd

Please Note

Day 1

After an early breakfast at the hotel,we will board the Express train toKalka from the New Delhi Railway

Station. Upon arrival at KalkaStation, we will board a chartered

rail-bus to Shimla on narrow gauge.The historic rail-bus was originallyused to transport notable travelerson the railway and has exclusively

first class accommodations. It has aglass roof and forward views which

allow passengers to take fulladvantage of the fantastic scenery

through which the line passes.

Day 4Feb 4thDay 3

Today we will ride on the narrowgauge Kalka Shimla Railway (KSR), a

UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This route features spectacularscenery and marvels of construction.

It has hundreds of bridges andviaducts, numerous tunnels, and a

ruling gradient of 1 in 33.

We join our specially chartered steamtrain at Shimla Station, the hill

station terminus of the line, for areturn trip to

Kathleegaat Station.

The two railway stations are 23 km(14 miles) apart but the 2 hour

journey each way will provide ampleopportunity to appreciate the

breathtaking views and amazinginfrastructure.

Our train will be hauled by the Britishbuilt steam locomotive KC520, whichhas recently returned from overhaulat the Northern Railway Workshops

in Amritsar.We return to our hotel, the Cecil, bylate afternoon with the evening free

to enjoy the scenic town.

Once aboard our coach bus, we will depart Chenaand return to Fairbanks. Along the way, we willstop briefly at the Alaskan Pipeline, a greatarchitectural feat in the harshest of climates.

Late afternoon will bring a brilliant tour highlight:Bob Berman’s major illustrated presentation “Lightand Color in the Universe”.

Come evening, assuming weather conditions provefair, we will charter a coach to transport our groupto a special remote location, in an attempt toexperience the impressive aurora lights!

Day 4March, 11th

Day 5Feb 6th

After breakfast we will transfer tothe Siliguri steam locomotive depot

of the famous narrow gaugeDarjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR).We have a specially chartered train,

hauled by a 'B Class' steamlocomotive to travel to Rangtong.

En route, we will pass SuknaStation, where the landscape

changes from flat plains to thewooded lower slopes of the

mountains, and the gradient of therailway changes dramatically.

Day 4Feb 5th

Today, a series of flights will bring useast to Bagdogra. From Bagdogra we

will transfer to Siliguri, a townlocated in the foothills of the

Himalayas. Here we will check intothe Royal Sarovar Portico Hotel. The

remainder of the day will be freetime to relax.

Day 6Feb 7th

The DHR has been breached byrepeated landslides in recentyears making it necessary to

continue our journey by road fromRangtong to Kurseong. In the

quaint hill station of Kurseong, wewill stay at the Chochrane Palace,an attractive colonial bungalowturned hotel. The DHR tracks runthrough the length of this former‘rest town’ from the days of theBritish Raj. The early evening is

free to discover the sights and teaestates.

This morning we will travel by jeep toKurseong Station where we'll board

a steam train on the DHR,nicknamed the ‘Toy Train’. En route,

we will pass through the famous‘Batasia Loop’ and - weather

permitting - will be able to takephotos of the train against the

background of Mt. Kanchenjunga andthe rest of the Himalayan range.Upon arrival in Darjeeling we will

transfer to the Windamere, astunning historic colonial hotel for

overnight accommodations.

Once aboard our coach bus, we will depart Chenaand return to Fairbanks. Along the way, we willstop briefly at the Alaskan Pipeline, a greatarchitectural feat in the harshest of climates.

Late afternoon will bring a brilliant tour highlight:Bob Berman’s major illustrated presentation “Lightand Color in the Universe”.

Come evening, assuming weather conditions provefair, we will charter a coach to transport our groupto a special remote location, in an attempt toexperience the impressive aurora lights!

Day 4March, 11th

Day 7Feb 8th

Today we re-board the ‘Toy Train’, forthe DHR steam-hauled service that

runs daily on a return trip fromDarjeeling to Ghum, the highest

railway station in India. There may beanother opportunity to photograph

the spectacular Himalayan Mountainswhen the train pauses at 'Batasia

Loop'. Later we will stop at Ghum andvisit the museum above the station

before we return to Darjeeling.After lunch we will visit the TibetanRefugee Center to see traditionalhandmade textiles and crafts. --

-- We will also visit the HimalayanMountaineering Institute (HMI)which houses artifacts of the

legendary Sir Edmund Hillary and thelocal Sherpa of Darjeeling, Tenzing

Norgay, who were the first toconquer Mt. Everest.  

Early risers are in for a real treattoday with our excursion to Tiger Hill(subject to clear weather as advisedby our local team). Tiger Hill is about

12 km from Darjeeling and is theplace to see the spectacular sunrise

over Mount Kanchenjunga - theworld’s third highest mountain.

Feb 9thDay 8

Once aboard our coach bus, we will depart Chenaand return to Fairbanks. Along the way, we willstop briefly at the Alaskan Pipeline, a greatarchitectural feat in the harshest of climates.

Late afternoon will bring a brilliant tour highlight:Bob Berman’s major illustrated presentation “Lightand Color in the Universe”.

Come evening, assuming weather conditions provefair, we will charter a coach to transport our groupto a special remote location, in an attempt toexperience the impressive aurora lights!

Day 4March, 11th

As the sun appears, the mountaindramatically changes color; an

awe-inspiring experience not to bemissed. On a perfectly clear day, Mt.

Everest can also be seen.

Along our return to Darjeeling, wewill visit the Tibetan Buddhist

Monastery at Ghum, which was builtin 1875 and contains a 15 foot high

statue of the Buddha.

Breakfast will be provided upon ourreturn to the hotel. You will havethe rest of the day free to enjoy

this beautiful hill station.

We leave Darjeeling today, travelingby road to Bagdogra Airport where

we board an afternoon flight to Delhiwhere we will spend the night.

Day 10Feb 11th

Today we will depart Delhi fromthe Cantonment Railway Stationand journey by steam train to

the Rewari Steam Center.

Feb 10thDay 9

Feb 13thDay 12

Our train will be hauled by one ofIndia’s iconic steam locomotives, aWP class ‘pacific’ built post World

War II for use on prestigiousexpress trains. The Rewari SteamCenter houses preserved broadgauge and metre gauge steam

locomotives.The site also includes a library, small

exhibits, a steam crane, and arestored saloon carriage. The latterwill be our venue for having a boxed

lunch that has been speciallyarranged for us. Following this visit,we will travel by road southwest to

the majestic state of Jaipur.

Today in Jaipur, the "pink city", wewill visit the Amber Fort, the City

Palace, the Observatory, and drivethrough the Hawa Mahal.

Day 11Feb 12th

This morning we travel east to Agra– the city of Taj Mahal. En route wewill stop at Fatehpur Sikri, a UNESCOWorld Heritage Center. On arrival in

Agra, we will check into theITC Mughal Hotel.

Day 14Feb 15th

In the late afternoon we will visitthe Red Fort, Itmad Ud Daulah,

and witness the art of Pietra Dura(the inlay technique of using cut

and fitted, highly polished, coloredstones to create images).

Day 13Feb 14th

We will rise early to visit the TajMahal at dawn. Sunrise, with itsshifting colors and soft light, is

the best time to visit thisiconic site.

After the Taj Mahal tour, breakfastwill be provided at the hotel

followed by free time to rest andrelax. In the afternoon we will

check out & drive to Delhi.

After breakfast, we will take arickshaw ride through the Old Delhibazaars and visit the sights of OldDelhi including Jama Masjid, one ofthe oldest mosques in India, and

Humayun's Tomb.After lunch, we will visit the

National Rail Museum.

Once aboard our coach bus, we will depart Chenaand return to Fairbanks. Along the way, we willstop briefly at the Alaskan Pipeline, a greatarchitectural feat in the harshest of climates.

Late afternoon will bring a brilliant tour highlight:Bob Berman’s major illustrated presentation “Lightand Color in the Universe”.

Come evening, assuming weather conditions provefair, we will charter a coach to transport our groupto a special remote location, in an attempt toexperience the impressive aurora lights!

Day 4March, 11th

Total Cost of Tour

Per person, based on doubleoccupancy: $4776

Singles Supplement: $1569

Per person deposit, due uponregistration: $500

Full Payment Deadline: November15th, 2016

Not Included in Tour Price

Airfare to and from Delhi(**Group flights available**)Items of a personal natureAdditional Meals (>2 meals daily)

Day 15 

Included in Tour Price

14 nights luxury hotel stayTwo meals dailyGround TransportationInternal FlightsAll train rides and activitiesmentioned above.

In the evening, we will gather onelast time as a group at our

farewell dinner before guestsdepart for their flights home. Ahotel room will be provided forguests to rest and freshen up

before their flights.

Day 15Feb 16

Transfers will be provided to theairport for flights home.

HotelsPlease see below for a list of hotels we will be staying at:

Taj Mahal (Delhi)The Cecil (Shimla)

Royal Portico (Siliguri)Cochrane Place (Kurseong)The Windamere (Darjeeling)

JW Marriott (Delhi)The Trident (Jaipur) ITC Mughal (Agra)

JW Marriott (Chandigarh)

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Alternatively, should SIT be able to replace the cancelled reservation with that of another paying guest, a full refund is thenmade possible. Special Interest Tours may increase the overall tour cost for guests should there be an increase of cost inpreparation. If any tour guest chooses not to participate in an activity or meal as included in the itinerary, there will be no refundfor that unused portion of the tour. If any tour guest exits or is removed from the tour under any circumstance, a refund shall bemade only for refundable, unused services as they remain.

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Terms & Conditions

** Itineraries subject to change due to extreme and/oremergency circumstances including: default of any thirdparties, sickness, weather, strikes, acts of nature, acts of

terrorism, war, quarantine, theft, criminal activity or any othercause beyond our control