UNIWORLD
12 Day | Me to We and the Sacred Ganges
Southbound

NEW DELHI TO KOLKATA

Day 1 | New Delhi, India. Arrive at New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport. If your cruise/tour package includes a group arrival transfer or if you have purchased a private arrival transfer, you will be greeted by a Uniworld representative and transferred to The Oberoi Guragon.

Day 2 | New Delhi. Udaipur. Araveli. This morning, you’ll transfer from your hotel to your commercial flight to Udaipur, where you’ll then make your way to your home for two nights, the bespoke Araveli Cottages and Tented Camp, in Rajasthan. After a brief introduction and orientation about your time with ME to WE, you’ll prepare for your interactions with locals with a lesson in basic Hindi phrases. Then, it’s off to the local village to mingle with community members. To mark the beginning of your time in Rajasthan, you’ll partake in a Hindu tradition, a Poja, a Hindu prayer ceremony that marks the beginning of an auspicious event. The blessing ensures the success and prosperity of the work being undertaken.

Featured Excursion — A little Hindi lesson and community welcome

Day 3 | Araveli. After a blissful night’s sleep in your private cottage or luxury tent, choose to wake up to a sunrise yoga session overlooking the pink-hued Aravalli Mountain Range. Spend the rest of your morning with women in the community and learn what daily life in rural India is like. Enjoy a savory meal and cup of chai as you take in the beautiful surroundings and a traditional jhapki (Hindi for “siesta”). Then, meet a local farmer before venturing to the project site of your sustainable development project. Cap your first full day with a colorful performance showcasing local folk dance traditions.

Featured Excursions — Day in the life and Local farmer with project building

Day 4 | Araveli. Udaipur. Kolkata. Your time with ME to WE is coming to a close this afternoon, but not before a slew of authentic Indian experiences in nearby Udaipur, often nicknamed “Venice of the East.” Explore Udaipur’s splendor with stops at the world-renowned architectural marvels, City Palace and Taj Lake Palace, followed by lunch on the shores of beautiful Lake Pichola. The majestic City Palace was built nearly five centuries ago and sits on a hill overlooking the city below, while the opulent Taj Lake Palace appears to float over the water—it can only be reached by boat. The Palace also makes a guest appearance in a 1983 James Bond film. Visit a lively Indian market, teeming with shops, motorcycles, rickshaws, and cows before checking into The Oberoi Grand, Kolkata.

Featured Excursion — Sightseeing in Udaipur and lunch on the shore of Lake Pichola with market shopping

Day 5 | Kolkata. Embark. Kalna. Settle into your beautifully appointed suite aboard the Ganges Voyager II in Kolkata (a city formerly known as Calcutta), the gateway to your journey along the world’s holiest river, the sacred Ganges. This evening, delight in a Captain’s reception dinner and welcome onboard.

Day 6 | Kalna. Kalna, once an important trade port on the river, is best known today for the magnificent Hindu temples built by the maharajas of Bardhaman in the late 18th and 19th centuries–which you’ll experience today. After marveling at the astonishing Rajbari temple complex, you may opt to walk with your guide through the colorful local market or return to the ship.

Featured Excursion — India’s “Temple City”

Day 7 | Matiari. Your ship serves as a time machine today, transporting you hundreds of years into the past, as we travel to an artisan village where craftsmen use materials and techniques that have remained unchanged for centuries.

Featured Excursion — Matiari master craftsmen with an introduction to brass

Day 8 | Murshidabad. Baranagar. Today’s adventures take you to a duo of Bengali towns—Murshidabad and Baranagar—each one boasting beautiful architectural monuments closely linked to the ruling families of the area. This evening, following dinner onboard, take in a lively and fun-filled Bollywood-style show, complete with music and dancing.

Featured Excursion — Visit to Murshidabad City

Choice of Featured Excursions — Ride by buggy to Katra Mosque –OR– Baranagar village visit

Day 9 | Mayapur. Few places of worship exist on such a head-spinning scale as what you will witness today in Mayapur, the center of the international Hare Krishna movement and home to the new Temple of the Vedic Planetarium, still under construction.

Featured Excursion — Hare Krishna complex and Temple of the Vedic Planetarium

Day 10 | Bandel. Chandannagar. Kolkata. Most students of history know a thing or two about the British colonial powers in India, but few are aware that the French had colonies here, too—including one that existed as late as the 1950s. You’ll visit this former French outpost today, as well as a famous Shia pilgrimage center.

Featured Excursions — Excursion by boat to the shore of Bandel and India’s French colonial heritage

Day 11 | Kolkata. The city of Kolkota is virtually synonymous with the enduring legacies of Mother Teresa— recently canonized as a Catholic saint—and the colonial-era British Raj, both of which you will get better acquainted with today. On this afternoon’s excursion, you’ll visit the Mother House, where Mother Teresa lived and worked for decades. See her simply furnished room and the tiny museum devoted to her, where her Nobel Peace Prize medal is on display, along with informative newspaper clippings and photos. You’ll also be able to pay your respects at her tomb.

Featured Excursion — Kolkata city tour: visit the Flower Market, colonial sites and Kumartulli

Choice of Featured Excursions — Mother Teresa’s home and tomb –OR– NGOs Kolkata Rescue visit

Day 12 | Kolkata. Disembark. Your incredible Indian adventure ends early this morning, as you disembark and transfer to the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport for your flight home, or extend your journey with an optional extension to Varanasi.

NOTE: Itinerary is subject to change without notice. For the most up-to-date information, please refer to the itinerary schedule you receive with your final documents.

SOUTHBOUND ITINERARY 12 DAY | NEW DELHI TO KOLKATA