Golden Triangle Tour

Ø Catch Golden Temple train to Amritsar from Mumbai Central, leaving at 9:25pm

ØNext full day in train

ØReach on 3^rd day at Amritsar Station by 5:30am..catch free bus run by golden temple for golden temple.(Book hotel near to Golden Temple) or shared Auto charges Rs.20/-

ØCheck in to hotel, get fresh and visit golden temple…If you don’t want to spend on hotel, you can keep your Bags at golden temple clock room which is free. But if you think to visit temple by having bath you should book hotel or you can take bath in holy water inside golden temple. There are separate changing rooms for Men and women.

ØI visited golden temple on 26^th December, Maybe because of which it took me 2.5 hours to take darshan inside Gurudwara. You can have your lunch at Langar.(Free of cost) Then you can take auto or walk to Jalianwala Bagh which is not that far. (I walked) Visit jalianwala bagh. It may take 1 hour max to explore the place. Come out and you will find auto drivers asking to go to Wagah Border. They charge around 100/- per seat. I didn’t got opportunity to visit.

ØIf in case you miss to wagah border, you can visit Partition museum (was closed for republic day). Then catch auto for Govindgarh fort (50/-).There are different entry fees for different attractions. You can choose as per your choice. But see that you reach there before 4:00pm. I reach late and all there night packages were quite high so I didn’t get in. And walked back return.

Ø You can visit local market then for shopping and can purchase mojadi , Kirpan , Swords etc.

ØThen you can visit golden temple again, its scenic at night. You can have your dinner also at langar. Its open 24 hours. Then you can checkout from hotel and leave to Amritsar railway station. There are free buses run by golden temple from Maharaja Agrasen ji Statue which is situated near to jalianwala bagh. You can either take share auto or book one for yourself. Its 20/- per seat but they charged 30/- from me.

ØCatch train to New delhi – Hirakund express leaving at 11:45pm which will reach new delhi station at 7:50am. There is another train leaving at 9:25pm which will reach H nizamuddin station at 7:05am. Its better to book Hirakund express as you get more time at Amritsar. Also at delhi many hotels are available outside new delhi railway station(Paharganj area). If you get at H nizamuddin station you have to get back to New delhi Station, which will cost you more. Moreover you may get confirm seat booking at Hirakund express. (I had booking of Hirakund express).

Ø Reach New delhi railway station and get to hotel. Check in, get fresh. In delhi there are so many places to visit. So its not possible to cover it in one day. So I made hotel booking for 2 days. To visit delhi you can have 2 circuits.

ØFirst circuit (Chandani chowk - Red Fort - Jama Masjid – Rajghat - India Gate - Raj path - Rashtrapati Bhawan   - Safdarjung Tomb - Lodi gardens ) and second (Qutub Minar - Lotus Temple – Akshardham Temple - Humayun Tomb - Jantar Mantar - Agrasen Ki Baori - Laxminarayan Temple). you can follow this or can design as per your convenience.

Ø When you reach hotel get fresh and walk to New delhi metro station. Just cross the railway bridge. Or there are cycle rickshaw which take you there. From there catch metro to Chandni chowk(Towards samaypur badli on yellow line).For better understanding download M-Indicator app and choose city delhi. It will take 5 min and Rs.10/- ticket. Get out of metro station & walk to parathewali galli.Have breakfast there and walk to Red fort (Monday closed / Entry fees 35/-).  I visited on 27^th Jan and got to know its closed till 29^th Jan for republic day functions. But I got to see republic day tableau. Then walk to Jama Masjid or you can take auto. Its not that far. As I walked, I don’t to know about auto fare but may not charge more than 20-30/-. There are no entry fees for jama masjid.

Ø From jama masjid walk to brijmohan chowk (Its so crowded near Jama masjid.If you don’t want to walk, you can get auto just outside of Jama masjid.If you are shopaholic you can purchase stuffs from meena bazaar,outside jama masjid. Catch auto or Uber pool or ola share to reach rajghat. I tried for uber and ola, but taxi or auto were not available so reached Rajghat by cycle rickshaw which took 30/-(Still more, you can bargain for 20/-). Rajghat was also closed because of republic day.BTW there is no entry fees.

Ø From there you can catch bus for India Gate. You have to walk some distance for Bus stop.There are only 2 buses which take you to India Gate from Rajghat.So its better you choose Ola share/Uber pool and save time. I booked ola share from national Gandhi museum and library Which cost me 52/-.. In between you can have your lunch. At india gate you can take pictures and spend some time. Now walk to Rashtrapati Bhavan on rajghat. It’s a great feeling to walk on Rajghat.

ØPeople were not allowed to reach near rashtrapati bhavan as republic day ceremonies were going on. Then you walk to Udyog Bhavan metro station and catch metro for jorbagh (10/-20/- yellow line towards huda city center) Or you can catch bus for jorbagh from krishi bhavan bus stop. Then walk to safdarjang tomb. There is entry fees of 15/-. But I entered without ticket and no one asked me. From there you can walk to lodhi garden, or catch auto if available. Visit lodhi garden (No entry fees) and walk back to jorbagh metro station or by auto.(I walked). Catch metro for new delhi metro station( 20/- 30/- yellow line toward samaypur badli) and get back to hotel. There are so many budget restaurants, outside new delhi railway station, where you can have dinner. Have a good sleep.

ØStart early morning as circuit 2 has attractions far from each other. Walk to rajiv chowk metro station or catch cycle rickshaw. Catch metro for saket metro station (Rs.30/-40/-yellow line towards huda city center) . Get out to Saidulajab bus stop and catch bus for qutub minar bus stop(Rs.5/- No.34/427). Get to qutub minar and spend some time.(Entry fees 30/-). It will take around 1.5 hour to explore place. Now again get to qutub minar bus stop and catch bus for paras cinema (Rs.10/- No.534) or modi mill (Rs.15/- No.427). It takes around 50min. You may book ola share or uber pool to save time. This will take around 20-22 min. I took bus for modi mill and walk to lotus temple. It was closed because of Monday.  Then again I get to modi mill bus stop and look for bus to humayun’s tomb. Bus frequency is not that good. So I booked uber pool which cost me 70/-. For humayun’s tomb I found long queue for ticket. So it’s better if you book ticket online (Rs.35/-).

Ø After humayun’s tomb get to agrasen ki baori. I booked uber pool again costing 40/-. No entry fee there. Spend some time and walk to Jantar Mantar or catch auto. May charge around 30-40/- Entry fees for jantar mantar is Rs.20/-

Ø  From there you can catch auto to new delhi railway station or walk. Get fresh at hotel and catch auto to laxminarayan mandir / Birla mandir costing Rs.50/- (You may book ola/uber share). It was around 9:10pm when I leave from birla mandir so I didn’t get auto there.  I walked to nearby chowk and catch auto to new delhi railway station costing 40/-. Have dinner outside new delhi railway station. And get to hotel room and have good sleep.

ØNext day morning reach to H nizamuddin railway station by ola. Catch samta express for Agra cantt railway station leaving at 8:35am and reach by 11:10am. Reach to hotel by auto. Autowala ask for 100/- but bargain for 80/-. Check in to hotel room. Get fresh and leave for Taj Mahal. Book hotel near Taj Mahal. You can get budget hotel near and 3 star hotels and bit far from taj mahal. Entry fees for Taj mahal are changed from 1^st January 2019. Previously it was 50/- only but now you have to pay Rs200/- extra to visit main mausoleum.

ØLater have lunch at small restaurants near Taj mahal..and get to agra fort in share auto which take 10/- per seat.Reach agra fort before 5:00pm as they close ticket window before that. The ticket for agra fort is 35/- and if you have e ticket still you have to pay extra 10/- as ADA toll tax from counter. You can return to your hotel near taj mahal by share auto from outside agra fort. Pay only 10/-and get in auto which will take you to taj mahal. I was dropped in between and was charged 15/- for share auto.

ØIf you are planning to buy Petha, buy from Panchhi petha store which is situated near east entry gate of Taj mahal..which have their logo,website name and year of establishment (1926).Many store use name panchi petha but they are not officials. Remember to buy before 7:00pm (closing time) otherwise have to buy next day morning. Morning around 7:30-8:00am shop opens.

ØI reached agra hotel 12:00pm. After getting freshen up I visited taj mahal and agra fort. But it’s not possible to visit fatehpur sikri same day. As taj mahal will take 2-2.5 hours and then reach to agra fort which takes around 1.5-2 hour. Later for fatehpur sikri you have to go to idgah bus stand from agra fort by auto (4.3km) Then its 1 hour journey by Bus (frequency of bus is every 20-25min).  And every monument closes at sunset. So it’s not possible. I had train booking of Punjab mail leaving from agra cantt 8:35am and reach to kalyan 6:20am next day.

ØTo cover fatehpur sikri too, book your return ticket of Mangala express which is at 12:05pm from agra cantt and reach Kalyan station at 8:32am next day. So when you reach Agra, book hotel near taj mahal. Then first visit agra fort and then go straight to Fatehpur sikri. Reach before 5:00pm as it closes at 6:00pm you will get one hour. Then return to idgah bus stand by bus. And then to your hotel by auto. Next day early morning visit Taj mahal (By 7:00am). (Remember south gate entry is closed, Only east gate and west gate entry is open). If you visit early morning you can have beautiful look of taj mahal, also less crowded. Then buy petha from panchi petha store mentioned earlier. Spend 2-3 hours and come back to hotel, checkout and then proceed to agra cantt railway station by auto which charge around 80-100/- . Catch mangal express and return to your home with best memories.

ØFor online entry ticket booking visit https://asi.payumoney.com/#/. In delhi I would recommend Hotel Star villa which I booked, just outside of New Delhi Railway Station. From here New Delhi metro station and rajiv chowk metro station are walkable.

THANK YOU

kille raigad(19/01/2011)

This plan was decided in morning n we leave at night.(You may think that whats a big deal in it bt it's a big deal 4 us)so plan was to meet at dombivli bus stop(@ bajiprabhu chauk)  at 9:00pm.bt as usual all (just 5 people) get together at 9:30.We get the bus for panvel within 5 min.... guys frequency of panvel bus is good..So we were heading towards panvel..bus fair was abt 22rs/head...after 1 hour of roller coster ride..yes the roads were so SMOOTH that we had experience of roller coster ride in the bus only...as we had no hurry we had a round at panvel bus stop...then we saw a chaiwala outside..ratke 11:15 baje sardi ke mausam main garma garam chai to banti hai boss...so we had chai..then we again head to bus stop...there were 4-5 buses passing by mahad..so we had option...then we select the bus with less rush....we get in.. n the bus move towards mahad...The cool air coming through windows was almost ice cold...the conductor saw this n closed the windows...though we were njoying the cool air we feel good after windows were closed...we pay the fair which was 112rs/head...the bus was moving towards mahad...as soon as there was 00:00am in the clock the TRAGEDY WAS STARTED..........
After  3 hrs of travel we reached at mahad bus stop @ 2:30am....we get to the platform from were we would get the bus for pachad(the base village of raigad)...as 1 of my friend had go to raigad b4 he told us that the bus for pachad is @4:45am....so we started playing uno there with some photosession...by the time 1 bus stops in-between us and a light ..because of which we were not able to play in shadow...we curse that bus...after 15 min of stop that bus leave...as the time was passing we get bored...so i go to enquiry counter......there i got the shock..the bus which was standing in front of us was the bus for pachad n there no bus @4:45am...the time was changed to 3:45am...n there is no bus upto 8am...we were so much irritated..bt it was our mistake.. we have to do the enquiry...then we asked the chaiwala abt any other option to go to pachad...he told that we will get the 6 seater from the chauk nearby..we get to the chauk by the road as told by chaiwala...we found the 6 seater stand there...after some arguments 1 driver agreed in total 200 rs...then our journey towards pachad started...it was so cool at morning n we almost wrap ourself in sweatre n shawl...we all got in sleep that we dont get when we reached to the base...@5:30 we were at base....

mahadarwaja

Then we get ready in a small hotel at base n we started our trek...the starting of fort is abt 2km from base..We reached up with nice scenery around...then by taking name of chatrapati shivaji we started trek....from the base only photosession started...we had company of one group of soldier of maratha infranrty ...bt within few min they reach much ahead..after 1:30hrs we were at the maha darwaja....then within half n hour we were at BALEKILLA ...we saw many places such as ranivasa,maharjancha mahal,meghdambari,buland darvaja,bajarpeth,takmak tok,chatrapati shivajinchi samadhi etc....bt couldnt saw all the points..then we had lunch...we all open our dabbas...we were so much tired that we finished all within 15 min.....we rest there for sometime...n started getting down...inbetween there was a small waterfall....the water was so much cold that water from fridge will be ashamed...then we get down..the return bus from pachad was at 5:30pm...bt as usual bus was late....after making us w8 4 almost 45 min bus came...n our return journey started...we reached to mahad bus stop within 20-25 min....then we had nashta at a outside hotel...then we get in the bus for panvel....bt the bus get punchered after 15 min ...again we have to w8 for 15 min...then a new bus came n then we moved towards panvel....bt we reached so late that the last bus for dombivli was gone..n there was no bus till morning...we thought that we have to spend the night there only....bt there comes a bus @ 11:30 which leave us at dombivli midc...now we were at dombivli midc we saw a single rickshaw there..bt b4 we reach at it other guy hired it..hell hell...bt it was 00:00 and suddenly we saw a bus for dombivli west and THE TRAGEDY WAS OVER.......we all get in it with a large smile on our face....n then all of us get to our own house ...in this way my first trek was done WITH FULL OF TRAGEDY......