Let India’s complexity envelop you as tranquility and chaos vie for your senses and peacocks cross your path. In the sultry stillness of India's western desert, meet with village elders who share their ancient wisdom, join master carpet weavers who invite you participate in the dance of warp and weft, and dine with majestic maharajas who spin tales of the days of the British Raj. In the ghost city of Fatehpur Sikri, built at the peak of Mughal power, study Emperor Akbar’s vision for a multicultural, tolerant nation through a combination of Hindu and Islamic architectural motifs. In sacred Varanasi, India’s site of redemption, travel by rickshaw to the Ganges’ edge as pilgrims bathe in the holy water. In the shadow of the Taj Mahal, travel back in time to ponder Shah Jahan’s devotion to his beloved, whom he memorialized in this tomb. Travel to unexpected, tucked-away architectural jewels of India that few Americans visit – the Golden Temple of Amritsar which rivals the Taj Mahal, the rational designs of modernist architecture in Le Corbusier’s Chandigarh, or Madurai’s sacred Meenakshi Temple – the only temple in India dedicated to a woman. Dine in regal splendor in the gracious home of an Indian general, at the country retreat of a spice
farm entrepreneur, or at a feast in your honor on the romantic rooftop of the Lake Palace Hotel.
In Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, meander the narrow passageways or stand among the breeze-blown prayer flags at the Swayambhunatyh Buddhist stupa, a sacred site for over 2,500 years. Traverse the Kathmandu Valley to the ancient city of Bhadganon and see the country’s tallest temple, Nyatapola, elaborately embellished by stone-formed wrestlers, dragons and elephants. Travel by elephant among the Bengal tigers, one-horned rhinos, leopards and wild boar who are at home in Nepal’s Royal Chitwan National Park. Marvel at the mysteries of Chomolungma (Mount Everest) in a sunrise soar over the peaks, the flight of a lifetime.
