Railways to run special winter tours

Arnab Nandy

Taj Mahal in Agra. Picture by Atreyee Kar
Taj Mahal in Agra. Picture by Atreyee Kar

November 24 (TravelAndy): Indian Railways is launching two special trains to boost desert and heritage tourism in the country.

Operated by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC), both the semi-luxury trains will depart from New Delhi. The train designated for the desert circuit will cover the popular tourist cities of Jaiselmer and Jaipur in Rajasthan. The train assigned for the heritage tour will cover Varanasi, Khajuraho and Agra.

The desert circuit train will begin service by mid-December and conclude by April 21. The heritage circuit train will begin service on December 20. It’s last trip of the season will begin on April 24.

Eight trips will be conducted by both the trains.

The Desert Circuit package prices are Rs 36,900, Rs 33,900, Rs 32,900 (first AC single, double and triple occupancy respectively), Rs 28,025, Rs 25025, Rs 24,525 (second AC) and Rs 24,125, Rs 21,125, Rs 20,625 (third AC).

The rates for the Heritage Circuit will be Rs 35,900, Rs 32,900, Rs 31,900 (first AC single, double and triple occupancy respectively), Rs 26,200, Rs 23,200, Rs 22,700 (second AC) and Rs 21,790, Rs 18,790, Rs 18,290 (third AC).

The tourist attractions that will be covered under the desert circuit include the city fort, sand dunes, Gadisagar lake and Palwaon Ki Haveli in Jaisalmer. The destinations to be covered in Jaipur are City Palace, Jantar Mantar observatory, Chokhi Dhani, Amer Fort and Hawa Mahal.

The route of the heritage circuit includes Sarnath, along with a boat ride on the Ganges in Varanasi. Travellers will visit the eastern and western group of Temples in Khajuraho. In Agra, the sight-seeing includes Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri.