We take you to the Golden Temple early, before the day gets loud. The marble is cool underfoot, the water in the tank is still, and the priests are already chanting inside — a low continuous sound that carries through the inner corridors. You walk slowly. There’s no schedule to it. We spend time with you in the langar hall too, the free community kitchen that feeds up to a hundred thousand people a day, every day, without asking anyone who they are or where they’ve come from. It’s one of those things you have to see in person to properly understand.

In the afternoon we head out to the Attari-Wagah border for the Beating Retreat Ceremony. This one’s a spectacle — high-stepping guards from both sides, patriotic music, flags coming down in perfect synchrony as India and Pakistan close the border for the night. The crowds are enormous and enthusiastic and it’s genuinely good fun. Not a quiet cultural moment; a loud one, and worth every minute.

Back to Amritsar for a welcome dinner with the group — a proper start to the trip, food and conversation and a chance to settle in with the group.

Inclusions: Breakfast, Golden Temple visit, langar hall experience, Wagah border ceremony with private transfers, welcome dinner

Accommodation: Fortune Inn, Amritsar

After breakfast we take you north through the Kangra Valley to McLeodGanj — home of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. It’s about 210 kilometres and takes four and a half to five hours, and the landscape does most of the talking. You start in Punjab’s flat fertile plains — wheat, mustard, tractors, wide open fields — and slowly the ground begins to rise. Farmland gives way to villages, villages give way to forested hills, and by the time you’re winding up the last stretch of road the air has cooled noticeably and you’re properly in the Himalayan foothills.

We break for lunch somewhere along the way — nothing fancy, just a decent stop to stretch and eat. Arrival into McLeodGanj is usually late afternoon. Once you’ve checked in, we take you out for a relaxed orientation walk through the bustling Main Square — Tibetan markets, cafés, colourful prayer flags strung overhead — just enough to get your bearings and start to feel the shape of the place.

Evening is free to enjoy dinner at one of the many excellent local restaurants — wander down the lane, find a cup of chai, take it slow. There are a few days here, so there’s no need to rush anything tonight.

Inclusions: Breakfast, private AC transfer Amritsar to McLeodGanj, orientation walk through McLeodGanj Main Square

Accommodation: Kailwood Guesthouse (or equivalent), McLeodGanj

In the morning we visit the Tsuglagkhang Complex — the Dalai Lama’s residence and main temple. There’s a quiet energy about the place. Monks moving through in maroon robes, prayer wheels spinning under people’s hands as they walk the outer path, low chanting drifting out from the temple. You can spend as long as you like here; it rewards slowness.

In the afternoon we’re off to Bhagsunag Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, older and less polished than what you’ll have seen at Tsuglagkhang — a working local temple. From there it’s a short optional walk to Bhagsu Waterfall, tumbling down through the rocks above the village. Nothing arduous, just a good stretch of the legs with something worth seeing at the end of it.

Inclusions: Breakfast, Tsuglagkhang Complex visit, Bhagsunag Temple, Bhagsu Waterfall walk, private transfers

Accommodation: Kailwood Guesthouse, McLeodGanj

After breakfast we start with St. John in the Wilderness — a neo-Gothic stone church built in 1852, tucked into a grove of deodar cedars. It shouldn’t work up here but it does; the stained glass, the churchyard, the trees, all of it feels like it’s been left behind by another century and is doing fine on its own terms.

From there we walk you through the Dharamsala Tea Gardens and on to the Norbulingka Institute — a beautifully kept place dedicated to preserving Tibetan art and culture. Japanese-style gardens, quiet courtyards, and workshops where you can watch artisans practicing thangka painting and wood carving up close. It’s genuine work being done here, not a demonstration. Lunch at the Norbulingka restaurant on site. We head back into McLeodGanj for a free afternoon — poke around the shops, or just have a slow one at the guesthouse.

Inclusions: Breakfast, St. John in the Wilderness, Dharamsala Tea Gardens, Norbulingka Institute visit, private transfers

Accommodation: Kailwood Guesthouse, McLeodGanj

Choice day. Two options, pick whichever fits.

Option A — Triund Trek. About nine kilometres up through pine, oak and rhododendron forest, a steady climb up ending at the Triund ridge. From there you’ve got the Dhauladhar range rising on one side and the Kangra Valley spread out on the other — one of those views that pays back the effort in full. Packed lunch at the top, easy pace back down. Good boots and a reasonable level of fitness is required. It’s straight up and straight down.

Option B — McLeodGanj – ‘do your own thing’ at leisure. Tibetan handicraft shops, cafes with proper coffee, bookstores that could hold you for an hour, another walk doing the ‘Kora’ around the base of the Dalai Lama’s temple. Nothing wrong with a slow day. Either way, it’s your pick.

Inclusions: Breakfast, trek guide and packed lunch (Option A), leisure day lunch (Option B) at Kailwood Guest House

Accommodation: Kailwood Guesthouse, McLeodGanj

This is the day. If there’s one thing that makes this trip what it is, it’s this.

Vikas and I take you up to Naddi — either on foot if you’re up for it, or by taxi if you’d rather — a village sitting just across from McLeodGanj with proper mountain views. Vikas walks you into his home and the homestay run by his own family, and you’re welcomed the way anyone who turns up there is welcomed: with tea, straight away, and not much fuss. Then a home-cooked family lunch, made in the kitchen you’re sitting next to — Vikas in and out of it, translating, pouring, explaining what’s on your plate.

What you get here is a real look at Gaddi life. The Gaddis are the semi-nomadic pastoral community of Himachal Pradesh, and Vikas is one of them. Over lunch and after, you’ll hear about the daily rhythm — the livestock, the seasons, how the household runs, how it all fits together. This isn’t a performance. It’s his family’s home, and you’re a guest in it. In the afternoon we bring you back down to McLeodGanj, via foot or taxi.

Inclusions: Breakfast, walk or taxi to Naddi, family homestay visit, welcome tea, home-cooked lunch, return to McLeodGanj

Accommodation: Kailwood Guesthouse, McLeodGanj

We bring you down off the hill today. It’s about 75 kilometres, three hours or so, dropping out of the Dhauladhar forests back into gentler country. Pragpur is a designated heritage village, and The Judge’s Court — where you’re staying — is one of the best places you’ll ever have the pleasure of unpacking a bag in. Old, characterful, run properly.

Afternoon we walk you through Pragpur’s old streets, the heritage architecture, a few local artisan shops. It’s a small place and you can cover it slowly on foot. Evening at the property and our farewell dinner.

Inclusions: Breakfast, private AC transfer McLeodGanj to Pragpur, afternoon village walk.

Accommodation: The Judge’s Court, Pragpur

Mid morning we drive you down to Amb Andaura station, about an hour and a half from Pragpur. From there you board the Vande Bharat Express to Delhi with us — a fast, comfortable, modern train and a genuinely good way to make the journey. You sit, watch the country change, have a snack, and before long you’re pulling into Delhi.

Transfer to the hotel in Aerocity, close to the airport. Evening is free — a last dinner with newly made friends, or a quiet room service if the trip’s caught up with you. This is the last night as a group.

Inclusions: Breakfast, private transfer Pragpur to Amb Andaura, Vande Bharat Express train to Delhi, transfer to Aerocity hotel. Farewell dinner

Accommodation: Hotel near Delhi airport, Aerocity

We get you to Delhi airport in time for your flight. That’s the job — we get you to the door.

But before you go: think about where you started. The Golden Temple at dawn, the marble cool under your feet. The border at Wagah in the evening. The meandering walks up into the foothills. Tsuglagkhang, and Bhagsu, and the deodar cedars at St. John’s. And a kitchen in Naddi, and tea being handed to you like you were expected.

Ten days. Not a bucket list tick — an immersion in the rhythm of North India’s Himalayan foothills, with us, not just through us. Safe travels home.

Inclusions: Breakfast, private transfer to Delhi airport, warm goodbye from Vikas and Jim

Accommodation: N/A — departure day