Treasures of Central India

BM-21662

5.0Based on

14 days

“

Fantastic trip. It is very full on....Explore warn you. One hotel was substandard....Explore will not be using it on next trip. Loved the fact we were in non-touristy areas. I had 2 extra nights at a beach hotel in Goa to relax.....worth doing if you can. A few train journeys which I loved (worth considering a rucksack or holder as luggage rather than suitcase). Go with an open mind and you will love it.

Alison | Traveled in November

5 - Excellent

Carbon neutral

14 daysDuration

Small Group TourUsually 8-12 participants

16 peopleMaximum group size

16 - 99 yearsAge range for participants

EnglishGuide language

Moderate

Involves sustained activity requiring a reasonable level of fitness and endurance.

Starts

Ends

Mumbai, India

Goa, India

Select Date

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1 other person is considering this tour right now.

Highlights

Mumbai - Explore the most-populated city in India, from the glittering skyscrapers to the slums of Dharavi, the inspiration for 'Slumdog Millionaire'. Bijapur - Visit the vast Gol Gumbaz, the Deccan mausoleum of King Mohammed Adil Shah. Ajanta and Ellora - Explore the UNESCO-listed painted caves and rock-cut temples.

Itinerary

Central India’s rich tapestry of history and culture unfolds on the Treasures of Central India tour, a 14-day exploration designed for seasoned travelers. Journey from Mumbai’s energetic streets to the serene beaches of Goa, passing through the Deccan Plateau’s most storied sites along the way.

Experience the contrasts of India as you move from glittering skyscrapers and bustling markets to tranquil villages and UNESCO-listed caves. Highlights include Mumbai’s Dharavi slums, the magnificent Gol Gumbaz mausoleum in Bijapur, and the extraordinary painted caves and rock-cut temples of Ajanta and Ellora.

This moderately active tour package blends must-see attractions with authentic local encounters, offering a deeper understanding of India’s past and present. With accommodation, transportation, meals, and expert guidance included, your journey is both seamless and richly rewarding.

The unique feature of this trip is its access to both urban dynamism and rural tranquility, showcasing the diversity that defines central India. For those eager to experience India as it is today, and as it once was, this tour is a compelling choice.

day 1Join trip in Mumbai - Visit the Gateway of India arch and explore Colaba.

Our journey through central India starts in Mumbai. Traditionally known as Bombay, the city is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra - it's also the most populated and richest city in India, so prepare to join the bustle. For those arriving in time, our tour leader will meet you in the hotel reception at 5pm for a welcome meeting followed by an orientation of the Colaba area. Colaba is the gateway of Mumbai and we'll start by visiting the honey-coloured Gateway of India arch. This arch was constructed to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary in 1911. As this arch was built for a British King, it was appropriately the place where the last British troops left India. If you'd like an airport transfer today, you'll need to arrive into Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (BOM), a one-and-a-half hour drive from the hotel. If you'd like to join the Colaba tour, you'll need to arrive at the hotel by 5pm. If you're booking your own flights, we recommend giving yourself at least one hour to clear the airport and one-and-a-half-hour to drive to the hotel. The latest your flight should arrive is 3.30pm. If you miss the welcome meeting, our tour leader will catch you up as soon as possible.

Accommodation

The Sahil Hotel Mumbai

day 2Full day exploring Mumbai including Mahatma Gandhi Museum, Towers of Silence and the thriving Dharavi quarter

day 3Train to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, formerly Aurangabad

day 4Explore the impressive Ajanta Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage site

day 5Visit Daulatabad Fort and Ellora Caves before overnight train to Hyderabad

day 6Tour of Hyderabad - visit Charminar, Golconda Fort & Qutb Shahi Tombs

day 7Journey to Bidar and spend the afternoon exploring the fort with its tombs and formal gardens

day 8Visit Gulbarga and on to Bijapur

day 9Explore the Gol Gumbaz mausoleum and Jami Masjid Mosque in Bijapur, then continue to Badami

day 10Visit Badami's Cave Temples, Pattadakal, and Aihole before arriving in Hospet

day 11Full day exploring Hampi and its ancient ruins

day 12Journey to Goa

day 13Morning visit to Old Goa, free afternoon on the pristine white-sand beaches of the Arabian Sea

day 14Trip ends in Goa

What's Included

Accommodation

The Sahil Hotel Mumbai (2 nights)The Fern Aurangabad (2 nights)Overnight Train from Aurangabad to Hyderbad (1 night)Aditya Park, Hyderabad (1 night)Mastiff Select Hotel (1 night)The Fern Residency, Vijayapura (1 night)Hotel Badami Court (1 night)Hotel Malligi (2 nights)Welcome Heritage Panjim Inn (2 nights)

Meals

12 Breakfasts

Transport

Driver(s)BusTrain

Guide

Explore Tour LeaderLocal Guide(s)

What's Excluded

Customer Reviews

4.7

based on 10 reviews

Availability

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Monthly Price Comparison

Good to Know

Travel Insurance

Visa

Other Practical Information

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14 days

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John S.Verified Traveler

4.0 | Very Good

Mar 12, 2026

This is a difficult review to write because I don't want to be unduly critical of our guide, Explore or their local contractors Immerse. However, there are problems with this tour that Explore really do need to address. Several of these have already been flagged by previous customers but they have all been ignored. Overall we enjoyed the experience but it could have been so much better had Explore responded to the feedback they've been receiving from customers about this trip for some time. The tour is not suited to first time visitors to India. It takes you into parts of the country not generally visited by western tourists, so its more chaotic, and there are longer distances between sites to visit. But if you're interested in exploring India in more depth - this is a tour worth considering. However, our enjoyment of the tour was negatively impacted by the unnecessary use of sleeper trains (which are impossible to sleep on) leaving the group exhausted the day we visited Hyderabad - one of the highlights of the tour. Those doing this tour will very likely have had at least one if not several experiences of India's sleeper trains - so their use on this tour cannot be justified as part of the 'experience' of visiting India. They actually prevent you enjoying the fascinating city of Hyderabad. And in this instance are completely unnecessary when a short, inexpensive internal flight would have transformed the experience. In this instance the use of an internal flight instead of trains is justified in sustainability terms. Customers have already taken international flights to see these sites and then find themselves unable to enjoy the short time there. By adding a few short air miles to this immense journey, customers can actually enjoy what they came to see. Instead they undertake a long international flight and find themselves frustrated and barely able to stay awake on what should be a highlight of the trip. Similarly, in contravention of Explore's T&Cs, we were booked into third class seats on a long train journey to Goa - saving Immerse literally a few pounds - but leaving the group to arrive feeling disgruntled and exhausted and much less able to use our free time in Goa's capital city. Our time in Mumbai was also negatively impacted by the decision to use a hotel located literally miles from any of the interesting parts of the city. The metro is very limited so we found ourselves stranded in a profoundly uninteresting urban sprawl. Mumbai is an expensive city - but it is certainly possible to find a more suitably located basic hotel closer to the historic parts of the city allowing customers to enjoy what precious time they have there. Our other complaint relates to the impact of finding ourselves in a small group. Only 5 people did our tour. This meant we had a much smaller tip kitty. As a result, our guide had much less money to pay for local guides at historic sites. Consequently, at the Adjunta caves we were often unable to understand what the guide was saying and found that he allowed numerous other people to join our group, so we were literally crowded out and in the end just gave up. When we raised concerns with our tour leader, he reluctantly clarified that this was the impact of having a small tips kitty at a busy time of the local tourist year. He was unwilling to flag the issue with us at the start of the tour because so many customers are unwilling to pay more towards the tips kitty or in some cases to contribute at all. But had Explore flagged to us ahead of the tour starting that this could become an issue and invited us to consider increasing our tip contribution - we would have been happy to do so. As would the others on the tour. We very much appreciate Explore's commitment to running the tour even with a small group - but they should adopt a policy of communicating with customers in this situation about the impacts on the tips kitty. Its unfair to leave it to the guide who is placed in an invidious position. This one is on Explore. Our tour leader (Anand) was a lovely man - polite, courteous and helpful. But it would have helped if Anand had been better briefed about customers' likely knowledge levels about India. As mentioned above - the people taking this tour had all been to India several times. They were all familiar with the broad overview about Indian culture and history. What was lacking was a more specific briefing about the part of India being covered on this trip - which included visiting a wide range of historic and religious sites from the Mogul and Sultanate periods. Unless you had properly internalised the ebbing and flowing of power between the many different regional rulers it was difficult to follow. Perhaps this is our fault that we hadn't done our homework better - but it might be something for Explore and Immerse to consider for future trips. Our highlights were the tour of the slums in Mumbai (genuinely extraordinary - shocking, humbling but at times hilarious), the Ellora caves and Hampi. Absolutely stunning. But we also loved the bus rides and just watching daily life in this eternally fascinating country unfold. The food was generally good. Our tour guide was lovely company as was our little group. So despite the awful train rides and some really bad local guides - we enjoyed the experience. BUT - our experiences on this tour have caused us to re-think our long-standing commitment to using Explore. The trains have been flagged by numerous customers on this trip and nothing has been done to correct this. I fear Explore is becoming complacent or drifting out of touch with its customer base. We'll certainly be reading the customer reviews of other Explore tours much more carefully from here on and will also look to find other tour companies for future holidays.

Mar 12, 2026

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Highlights

Itinerary

day 1Join trip in Mumbai - Visit the Gateway of India arch and explore Colaba.

day 2Full day exploring Mumbai including Mahatma Gandhi Museum, Towers of Silence and the thriving Dharavi quarter

day 3Train to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, formerly Aurangabad

day 4Explore the impressive Ajanta Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage site

day 5Visit Daulatabad Fort and Ellora Caves before overnight train to Hyderabad

day 6Tour of Hyderabad - visit Charminar, Golconda Fort & Qutb Shahi Tombs