You are assisted with your check-out in the late morning and driven to the airport. Although poor airplane food may be available on the flight, we recommend that you eat before the journey. You are assisted with boarding your early afternoon no-frills nonstop flight to Varanasi (Banaras). India’s holiest city is the oldest continuously inhabited city on our planet with a history that dates back five millennia. Upon arrival at the Varanasi airport, you are driven to your exquisite Palace Hotel. This is the only true luxury lodging in Varanasi and calling the small Nadesar Palace ‘boutique’ is a vast understatement. Built by the East India Company in the 18th century, it was taken over by the local Royal Family in the late 19th Century and served as a guest house for British and other Royalty during their visits to India. It is the centerpiece of a very large campus of gardens and organic farmland.

After a brief break to freshen up, you will head to the Ghats on the holy river’s banks. These Ghats stretch for a few miles and are always full of activity, but the middle of the whole expanse is where the holiest Ghats are located and where the main evening ceremony takes place. You will board your boat for a cruise along the river and all its evening activities, and your boat excursion ends with a close-up view of the iconic Ganga Aarti ceremony on the now crowded Dashashwamedh Ghat, the holiest place on the river. You can float your own lamps from your private boat while you watch the ancient prayer and oil lamp ceremony at sunset. Your boat enables you to enjoy a great view of the ceremony and hundreds of lamps as they float down the holy river.