Delhi to Kathmandu Adventure — Self-Launched

Land at Indira Gandhi International and skip the hotel transfer — take the Airport Express Metro (Orange Line) to New Delhi station, about £1.20, then walk or auto-rickshaw to Paharganj. Check into a guesthouse near Main Bazaar, sort an Indian eSIM and cash at an ATM, and spend the evening acclimatising with a thali on the roof terrace. Book tomorrow's onward train online tonight (IRCTC app works with a foreign card via the 'Foreign Tourist' quota).

🚌Airport Express Metro from T3 to New Delhi ~£1.20; auto-rickshaw ~£1.50

🛏Guesthouse in Paharganj (private room with fan/AC), ~£14

• →Airport Express Metro into the city
• →Paharganj orientation wander
• →Book IRCTC train tickets

Morning on the Delhi Metro (day pass ~£1.50) to India Gate and a loop around Connaught Place for coffee and bookshops. Optionally add Humayun's Tomb (£6) or the Red Fort. In the afternoon take an AC Chair Car train from New Delhi to Jaipur, around 5 hours, ~£8-12 booked in advance. Arrive after dark, taxi to a guesthouse inside the old Pink City walls and eat at a rooftop restaurant facing Hawa Mahal.

🚌Delhi Metro day pass ~£1.50; New Delhi–Jaipur AC Chair Car train ~£10; auto to guesthouse ~£2

🛏Haveli-style guesthouse in Jaipur old city, ~£16

• →India Gate & Connaught Place
• →Optional Humayun's Tomb (£6)
• →Train to Jaipur

Take local bus 5 or a shared auto (£0.50) up to Amber Fort and buy the combined ticket (~£6, includes Jantar Mantar and Hawa Mahal). Hire the official audio guide (~£3) or a licensed guide at the gate instead of a group tour. Walk back down past Jal Mahal, then afternoon at Hawa Mahal and Jantar Mantar. Optional: a Pink City cycle tour with a local operator (~£25 incl. lassi breakfast) or a Bollywood film at Raj Mandir (~£3).

🚌Local bus/shared auto to Amber ~£0.50 each way

🛏Guesthouse in Jaipur old city, ~£16

• →Amber Fort with audio guide (~£3)
• →Combined monument ticket (~£6)
• →Hawa Mahal & Jantar Mantar
• →Optional Raj Mandir cinema (~£3)

Morning train Jaipur–Agra Cantt (about 4.5-5 hours, ~£6-9 in sleeper or AC Chair). Drop bags at a Taj Ganj guesthouse, then buy your Taj Mahal ticket online in advance — the official e-ticket is about £12 for foreigners plus £2 for the main mausoleum. Go late afternoon for soft light and thinning crowds; the ticket is day-valid so arrive early evening if you want fewer people. Dinner of Mughlai food in Taj Ganj.

🚌Jaipur–Agra train ~£8; auto-rickshaw to Taj Ganj ~£1.50

🛏Guesthouse in Taj Ganj with rooftop Taj view, ~£15

• →Taj Mahal sunset visit (~£14 online ticket)
• →Taj Ganj food street

Early Agra Fort visit (~£7, worth it for the Taj view from the ramparts), then a midday train to Jhansi (3-4 hours, ~£5). From Jhansi station take a shared tempo/taxi the 18km to Orchha (~£1.50). Orchha is tiny, cheap and quiet — guesthouses along the Betwa River cost £10-14. Sunset at the cenotaphs (chhatris) on the riverbank, then an evening puja at Ram Raja Temple, which is free and genuinely atmospheric.

🚌Agra–Jhansi train ~£5; shared tempo Jhansi–Orchha ~£1.50

🛏Riverside guesthouse in Orchha, ~£12

• →Agra Fort (~£7)
• →Sunset at Orchha chhatris
• →Evening aarti at Ram Raja Temple (free)

Hire a bicycle for the day (~£2) and ride out to the Orchha Palace complex (~£3 entry) and the Tarragram recycled-paper workshop. Afternoon options: a village cooking class (~£8-12) or a lazy riverside afternoon. Buy an AC3 or sleeper-class ticket on the overnight train from Jhansi to Varanasi (roughly 12-14 hours, ~£12-16 in AC3) — sleeper class is cheaper at ~£5 but bring a padlock, earplugs and snacks. Book a lower berth if you can.

🚌Bicycle hire ~£2; Jhansi–Varanasi overnight train ~£14

🛏Overnight AC3 sleeper train

• →Orchha Palace complex (~£3)
• →Tarragram paper workshop
• →Optional cooking class (~£10)

Roll in mid-morning, take an auto to a guesthouse in the old city near Dashashwamedh Ghat (~£12-16). Sleep off the train, then walk the ghats from Assi to Manikarnika with no guide — it's free and the best way to get oriented. Evening: buy a cheap seat for the Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat (free to stand, ~£2 for a boat view). Eat kachori sabzi and blue lassi in the lanes.

🚌Auto from Varanasi station ~£1.50

🛏Old-city guesthouse near the ghats, ~£14

• →Self-guided ghat walk
• →Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat
• →Street food crawl

Haggle a rowboat at Assi Ghat around 5:30am — expect £5-8 per boat (share with other travellers to halve it) for the sunrise rituals at the burning ghats. Afternoon options: tuk-tuk to Sarnath for the Dhamek Stupa and museum (~£3 entry plus ~£6 tuk-tuk round trip, guide optional), or a heritage walk in the old city (~£10 via GetYourGuide). Return to the river for a second boat trip at sunset with a flower-and-candle offering (~£6).

🚌Tuk-tuk to Sarnath ~£6 return; boats ~£8

🛏Old-city guesthouse near the ghats, ~£14

• →Sunrise Ganges boat trip (~£5, shareable)
• →Sunset Ganges boat trip with flower ceremony (~£6)
• →Optional Sarnath visit (~£3 entry)

Take an early train or bus Varanasi to Gorakhpur (~3-4 hours, ~£3-5), then a local bus to Sunauli on the border (~2 hours, ~£1.50). Cross on foot — get your Nepal e-visa online in advance (15-day, ~£25) to skip the queue, or buy on arrival. From Bhairahawa take a shared tempo or auto the 22km to Lumbini (~£1.50). Guesthouses in Lumbini run £10-15. Afternoon: cycle or walk the monastic zone.

🚌Train/bus Varanasi–Gorakhpur ~£4; bus to Sunauli ~£1.50; tempo to Lumbini ~£1.50

🛏Guesthouse in Lumbini, ~£12

• →Border crossing at Sunauli/Bhairahawa
• →Monastic zone wander

Early visit to the Maya Devi Temple and the Ashoka Pillar — the 3-day Lumbini combined ticket costs about £7 and covers the whole garden. Then a tourist bus or shared jeep from Bhairahawa to Sauraha, the gateway village for Chitwan (~4-5 hours, ~£5-8). Book a Tharu family homestay or community guesthouse in Sauraha directly (~£12, includes dinner and a cultural dance show most nights).

🚌Bhairahawa–Sauraha tourist bus ~£6

🛏Tharu homestay in Sauraha, ~£12 (dinner usually included)

• →Maya Devi Temple & Ashoka Pillar (~£7 combined ticket)
• →Tharu cultural dance evening

Book a jeep safari the day before through your homestay or the park office — a full-day 4x4 with a licensed guide and park permit runs £30-40 per person shared, and covers the grassland, sal forest and Rapti riverbanks. Rhinos are near-guaranteed; tigers are luck. Afternoon cycle the buffer-zone villages and rice paddies (~£3 bike hire), then dinner with your host family. Note: elephant-back safaris are widely discouraged — pick jeep or walking safaris.

🚌Jeep safari included in park activity; bicycle hire ~£3

🛏Tharu homestay in Sauraha, ~£12

• →Full-day Chitwan 4x4 jeep safari (~£35 shared)
• →Village and rice-paddy cycle
• →Tharu home-cooked dinner

Tourist bus Sauraha to Pokhara, 5-6 hours along the Prithvi Highway, ~£7-9. Arrive mid-afternoon, walk 10 minutes from the tourist bus park to Lakeside and find a guesthouse (£12-16). Sunset over Phewa Lake with the Annapurnas behind you, then momos and a beer on Lakeside. Book a Sarangkot sunrise taxi for tomorrow with your guesthouse.

🚌Tourist bus Chitwan–Pokhara ~£8

🛏Guesthouse in Pokhara Lakeside, ~£14

• →Phewa Lake sunset
• →Lakeside food stalls

Shared taxi up to Sarangkot at 4:30am (~£8 return split between travellers, or £12 solo) for the Annapurna and Machhapuchhre sunrise — skip the £100 Everest flight and put the money towards the rest of your trip. Walk or take the cable car back down via the World Peace Pagoda (~£2). Afternoon: hire a wooden boat on Phewa Lake (~£3/hour), or visit Devi's Falls and Gupteshwor Cave (~£2).

🚌Shared taxi to Sarangkot ~£8 return; boat hire ~£3

🛏Guesthouse in Pokhara Lakeside, ~£14

• →Sarangkot sunrise
• →World Peace Pagoda
• →Phewa Lake rowing boat
• →Devi's Falls & caves (~£2)

Take the 6:30am tourist bus Pokhara to Kathmandu (~7-8 hours, ~£10) or the cheaper local bus. Alternatively a 25-minute flight runs £60-90 if you're short on time. Arrive in Thamel, check into a guesthouse (~£13), then climb the 365 steps to Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple) for sunset — entry ~£1.50. Evening in Thamel: last-minute trekking-gear shopping and a proper Nepali dal bhat.

🚌Tourist bus Pokhara–Kathmandu ~£10; taxi to Swayambhunath ~£2.50 each way

🛏Guesthouse in Thamel, ~£13

• →Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple) sunset (~£1.50)
• →Thamel evening wander

Morning self-guided walk through Durbar Square (~£8), then Onto Patan or Boudhanath Stupa if you have time (~£2.50 each). Buy a final momo lunch, then take a metered taxi or the airport bus to Tribhuvan International (~£2-4 taxi, ~£0.40 bus). If you've got a late flight, store bags at the guesthouse and do the Garden of Dreams. No group farewell dinner needed — spend it at a Thamel rooftop instead.

🚌Taxi to airport ~£3

🛏—

• →Kathmandu Durbar Square (~£8)
• →Optional Boudhanath Stupa (~£2.50)
• →Garden of Dreams