YPT tours to India

India is chaos, colour and contrast rolled into one. Megacities, deserts, jungles, border towns and backwater regions where tourism barely exists. While most visitors stick to the same safe routes, we head for secondary cities, forgotten corners and rough frontier areas that still feel properly local.

Expect long drives, basic hotels, loud streets, strong food and everyday life happening right in front of you. At YPT we aim to show you a whole other side to India that is rarely seen by visitors.

Group tours to India

YPT currently offer a number of group tours to India and the wider Indian subcontinent throughout the year. While Sikkim and Assam are our signature tours, we are constantly looking to expand our program.

Sikkim Forgotten Kingdom Tour – July 7th – 15th 2026 – $1595

Sikkim Forgotten Kingdom Tour

Discover Assam and Shillong Northeast India – Research Trip – July 15th – July 23rd 2026 – $1395 / $1495

Discover Assam and Shillong Northeast India – Research Trip

Independent tours to India

We also offer independent and bespoke tours to India if our scheduled tours don’t fit your calendar, if you want a different itinerary, or if you simply prefer to travel without a group. Our experienced team will make sure you’re travelling on an itinerary tailored to you and your preferences.

YPT have many years of experience in India and the Indian subcontinent, using only the best guides and with a firm take on your safety when traveling. 

Example 7 days India railway itinerary:

The following is our signature bespoke India by Railway Tour, which can be done in its entirety, in part, expanded, or combined with other tours to India and the wider subcontinent.

Day 1 – Delhi – Jaipur

Morning

• Arrive at your convenience into Delhi, the capital city of India, well connected with Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
• Our team will meet you at your hotel or a designated meeting point and transfer you to the railway station.
• Here, we’ll board our train, and home for the next days. 
• Breakfast will be served on-board as we travel through the countryside toward Rajasthan.

Afternoon

• We arrive in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan and famously known as the Pink City.
• Our first visit will be to Amber Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, located on a hill overlooking Maota Lake.
• We’ll explore its courtyards, palaces, and the famous Sheesh Mahal (Hall of Mirrors).
• An optional jeep ride is available for the ascent to the fort.
• On the way back, we’ll stop for photos at Jal Mahal, the Water Palace floating in the middle of Man Sagar Lake.
• Dinner and overnight at a hotel. 

Day 2 – Jaipur

Morning

• After breakfast,
• We’ll head out for a full day exploring Jaipur.
• Our city tour starts at the City Palace.
• Next, we’ll visit Jantar Mantar, an 18th-century astronomical observatory and UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• We’ll also stop for photos at the iconic Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds). 

Afternoon

• Lunch will be served at a heritage palace hotel.
• The afternoon is free to explore Jaipur’s vibrant bazaars, such as Johari Bazaar and Bapu Bazaar, well known for gemstones, textiles, block-printed fabrics, and handicrafts.
• Optional activities include a traditional block-printing workshop or a Rajasthani cooking demonstration, offering insight into local craftsmanship and cuisine.
• In the evening, we’ll enjoy dinner at a heritage venue with live folk music and traditional Rajasthani dance performances.
• Return to the train. Overnight journey toward Ranthambore.

Day 3 – Ranthambore National Park

Morning

• Early arrival near Ranthambore National Park, one of India’s most famous wildlife reserves.
• We’ll transfer to open-top jeeps or canters and head into the park for a guided safari.
• Ranthambore is one of the best places in India to spot the Royal Bengal Tiger, as well as leopards, sloth bears, deer, wild boars, crocodiles, and a wide variety of birds.
• Inside the park, we’ll also see the ruins of the historic Ranthambore Fort, blending wildlife and history.

Afternoon

• We return to the train for lunch.
• The afternoon is free to relax on-board, enjoy the lounge and bar, or attend a short talk on Indian wildlife and conservation.
• An optional visit to a nearby local village can be arranged to observe rural life in Rajasthan.
• Dinner is served on-board. Overnight train journey to Agra.

Day 4 – Agra

Morning

• We arrive early in Agra.
• At sunrise, we’ll visit the Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• A guided tour will explain its history, architecture, and symbolism.
• Breakfast will be served at a heritage hotel.

Afternoon

• We’ll visit Agra Fort, the former seat of the Mughal Empire and another UNESCO World Heritage Site. From its ramparts, you can see distant views of the Taj Mahal across the Yamuna River.
• Optional visit to a marble inlay workshop, where artisans demonstrate the traditional techniques used to decorate the Taj Mahal.
• Lunch will be served on-board as the train departs toward Orchha.
• Dinner and overnight on the train.

Day 5 – Orchha – Khajuraho

Morning

• Arrival in Orchha, a small medieval town along the Betwa River.
• We’ll explore the Orchha Fort Complex, including Jahangir Mahal.
• We’ll also walk along the river to see the beautifully preserved royal cenotaphs (chhatris).
• A tuk-tuk ride through the village allows us to experience daily life in rural Madhya Pradesh.

Afternoon

• We continue our journey to Khajuraho. On arrival, we’ll visit the Western Group of Temples, a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for its intricate stone carvings dating back over a thousand years. Despite their fame for erotic sculptures, the temples primarily depict daily life, mythology, and spiritual teachings.
• In the evening, there is the option to attend a Sound & Light Show at the temple complex.
• Dinner on-board with a cultural performance.
• Overnight train journey to Varanasi.

Day 6 – Varanasi

Morning

• Early morning arrival in Varanasi, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and the spiritual heart of Hinduism.
• We’ll board a boat for a sunrise cruise on the River Ganges, witnessing pilgrims performing rituals, bathing in the sacred waters, and priests conducting prayers along the ghats.
• We’ll then take a short walk through the narrow lanes of the old city, with views of Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

Afternoon

• We drive to Sarnath, where Buddha delivered his first sermon after attaining enlightenment.
• Here we’ll visit the Dhamek Stupa and the archaeological museum.
• We’ll also stop at a silk weaving center to learn about the famous Banarasi silk sarees.
• Lunch will be served at a heritage hotel.
• In the evening, we’ll attend the powerful Ganga Aarti ceremony at Dashashwamedh Ghat, where fire rituals, chanting, and music create one of India’s most intense spiritual experiences.
• Return to the train for dinner and overnight travel toward Delhi.

Day 7 – Delhi

Morning

• Breakfast will be served on-board as we approach Delhi, passing through rural landscapes and small towns.

Afternoon

• Arrival in Delhi.
• Disembark from the train and transfer to hotels or the international airport.
• Tour ends.

Bespoke tours to India

YPT are pleased are pleased to announce our full range of independent and bespoke tours to India. The following are some of our more well known packages, but feel free to get in touch if you wish to do something that is not listed. 

YPT Sikkim Tours

Sikkim was the first destination in India that Young Pioneer Tours offered and through our expertise, as well as using the best local partners, we offer unparalleled access here. We currently offer group and bespoke Sikkim Tours throughout the year, which you can see on our dedicated page.

YPT Assam and Sillong Tours

We run hard frontier tours through Assam and Shillong, mixing jungle national parks, tribal hill towns, and raw borderland politics. Expect rhinos in Kaziranga National Park, waterfalls and cloud forests around Cherrapunji, Khasi minority culture, tea estates, and backroad drives toward Bangladesh and Bhutan. 

North-East India Frontier Tours

North East India Frontier Tours is about getting properly off the map, into places like Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur, where mountains replace malls and tribal culture still actually exists. We cover jungle roads, forgotten border towns, living with ethnic minorities, and unpacking the region’s insurgent past and uneasy politics. Think raw landscapes, village homestays, frontier history and zero tourist infrastructure.

Jammu And Kashmir Tours

We run ground level trips through Jammu and Kashmir, combining conflict zone politics with Himalayan scenery and old school Kashmiri culture. Expect houseboats on Dal Lake, backstreets of Srinagar, mountain drives to Gulmarg, and visits near the Line of Control with Pakistan. We cover shrines, markets, army checkpoints, and villages most tourists never reach. This is India’s most sensitive region done properly: border politics, Muslim heritage, alpine landscapes, and raw street level reality, guided by our expert team. 

India by Rail Tours 

No one quite does trains like India, and no one quite does budget conscious train tours like Young Pioneer Tours. From our signature India By Railway Tour, to bespoke Indian train packages throughout the country, we can design the perfect itinerary for you. And if that were not enough, we can even make your Indian Railway tour transnational by coming with our train offerings in neighboring Sri Lanka, Nepal and even China. 

Indian Food Tours

Tell us what you want to eat and we build the trip around it. That can mean Mughlai food in Agra, market eating in Jaipur and Jodhpur, Rajasthani thalis in Udaipur or street food crawls in Mumbai. Regional dishes, local sweets, backstreet snacks and proper restaurants, all picked to match your tastes.Every tour is custom made to fit your exact requirements and indeed fear level. Our foodie tours to India use the best local guides, as well us even being able to offer our very own resident Street Food Guy as an expert leader.

Festival tours to India 

India is known for its famous and vibrant festivals, where streets, temples, and homes come alive with color, lights, music, and traditional rituals. These celebrations offer a unique chance to taste local foods, witness cultural ceremonies, and experience the spirit and diversity of India’s traditions. These include, Holi, Diwali, Pongal, as well as many of the more surreal celebrations offered within the the country. 

Tribal India

India still has tribal regions that mass tourism barely reaches. We take you deep into Nagaland for village stays and festival season, then push on to remote forest communities in Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Expect long road days, basic homestays, local rice beer, village rituals, and straight talking with people who live by their own rules. This is not polished eco travel. This is frontier India: hills, jungle tracks, dust, smoke fires, and communities that do not perform for outsiders. You walk it, eat it, drink it, and sleep locally, seeing how life actually works in parts of the country most foreigners fear to tread.

The Golden triangle  

Visit the three most famous sites in northwest India: Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur, India’s iconic travel route, the Golden Triangle. This is perfect if you want to cover some of the well-known landmarks, such as the Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Amber Fort, and the palaces in Rajasthan. 

This route can be done by either road or by India’s railway system and is easily adjustable to fit both short and fast-paced trips, as well as longer and more in-depth journeys. 

Nepal and India Tours

YPT offer a full range of group and independent travel packages to Nepal, easily combined with overland routes through India via Darjeeling and Sikkim. From there we push deeper into the northeast and central tribal belt, covering Nagaland, Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Expect long drives, basic homestays, village festivals, forest trekking, and plenty of time spent drinking with locals. This is proper frontier travel: remote communities, rough roads, minimal tourism, and access to parts of India most foreigners never reach. YPT can also arrange tours specifically based around the Maoist past of Nepal and the Indian borderlands. 

Bhutan And India/Sikkim Tours

YPT can arrange Sikkim and Bhutan Tours that cross the land border with India and Bhutan. These can further be combined with Nepal as part of a “Himalayan Kingdoms” tour, with us able to arrange, or advise on all visa and land crossing formalities. 

Sri Lanka and India Tours

Young Pioneer Tours offer group and bespoke train tours in Sri Lanka, which can be combined with our regular and train tours in India. These can be planned to fit your needs and requirements, and tailored to utilize the ferry between India and Sri Lanka. 

Naxalite Tours/Maoist Tours of India

One of the world’s longest running insurgencies, India’s Naxalite Maoist conflict has shaped entire regions for decades. With Young Pioneer Tours, we arrange travel into parts of India once under Maoist control, visiting former red zones, meeting ex commanders, local officials, villagers and civilians caught on both sides of the struggle. These are tailor made and can worked around academic, journalistic, or purely interest based programs. 

School Trips to India

Young Pioneer Tours have a long history of arranging school trips to slightly off the wall places, with us now proud to also offer India. Our school trips to India are offered to students from High school up to university level. These are offered throughout India and are tailored to your curricular needs, with safety being of paramount importance.

Filming in India Tours

Through our media arm Pioneer Media YPT can arrange for all forms of production within India. These range from big budget, to guerrilla filming, the hiring of local cast and crew and where applicable taking advantage of tax credits and other economic incentives. 

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