The Indian Railways will on February 14 begin a tour of the prominent places associated with the life of Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar and Lord Buddha. The tour will be onboard the Samanta Express Tourist Train.
Being deemed by the Indian Railways as one of the most affordable all inclusive tour package, the 10 days-11 nights tour will cover Chaityabhoomi (Mumbai) - Mhow (Indore) - Bodhgaya (Gaya) - Sarnath (Varanasi) - Lumbini (Nautanwa) - Kushinagar (Gorakhpur) - Deekshabhoomi (Nagpur) and back to Mumbai.
The booking of Samanta Express Tourist Trains can be done from the IRCTC website or through tourist facilitation centres, zonal offices and regional offices of IRCTC.
The boarding and deboarding points for the train will be Nagpur, Wardha, Badnera, Akola, Bhusaval, Jalgaon, Chalisgaon, Manmad, Nasik and CSMT Mumbai.
The tourist attractions that will be covered by the train are Chaityabhoomi (Mumbai), Mhow (Indore), Bodhgaya (Gaya), Sarnath (Varanasi), Lumbini (Nautanwa), Kushinagar (Gorakhpur), Deekshabhoomi(Nagpur).
The tour is available in two categories - Standard for Rs 10,395 and Comfort for Rs 12,705.
The night stays will be at dharamshalas, lodges, dormitories on multi-sharing basis. The package also includes morning tea/coffee, breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinking water every day. Non AC transport will be used for transfer and sightseeing.
The passengers will have to bear any sort of expenses of personal nature, including extra fees of monuments, porterage service, natural calamity, theft, accidents, any loss or damages caused during the tour.
Passengers are asked to carry an identity card like voter card, driving license, pan card, passport or any government identity card while traveling, this is for verification when needed.
