How much will one be willing to spend to travel up to Jammu and Kashmir from Thiruvananthapuram? Not several lakhs of rupees, certainly! You may now travel from south to north of this country and capture all major visitor attractions en route for just below Rs 30,000 and that too on board a train. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has come up with an exciting new package for travel enthusiasts that envisages a pan-India visit lasting 13 days. The trip will be on the 3rd AC and sleeper class coaches of the Bharat Gaurav train, known for low-budget trips to tourist destinations.
The new package, titled ‘North Western Delight with Vaishnodevi’, will last 12 nights and 13 days. The journey will begin on November 19 and conclude on December 1. The train offers a total of 754 seats, including 544 standard class and 210 comfort class seats. The standard seats, which include sleeper-class travel, non-AC vehicles for commuting to and fro the stations, AC rooms on a triple-sharing basis for an overnight stay, etc. can be booked at Rs 26,310. The ticket fare for children aged between 5 and 11 will be Rs 24,600. The comfort class seats offer travel in AC 3-tier coach, non-AC vehicles for transfer, and AC rooms in budget hotels on a triple-sharing basis, etc. The ticket fare for adults is Rs 39,240 while that of children will be Rs 37,530.
The package also includes the provision for morning tea, vegetarian breakfast, noon meals, and supper. The IRCTC tour managers will be on board the train to extend assistance to the guests. The visitor fee at locations and service of tour guides have not been included in the package. The train will have boarding and de-boarding points at Kochuveli, Kollam, Chengannur, Kottayam, Ernakulam Town, Thrissur, Shoranur Junction, Kozhikode, and Kannur, besides Mangaluru in Karnataka.
The passengers will be taken to several destinations, including Ahmedabad, the Statue of Unity, Jaipur, Vaishnodevi temple, Amritsar, etc. In Ahmedabad, passengers will be taken to the Sabarmati Ashram, Akshardham Temple, Motera sun temple, and the Adalaj step-well. In Jaipur, the visitor attractions such as the Jaipur City Palace, Hawa Mahal, Amer Fort etc will be covered. The stopover at Amritsar will include brief visits to the Golden Temple, Jallianwalla Bagh, and the Wagah-Attari Border, etc. For more details, visit the website.
