Head into the heart of the Himalayas on this 11-day mountain adventure which includes stays in Dharamshala, Shimla and Delhi.

When you arrive at the Wagah-Attari border closing ceremony, otherwise known as the ‘flag lowering ceremony,’ you might think you’ve arrived at a football match rather than the meeting of two ideologically opposing countries. Despite the historical tension, every evening, both countries come together to celebrate the closing of the border. It’s more like a flamboyant performance to the tune of patriotic music and there’s still some harmless rivalry though which makes it good fun.

Since 1959, Indians have gathered on one side of a paved promenade while the Pakistan contingent sit on the other. Both the Indian Border Security Force and Pakistan Rangers dressed in official uniform march down the road past cheering crowds. Synchronised dance movements with slick salutes and high kicks are among the many moves on show. The soldiers even sculpt their moustaches in a bid to intimidate their opponents. This all culminates in the lowering of both countries’ flags at the same time as the sun goes down, ending in handshakes between the Indian and Pakistani military.

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Just before you arrive at the Golden Temple, a stop is made at Jallianwala Bagh, an important yet tragic site. After washing your feet, hands and covering your head, you will enter the gateway to see the striking Golden Temple appearing to almost float in the middle of a manmade pool. A real highlight of any trip is the ‘open kitchen’ which feeds hundreds of people.

Jallianwala Bagh is an open garden at which on the 13th of April 1919, the British Indian Army opened fire on a peaceful protest. The British said that 400 people died but the Indian government discovered it was more like 1500. You can still see the bullet marks on the walls. It’s a sobering, humble experience.

The Golden Temple isn’t far away. When you arrive, you will see men, women and children take a dip in the holy water and Sikh guards with long beards, dressed in yellow tunics and holding spears, survey the scene. Next visit the ‘open kitchens’ where you can see them first hand spread over three floors and devotees who can’t afford nourishing meals, queuing for bowls of dal, rice and chapati. The people serving the food are all volunteers. You can join in making chapatis, cleaning the utensils or stirring the huge pans of dal that take up an entire room.

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Experience Buddhist culture in Dharamshala on this full-day tour, with visits to Tibetan temples, nunneries and the Dalai Lama’s monastery complex. Start with a Kora around the residence of his holiness, this is a Tibetan Buddhist ritual of walking in a clockwise direction around a sacred site. You’ll see prayer flags and old ladies spinning prayer wheels and chanting – the views of the mountains are also spectacular and, if the weather is clear, you can see the Kangra Valley below. You will get to visit the main temple where the Dalai Lama conducts his teachings as well as the Kalachakra temple with its murals of tantric deities.

If you’re lucky, you might even get to watch a debate taking place. From there you will be driven to the Gyuto Tantric Monastery where around 700 monks live, it was founded by Tibetans who fled to India. A highlight is watching the monks in yellow hats chanting in the so-called Tantric Choir.

The Buddhist circuit continues at the famous Norbulingka Institute where you’ll learn about their work preserving Tibetan art and culture. They hold workshops in painting, appliqué and wood carving. Lunch will be at the Humming Bird Café, (guest to pay directly) which serves Tibetan cuisine like momos, mutton dishes and vegetable noodle soup. The tour ends with a trip to the Dolma Ling Nunnery, which is the first institute for the higher education of Tibetan Buddhist nuns.

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Discover Himalayan village life and Tibetan culture on this morning walk. Visit Naddi village, which lies about 2,000 metres above sea level, surrounded by mountains. Your guide will explain about the semi-nomadic life of the shepherd tribes. This tour gives a good insight into rural life in the mountains.

You will start at 8.30am with a drive to the Tibetan Children’s Village, a boarding school that was set up by the eldest sister of the Dalai Lama in 1961. A member of staff will show you around and talk about their inspiring work educating nearly 1,600 Tibetan kids who wouldn’t otherwise have access to education.

Then you will make your way on foot to Naddi village where the views are amazing. Your guide will explain about the semi-nomadic life of the shepherd tribe that lives in Naddi and how they travel with flocks of sheep and goats crossing high passes and travelling long distances according to the different seasons.

The walk continues through a pine and cedar forest, where you’ll find hidden caves and temples where monks come to meditate. You’ll stop at one called Golu Mata, where locals come to worship daily. There’s time for a tea break at a café before making your way down the other side of the mountain to Dharamkot. This is home to the Vipassana Centre, which offers courses in meditation and yoga based on Tibetan Buddhism.

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Visit forts, temples and ride a train through Himalayan landscape on this day out in the Kangra Valley. The tour can be taken from either Dharamshala or Palampur and starts with a drive to the Kangra Fort, the oldest fort in the region that was built in the 4th century.

It’s also the largest in the Himalayas and has stood through invasions and the earthquake of 1905, which destroyed much of the area. The fort is set on a steep rock where the Banganga and Patalganga rivers merge, on a piece of land shaped like an ear, hence the name: kan means ear and gra means fort. To reach the main courtyard there’s five different gates to cross. The view is incredible from here, you can see the entire Dhauladhar mountain range which is covered in snow during winter and spring. Next, board the Kangra Toy Train, which was constructed by the British in 1927 to build a hydroplant near Palampur. During the hour-long journey, you get to relax and take in views of the mountains, hills and valleys.

Enjoy a traditional Indian lunch at the heritage hotel Taragarh Palace before the final visit of the day, to Baijnath Temple. This Shiva temple was built in the 12th century and has legendary stories attached to it, with amazing architecture. The detailed stone carvings are the most preserved in the valley. Baijnath a living temple that’s been in use for 900 years, so you’ll see priests and devotees from around the country worshiping there, it’s a unique, spiritual experience.

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Visit the Masroor Rock Temples, one of northern India’s architectural treasures. Carved from sandstone around the 6th-7th century, they’re often called the Ellora of the Himalayas after the giant Hindu cave temples near Mumbai, which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Masroor is the only set of monolith rock temples in the whole region – they’re usually found in the south. Although the temples were built for Lord Shiva, villagers started bringing idols of Lord Rama here too. The temples are a real engineering feat, carved with floral, geometric and animal patterns.

The journey to the Masroor Rock Temples takes around two hours from either Dharamshala or Palampur and along the way, you’ll pass through valleys surrounded by sub-Himalayan scenery. As you tour the 15 different temples, your guide will point out the detailed carvings of Lord Shiva’s life. Guests love the view from the Masroor Rock Temples as you’re in the lap of the Dhauladhar mountain range, where the local Gaddi shepherds graze their cattle. It’s particularly amazing at sunset when the sandstone temples change colour in the golden light.

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Take a scenic walk to Garli, which was a thriving village in the sub-Himalayan region until India’s independence. The streets here are cobbled and filled with history, you can still see its grand havelis and Italianate buildings, as well as traditional Kangra and Rajput houses with mud-plastered walls and slate roofs. For those who love heritage and architecture, it’s a real treat.

Most of the buildings have been well looked-after, so you can still enjoy the detailed tiling, towers and stained-glass windows. Led by a guide from Judge’s Court, the walk to Garli takes you through the area’s hills and countryside, surrounded by the backdrop of the Dhauladhar Mountains. Along the way, you’ll learn all about life in the sub-Himalayas and the history of the area, from how Pragpur’s medieval water systems work to stories of local residents and the fortress that was used to defend the area. The trail leads all the way to a wonderful hilltop viewpoint.

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Begin at the house where Rudyard Kipling spent some of his youth. He took Shimla out of India through his books Kim and Plain Tales from the Hills, which comment on Shimla society.

Next descend to the house of Mr Nirmal Varma, a famous Hindu writer whose books are studied in Indian schools. The trail takes you through beautiful hillsides, surrounded by brooks and meadows, grasslands and forests. At Gol Pahari, known as Haunted Hill, you’ll hear the story of the soldiers who mysteriously disappeared here – their ghosts are said to march through the forest at night.

The tour finishes at an art gallery founded by the late, legendary Indian artist Sanath Chatterjee. His work centred around mythology and cosmic power and he was known for creating the world’s longest paintings – which spanned up to 100ft – and were registered by the Guinness Book of World Records. He was also the first Indian to get a Nobel Prize and wrote India’s national anthem. Sanath’s son, who is also an artist, now owns the gallery and will give you a tour, explaining the different pieces on display.

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Experience life in a traditional Himalayan village, where you’ll explore and dine with a local.  The trip starts with a 45-minute drive from Shimla to Dhami, a village that was once a summer hunting ground for British viceroys, where you’ll meet your host who has expert knowledge of the area’s nature, lifestyle and architecture. This is a fascinating cultural exchange where you’ll get an insight into rural Himalayan life, where people survive on agriculture, working in the fields and orchards.

You’ll meet your host, Kunwar Dushyant Singh, who has expert knowledge of the area’s nature, lifestyle and architecture. Kunwar will lead you on a nature walk in Dhami, where he’s identified around 80 species of birds, from thrushes to goldfinch and pheasants. The flora varies depending on the time of year, spring is particularly beautiful with alpine flowers while in autumn, you can watch the leaves change colour. There are amazing views of the northern mountains when the sky is clear, you can even see the snow-topped peaks of the Himalayas.

Kunwar will point out key landmarks and tell you all about his family history and life in a farming village. After the walk, you’ll return to Kunwar’s house to eat with his family. The food is home-cooked by his wife, who hails from the royal family of Tikamgarh. She makes typical Indian cuisine from the mountains, including lentil and bread dishes, as well as dumplings cooked in a large iron pan with mustard oil, served with yoghurt.

This is a fascinating cultural exchange where you’ll get an insight into rural Himalayan life, where people survive on agriculture, working in the fields and orchards, keeping cows and buffalos. If someone in the village needs to build a house, the whole community will come out to help and if there’s a marriage, everyone celebrates. It’s a close-knit place and the people are very welcoming.

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Discover the magic of Delhi at dawn on this one-of-a-kind walking tour with a Delhi local. Your guide grew up in Delhi and believes that the city is a great example of Indian culture, which is a mixture of different faiths and communities woven together through history. You’ll see worshippers at the ghats by the Yamuna River, perhaps an aarti in session with Hindu chanting – it’s a beautiful, meditative start to the tour. Delhi is a super contrasting city which is represented in the tour, as you move on from this peaceful place towards the hustle of Old Delhi.

The walk starts at 6.00am in the most ancient precinct of the city which dates back to the Mahabharata era. After seeing the early morning worshippers at the ghats by the Yamuna River you will move on to Old Delhi.

The next stop is at the oldest wrestling school (akhara) in India, where you’ll learn all about the sport. Here, you might get to meet the wrestlers who’ve inherited the sport from their ancestors. Witness a different side of Delhi culture at a nearby gaushala, a cow shed, where you’ll have an interesting conversation about the veneration of cows in India.

Moving on to Old Delhi’s markets and bustle, you will get a chance to sample a typical Delhi breakfast dish, Nihari. Food is a huge part of the city, and you can see all Delhi’s communities represented in its various cuisines. Nihari is a meat dish cooked overnight, that was originally served to soldiers building the Red Fort – Nihar means morning. After a photo stop at India Gate, you’ll visit the iconic Humayun’s Tomb, which is free from crowds at this time of the morning. Built by Humayun’s wife to honour India’s second Mughal ruler, it’s a blueprint for mature tombs in India and a perfect end to the tour.

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Exploring Chandni Chowk by night gives you a chance to understand the real spirit of Delhi. At night, it’s less crowded so there’s more opportunity to engage with locals and after sunset, Chandni Chowk glows and glitters with store lights. There’s a maze of different streets to discover that specialise in everything from silver and spices to saris and glass bangles. If you want to buy something, you guide will help you haggle, which is a ritual in Old Delhi. The highlight of the trip is trying some of the local food.

The tour starts at around 5.30pm exploring on foot, as your guide explains the evolution of Old Delhi. You’ll see various businesses and have the opportunity to sit with people and hear about their lives. You might meet the ear-cleaning-man, who wears a red hat and carries tools to remove wax from people’s ears – it’s a great photo opportunity as is the chai vendors swirling tea in their metal pans. As you walk, your guide will point out religious landmarks like the Sunehri Masjid and Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib, a Sikh temple with a community kitchen.

The highlight of the trip though is always the food. You will have dinner at Karim’s (guest to pay directly), a restaurant that serves Mughlai cuisine. It was set up in the 1940s by Karim, a chef who served in the kitchen of a Mughal emperor and wanted to introduce this food to ordinary people. The dishes have a Persian influence and include lots of bread and kormas, all cooked in an open kitchen. Afterwards, wander around the street food area where you can sample desserts like bread pudding and mango ice cream. You’ll get to try everything from samosas to chai – food is a very important part of experiencing Old Delhi.

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Your host Neha Gupta, will introduce you to the secrets of cooking delicious Indian cuisine in her home. Neha grew up watching her mother cook and because her father was in the air force, they lived all over India, so she was exposed to regional cuisine. She has now created a cultural culinary experience, something hands-on that gives people a feel for Indian food but also the stories behind famous dishes.

To start, you’ll be introduced to the dishes you’re going to make and go through the ingredients and spices that will be used. Typically cook four dishes will be cooked, a mix of vegetarian and chicken, along with breads like rotis and chapatis, but it can be tailored to your dietary needs. Dishes vary by season but may include a chana masala or biryani.

Guests often say it’s like cooking with a friend - it’s very casual and you can ask Neha about anything, be it food, culture or being a married woman in India. She lives in a multi-floor house with her extended family and they may also pop in to meet you. Neha will tell you about the dishes being prepared, what part of the country they’re from and what bread they’re best paired with. Indian food is all about knowing spices, so there is a focus on that, as well as how to make dough from scratch for the breads.

Once everything is cooked, you will eat in the kitchen together or out on the terrace with drinks followed by dessert. The whole class takes around two hours and at the end, you’ll get a copy of Neha’s recipe book. Guests love the hands-on element of the class and getting to see how an Indian household lives. This experience is for anyone who’s fond of trying new things – you don’t need to be a cook, you just need to like food.

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Tour Old Delhi by rickshaw to visit temples and markets, taste street food and meet the locals in a convenient and fun way. The city is a crowded, congested place so travelling by rickshaw makes it a comfortable experience and you can cover more ground. The rickshaws look traditionally Indian but with wider seats and better safety standards. They have audio headsets so your guide – a Delhi local - can provide live commentary along the way.

You will start at a Jain temple known for its intricate architecture and bird hospital, before boarding the rickshaws. As you drive through the city you’ll see famous landmarks like the Red Fort and Chandni Chowk. There will be a visit a Sikh temple and the Jama Masjid, which is one of the largest mosques in India. Guests love the buzzing bazaars and spice market, with its different colours and scents, the vendors are so friendly and will want to show you how they prepare their masala spices and take pictures with you. Eventually you will reach the Gadodia Palace, which has an incredible view over Chandni Chowk from the fourth floor.

After working up an appetite, you will visit a local restaurant to try some typical Delhi dishes (guest to pay direct) such as puri puri, Indian bread which is deep fried so it blows up into a ball, served with a chickpea and potato curry. There’s also samosas and jalebi, a traditional deep-fried sweet soaked in syrup. The final stop on the tour is Naughara, a street with nine old havelis that feature Mughal architecture. Here you will get to meet a resident who’ll invite you in to have chai, chat and see the historic haveli where he’s lived all his life.

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If you want to capture images of real life in Delhi, this photography tour is perfect. You’ll meet your guide over tea to discuss what you’d like to photograph. It doesn’t matter if you have hi-spec camera equipment or want to take pictures on your phone. The team are passionate storytellers who know Delhi intimately and can adapt to your photographic skill set, lighting and weather conditions. If you have a particular theme you’d like to shoot, whether its people or architecture, the guides will take you on a walking tour to find the best captures.

Often, guests want to photograph the by-lanes and markets like Chawri Bazar. The flower market is particularly good for photography. Walking through the crowded by-lanes of Old Delhi, taking candid pictures of the people who live there, Chandni Chowk is one of the favourite places for photography. During the tour there will be plenty of stops to get a drink, relax and perhaps try some street food.

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