India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) - Keith Bain [69]
On the downside, you’ll have little opportunity for serendipitous interactions with locals. The tours can be jam-packed with activities, leaving little room for individual sightseeing, whim, or adventure—plus they often focus on the heavily touristed sites, so you miss out on many a lesser-known gem.
For midrange and budget tours, U.K.-based Imaginative Traveller is popular for its midrange-priced escorted tours (www.imaginative-traveller.com), and includes a tour of the remote northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, and Nagaland, which aren’t covered in this book.
San Francisco–based Geographic Expeditions (1008 General Kennedy Ave., San Francisco, CA 94129-0902; 800/777-8183 or 415/922-0448; www.geoex.com) is rated among the world’s best tour organizers, with innovative, well-structured trips that combine off-the-well-trodden-path experiences with must-see sights. Their portfolio currently includes village tours of Ladakh and Rajasthan, journeys through the south, and trips that focus on festivals in certain regions. Most of their tours last between 12 and 18 days; while they have a schedule of planned departure dates, they are also able to tailor any departure to suit you and your party, irrespective of size. Geographic Expeditions also offers the possibility of completely personalized 100% customized trips, offering all the services you’d expect on a group tour.
One of India’s foremost tourism operators, Sita World Travel (called SOTC in some places) is represented throughout the length and breadth of India. Sita offers a wide range of tours to cover a range of budgets and interests. These include sightseeing trips and excursions to India’s top attractions, as well as soft-adventure and special-interest tours that can really get you off the beaten track (www.e-holidaysindia.com).
Note that many of the recommended individual and adventure operators listed above offer escorted group tours.
For more information on escorted general-interest tours, including questions to ask before booking your trip, see www.frommers.com/planning.
10 Discovering Spiritual India
However you choose to spend your time in India, you are unlikely to return home unaffected by your sojourn here. Indeed, you are likely to find a moment of enlightenment in the most unexpected places, whether you’re engaged in conversation with a shopkeeper over a cup of chai or people-watching on a suffocatingly crowded city street. But for generations visitors have come to India specifically seeking some sort of spiritual transformation, and the increasing plethora of first-rate accommodations and Western-style food options are making it easier than ever—and in some ways more difficult, by cocooning travelers from unvarnished India.
Basic yoga classes are conducted in many places all over the country, as are the various techniques and methods of meditation. But the best way to experience and improve your skills in either or both of these disciplines—and possibly find true bliss or meaning in life through a spiritual leader—is to spend time at an ashram, where philosophical (or religious, depending on where you go) discourse accompanies a meditation and/or yoga program. There are innumerable ashrams all over the country, some the domain of a dynamic guru (the teacher whose role it is to assist the spiritual awakening of devotees); while others (like the Vipassana centers; see below) are not driven by a single personality. In the following paragraphs we discuss where you can go to study and practice classic spiritual disciplines during your trip to India.
MEDITATION The most upmarket meditation center in India is the