Rail Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday flagged off a Bharat Gaurav deluxe tourist train from Nizamuddin station that is ferrying 110 tourists on a 10-day tour to various cultural and religious destinations in India and Nepal.
Based on the “Bharat Nepal Maitri Yatra” theme, the air conditioned train will take tourists to three religious cities — Ayodhya, Varanasi and Sitamarhi — in India before facilitating a road tour to Janakpur and a flight to Kathmandu to visit several religious places in Nepal.
The Bharat Gaurav scheme was started in 2021-22 by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) under the aegis of the rail ministry to organise theme-based tour packages.
According to the Indian Railways, 291 such train tours had already been organised on several religious and cultural themes, including those based on the Ramayana, Buddhism and Jainism that connected places associated with Lord Rama, Lord Buddha and Lord Mahavir.
Vaishnaw told reporters that the Bharat Gaurav Yatra was started with the Ramayana circuit, which became very popular.
Many such yatras were held after that “to let people experience the culture of the country travelling by train”, he said.
Vaishnaw, who visited the coaches and met tourists to seek their views about the Bharat Gaurav Yatra, said one of them told him that it was his 15th tour with his wife.
Congratulating the IRCTC for holding successful tours, Vaishnaw said the agency had integrated everything to make a package, including hotel stay and visit to tourist and religious places at different destinations, among others.
Talking about the facilities offered to the tourists, Railway Board Chairman and CEO Satish Kumar said the train offered first, second and third AC accommodation along with two fine-dining restaurants, a modern kitchen, shower cubicles in coaches, and foot massagers, among others.
Providing details of the tour, the Northern Railway said in a press statement, “The Bharat-Nepal Yatra will aid us to further strengthen our cultural ties and enhance people-to-people contact between the two historically significant neighbouring countries.” “The Bharat-Nepal Yatra begins from Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station and offers a unique nine-night, 10-day journey to key spiritual locations across India and Nepal, aimed at fostering cultural ties and promoting spiritual tourism,” it said.
The itinerary includes visits to the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple, Hanuman Garhi, and Ram ki Paidi (Sarayu ghat) in Ayodhya; Ganga aarti, Kashi Vishwanath, Tulsi Manas and Sankat Mochan temples in Varanasi; and Janaki temple and Punaura Dham in Sitamarhi.
Destinations in Nepal include the Janaki temple, Ram Sita Vivah Mandap, Dhanushdham, and Parashuram Kund in Janakpur; Pashupatinath temple, Boudhanath Stupa, Patan Durbar Square, and Budhanilkantha (sleeping Lord Vishnu), Manakamana temple in Kathmandu; and Bindyabasini temple, Devi’s Falls, and Gupteshwar Mahadev Cave in Pokhara.
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