IRCTC introduces new Circular Tour Packages to North India and Nepal

Hyderabad, May 14 : The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), in its continuous efforts to offer new and attractive tourist packages, has designed another unique Circular Tour exclusively for the pilgrims in South India to facilitate them to visit popular Hindu and Buddhist sites in North India and Nepal.

For this purpose, the IRCTC has made available an exclusive AC Tourist Train for this Circular Tour starting from Chennai, via South Central Railway and covering Allahabad, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Kathmandu, Manakamana, Pokhara and Kushinagar etc. This Circular Tour will provide the pilgrim-tourists with some unique combination of Hindi / Buddhist religious destinations and tourist sites in India and Nepal by an AC Tourist Train.

This Tourist Train will start its maiden tour on 29th May from Chennai Central to terminate at Chennai on 9th June. The unique features of this tourist train are: This consists of four First AC (Luxury), three II Tier AC (Deluxe) and one III Tier AC (Comfort) coaches. These coaches have been especially renovated for running circular tours. This exclusive air-conditioned train carries tourists only. The train has a pantry car to cater vegetarian food to the tourists. Tour escorts will provide tour guidance and security personnel will ensure security for the belongings of the tourists. Discourses and instructions regarding the day to day conduct of tour will be relayed over PA system on train.

According to the SCR, the tourists will have the life time opportunity to bathe in the Triveni Sangam (confluence of rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati) in Allahabad, visit the famous Vishwanath temple and Visalakshi temple in Varanasi (Kasi); visit Pashupathinath Temple, Swayambhunath (a Buddhist Temple) and Budha Nilkantha (Lord Vishnu) Temple in Kathmandu. The itinerary also includes visit to Lumbini in Nepal, the holy birth place of Lord Buddha and Kushinagar, another principal Buddhist centre where Lord Buddha passed away, Ayodhya, the epic Ramayana-fame site and sightseeing at Pokhara in Nepal.

The Tourist train is being routed through Vijayawada and Warangal stations on SCR for the convenience of travellers / pilgrims from this areas of Andhra Pradesh to enable them to join the tour at these places.

The tour includes travel by the “AC Tourist Train”, AC Hotel accommodation at places of night stays, buses for transfers and sightseeing, on-board and off-board vegetarian catering. The tour has been classified into Luxury, Deluxe and Comfort categories.

The Government Sector / PSU employees can also avail the LTC facilities for the above tour. It may be mentioned that the Ministry of Finance, Government of India has also recognized IRCTC as an outlet for the wide circle of LTC travellers for their ticketing. It also has the recognition of the International Air Transport Association, ( IATA) to deal with corporate travel services.

The package can be booked online from www.railtourismindia.com or at IRCTC Tourism Information and Facilitation Centre at Chennai Central Railway station: 044-64594959, 09003140681; Vijayawada: 09701360620, 0866-2572280; Secunderabad: 09701360697, 09701360701. INN