By combining our Indian Mutiny and Wellington in India tours into one trip, you will be spending over three weeks visiting some of the most iconic sites and scenery the country has to offer.

Following the Indian Mutiny tour there will be three days for you to indulge in your own personal exploration of this part of the sub-continent: you might like to enjoy and extended stay in Delhi itself; or spend three nights in Nepal where you can explore gardens and temples of Kathmandu, travel out to Gorka, the home of the Ghurkhas and even take an early morning flight over the Himalayas to view Mount Everest from above; or enjoy the picturesque train journey along the narrow gauge railway that winds its way through the Himalaya foothills to the wonderful hill station of Shimla, where you can enjoy a peaceful two days amidst the British Raj era neo-Gothic buildings. You can then fly to Bengaluru to commence our Wellington in India tour.

Prices quoted include both tours and a regional flight to Bengaluru. The cost of the intermediate three days will be quoted separately depending upon your requirements.

Day 1 – Depart London.

Day 2 – Delhi – Meerut
Arrive Delhi after midnight (local time) and check-in to our hotel, to get a late night’s sleep. After a welcome lie-in and an orientation lecture ‘1857 The Background’, we set off late morning for Meerut arriving in time to orientate ourselves in this attractive former garrison and site of the British Cantonment where the mutiny first broke out. Check-in to our hotel for one night.

Day 3 – Meerut
We continue our exploration of Meerut by visiting the parade ground where the refusal to accept the cartridges sparked off the mutiny; St John’s Church, where evensong was in progress when violence broke out; the Commandant’s house, where British officers took shelter from the mutineers in the latrines; the cemetery, where some of the British victims are buried and the Memorial Park built after independence to glorify the mutineers – an interesting dichotomy which we will explore during the tour. Depart mid-afternoon for the drive down to Agra where we check-in to hotel for two nights.

Day 4 – Agra
We spend a relaxing day in Agra, one of the great fortified palace complexes of India, where we visit the unmissable Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. After lunch we pick up the story of the mutiny at Agra’s beautiful Red Fort with its marbled halls and formal gardens and which, in 1857, was a refuge for more than 5,000 Europeans and their Indian servants.

Day 5 – Gwalior
We travel on to Gwalior, seat of the Scindia Mahrattas and tour the stunning fortress, captured by the rebels in 1858, and visit the site of the skirmish at Kotah ke Serai where the Rani of Jhansi was eventually killed. Check-in to our hotel for one night.

Day 6 – Jhansi
On to beautiful Jhansi to see its impressive fort and learn more about the extraordinary career of Lakshmibai, the 29-year-old widowed Rani of Jhansi – whose palace still survives – and who may or may not have been responsible for the infamous massacre of the British Garrison and their families. Check-in to our hotel at the riverside just outside the city of Orchha.

Day 7 – Kanpur (Cawnpore)
Drive to Kanpur where we examine the siege of General Wheeler’s makeshift mud entrenchment and pay a melancholy visit to the memorial church with its mutiny memorials. We follow the poignant route of the Garrison’s survivors down the Sati Chaur Ghat and the Bibighar Well where the corpses of the butchered women and children were dumped. Check-in to our hotel for one night.

Day 8– Kanpur/Lucknow
Continue our exploration of fascinating Kanpur in the morning and then drive on to Lucknow, once the richest city in India, later that day. Check-in to our hotel that evening for two nights.

Day 9 – Lucknow
Although slightly marred now by modern industrial development there is still ample evidence of Lucknow’s former Mogul splendour and of the Mutiny for us to explore, including the Kaisarbagh (or King’s Palace); the Secunderbagh Gardens where more than 2,000 rebels perished when the British stormed it in 1857; and the famous British Residency compound where the besieged garrison held out until they were relieved in 1858 – an epic feat which became a symbol of British courage and endurance. The effects of the siege are still visible, and the place has great atmosphere.

Day 10 – Delhi from the British Perspective
We take the morning flight to Delhi and after an early lunch we start our tour by discussing how the capital reacted to the outbreak of the Mutiny. We visit the powder magazine blown up by the guard rather than allow its capture; the telegraph office from whence news of the Mutiny was communicated to the Punjab; St James’s Church built by the colourful Colonel James Skinner (who founded Skinner’s Horse, the famous Indian Cavalry Regiment) and looted by the rebels; Delhi Ridge from where the British conducted the siege operation to recover the city from the mutineers, the Kashmir Gate, through which British and Gurkha troops stormed the city and the grave of that extraordinary Victorian, Brigadier General John Nicholson, killed in the storming of the city. Check-in to the magnificent colonial Oberoi Maidens hotel for our final two nights.

Day 11 – Delhi from the rebel perspective
This morning we complete the story by looking at the siege from the rebel’s perspective; we visit Delhi’s magnificent Red Fort, headquarters of the rebels during the Mutiny and the tomb of Humayan, the son of Babur and the second Moghul emperor, where Major William Hodson arrested the sons of Bahadur Shah, the figurehead of the rising. There will be an opportunity to view the magnificent Lutyens architecture of New Delhi and/or do some sightseeing later in the afternoon before a leisurely final meal together that evening.

Day 12 – Personalised stay
Whilst the main group will make their way to the airport for return flights, you will embark on your own personalised adventure. For example you may enjoy an extended stay at your luxurious hotel in Delhi, fly to Nepal, catch the mountain train to Shimla or make your own arrangements. For ideas and costs please contact the office.

Day 13 – Personalised stay

Day 14 – Personalised stay

Day 15 – Arrive Bangalore
End your personalised stay and catch your flight to Bangalore where you will stay for one night. In the evening join your expert historian for dinner and an introductory lecture.

Day 16 – Seringapatam
We drive to look at the attack on the ‘tope’, the first and only time that Wellesley panicked and almost ended his career, and the fortress at Seringapatam, which the British stormed in May 1799, before moving on to our hotel in Mysore.

Day 17 - Mysore
Today we continue with the battle of Seringapatam and see where the Tippoo Sultan was killed. We visit his palace and grave, and the British cemetery established by Wellesley after the battle. Time permitting, we will take a tour of colonial Mysore before returning to Bangalore for our late flight to Pune. Check-in to an airport hotel for the night.

Day 18 - Ahmednagar & Daulatabad Forts
An early start sees us drive to Ahmednagar, where we visit the 400-year-old Vauban-style fort - one of the strongest in India. Gandhi and Nehru were interned here in WW2 and the fort still has an Indian Army Garrison. We will see where Campbell scaled the town wall and examine Wellesley’s siege and capture of the city and fort during the Second Mahratta War in August 1803. We will also visit the Daulatabad Fort in Maharashtra.

Day 19 - Assaye
We drive to the battlefield of Assaye, where Wellington decisively defeated the Mahrattas in September 1803 in a battle which Wellington described years later as his hardest ever fight. We will tour the battlefield from Peepulgaon, cross the River Kaitna (by modern bridge rather than the historic ford) and follow in Wellesley’s footsteps as he advanced on Assaye itself. We then check-in to our hotel in Akola.

Day 20 - Argaum
At Aragum we see where, in November 1803, Wellesley again defeated a Mahratta army. Thence to Chikaldara and up to our hilltop station hotel via the stunning viewpoint at Mozari Point and check-in to our hotel for two nights.

Day 21 – Gawilghur Fortress
One of the most spectacular battlefields anywhere, the breach created in December 1803 by the East India Company’s artillery in the wall of this double fort, perched on a six-hundred-foot cliff, is still there. We will walk up to the breach, tour the inner fort and view the great cannon that still remain there. This is a challenging day’s walk – but all the more rewarding for it. After a great day out, we return to our hotel.

Day 22 - Nagpur
After yesterday’s exertions, we spend a relaxing day motoring thorough some awe-inspiring scenery on the way to Nagpur where we catch our internal flight to Mumbai and spend the night.

Day 23 – Return
An early afternoon flight from Mumbai to London.