Deep End of India
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A sit-down with the Aghoris, ascetics who live at the edge of death. A palm reading from a Varanasi astrologer. Lunch with a saint at a Rishikesh ashram. This is the India you’ve seen in documentaries, not on your feed, and nothing about it is predictable. Along the way you’ll stand at the cremation fires of Manikarnika while your guide explains every ritual, meet the families who restore the Taj Mahal, and spend a day in Khajuraho learning what Tantra really is: an ancient spiritual practice built on energy, the body and the divine. In Varanasi, you’ll stay at Surya Kaiser Palace, built by the King of Nepal in 1818. This trip is for the deeply curious.
Inclusions
Handpicked stays
Eleven nights in four-star boutique hotels, including a palace built by the King of Nepal in Varanasi, a garden hotel steps from the Khajuraho temples and a riverside stay in Rishikesh.
19 meals
11 breakfasts, 3 lunches and 5 dinners, including a welcome dinner, dinner on the train to Agra, lunch at Sheroes Café, a sattvic lunch at an ashram and a farewell dinner cooked in a family’s home. Drinks are on us at the welcome and farewell dinners, and water is covered all trip.
All activities, included
- ✓Grand Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat, with your guide explaining each part of the ritual
- ✓Night walk at Manikarnika, the main cremation ghat, where the pyres burn around the clock
- ✓Sunrise wooden boat ride on the Ganges with live classical musicians
- ✓Sit-down with the Aghoris at Manikarnika Ghat
- ✓Face and palm reading with a Varanasi astrologer
- ✓Kashi Vishwanath, one of India’s holiest Shiva temples
- ✓The Vande Bharat train to Agra, dinner served on board
- ✓Guided visit to the Taj Mahal, inside the mausoleum and across the whole site
- ✓Lunch at Sheroes Café, run by acid attack survivors
- ✓Meet the families of the Taj’s original artisans and see their marble restoration work
- ✓The Aadivart Tribal Museum, the only museum of its kind in central India
- ✓A full guided day in the UNESCO temples of Khajuraho
- ✓A morning at an ashram talking dharma and karma with a saint
- ✓A sattvic lunch cooked at the ashram
- ✓The Ganga and Shiva Aarti at Parmarth Niketan at sunset
- ✓A farewell dinner cooked in a local family’s home
A local female guide
A local woman leads you for all 12 days, from the welcome dinner in Delhi to the farewell in a family home. She knows the ghats, the temples and the story behind every ritual.
All transport
Airport pickup when you land in Delhi, a flight to Varanasi and one back from Khajuraho, the Vande Bharat train to Agra and private air-conditioned transport everywhere else.
A matched roommate
Our compatibility quiz pairs you with someone you’ll actually click with. Want your own space? Private rooms are available.
Most tips
Drivers, porters, housekeeping and restaurant tips are all covered. The only tip left to you is for your guide.
Highlights
Meet the Aghoris
Sit with the ascetics of Manikarnika Ghat and hear how they’ve made peace with death
Stand at the cremation fires
A night walk at Manikarnika, where the pyres have burned for centuries
Get your palm read
A Varanasi astrologer reads your life and karmic past from your face and palm
The temples of Khajuraho, decoded
Thousand-year-old UNESCO temples with a guide who explains what the carvings really mean
A day with a saint
Talk dharma at a Rishikesh ashram, then stay for a sattvic lunch
Meet the Aghoris
Sit with the ascetics of Manikarnika Ghat and hear how they’ve made peace with death
Stand at the cremation fires
A night walk at Manikarnika, where the pyres have burned for centuries
Get your palm read
A Varanasi astrologer reads your life and karmic past from your face and palm
The temples of Khajuraho, decoded
Thousand-year-old UNESCO temples with a guide who explains what the carvings really mean
A day with a saint
Talk dharma at a Rishikesh ashram, then stay for a sattvic lunch
Your Itinerary
Fly from Delhi to Varanasi, ride the train to Agra, drive south to Khajuraho, fly back to Delhi, then drive up into the foothills to Rishikesh before one last night in Delhi.
AFTERNOONLand in Delhi and find your driver with a SoFe sign outside gate 3. Check in to The Suryaa and rest up.
EVENINGMeet your guide and the women you’re traveling with at 6pm, then head out for your first proper Indian meal together.
Dinner
MORNINGFly to Varanasi, a city that has been lived in, prayed in and died in for over 3,000 years. Hindus believe that dying here frees the soul from the cycle of rebirth, so people travel from all over India to spend their final days on these ghats.
EVENINGWatch the Grand Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat: priests swinging towering brass lamps in perfect sync, bells, chanting and thousands of people packed along the river.
NIGHTWalk to Manikarnika, where the pyres are said to have burned without stopping for thousands of years. A family of cremation keepers has tended these fires for generations. Your guide explains what you’re watching, and why no one here looks away.
Breakfast
SUNRISEDrift past the ghats in a wooden boat as classical musicians play and the city wakes up along the water. People bathing, praying and doing laundry, all in the same holy river.
AFTERNOONMeet the Aghoris at Manikarnika. These ascetics cover themselves in cremation ash and drink from bowls made of human skulls, to prove that nothing in life is impure. Ask them anything. True Aghoris are unpredictable: they know we’re coming, but we can’t promise they’ll show.
LATE AFTERNOONSit on the ghats with an astrologer who reads your life and karmic past from your face and palm. In India this isn’t a party trick. People consult astrologers before marriages, business deals and big life decisions.
Breakfast
MORNINGTake some solo time, or watch Banarasi silk being woven by hand in weavers’ homes. Then visit Kashi Vishwanath, the golden-spired temple of Shiva, Lord of death and time. It’s the fitting last stop in a city built around both.
AFTERNOONBoard the Vande Bharat, one of India’s fastest trains, and watch village India roll past your window on the way to Agra. Dinner is served on board.
Breakfast, Dinner
MORNINGExplore the Taj Mahal with your guide, inside the mausoleum and across the whole site. It’s a monument to a love story, and it’s also a tomb.
AFTERNOONHave lunch at Sheroes Café, run by acid attack survivors who turned their story into a place to gather. Then meet the families of the craftsmen who built the Taj. They still live in Agra, still work marble the way their ancestors did, and recently helped restore the Taj and Agra Fort.
Breakfast, Lunch
DAYDrive south into the heart of India to Khajuraho, a quiet town hiding one of the country’s most famous secrets. A thousand years ago, the Chandela kings built 85 temples here and covered them in carvings so explicit that the British officer who stumbled on them in 1838 was scandalized. About 25 survive. Take some solo time when you arrive.
EVENINGVisit the Aadivart Museum, devoted to the tribal cultures of central India, the only museum of its kind in the region. Dinner together.
Breakfast, Dinner
DAYSpend the day in the temples with your guide and look closer. The carvings show everything: war, music, dancers, gods, lovers. Your guide decodes what they meant to the people who carved them, and why the sacred and the sensual were never separate here. (Wondering why the Brits were scandalized? Zoom in.)
Breakfast, Lunch
AFTERNOONFly back to Delhi.
EVENINGThe night is yours. Get lost in the markets, find a spice stall, haggle for a pashmina. Then meet back up for dinner together.
Breakfast, Dinner
DAYDrive north as the plains give way to forested Himalayan foothills and the Ganges turns clear and fast. Rishikesh is the town where the Beatles came looking for enlightenment in 1968, and seekers have never stopped coming.
EVENINGSolo time. Walk the ghats and drink chai by the river as the sun goes down.
Breakfast
MORNINGVisit an ashram to sit with a saint. Bring your big questions about dharma, karma and how to live. Stay for a sattvic lunch, cooked to calm the mind as much as feed the body.
EVENINGJoin the Ganga and Shiva Aarti at Parmarth Niketan as the sun sets. This time you’re not just watching. You’re part of the ritual.
Breakfast, Lunch
DAYDrive back to Delhi and rest up at The Suryaa.
EVENINGYour farewell dinner is in a local family’s home, cooked in their kitchen. It’s a meal you can’t book anywhere, and drinks are on us.
Breakfast, Dinner
MORNINGOne last breakfast together. Check out by 11am and head to the airport whenever you’re ready. You arrived as strangers. You’re leaving with women who stood at the cremation fires with you. Want more time? We can add extra nights in Delhi.
Breakfast
From $3,795 · 12 days · Max 14 women · $550 holds your spot
Where you’ll stay
VARANASI · 2 NIGHTS
Surya Kaiser Palace
Built by the King of Nepal in 1818 and set in gardens a few minutes from the ghats, with a spa and balconies over the lawns. A calm base after the intensity of the river.
AGRA · 2 NIGHTS
Royale Sarovar Portico
Two pools, a rooftop terrace and a calm place to land after the train from Varanasi, before your day at the Taj Mahal.
RISHIKESH · 2 NIGHTS
Yog Niketan by Sanskriti
A riverside retreat in Rishikesh and a little upgrade for the end of the trip, with the Ganga flowing past and the foothills all around.
Roommates, matched
Our compatibility quiz, built with a matchmaker and psychologist, pairs you with someone you’ll actually click with. Or upgrade to a private room.
Who you’ll travel with
Up to 13 other women, most of whom booked on their own. Standing at the cremation fires together and decoding temple carvings bonds a group fast. 92% of our travelers say they keep in touch after the trip ends.
✓Meet your group on WhatsApp before you fly
✓A welcome dinner on night one, with your guide making the introductions
✓Solo time built in, so you’re never forced to be “on”
“I was worried about it being too busy and not fitting in with the other people in the group, but I really had the best time.”
Anna · India
The people behind your trip
Your guide
Komal
Komal was one of the first female guides in Delhi, back when women almost never did this job. More than ten years later, she still loves showing people the India behind the stereotypes, and how the language, the food and even the chai change every 100 kilometers.
Founder
Amanda Black
After getting robbed as a backpacker, Amanda vowed no woman traveling alone should ever feel that stranded. Since 2018 and hundreds of group trips, she’s still keeping that promise.
Behind the scenes
Our operations team
You’ll see Komal and our local partners. Behind them, our team follows every day of your trip to keep you safe and on track.
In their words
★★★★★ 4.7 on Trustpilot · Read all reviews
★★★★★
“The itineraries are unique, and I get to experience things I would never get to do on my own.”
JoEllen I.
India
★★★★★
“India was a transformational experience.”
Kimberley C.
India
★★★★★
“If I was ever going to make my dream of going to India come true, this was going to be the way to do it.”
Dana
India
Your Safety on tour
Never on your own, unless you want to be
“Even though India was really overwhelming, I always felt safe.”
Amanda S. · India
A local female guide, every day
We meet you at the airport
Private transport, vetted routes
Pre-trip guides, so you land prepared
A guide by your side at every ghat and temple
One guide in front, a whole team behind her
“Even though India was really overwhelming, I always felt safe.”
Amanda S. · India
Choose your departure
$550 holds your spot
It comes off your total.
Pay at your pace
As much and as often as you like. Balance due 90 days out.
Plans change? Transfer for free
Move your spot to another date or trip with 90+ days’ notice.
Per person, USD · Other currencies at checkout · 🔒 Secure checkout with Stripe
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Deep End of India Nov 12 - 23, 2027
Questions women ask before booking
Is this trip right for me?
This isn’t India through a tour bus window. You’ll stand close enough to the cremation fires to feel the heat, sit face to face with ascetics who live among the dead, and walk temples carved with scenes that might make you blush. Come with an open mind and an appetite for the unfamiliar.
Some moments will rattle you. In Varanasi, death happens in public. The Aghoris break every taboo on purpose. You’ll see things you can’t unsee, and you’ll still be talking about them years from now. Your guide is beside you for all of it, explaining what you’re seeing as it happens. Confronting, yes. Unsafe, never.
The Aghoris aren’t guaranteed. They know we’re coming, but true Aghoris answer to no one.
How active is this trip?
Moderate. Expect uneven ghats and temple steps, an early start for the sunrise boat, a seven-hour train ride and two long drives of five and six hours, with quieter afternoons built in along the way.
November is warm by day and cool at night, so pack layers, plus clothes that cover your shoulders and knees for temples.
Where do I arrive and leave from?
Arrive: Delhi (DEL), any time on day one. Your driver waits outside gate 3 with a SoFe sign. Check-in is from 2pm, and we meet in the hotel lobby at 6pm.
Leave: Delhi (DEL), any time on the last day. Check-out is at 11am, and the airport is about 40 minutes away.
Luggage: the domestic flights allow 15kg checked, so pack light.
Do I have to share a room?
Only if you want to. Twin-share rooms are included in the price, or you can upgrade to a private room. If you share, you’ll take our roommate compatibility quiz, built with a professional matchmaker and psychologist, and we pair you with someone who fits how you travel: early riser or night owl, social butterfly or quiet recharger.
Will we stay in the places shown on this page?
Usually, yes. These are the places we book. Now and then one is unavailable, and we swap it for a stay of the same standard or better.
Do I need a visa?
Most travelers need a visa for India. The e-Visa is simple to apply for online, but give it at least a week, and earlier is better.
Requirements depend on your passport, so once you book, we’ll walk you through exactly what you need.
Do I need travel insurance?
Yes, travel insurance is required for every traveler. When you book your spot, you can add a plan from our preferred insurance partner in a couple of clicks, or choose your own provider and add your policy details any time before departure.
What’s not included?
International flights.
Travel insurance, which is required.
Your India visa.
Tips for your guide.
Your airport transfer on the last day. We’re happy to arrange one.
Meals not listed in the itinerary.
What if I need to cancel?
90 or more days before departure: we’ll transfer your deposit to another SoFe trip, any date or any destination. Or we’ll hold it for up to a year until you’re ready to choose.
Fewer than 90 days before departure: payments are non-refundable, so you’d claim through your travel insurance. That’s exactly what it’s there for.
Everything you need before you go
The dress code, a printable packing list, and books and films to get you in the mood.
Your spot is waiting.
From $3,795 · 12 days · Max 14 women · $550 holds your spot
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