IN YOGANANDA’S FOOTSTEPS INDIA TOUR FOR DEVOTEES OF PARAMAHANSA YOGANANDA (SRF/YSS)

Hello fellow devotees and friends of SRF,

We, Network Tours have been organizing many tours for SRF Devotees – “In Yogananda’s Footsteps” India Tour that includes participation in the YSS Sangam Retreat in the YSS Ashrams located in Ranchi, Dakshineswar and Noida.  Based on feedback from many devotees and our 24+ years of experience in organizing customized tours, Network Tours, New Delhi, has arranged fabulous 22 to 30 day group tours that combines the Sadhana Sangam spiritual experiences with our popular “In Yogananda’s Footsteps” India Tour—the tour especially designed to visit many of the special locations mentioned in “Autobiography of a Yogi.” Year 2025 is very special as we will be participating in the Kumbh Mela 2025 in Prayagraj. This will be our third Kumbh Mela with the YSS devotees – 2001, 2013 & 2025. We are all truly blessed to be part of this spiritual experience.  

Notes:

•  As many devotees have requested, the SRF/YSS spiritual tour “In Yogananda’s Footsteps” India Tour now includes YSS Ashram stays whenever possible, in lieu of hotel accommodations.
• Note that ashram accommodations can be quite austere. We suggest that first-time visitors consider enhancing their first Indian experience by staying in 4-star hotels instead of ashrams and budget hotels. The additional comfort of nicer hotels can be easily arranged for a modest increase in cost.
• The detailed itinerary will be sent to you upon request or after submitting your first deposit.
• Customized pre-tour and post-tour options may be arranged upon request.

Network Tours has organized several successful spiritual “In Yogananda’s Footsteps” India tours since 2001 for SRF devotees and friends. Our recent big tours include the Footsteps tour in February 2023 that included group 20 devotees. We had organized very large group tours from 2001 to 2023 including two Maha Kumbh Mela in 2001 & 2013. Our strength is serving repeat travelers from the SRF families who feel India is their second home.

We are proud to have taken care of all the logistics during the making of the movie ” Sacred Journeys of the World” by Bruce Feiler” during the Kumbh Mela 2013. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/sacredjourneys/content/kumbh-mela/ 

In the year 2024 – 2025,  we are organizing three group tours for SRF Devotees – First one in October/November 2024 which will coincide with Sadhana Sangam at Ranchi YSS Ashram from 14-17 November (Diksha Ceremony on 16^th November) and includes stay at YSS Ashram in Noida, Daksineswar and Dwarahat.

The second tour is in January/February 2025 to celebrate the Kumbh Mela 2025. These tours are being coordinated by our dear fellow devotee James Aram who was a member of the group during the 2013 Kumbh Mela and tour leader in January 2016. 

“IN YOGANANDA’S FOOTSTEPS- INDIA TOUR” JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2025

An Indian pilgrimage experience customized for SRF members & friends to coincide with the Kumbh Mela 2025

15th January – 10th February 2025
(27 days in India; allow two travel days from USA; one travel day to return from Delhi)

                                                                       

We are organizing “In Yogananda’s India Footsteps Tour” in January/February 2025 to coincide with Kumbh Mela 2025 for SRF devotees at Triveni Sangam. Beside all the principal destinations, highlights and inclusions which are covered in our Footsteps Tours, all the devotees will be having option of experiencing a holy dip at Triveni Sangam ( holy confluence of River Ganges / Yamuna / Saraswati) at Prayagraj near Varanasi during the Kumbh Mela on the auspicious bathing days. We have made three group tours to accommodate huge interest amongst the SRF devotees to participate in the Kumbh Mela 2025.

Group 01: Starting from 15^th January – 10^th February 2025: (27 days in India) – Kumbh Mela 2025 bathing dates – 03^rd & 04^th Feb. – This group is full with a group of 20 devotees. Some of them are visiting Kumbh Mela for the second time after a beautiful experience in Kumbh Mela 2001 & 2013. We are starting to take registrations for Group 02 & Group 03.

Group 02: Starting from 19^th January – 14^th February 2025: (27 days in India) – Kumbh Mela 2025 bathing dates – 03^rd & 04^th Feb.

          India Footsteps Tour to coincide with Kumbh Mela 2025 for SRF devotees – Group 02

                          Main Tour 19^th January – 14^th February 2025 – 27 days

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE “IN YOGANANDA’S FOOTSTEPS INDIA TOUR – KUMBH MELA 2025 FOR SRF DEVOTEES – GROUP 02” ARE:

19 Jan – 21 Jan. 02 Night Delhi. Arrive in Delhi and stay at a nice 3* hotel. Some of you can take rest or do a half day city tour of Delhi. Meditate the YSS Kendra. Optional take in an Ayurvedic SPA or do some shopping in the market walking distance from the hotel.

21 Jan – 22 Jan: 01 Night Agra / Mathura-Brindavan. Drive to Agra from Delhi by coach. Enroute absorb the divine vibrations of Lord Krishna’s birthplace in Mathura and visit Brindavan, Krishna’s boyhood home. Meditate at Anandamaoyi Maa’s Ashram and visit Keshabananda’s Katayani Peeth Ashram in Brindavan – associate of our Master. Stay at a 3* hotel in Agra.  Tour the World Heritage Site and monument of love – the majestic Taj Mahal at Sunrise.

22 Jan – 24 Jan. 02 Nights at Noida YSS Ashram. Drive from Agra to Noida and stay at YSS Noida YSS Ashram. Spend time at the Ashram. Do meditation and attend ashram activities and satsangs.

24 Jan – 26 Jan. 02 Nights Puri/Bhubaneswar.  Take flight to Bhubaneswar and drive to Puri. Meditate and spend quality time at the beautiful Sri Yukteshwarji’s Karar Ashram. Enjoy cycle rickshaw ride and visit to Lord Jagannath Temple museum. Also visit Govardhan Math. Stay at a beautiful 3-star hotel close to the beach.  Visit the World Heritage site – Konark Sun Temple.

26 Jan – 30 Jan. 04 Nights Kolkata – YSS Daksineswar. Fly from Bhubaneswar to Kolkata. Stay at YSS Ashram in Dakshineswar. Visit Sri Yukteshwarji’s ashram site in Serampore. Visit Paramahansa Yogananda’s boyhood and family home in Kolkata, Dakshineswar’s Kali Temple,  Mother Teressa’s Kolkata home and convent, Swami Vivekananda’s home, and the Sharda Maa Ashram—headquarters of her spiritual organization for women and the realization of Swami Vivekananda’s dream. Participate in daily YSS Ashram activities including group energization and meditation.

30 Jan – 02 Feb. 03 Nights Varanasi: Take flight from Kolkata to Varanasi. Stay at 3* hotel. Take two boat rides in Varanasi—one at sunset and the other at sunrise—on the River Ganges. Meditate at Anandamaoyi Maa’s ashram and visit Lahiri Mahasaya’s family home. Participate in the renowned Ganga Arti and optional walking & rickshaw tours in of the oldest holy city in the world & visit places as mentioned in AOY.

02 Feb – 05 Feb. 03 Nights at Kumbh (Prayagraj). Drive from Varanasi to Prayagraj to get 03 full days at the Kumbh Mela 2025. Stay at a comfortable Swiss tents with all basic facilities including WC restrooms. Take holy dips at the Sangam on the auspicious day of Basant Panchami (03^rd Feb) & Achla Saptami (04^th Feb).

05 Feb – 06 Feb. 01 Night Delhi (halt before heading Ranchi): Take Tourist train Vande Bharat to Delhi from Prayagraj. Stay in Delhi at a 3* Hotel near Airport.  

06 Feb – 08 Feb. 02 Nights Ranchi – YSS Headquarters. Take flight from Delhi to Ranchi. Stay at the YSS Ranchi Ashram. Spend two lovely days in the beautiful ambiance of the YSS Ranchi Ashram—headquarters of YSS and retreat center. Participate in all daily ashram activities including group energization and meditation.

08 Feb – 09 Feb. 01 Night Pantnagar – Take a morning flight from Ranchi to Pantnagar (enroute point with an airport to reach Dwarahat). Stay at Pantnagar in a 4* Hotel – foothills of Himalayas.  

09 Feb – 13 Feb: 04 Nights at Dwarahat YSS Ashram. Take a drive from Pantnagar to Dwarahat. Enroute visit Neem Karoli Baba’s Kainchi Ashram (guru and inspiration of Baba Ram Dass, Mark Zukerberg , Julia Roberts and Steve Jobs). Stay at Dwarahat YSS Ashram for 04 days, visit Babaji’s Cave and enjoy the wonderful view of the high Himalayas at sunrise and sunset. Participate in ashram activities. We will organize drive to Ranikhet and enjoy the wonderful view of the high Himalayas. Visit the Haidakhan Babaji’s Temple.

13 Feb – 14 Feb. 01 Night Delhi. Drive to Kathgodam and take the train back to Delhi. Stay overnight in Delhi. Enjoy a relaxed morning and pack your luggage. Do last minute shopping in Delhi. Take flight back to your home on 14^th Feb evening. 

Tour Price per person for Main Tour on twin sharing basis – USD 3690.

# Accommodation for 26 nights in clean, comfortable budget 3-star hotels and YSS ashrams on twin sharing basis

# All Meals – At hotels, restaurants and YSS Ashrams

# 02 bottles of pure drinking water every day

# Transportation by A/C coach and cars inclusive of all taxes, parking, & toll fees

#  05 domestic airline flights in India#  02 domestic train ride in comfortable tourist trains in India

# Services of friendly, English-speaking tour escort who has accompanied many SRF devotee groups to all of Guruji’s principal sites over a 10-year period (for tour groups of 10 or more)

# Services of spiritual guides that assist while visiting locations mentioned in Autobiography of a Yogi as well as other points of spiritual interest

# 02 round of boat rides at The Prayagraj Triveni Sangam

# 02 boat rides on the River Ganges in Varanasi

# Cycle rickshaw rides in Delhi, Puri and Varanasi

# Mobile phone carried by the escort to receive calls and connect with family in emergencies

# All applicable taxes 
TOUR PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE:

#Expenses of a personal nature like tips, laundry, phone calls, internet usage, souvenirs, etc.

# Medical insurance (required) or travel insurance (recommended)

# Personal donations at temples

# Extra, voluntary donations to YSS ashrams and monks (recommended minimum of USD 10-15 per night’s stay)

# International airfares & India Visa cost

 

 

 

13 Feb – 14 Feb. 01 Night Rudraprayag. Drive from Dwarahat to Rudraprayag (night stop enroute to Rishiesh). Sit by the confluence of two holy rivers and meditate.  

14 Feb – 17 Feb. 03 nights Rudraprayag/Rishikesh/Haridwar – Drive from Rudraprayag to Rishikesh. Enroute take a stop at the Devprayag holy confluence to enjoy the spectacular views of the river Ganges with an optional dip. Enroute meditate at the holy Vashishta Cave visited by many gurus.  In Rishikesh take the Holy dip and participate in the personalized Ganga Arti. Meditate and spend quality time at the Keshavananda and Anandamoyi Maa Ashrams – associated with our beloved guru. Visit the Divine Life society. Stay for 03 nights at a 3* hotel near Ganges.  

17 Feb. Rishikesh/ Delhi /Depart. Rishikesh/Delhi/Depart. Drive from Rishikesh to Delhi. Spend some time at the Noida YSS Ashram. Participate in the evening Satsang. After dinner transfer to Delhi Airport departure terminals to take flight back home on 17^th Feb evening. 

Tour Price per person for the extension Tour on twin sharing basis – USD 695.

# Accommodation for 04 nights in clean, comfortable budget 3 & 4-star hotels

# All Meals – Daily breakfast and dinners at hotels and working lunch at local restaurant during tour and intercity travel

# 02 bottles of pure drinking water every day

# Transportation by A/C coach / cars inclusive of all taxes, parking, & toll fees

# Services of driver cum escort

# All applicable taxes

# Expenses of a personal nature like tips, laundry, phone calls, internet usage, souvenirs, etc.

# Medical insurance (required) or travel insurance (recommended)

# Personal donations at temples/Ashrams

# International airfares & India Visa cost

GROUP 02 – SECOND EXTENSION TOUR (17^TH Feb – 24^th Feb 2025)

COVERING HARIDWAR EXTENDED SITES – BEATLES ASHRAM / RAJAJI NATIONAL PARK, SPIRITUAL CAVE / TREKKING TOURS, AHMEDABAD YSS KENDRA & BR. CHIDANANDA’S VISIT IN AHMEDABAD.

17-20 Feb. 03-night Haridwar. Drive from Rishikesh to Haridwar. Stay at a three-star Hotel Devnadi located by the banks of river Ganges. Walk by the Ganges River and experience evening Ganges Arti at Har Ki Paudi. We will organize visit to The Beatles Ashram with option of enjoying a Jeep ride in the Rajji National Park, visit to the Spiritual Jhilmil Cave or trekking to the Shiva Neelkanth Temple. We will also organize hike to Mansa Devi Goddess Temple. It is said that the heart of Goddess Sati fell on this spiritual land and is resting at Mansa Devi Temple.  

20-24 Feb. 04-night Ahmedabad – Take flight from Dehradun to Ahmedabad. Stay at four-star Hotel near the YSS Dhyan Kendra. Visit the YSS Dhyan Kendra and attend the activities at the Kendra. We will organize sightseeing tour of Ahmedabad covering heritage & spiritual sites along with Ashram of Mahatma Gandhi at Sabarmati. Be part of the Br. Chidananda’s visit on 23^rd Feb & and enjoy his lectures in person. Take flight from Ahmedabad to Delhi on 24^th Feb late morning and onward to USA on 24^th Feb evening or 25^th Feb early morning.

Price for the 07 nights Haridwar & Ahmedabad Tour on twin sharing – USD 995.

# Accommodation for 07 nights in carefully selected hotels with breakfast & taxes

# Transportation by 06-seater AC MUV Toyota Innova or AC VAN

# All interstate permits, taxes, toll charges, fuel expenses and parking.

# Assistance by local representatives in each city

# Entry charges to the tourist site

# 02 bottle of mineral water everyday

# All applicable taxes

# Major meals at the hotels.

# Tips and expenses of personal nature like phone calls, laundry, internet usage etc.

# Donations to Ashram or in temples

# Medical / Travel Insurance

We have a 03^rd India Footsteps Kumbh Mela Tour from 07^th February to 05^th March (27 days). The itinerary will be same as the above with some small changes. For details write to James Aram and Sandhya Pande.

Register for the January/February 2025  “ In Yogananda’s India Footsteps Kumbh Male Tour” by November 15^th, 2024. Please contact Mr. James Aram at jparam@gmail.com or sandhyapande@nettoursindia.com to register with an initial deposit of USD 1000 / 1500 on twin / single sharing.

Registrations received after November 15^th, 2024 will attract a Late Fee of USD 250.

NOTE: We plan to start a group mailing list of the tour participants. The purpose will be sharing information and options on a regular basis relating to the tour, such as:

# Requirement of a current passport and visa to travel to India. Good news is that India has E-visa facility for tourists from many countries including USA.
# Best air fare option to travel to Delhi (India) and back from your desired US city of departure.
# Travel health insurance.
# Deposit and money forwarding instructions.
# Sharing devotee questions and comments, as appropriate, with the rest of the group.
# Other tour and pilgrimage related information of interest.

We will be happy to answer any questions you may have. If you wish to join our tour, please email us your confirmation, and submit US $1000 deposit. On receipt of deposit, we will send you a detailed day-wise tour personalized itinerary.

We look forward to taking care of all your “In Yogananda’s Footsteps” India tour needs!!!!!!

Best regards.

Jai Guru.!!!!!

James P Aram – USA Representative. call +1 (530) 588-3864
Sandhya Pande – India Representative. call +91-9811111266

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Testimonials

“I often tell friends and the monks at the temple of our Incredible India Tour and they asked us about what tour we went with”. – Tom Flynn. January 2023 Tour.

“Thanks again for the amazing adventure to India – we had such a special time”

Muriel Bianchi – January 2023 Tour.

“On our group tour all the guides were amazing and I was thrilled with the seamless sequence of heart

opening Guruj based, sacred-travel events based around the foot-steps of Yogananda. Jai Guru”

Lori – January 2024 Tour.

 

“Excellent tour overall. We were very pleased with the coordination, places we visited and with the guides. Highly recommended tour company – Thank you” Rafaelina and Eugene Ruiz. – In the Footsteps – February 2019.

” I’ve gone to India 4 times, the last 3 trips were SRF/YSS pilgrimage. Six of us from NY went in 2017 and the group chose to use Network Tours for all of our travel arrangements and everything worked perfectly. Sandhya is a YSS devotee but first and foremost she is a wonderful person and a very experienced, totally professional business owner with a very successful travel agency based in New Delhi. Good luck! Jai Guru! – Bill Siegel January’2018″

“Prasad was our shepherd. We could never have successfully completed this tour without him. Your team guided us safely and with very helpful information and lots of patience and goodwill. Thanks to all of your for this tour – Susan Bettmann , Vermont , USA – October Footsteps Group Tour 2017”

“Thank you Network Team. You all did a great job making this one of my most memorable travel experiences. I will come back to India. Thank you great job !!!!! Jai Guru !!!!! – Tm Boettcher, California , USA – October 2018”

The Tour deserves the highest rating for the pilgrimage travel. Our group of 18 were treated like family. Got the best care. Prasad our main guide is now part of our greater family as well as Debashis and others who shared their love and hearts. My heart is now in India. I hope and dream it is possible to return again and I must say this group of travelers also became one loving family. Thank you Sandhya, Ajay, Balbir for the perfect plan for the travel. Namaste – Jai Guru” – Deborah Sioux Thorup (Chico CA 95973, USA) – January 2016.

“ I really enjoyed the tour. All my needs were met. There was a lot of variety at first. I enjoyed going to and learning what I could about the different religions. At the end though too many temples all else was great. Thank you so much for getting this together. It was a great trip and people I will always remember with heartfelt love” – Susan Woods (Newada City, USA) –January 2016.

” Dear Sandhya, Thank you and your great team (Prasad and Ajay did a great job indeed) so very much for offering me and our SRF devotees group an wonderful journey in India! It was one of the most meaningful and uplifting journey of my life to visit your fascinating country that I miss already.

The group members were very pleased, as you can see from their messages of appreciation that you received already. I was very pleased to meet you in person also.

I hope that we can work together in the future again. With gratitude and best wishes, Dan Pricop – Tour Leader of SRF Group Kumbh Mela 2013″

“Dear Sandhya, I was a member of Dan Pricop’s recent tour group. I’m dropping a note simply because I failed to adequately express my deep appreciation for your services during our brief meeting the other night.

Most of all, words can’t describe my immense pleasure with the entire trip. I don’t recall ever experiencing such a sustained period of joy, awe, and deep appreciation for the culture and history around me. To make that so, your staff did a superb job of arranging and orchestrating all the events, connections, and presentations by the guides. I don’t know how you did it all for the price we paid, but I know everyone in the group was equally impressed and greatly appreciative.

It will take some time for my heart and mind to integrate the experience of the past three weeks. I tried to come to India without expectations other than to expect the unexpected. I did have, however, a great many positive imaginings about this trip. I truly can say all were happily and vastly exceeded!

Thank you for making my dream trip to India a reality, and please know that I will eagerly and heartily recommend Network Tours to everyone I can.

Sincerely, J. Aram” with Rinnie and our team members.

“Dear Sandhya Josef and I are eternally grateful for your loving help. We would not be traveling to India as often or as happily as we do if you were not helping us. Ajay and Prasad are wonderful to work with . Please know we are ever grateful, send our love, gratitude and blessings so that this year is the best one yet for family, work and God!” – Judy Szamos !!!! October 2018.

Judy Szamos, California , USA