POST - CONFERENCE  TOURS

The organizing committee is looking into the possibility of arranging a few post-conference tours on cost-sharing basis. The details of these tours are as follows:

TOUR TO AJANTA CAVES AND ELLORA TEMPLES

It is proposed to organize a special 2-day tour of Ajanta caves and Ellora temples (UN's world heritage sites) on August 11 and 12, 2005, immediately after the conclusion of the ICRC 2005 on the evening of August 10th. The proposed itinerary is as follows:

August 11, 07:00 hr
Travel by shared cars to the city of Aurangabad, 250 kms north-east of Pune. Hotel check-in. Lunch.

August 11, 14:00 hr
Travel 30 km south to Ellora. Visit 34 rock-cut temples (Buddhism, Jainism and Brahmanism) including the spectacular Kailas temple, the largest monolithic rock-cut temple in the World. Return back to Aurangabad in the evening. Time-permitting, visit the marble copy (Bibi-ka-Makhbara) of the Taj Mahal at Aurangabad built by the Moghul Emperor Aurangzeb in memory of his queen. Aurangzeb was the son of the Emperor Shahjehan who built the Taj Mahal in Agra in memory of his queen, Mumtaz. 

August 12, 07:00 hr
Travel 100 kms north from Aurangabad to Ajanta to see the India's most famous Buddhist caves, 30 in number, which contain a wealth of art and architecture. The frescoes in 5 caves and some of the sculpture are considered among the greatest achievements of the Indian artists in the first few hundred years of the 1st millenium.

August 12, 15:00 hr
    Drive back to Pune in time for a late dinner.

Expected shared costs:

    (a) TAXI rentals              - INR 2000 per person (TAXI shared by 3 persons)
    (b) Hotel at Aurangabad  - INR 3000 per twin-bedded room
    (c) Meals and snacks       - INR 1000 per person

    Entry fees at Ajanta, Ellora, Bibi-ka-Makhbara, etc. extra.

Persons interested in joining this tour may inform the Secretariat at icrc2005@icrc2005.tifr.res.in (subject: Ajanta) but a firm commitment is required only by Friday, August 5, 13:00 hr through an advance payment of INR 5000 per person.


TOUR TO OOTY LABORATORY (GRAPES), MUDUMALAI SANCTUARY, MYSORE
and BANGALORE

It is proposed to organize a special 3-day tour of the Cosmic Ray Laboratory (GRAPES) of the Tata Institute at Ooty, the Wild Life Sanctuary at Mudumalai, the palaces and temples of Mysore and some interesting places near Bangalore after the conclusion of the ICRC 2005. Depending on the choice of individual participants, the tour will start either on Aug 11th morning or Aug 13th morning and conclude on 13th evening or 15th evening respectively. The proposed itinerary is as follows:
       
Day 1: Travel from Pune to the domestic airport at Mumbai by bus/car (~3 hours). Travel by air from Mumbai to Coimbatore (~100 min flight). Travel by bus/car (~ 3 hours) from the Coimbatore airport to the mountain resort town of Ooty in the Blue Mountains. Visits to tea garden and tea factory and stay overnight in a hotel at Ooty.

Day 2: Visits to the GRAPES Laboratory, the unique 1/3rd mile long cylindrical Radio Telescope and a few scenic points around Ooty during the day. Travel to Forest Lodge in the Wild Life Sanctuary at Mudumalai in the evening for overnight stay there.

Day 3: Ride through the wild life sanctuary in early morning hoping to see herds of Indian spotted deer, bisons and elephants and a real or imaginary sighting of a tiger (probability < 5 sigma). Visits to the palace, temple and the silk factory in Mysore and a few interesting places on the way from Mysore to Bangalore. Reach Bangalore by 07:00 pm to take the 08:00 pm flight to Mumbai, in time to catch international flights leaving Mumbai around midnight.

Expected shared costs:    
        (a) Airfare (BOM-CJB and BLR-BOM) - INR 15000 per person
        (b) Hotel at Ooty - INR 3000 per twin-bedded room
        (c) Resort at Mudumalai - INR 3000 per twin-bedded room
        (d) Car for Coimbatore-Ooty-Mudumalai-Mysore-Bangalore travel - INR 3000 per person
        (e) Meals and snacks - INR 1000 per person
            
Total ~ INR 25000 per person. Entry fees at Mudumalai Wild Life Sanctuary, Mysore Palace, Temple, etc. extra.
            
Persons interested in joining this tour may inform the Secretariat at icrc2005@icrc2005.tifr.res.in (subject: Ooty) but a firm committment is required only by Wednesday, August 3, 13:00 hr through an advance payment of INR 25000 per person.


TOUR TO TAJ MAHAL IN AGRA and RED FORT IN DELHI

It is proposed to organize special tours for seeing the Taj Mahal at Agra and the Red Fort at Delhi and several other interesting places at both the places. The details of these tours will have to be adjusted to suit the flight schedule of the international airline bringing you to India and your budget.

Does the airline bringing you to India have flights to both Delhi and Mumbai? Does it allow you to come to Bombay and leave from Delhi without any extra charge? For example, Lufthansa can bring you from Frankfurt to Mumbai and take you back to Frankfurt from Delhi at no extra cost.

So there are two possible scenarios:

Sceneario I: You arrive in Mumbai, attend the conference, travel to Agra and visit Taj Mahal and the Fort at Fatehpur Sikri, travel to Delhi for some sightseeing there and then take the flight back home directly from Delhi.

Scenario II: You arrive in Mumbai, attend the conference, travel to Agra and visit Taj Mahal and the Fort at Fatehpur Sikri, travel to Delhi for some sightseeing there and then return back to Mumbai to take the flight back home.

SCENARIO I - Option I : Take a railway train from Pune to Agra, leaving Pune at 17h 35m and arriving next day evening at 17h 23m at Agra. Stay for 2 nights in a hotel in Agra and visit Taj Mahal next day. In case, you want to visit the Fort at Fatehpur Sikri, you may have to stay at Agra for another night. Travel by train from Agra to Delhi on the morning of the 3rd day and spend the whole day in Delhi in sight-seeing, then take the flight back home in late evening or around midnight. The fare for the AC sleeper will be ~ INR 2000, including the three meals. The hotel at Agra will cost ~ INR 3000 per night for a twin-bedded room. The taxi at Agra to take you around will be ~ INR 1500 for the whole day. The fare for the AC chair car for the train journey from Agra to Delhi will be ~ INR 500 per person. The taxi at Delhi to take you around will be ~ INR 1000 for the whole day. Total ~ INR 11000 for the 1st person and ~ INR 2500 for the accompanying person (if any).

SCENARIO I - OPTION II : Travel from Pune to Delhi by air (~ INR 9000 per person). Travel by train from Delhi to Agra (~ INR 500 for the AC chair car). Thereafter follow the program given in Option I. Extra cost ~ INR 7000 per person.

SCENARIO II : You can choose either of the two options given above but will be required to add the extra cost and time for travel from Delhi to Mumbai to take the flight back home from the international airport at Mumbai. Train fare from Delhi to Mumbai ~ INR 2000 for AC sleeper and journey time ~ 20 hours. Air fare from Delhi to Mumbai ~ INR 9000 per person.

Suitable itineraries can be worked out for you once you inform us of the arrival/departure details for the international flights, number of days available and the budgetary constraints. Persons interested in joining this tour may inform the Secretariat at icrc2005@icrc2005.tifr.res.in (subject: Agra) but a firm committment will be required by Wednesday, August 3, 13:00 hr through an advance payment which would depend on the options selected.

TREKKING TOUR IN THE LADAKH REGION OF THE HIMALAYAS

An independent and informal trekking tour in the Ladakh region of the Himalayan mountain range is being organized by Dr. Michael DuVernois (duvernoi@physics.umn.edu) right after the conference. It is proposed to take the Srinagar-Leh public bus to reach the Ladakh region from Srinagar, the capital of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, about 500 kms north of Delhi. If you are interested in joining the trek, please contact Dr. DuVernois directly.