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 25+ 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 was very special as our groups of SRF devotees participated in the Kumbh Mela 2025 at Prayagraj. The experience was incredible. This was our third Kumbh Mela with the YSS devotees – 2001, 2013 & 2025.  We were all truly blessed to be part of this spiritual experience.

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 India Footsteps Tour 2025 to coincide with Kumbh Mela in January – February 2025 that included few groups of around 50 devotees.  We had organized large group tours from 2001 to 2025 including three Maha Kumbh Mela in 2001,  2013 & 2025. Our strength is serving repeat travellers 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/

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 options1 may be arranged upon request.
• 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.

In the year 2025 & 2026, we are organizing two group tours for SRF Devotees –

1. First tour in September/October 2025 which includes stay at YSS Ashrams in Dwarahat & Daksineswar.  It will also coincide with participation at the Sadhna Sangam at Ranchi Ashram from 08-12 October 2025. Diksha Ceremony on 11^th October.
2. The second tour is in February 2026 to coincide with the holy month for bathing at the Prayag Triveni Sangam. 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 & 2017. 

“IN YOGANANDA’S FOOTSTEPS- INDIA TOUR” 

An Indian pilgrimage experience customized for SRF members & friends to coincide with Sadhana Sangam at Ranchi

    21^st September – 18^th October 2025

(29 days in India; allow two travel days from USA; one travel day to return from Delhi)

                                                     

Principle Destinations:- New Delhi, Brindavan, Mathura / Agra, Jaipur, Haridwar /Rishikesh , Vashishta Cave, Rudraprayag, Dwarahat YSS Ashram, Babaji’s Cave, Ranikhet, Delhi, Varanasi, Bodhgaya, Ranchi YSS Ashram – Sadhana Sangam (08-12 October), Kolkata YSS Dakshineswar Ashram, Belur, Serampore, Puri/Bhubaneswar, Delhi.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE “IN YOGANANDA’S FOOTSTEPS INDIA TOUR ITINERARY:

21 Sept – 22 Sep: Arrive in Delhi – Meditate at Bahai Temple and visit YSS Kendra, Mahatma Gandhi’s Home, cycle rickshaw ride in the old market. We recommend you arrive 03 days before start of the tour and spend quality time at the Noida Ashram.

22 Sep – 23 Sept: Brindavan – Mathura – Absorb the divine vibrations of Lord Krishna’s birthplace in Mathura and visit Brindavan and visit Swami Keshabananda’s Katayani Peith Ashram in Brindavan – associate of our Guru.

23 Sep – 24 Sep :  Agra – Tour the World Heritage Site and monument of love, the Taj Mahal.

24 Sep – 25 Sep : Jaipur – Participate in the evening session at YSS Kendra. Enjoy optional Elephant ride to Amer Fort and do a Jungle Safari.

25 Sep – 28 Sep: Haridwar & Rishikesh – Take the Holy dip and participate in the Ganga Arti. Spend quality time at the Keshavananda and Anandamoyi Maa Ashrams. Visit the Holy town Rishikesh & do walking tours or just meditate by the Ganges.

28 Sep – 29 Sep: Ganga Cottage Resort – On the way to Dwarahat. Stop and meditate at the Vashishta Cave / Jesus Cave visited by many gurus. Meditate by the Ganges

29 Sep – 30 Sep: Rudraprayag – Enroute to Dwarahat. Enjoy the spectacular views of the River Ganges and also the confluence of River Mandakini and Alaknanda at Rudraprayag.

30 Sep – 03 Oct: Dwarahat – Stay at the YSS Dwarahat Ashram for 03 days, visit Babaji’s Cave and enjoy the wonderful view of the high Himalayas. Participate in ashram activities. Walking tours in free time to the nearby temples.

03 Oct– 04 Oct: New Delhi – Drive from Dwarahat to Ranikhet and visit the Haida Khan Baba Temple with amazing views of the Himalayas. Take train from Kathgodam to Delhi.

04 Oct – 06 Oct: Varanasi – Take flight to Varanasi. Do a rickshaw ride and visit Lahiri Mahasaya’ Home. Walk by the River and visit Tailanga Swami site and visit Dashwamegh Ghat for evening Aarti. Enjoy Morning boat ride , Anandamoyi Maa Ashram. Visit Sarnath – World Heritage Buddhist Shrine. Enjoy evening Cruise at the Ganges.  

06 Oct – 07 Oct: Bodhgaya – Visit the Buddhist Shrine and meditate at Kiran Lama’s monastery.

07 Oct – 12 Oct: Ranchi – 5 nights stay at a hotel near the YSS Ranchi Ashram to participate in the Sadhana Sangam and the Kriya Diksha Ceremony.

12 Oct – 16 Oct: Kolkata Daksineswar Ashram – Visit Sri Yukteshwarji’s Ashram site at Serampore, Paramahansa Yogananda’s boyhood and family home in Kolkata, Kali Temple at Dakshineshwar, Mother Teressa’s Kolkata home and convent, Swami Vivekananda’s house and Sharda Maa’s Ashram. Participate in daily ashram activities including group energization and meditation.

16 Oct – 18 Oct: Puri/Bhubaneswar/Delhi/Depart – Visit Sri Yukteshwarji’s Karar Ashram and Lord Jagannath Temple museum. Stay at a beautiful 3-star hotel close to the beach. Fly from Bhubaneswar to Delhi and onward to USA.

The all-inclusive 29-days “In Yogananda’s Footsteps” India tour is value-priced as follows:

# Accommodation for 22 nights in comfortable 3 & 4-star hotels and 06 nights at 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

#  03 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 25-year period (for tour groups of 40 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

# 01 boat ride and 01 Evening Cruise 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

#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

Register for the India Footsteps Tour by 15^th July 2025. Write to us at sandhyapande@nettoursindia.com or jparam@gmail.com.  To register we need an initial deposit of USD 1000. Registrations received after July 15^th, 2025, will attract a Late Fee of USD 250. Detailed Itinerary will be provided after registration.

Pre Tour to visit Badrinath from 21^st September to 29^th September 2025 for the second time participants of the India Footsteps Tour.

Places covered – Delhi / Haridwar/ Rishikesh / Ganga Cottage Camp / Vashishta Cave / Devprayag / Joshimath / Badrinath / Rudraprayag.

Instead of taking you to Brindavan / Agra and Jaipur, we have included 04 days Joshimath / Badrinath Tour at a special price of USD 195 plus the Main Footsteps Tour Price on twin sharing.  Single room charges will be extra.

Post Extension Tour to Kashmir – 05 days from 19^th October to 23^rd October’2025.

Highlights : Visit the Paradise on Earth – Kashmir.  Meditate by the River in Pahalgam. Enjoy Jeep Tours and optional hiking / horse tours in the Pahalgam Valley. Morning boat ride at Dal Lake and hike to the beautiful Shankaracharya Shiva Temple. Meditate at the temple overlooks the Kashmir Valley and Lakes. Visit the Rosabal Shrine and the feel the presence of Jesus Christ in Kashmir. Enjoy boat rides at Dal Lake / Nagin Lake and visit Mughal Gardens.

Price for 05 days Kashmir Extension Tour on Twin sharing is USD 1295.

# Accommodation on twin sharing basis in boutique & 4*hotels

# Daily breakfast & dinners in the hotel’s inhouse restaurants,

# Transportation by AC MUV cars / Mini Van depending upon group size,

# Assistance by our local representatives on arrival and departures,

# Services of guides for sightseeing in Pahalgam, Srinagar

# Boat ride at Dal Lake / Jeep Safari at the Aru Valley

# Entry charges to Mughal Gardens,

# Cost of 02 flights (Delhi – Srinagar – Delhi)

# All applicable government taxes. 

# All applicable taxes

Our services will not include expenses of a personal nature like tips, laundry, phone calls, internet, Travel / Medical insurance.

Register for the Kashmir Extension Tour by 15^th July 2025. Write to us at sandhyapande@nettoursindia.com or jparam@gmail.com .  To register we need an initial deposit of USD 500. Registrations received after July 15^th, 2025, will attract a Late Fee of USD 100. Itinerary will be provided after registration.

From 19^th October to 28^th October 2025 OR from 23^rd October to 01^st November.

 

Highlights: Spend 03 days at the beautiful Chennai YSS Ashram. Enjoy the beach at Mamallapuram enroute to Tiruvanamalai. Spend 02 days at the Ramana Maharishi Ashram. End the tour with a beautiful 03 days stay inclusive of Ayurveda SPA at a beautiful beach front hotel at Kovalam. Meditate at the Vivekananda Memorial Hall and visit the beautiful Shiva Sculpture.

Price for the 10 days Chennai Ashram, Sri Ramana Maharishi Ashram & Ayurveda SPA Retreat on twin sharing – USD 2295.

# Accommodation on twin sharing in the YSS Ashram Chennai & carefully selected 4* hotels with breakfast & taxes

# 03 nights Ayurveda Treatment package at Kovalam Resort with doctor’s consultation and all prescribed meals.

# Transportation by MUV Toyota Innova or AC VAN

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

# Cost of 02 flights (Delhi – Chennai and Trivandrum – Delhi)

# Assistance by local representatives in each state

# 02 bottle of mineral water everyday

# All applicable taxes

Our services will not include major meals at the hotels (except at Kovalam), Tips and expenses of personal nature like phone calls, laundry, internet usage etc, Donations to Ashram or in temples, Medical / Travel Insurance.

Register for the South India Extension Tour by 15^th July 2025. Write to us at sandhyapande@nettoursindia.com or jparam@gmail.com .  To register we need an initial deposit of USD 1000. Registrations received after July 15^th, 2025, will attract a Late Fee of USD 200. Itinerary will be provided after registration.

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 (twin / double sharing) or US $ 1500 for single room basis. 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

---

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