Day 1: Departure from Country
Departure from your own Country.
Day 2: Arrive Chennai
Transfer to hotel after arrival at Chennai. Overnight stay at Chennai.
Day 3: Mahabalipuram and Kanchipuram
Full day tour of Mahabalipuram and Kanchipuram. Drive to Kanchipuram
(64 km from Chennai) - ancient capital of the Pallavas famous as a city
of 1000 Temples and still has 124 shrines. Temples of Ekambaswara,
Kailasanatha, Sri Kamakshi and Varadarajaswamy are main attractions.
Kanchipuram is also popular for its silks. Mahabalipuram is famous for
the seven pagodas. Here on the seashore is an interesting group of
ancient rock hewn temples, which are the examples of Dravidian style of
Architecture. Evening transfer to rail-station for Trichy night train.
Night on board.
Day 4: Arrive Trichy
Morning arrive at Trichy and transfer to hotel. Afternoon city tour of
Trichy - the citadel of the Chola dynasty in the medieval period. In the
18th century it witnessed the Carnatic wars fought between the French
and the English. Lord Robert Clive's house is still there to see and so
is the Danish Church. The Rock-Fort is the landmark of Trichy. A climb
of 434 steps leads to the ancient temple of Ganapati on top and a
further climb to a Shiva temple. Overnight stay at Trichy.
Day 5: Madurai
Drive to Madurai visiting Tanjore on the way. The beautiful Chola
Temple of Brihadeeshwara of Tanjore is capped by a monolithic cupola
made of a single granite block weighing 80 tons which was taken to the
top with the help of a 6 km long ramp, an old technique used by the
Egyptians for building pyramids. Its bronzes and handicrafts make
Tanjore one of the highlights of a visit to South India. Overnight stay
at Madurai.
Day 6: Madurai
Morning visit to great Meenakshi Temple dedicated to the consort of
Lord Shiva with its towering gopurams (rising high above the surrounding
country side). Later, visit the Tirumala Nayak Palace - a gracious
building in the Indo-saracenic style, famous for the Stucco work on its
domes and arches. Visit the Alagar Hills and Tirupara Kundran Rock
temple. Afternoon is free. Overnight stay at Madurai.
Day 7: Periyar
Morning drive to Periyar - earliest sanctuary to be set up in 1934, it
extends to 777 square km and forms part of the high mountain ranges, the
Western Ghats. Wild life like elephants, wild boar, sambar, tiger,
leopard, wild dog, langur monkeys etc. can be seen while cruising on
Periyar Lake in a motorboat. Overnight stay at Periyar.
Day 8: Cochin
Morning drive to Cochin. Overnight stay at Cochin.
Day 9: Cochin
Morning tour of Cochin - Vasco-de-Gama, Jewish Synagogue, Portuguese
churches, mosques and Hindu temples. Watch the Chinese Fishing Nets.
Afternoon is free. Overnight stay at Cochin.
Day 10: Bangalore
Morning transfer to airport for Bangalore flight. Arrive and drive
directly to Mysore. Overnight stay at Mysore.
Day 11: Mysore
Morning tour of Mysore - palace of the Maharaja built in 1911-12, Art
Gallery; Chamundi hill to see Chamundeshwari Temple and a panoramic view
of Mysore. See the Nandi Bull on the way back. Afternoon is free.
Overnight stay at Mysore.
Day 12: Belur - Halebid
Full day tour of Belur and Halebid - Chenna Kesava Temple of Belur
(built 900 years ago), Halebid's 12th century Hoysaleswara and
Kedareswara Temples. On the way visit Sravanbelgola, a single rock and
visible from a distance of 25 km is the statue of Lord Gomteshwara,
which is bathed with milk and honey once every 12 years.
Day 13: Hospet - Hampi
Morning drive to Hospet. Visit Hampi - once a beautiful capital city of
Vijayanagar Empire, greater than Rome had palaces, temples and
sculptures, spread all over. The Sultanates of South razed the city to
ground in 1565. Some of the interesting ruins remaining are the
Virupaksha, Vittala and Hazara Rama temples huge Ganesha and Narasimha
images, the elephant stables, the Queen's Bath, carvings on the
Ramachandra temple and Lotus Mahal.
Day 14: Badami
Morning drive to Badami. Stop at Aihole and Pattadakal on the way.
Aihole is the cradle of stone temple architecture of the southern
Dravida School. The oldest temple, Lad Khan goes back to the 5th century
A.D. There are 70 temples in this group. The Durga temple is noted for
its sculptures. The Meguti Temple is built of 630 small stone blocks.
The Ravanaphadi Cave has some beautiful carvings. Pattadakal, referred
to as Petrigal, reached its pinnacle of glory under the Chalukya kings
from 7th to 9th centuries. The oldest in this group is the Sanghameswara
Temple. The Mallikarjuna Temple has pillars depicting life of Krishna.
Virupaksha Temple has sculptures and panel scenes from the epics, the
Ramayana and Mahabharata. The Papanatha Temple has impressive carvings
on pillars and ceiling.
Day 15: Badami
Morning tour of Badami. Badami is also known as Vatapi and rich with
Hindu and Jain temples carved out of sand stone hills. The carved
temples date back to the 6th century. Of these, three are Hindu and one
Jain. Sculptured out of solid rock they are adorned with carvings. The
Fort, on top of a hill encloses large granaries, treasury and a
watchtower. The Malegitti Shivalaya Temple set on the summit of a hill
is built of stones without mortar.
Day 16: Goa
Morning drive to Goa.
Day 17: Goa
Kindly inform us the number of days you wish to stay in Goa.
Day 18: Flight for Bombay
Transfer to airport for Bombay flight. Arrive at the domestic airport.
Transfer to the city centre. Later in the evening transfer to
international airport.
