Day - 1 » Departurev from Country
Departure from your own Country.
Day - 2 » Arrive Madras
Arrive Madras. Transfer to Hotel. Overnight Chennai (Madras).
Day - 3 » Mahabalipuram - Kanchipuram
Full day tour of Mahabalipuram & Kanchipuram. Check-out at 1200 hrs.
Kanchipuram (64 kms from Chennai (Madras)) is the ancient capital of the
Pallavas famous as a city of 1000 Temples and still has 124 shrines. The
first temple dedicated to Shiva was built in the 7th and 8th century &
has paintings on the walls. Temples of Ekambaswara, Kailasanatha, Sri
Kamakshi and Varadarajaswamy are of interest. Kanchipuram is also famous for
its silks. The city of 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 » Trichy
Morning arrive Trichy and transfer to hotel. Afternoon city tour. Trichy
was 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 Trichy.
Day - 5 » Madurai
Drive to Madurai visiting Tanjore enroute. At Tanjore, the beautiful Chola
Temple of Brihadeeshwara 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 Madurai.
Day - 6 » Madurai
Morning visit the 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 & arches.
Also visit the Alagar Hills and Tirupara Kundran Rock temple. Afternoon
free. Overnight Madurai.
Day - 7 » Periyar
Morning drive to Periyar. The earliest sanctuary to be set up in 1934, it
extends to 777 square kms & forms part of the high mountain ranges, the
Western Ghats. Wild life can be seen while cruising on Periyar Lake in a
motor boat. Amongst the animals which can be seen are elephants, wild boar,
sambar, tiger, leopard, wild dog, langur monkeys, etc. Overnight Periyar.
Day - 8 » Cochin
Morning drive to Cochin. Overnight Cochin.
Day - 9 » Cochin
Morning tour of Cochin. Cochin is the natural harbour created by the famed
underwater Malabar mud-banks whose quality ensures that the rougher the seas
are outside the calmer the waters are within the Harbour. Vasco-de-Gama
placed it on the world map. It has a Jewish synagogue, Portuguese churches,
mosques & Hindu temples. Watch the Chinese Fishing Nets. Afternoon free.
Overnight Cochin.
Day - 10 » Bangalore
Morning transfer to airport for Bangalore flight. Arrive & drive
directly to Mysore. Overnight Mysore.
Day - 11 » Mysore
Morning tour of Mysore. Visit the palace of the Maharaja built in 1911-12.
The palace is of harmonious syntheses of the hindu and saracenic styles of
architecture with archways, domes, turrets, colonnades and sculptures which
are magnificent. Visit the Art Gallery; drive upto Chamundi hill to see
Chamundeshwari Temple & a panoramic view of Mysore. On the way back, see
the Nandi Bull. Afternoon free. Overnight Mysore.
Day - 12 » Belur - Halebid
Full day tour of Belur and Halebid. The Chenna Kesava temple of Belur built
900 years ago is an exquisite example of Hoysala art. Halebid's 12th century
Hoysaleswara and Kedareswara temples are master pieces of Hindu art. On the
way also visit Sravanbelgola. At Sravanbelgola, hewn out of a single rock
and visible from a distance of 25 kms is the statue of Lord Gomteshwara
which is bathed with milk and honey once every 12 years.
Day - 13 » Hospet
Morning drive to Hospet. Visit Hampi. The once beautiful capital city of
Vijayanagar Empire - greater than Rome, had palaces, temples &
sculptures, spread all over. The city was razed to the ground by the
Sultanates of South 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 & Lotus Mahal.
Day - 14 » Badami
Morning drive to Badami stopping at Aihole & 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 & Mahabharata.
The Papanatha Temple has impressive carvings on pillars and ceiling.
Day - 15 » Badami
Morning tour of Badami. Badami also known as Vatapi is 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 & a watch tower. The Malegitti
Shivalaya temple set on the summit of a hill is built of stones without
mortar.
Day - 16 » Goa
Morning drive to Goa. Goa hotels are not included in the cost has a
seasonal rates which vary. Please choose the type/budget of hotels you need
and we will quote accordingly.
Day - 17 » Goa
In Goa. Please 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.
