Day 1: Exotic Tour
Departure from your own Country.
Day 2: Chennai (Madras)
Arrive Chennai. Transfer to hotel. Overnight stay Chennai.
Day 3: Mahabalipuram
Full day tour of Mahabalipuram and Kanchipuram. Check-out at 1200 hrs.
Kanchipuram (64 km from Chennai) 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 and has
paintings on the walls. Ekambaswara Temple, Kailasanatha Temple, Sri
Kamakshi Temple and Varadarajaswamy Temple are other attractions.
Kanchipuram is also popular for its silk. The city of Mahabalipuram is
known for its seven pagodas. Here on the seashore is an interesting
group of ancient rock hewn temples, which are the examples of Dravidian
style of Architecture. Transfer to rail-station in the evening for
Trichy. Night on board.
Day 4: Trichy
Arrive Trichy in the morning. Transfer to hotel. Afternoon city tour of
Trichy - the citadel of the Chola dynasty in the medieval period. The
city witnessed the Carnatic wars in the 18th century 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 Periyar National Park after breakfast (by road 180 km - 4
hours). It extends to 777 square km and forms part of the high mountain
ranges, the Western Ghats. Enjoy a boat ride in the Periyar Lake. Visit
Kumily Spice Market in the evening. Overnight stay at resort in
Thekkady.
Day 6: Meenakshi Temple
Visit to great Meenakshi Temple dedicated to the consort of Lord Shiva
with its towering gopurams (rising high above the surrounding country
side) in the morning. Later, visit the Tirumala Nayak Palace - A
gracious building in the Indo saracenic style, famous for the Stucco
work on its domes and arches. Also to visit is Alagar Hills and Tirupara
Kundran Rock temple. Afternoon is free. Overnight Madurai.
Day 7: Western Ghats
Morning drive to Periyar. The 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 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 stay at Periyar.
Day 8: Cochin
Morning drive to Cochin. Overnight stay at Cochin.
Day 9: Cochin Tour
Morning tour of Cochin - Jewish synagogue, Portuguese churches, mosques
and Hindu temples, Chinese Fishing Nets. Afternoon free. Overnight stay
at Cochin.
Day 10: Mysore
Morning transfer to airport for Bangalore flight. Arrive and drive
directly to Mysore. Overnight stay at Mysore.
Day 11: Tour of 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 and 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: 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: Aihole and Pattadakal
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: Tour of 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: Inform us
From Goa board the flight for Delhi. Day will be kept free at your
discretion till the time of your departing flight. You'll be transferred
to the Airport for onward flight.
Day 18: Back to Home
Transfer to airport for Bombay flight. Arrive at the domestic airport.
Transfer to the city centre. Later in the evening transfer to
international airport.
