South India - A cultural discovery
The Spiritual and traditional nature of true India lies in the spiritual south.
The Spiritual and traditional nature of true India lies in the spiritual south. The actual culture of India, which is a mixture of tradition religion, caste and creed can be seen flowing in the blood and veins of south India.
- Day-1 : Arrive and check in a hotel Bangalore.
- Day-2 : Half day city tour of the Garden city of Bangalore.
Departure for Hassan , and check in hotel. - Day-3 : Morning Bullock cart ride(optional), breakfast and drive to see three villages, Helebidu, Javagal & Belur to visit the most ornate temples built in 12th century by Hoyasala rulers of Dwarasamudra.
Overnight stay in Hassan. - Day-4 : Drive to Mysore and check in Hotel.
Afternoon Visit Maharaja Palace and Chamundi Hill temple.
Overnight stay in Mysore. - Day-5 : Drive to Srirangapatana and bird sanctuary
Afternoon browse the famed Mysore silks and wood carving works. The most
colorful and lively flowers and vegetable market.
Overnight stay in Mysore. - Day-6 : Drive to Bangalore and take one hour flight to Cochin.(Kochi). If time permits visit of Kathakali performance
Overnight stay in Cochin. - Day-7 :Morning tour of Cochin consisting of Chinese fishing nets, St. Francis church, 16th century Dutch Palace and the16 th century Jewish Synagogue
drive an hour to Alleppy(Allapuza), where you reach our marina to embark on a house boat(Kettuvallam) journey in to the backwaters and on Lake Vembanad, the largest fresh water lake in Kerala.
On this boat you are served authentic Kerala cuisine, which includes all the meals.
Overnight stay in house boat.
Our boat has Twin sharing rooms , attached clean bath rooms, and fans. - Day-8 : After breakfast you will disembark and drive to Periyar Park area.
Enroute , have home hosted Lunch in a Plantation Farm house. You will pass thorough beautiful tea gardens, and if it opens we visit a Tea factory to see the processing of tea leaves.
Evening buy spices of Kerala. - Day-9 : Morning trekking in Periyar National park.
Afternoon game viewing from a motorboat in Lake Periyar National park covers an area of 700 sq.km and has been declared under project tiger, to conserve and augment the tiger population.
Overnight stay in hotel. - Day-10 : Morning drive to Madurai, which is the oldest city in South India.
Afternoon tour of Madurai city including Tirumalai Nayak,
Mahatma Gandhi Memorial museum, and the Meenakshi temple and museum. The temple is famous for its lofty temple towers known as gopurams.
See the Panoramic view of the temple from one of the crafts emporiums.
Overnight stay in Madurai. - Day-12 : Morning drive to Tiruchi. Enroute visit Narthamalai village. Here perched on a granite hill, you find the most fascinating temple built by early Cholas in 9th century AD. You will also see a cave temple excavated by Mutharayars in 7th century AD.
Check in hotel and Afternoon visit the Sri Rangam temple, the largest Hindu temple complex in the world built in 14th century AD.
Overnight stay in Trichy. - Day-13 : Morning Drive to Sawamimalai, enroute visit Tanjore city to visit the 10th century temple of Brihadeshwara, a world heritage monument.
Visit the Bonze art museum.
Lunch at Tanjore.
Drive to Swamimalai and check in at Sterling village Resort. - Day-14 : Morning visit the temples of Kumbakonam.
Afternoon visit school of iconography to see the bronze idols being casted.
Evening you witness the folk dance show, showcasing the folk heritage of Tamil Nadu.
Overnight stay in Swamimalai. - Day-15 : Drive to Gangaikonda cholapuram temple to see the 12th century
Chola temple, Chidambaram temple.
Overnight stay in Pondichery. - Day-16 : Morning a orientation tour of Pondichery consisting of a glance at sri aurobindo ashram samadhi of Sage Aurobindo and walk on the promenade of the state secretariat, where you can see the statue of Mahatma Gandhi.
Drive to Mamallpuram , to stay in a sea side village of the Bay of Bengal. It is here you see the most magnificent monuments built by the Pallava dynasty between 6th and 8th centuries. This site is world heritage site.
Lunch at Mamallpuram
Overnight stay in Mamallapuram. - Day-17 :
Day at leisure.
Evening drive to Chennai for an orientation tour of the city and last minute shopping. In the evening farewell dinner and transfers to international airport to fly home, taking with you unforgettable memories of your India tour.