Day 01 Channai |
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Departure from
your home Country. |
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Day 02
Channai |
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Arrive Madras.
Transfer to Hotel. Overnight Chennai (Madras).
Book this Tour |
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Day 03
Mahabalipuram |
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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. |
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Day 04
Trichy |
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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. |
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Day 05
Madurai |
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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. |
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Day 06
Madurai |
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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. |
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Day 07
Periyar |
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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. |
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Day 08
Cochin |
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Morning drive
to Cochin. Overnight Cochin. |
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Day 09
Cochin |
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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. |
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Day 10
Mysore |
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Morning
transfer to airport for Bangalore flight. Arrive &
drive directly to Mysore. Overnight Mysore. |
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Day 11
Mysore |
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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. |
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Day 12
Hassan |
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Drive to
Hassan enroute visiting Sravanabelgola. 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.
Later visit 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. Overnight Hassan. |
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Day 13
Hospet |
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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. |
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Day 14
Badami |
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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. Overnight Badami. |
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Day 15
Badami
Book this Tour |
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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. Overnight Badami. |
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Day 16 Goa |
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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. |
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Day 17 Goa |
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In Goa. Please
inform us the number of days you wish to stay in
Goa. |
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Day 18
Mumbai |
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Transfer to
airport for Bombay flight. Arrive at the domestic
airport. Transfer to the city centre. Later in the
evening transfer to international airport. |