Duration of South India Cultural Tour: 19 Nights / 20 Days
Places to Visit during South India Cultural Tour: Chennai – Kanchipuram – Mahabalipuram – Pondicherry – Swamimalai – Karaikudi – Trichy – Madurai – Kanyakumari – Kovalam-Alleppey – Cochin – Ooty – Mysore-Bangalore.
Day 01: Chennai: On arrival you will be received by our representative and transferred straight to your hotel. Rest of the free for leisure.
Day 02:Chennai: Morning sightseeing tour of Chennai visiting fort St. George – Old East India Company now the house for state legislative assembly, Kapaleeswara temple & Chennai Museum.
Day 03: Chennai-Kanchipuram-Mahabalipuram: After breakfast drive 70kms to Kanchipuram – one of the seven sacred cities in India, visit Ekambeshwara Temple, Kailasanatha Temple and Vaikunda Perumal Temple and visit the silk weaving centre option for shopping as Kanchipuram is Famous for silk sarees later drive 70kms to Mahabalipuram check into Hotel. Rest of the time completely on your desecration.
Day 04: Mahabalipuram – Pondicherry: After breakfast drive to Pondicherry check into your hotel. Relax for a while. In the after noon visit Sri Aurobindo Ashram – The ashram, the spiritual tenets of which combine yoga and modern science is quite popular within India and abroad and visit working units, such as the Handmade paper factory, Cottage industries Incense making section.
Day 05: Pondicherry – Swamimalai: After breakfast drive 170kms to Swamimalai enroute visit Chidambaram Natarajar Temple – the dancing God and Gangaikonda Cholapuram and Darasuram temples listed in World Heritage Sites recently announced by UNESCO on arrival in Swamimalai check into Sterling Resort evening watch the cultural programme in the resort overnight in Sterling Resort (Heritage)
Day 06: Swamimalai: Morning witness the Rangoli – is one of the most popular art among Indian women, which is mainly painted on the ground in front of their houses using different color powders and also see Pooja (prayer) & attend Yoga class after breakfast visit Brahadeeswara temple witness the huge Nandi weighing 80tons made of single granite and visit Saraswathi Mahal Library evening visit the Swamimalai bronze casting unit to see how statue are made:
Day 07: Swamimalai – Karaikudi: After a leisurely breakfast drive to Karaikudi and on arrival check in to your hotel. There are many large and beautiful merchant’s houses in the area which the host family will show you, experience the local life and flavor of the distinctive region visit the local villages, markets and the nearby historical sites Dinner.
Day 08: Karaikudi – Trichy: After breakfast drive to Trichy check into your hotel. Further visit magnificent Ranganatha Vishnu Temple – dedicated to Lord Vishnu, a superb temple complex, tallest temple complex in Asia and visit Rock Fort Temple perched 85m high on a massive rocky out crop, you will have to climb to the top up the 437 stone cut steps at sunset for panoramic views over the Cauvery River delta and Srirangam Island.
Day 09: Trichy – Madurai: After breakfast drive to Madurai in your exclusive vehicle. Later visit Sri Meenakshi Temple the enormous temple complex is dedicated to Shiva, known here as Sundareshvara and his consort Meenakshi and visit Nayak Palace This Palace was built in 1636 by King Thirumalai Nayak with the help of an Italian Architect. The building we see today was the main Palace where the King lived.
Day 10: Madurai – Kanyakumari: After breakfast drive to Kanyakumari – the southern tip of India where Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. On arrival check in to your hotel. In the after noon visit Vivekananda Memorial and Tiruvalluvar Statue and visit Kumari Amman Temple evening witness the sunset over the Arabian Sea.
Day 11: Kanyakumari – Kovalam: After breakfast drive 85kms to Kovalam enroute visit Padmanabhapuram teak palace. On arrival take a half day sight seeing of Trivandrum visiting Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple, Sri Chitra art gallery and Napier Museum.
Day 12: Kovalam – Alleppey: After breakfast drive to Alleppey – known as Venice of the East board the houseboat at 12.00noon cruise into the canals of Vembanad Lake to witness the traditional Keralan village life remind unchanged for many years here your crew will prepare you delicious Keralan meal on board overnight in Houseboat.
Day 13: Houseboat: Continue to cruise towards Alleppey overnight in Houseboat
Day 14: Alleppey – Cochin: Disembark from the houseboat at 10.00am your exclusive vehicle will pick you and drive to Cochin check into your hotel . In the after noon visit historic Fort Cochin visiting Synagogue – the oldest Synagogue in the common wealth, the Dutch Palace – houses lots of fresco paintings, and the St. Francis Church – the oldest European Church in India where Vasco De Gama was originally buried. A leisurely walk through the Fort Cochin area which gives you a close look at the operation of the huge cantilevered Chinese fishing nets introduced by Chinese traders which is still used in Kerala backwaters as a traditional way of fishing, evening watch the performance of Kathakali Dance.
Day 15: Cochin – Ooty: After breakfast drive to Ooty enroute take a toy train journey from Coonoor at 4.30pm enjoy the scenic beauty of Nilgiri hills you will arrive Ooty at 6.00pm vehicle will pick you and transfer to your hotel. Rest of the time free for leisure.
Day 16: Ooty: Full day sightseeing of Ooty – known as Queen of Hill stations. Take full day Sight seeing of Ooty including Botanical Garden. There is a fossil tree trunk 20 million years old in the midst of the garden and visit Totabetta – It is the highest peak (2623 meters) in the Nilgiris, offers beautiful vistas of the Nilgiri Hills ranges and boating on the lake.
Day 17: Ooty – Mysore: In the morning drive to Mysore in your exclusive vehicle. On arrival check in to your hotel. Later visit Maharaja’s Palace – built in Indo-Saracenic style with domes turrets, arches and colonnades, the palace is a treasure house of exquisite carvings and works of art from all over the world and visit Chamundi hill where a big Nandi overlooks the city The summit offers a panoramic view of Mysore’s lakes, parks and palaces and visit Devraja Fruit and Flower Market.
Day 18: Mysore – Bangalore: After breakfast drive to Bangalore in your exclusive vehicle. On the way visit Srirangapatnam. Later check into your hotel. In the After noon visit Bull Temple, Iskcon Temple and Vidhan Soudha.
Day 19: Bangalore – Chennai by train: After breakfast drive 200kms to Bangalore railway station board train 2008 departing Bangalore 4.25pm travel by 1st class AC chair car you will arrive Chennai 9.25pm car will pick you and transfer to your hotel and rest of the time for leisure.
Day 20: Departure: At appropriate time you will be transferred to the international airport to board the flight back to home. The tour ends.
