|
Index ->>
South India
Tour
Package
Holiday Packages of South India & Goa
CHENNAI(Madras)-> | TRICHY-> |
MADURAI ->| PERIYAR ->| COCHIN ->|BANGALORE-> | MYSORE-> | HASSAN-> |
HOSPET-> | BADAMI-> | GOA-> | MUMBAI -> DAYS -18
 Day
01 : Arrive Madras
Met Upon Arrival and Transfer to Hotel. Overnight Chennai (Madras).
 Day 02 :
Madras(Chennai) -
Kanchipuram - Mahabalipuram
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.
Dinner and Overnight
at Mahabalipuram.
 Day 03 : Mahabalipuram
- Trichy
Morning
drive to
Trichy and
upon arrival check in the
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
04: Trichy -
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 05: 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 06: Madurai -
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 07:
Periyar
Full day Jungle visit. Dinner and Overnight in the Hotel.
Day 08:
Periyar - Cochin
Morning
drive to Cochin. Overnight Cochin.
Day 09: 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: Cochin -
Bangalore - Mysore
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 :
Mysore - 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
Day 13: Halebid - Hospet- Hampi
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: Hampi - Aihole - Pattadakal - Badamiorning
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: Badami-
Goa
 Morning
drive to Goa. 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 : Goa - 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. |
