Route
: Madras - Covelong - Pondicherry - Tanjore - Trichy - Madurai - Periyar
- Kumarakom - Cochin - Madras
Day 01 Abroad – Madras 
Arrive
Madras International airport.
On arrival, the guest will be met by our
representative and directly proceed to Covelong
(43 kms/1 hr)Upon
arrival, check-in at hotel.
Overnight at hotel.
Day 02
CovelongFull day sightseeing tour of Kanchipuram and
Mahabalipuram
Kanchipuram known as the Golden City of a
Thousand Temples, is one of the oldest towns in India. It is famous for both
its temples, many of them remarkably well preserved and for its hand-woven
silks. Kanchipuram is one of the seven sacred cities of India and it is the
only one associated with both Shiva and Vishnu. Visit Ekambareshwar Temple,
Kailashnath Temple, Kamakshi Temple, the Vaikunthaperumal Temple, all built
in the 7th and 8th centuries. With a weaving tradition dating back to the
Pallava era (when silk was the royal cloth), Kanchipuram is justly famous
for its particularly fine silk saris, embellished with stunning patterns.
Visit the local homes of the weavers and watch them create magic out of silk
thread into saris.
Mahabalipuram This is a small, quiet
seaside resort with a unique 7thcentury Shore Temple, a lovely beach and
some of the most beautiful rock cut temples in the world. Situated on
the shore of the Bay of Bengal, Mahabalipuram was already a famous seaport
in the 1st century AD. This, town was a workshop for temple building. Visit
the seven pagodastyle shore temples, lashed by the waves of the sea and the
seven rathas or temple chariots, a group of monolithic monuments &
animal figures carved out of solid rock, the earliest known examples of
Dravidian architecture. They were constructed in a single centurylong burst
of creative enthusiasm, starting in the reign of Narasimhavarman 1 (AD
63068). End the visit by photography of the beautiful Shore temples at
sunset.
Dinner and overnight at hotel
Day 03 Covelong – PondicherryAfter breakfast
drive to Pondicherry (162 kms/4 hrs)
Pondicherry, which was
up until the 1950s, a far-flung outpost of the French maritime empire. It is
so different from the rest of Tamil Nadu that one feels that one has entered
another country! This busy coastal town is divided roughly into two: the old
White Town of elegant French houses, restaurants & administrative
buildings and the Black Town west of the canal where India takes over again.
Tour
of Pondicherry - visiting Botanical garden, Eglise De Sacre Coeur De
Jesus and Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Later visit township of Auroville or the
city of Dawn. Designed by a French architect Roger Arger, it is an
entirely new concept in education and urban living.
Overnight at
hotel
Day
04 Pondicherry – TanjoreAfter breakfast drive to Tanjore
(177-kms/4-½ hrs)
Upon arrival at Tanjore – check into hotel
Afternoon sightseeing tour of Tanjore was the capital of the Chola
Empire from the tenth to the fourteenth centuries. A Chola king, Raja
Raja Chola, who held the throne from 985 to 1016, built the greatest of the
empire's 74 temples, the Brahadeeswarar, with its soaring tower over the
inner sanctum. This tower rises more than 62 meters (200 feet).
On its dome rests a single block of granite weighing 80 tons.
Overnight
at hotel
Day 05 Tanjore – Trichy – MaduraiAfter
breakfast drive to
Madurai (190-kms/5½-hrs) enroute visiting
TrichyCity tour of
Trichy includes visit to the ‘Rock
Fort Temple’ which rises abruptly to a height of 273 ft. A steep
staircase cut into the rock leads upto the Fort. At the first level are the
remnants of a huge hall blasted into ruins in 1772. The next storey is the
Mathrubhuteshwarer Shrine dedicated to Shiva. Finally at the top of the
hill, the 'Uchhi Pillayar Koil' - a Ganesh Temple offering a commanding view
of the city.
Upon arrival at Madurai – check into hotel
Evening visit of the
Meenakshi temple - Leave the hotel
for the temple by cycle rickshaws. At 9 PM, attend the night ceremony at the
temple. This is a ceremony that takes place every evening when the temple
bronze of Lord Shiva is carried to the bed chamber of Parvati. The
procession is accompanied by religious prayer and temple music.
Overnight
at hotel
Day 06 Madurai Morning, visit the
Meenakshi
temple one of the biggest temple complexes in India 46 ft. long by 790
ft broad built in the 17th Century. It is a rectangular twin shrine :
the southern temple dedicated to Meenakshi (the consort of Shiva) and the
other to Shiva. It is Madurai's greatest landmark a virtual city
within a city: the complex includes a bazaar that bustles from dawn to
nightfall. The high point of the Meenakshi temple is Hall of a "Thousand
Pillars", built in the 16th C which is as great a work of structural
engineering as it is of art. Also visit the palace of
Tirumala Nayak
which is an example of the architectural mastery of the Nayaks a blend of
Hindu and Saracen architecture. It's enormous roofed arcade supported by 48
foot high stoned pillar still stands.
Day at leisure to explore on
your own.
Overnight
at hotel.
Day 07 Madurai-PeriyarMorning after
breakfast drive to Periyar (177 kms/5 hrs)
Upon arrival at Periyar –
check into hotel
Periyar- Sprawling across 777 sq. kms. of
the Cardamom Hills of the Western Ghats, Thekkady is the home to one of the
largest wildlife reserves in India. Alive with exotic flora and vibrant
wildlife, it is the perfect getaway tucked away among hills.
Overnight
at hotel
Day 08 Periyar – KumarakomEarly morning
boat cruise on the Lake of the famous Periyar wildlife sanctuary to
see wild life. Periyar an artificial lake or reservoir created by a
dam on Periyar River is the heart of the Wildlife Sanctuary wild elephants,
Asiatic Deer, Black Buck and even Tigers come to shores of the lake for a
drink.
Return to hotel for breakfast
Thereafter drive through the winding "Ghats" lined
with prosperous tea plantations & then arrive the fascinating
countryside of low-lying palms and paddy fields to Kumarakom ( 150 kms/ 4
hrs) enroute visit the tea estates.
Kumarakom-is a
beautiful backwater village on the shores of the enchanting Vembanad Lake,
criss crossed with meandering waterways and ancient cottages.
Overnight
at hotel
Day 09 Kumarakom - CochinMorning at leisure
Then take a speed boat to Alleppey & disembark at Puthenagady
Jetty.
On arrival proceed directly to Cochin
Cochin
- Popularly known as the Queen of the Arabian Sea, Cochin is the oldest
European settlement in India. Frilled with backwaters and rich with old
world charm, this city has lured many a great voyager to its shores. From
time immemorial, Arabs, Chinese, Dutch, British & Portuguese seafarers
followed the sea route to Kochi & left their impression on the town.
Modern Kochi is thus a splendid mosaic of these myriad influences.
Arrive
Cochin & check into hotel
Overnight at hotel
Day
10 CochinMorning tour of
Cochin or "Kochi" the
palm green, commercial captial of Kerala. Visit the Dutch Palace, the Jewish
Synagogue, the Church of St. Francis, the Bolghatty Palace & the famous
Chinese fishing nets.
Evening witness the
Kathakali dance
performance + make up demonstration - Kathkali is a unique dance which
has a 2000 year old history with more than 100 different ‘mudras’
or gesture depicting deities, demons, heroes, heroines and kings - each
based on episodes from the Mahabharata and Ramayana, the two epic Indian
myths.
Overnight at hotel
Day 11 Cochin - MadrasMorning
at leisure
Afternoon transfer from hotel to the airport for flight to
Madras
Depart: Cochin at: 1510 hrs by: 9W 492Arrive:
Madras at: 1610 hrsUpon arrival – met & transferred
to the hotel where rooms will be provided for wash and change
Later
transfer to the International airport for onward flight
Day 12
Abroad - MadrasLeave Madras
