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Day 01
Departure from your own
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Click
Here for Tour Package Booking |
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Day 02
Arrive Madras. Transfer
to Hotel. Overnight Chennai (Madras). |
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Day 03
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
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
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
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
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
Morning drive to Cochin.
Overnight Cochin. |
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Day 09
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
Morning transfer to
airport for Bangalore flight. Arrive & drive directly to Mysore.
Overnight Mysore. |
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Day 11
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
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 12
years. |
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Day 13
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
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. |
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Here for Tour Package Booking |
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Day 15
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. |
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Day 16
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
In Goa. Please inform us the number of days you wish to stay in Goa. |
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Day 18
Transfer to airport for Bombay flight. Arrive at the domestic airport.
Transfer to the city centre. Later in the evening transfer to
international airport. |
India
will sideswipe you with its size, clamour and diversity but if you
enjoy delving in to convoluted cosmologies and thrive on sensual
overload, then it is one of the most intricate and rewarding dramas
unfolding on earth, and you'll quickly develop an abiding passion
for it.
"If
there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of
living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man
began the dream of existence,