Arrival

Upon arrival in Chennai (formerly Madras) and after clearing immigration and customs, you will be met and transferred to your hotel for an overnight stay. The balance of the day is at leisure.

Following breakfast, tour Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu and Britain’s oldest settlement in the days of the Raj. Visit the Marina Beach - second longest beach in the world, it’s an elegant promenade and then Fort St. George where Robert Clive started the expansion of British Rule.  Afterwards drive to Mahabalipuram and check in to your hotel for a 2-night stay.  The balance of the day is free to enjoy the beach. Upon arrival, check in to your hotel.

Take a morning excursion to Kanchipuram known as the Golden city of a Thousand Temples.  This is one of India’s sacred sites and you’ll see many early styles of temple architecture.  In the afternoon, visit Mahabalipuram, an ancient coastal port south of Chennai famous for the Five Radhas. These monolithic monuments of animal figures are carved out of solid rock. Also visit the cave temple and see wonderful frescoes.  The evening is at leisure.

Drive south today to Tanjore, en-route visiting Chidambaram. This city was a part of the Chola dynasty and is today, an important pilgrim centre and known for its Nataraja Temple.  Arrive in Tanjore (also known as Thanjavur) and after checking in to your hotel for a 2-night stay, the balance of the day is at leisure.

This morning take an excursion to Trichy, a sacred Hindu city situated on the banks of river Cauvery. Famous for its beautifully sculpted Ranganatha temple at Srirangam, you will also visit the Rock Fort and Museum and Art galleries.  This afternoon’s tour in Tanjore includes a giant statue to Nandi, and a 10th Century Cholas temple.  This city is noted for not only the famous Chola Bronzes of old but also for its pottery, silk, jewelery, beaten copper and silver statuettes.

Today enjoy a leisurely 4-hour drive travelling southwest through Tamil Nadu to Madurai.  The balance of the day is at leisure until this evening when you will witness an Aarti ceremony at the Shree Meenakshi Temple. Following breakfast, drive to Madurai.

Spend the morning touring Madurai, one of the oldest cities of southern India and a centre of pilgrimage for centuries. See the Meenakshi temple, an excellent example of Dravidian architecture, with its multi-pillared halls, covered in a profusion of multi-colored images of gods, goddesses, animals and mythical figures. Then walk among the pilgrims in their traditional clothes and holy men in their different colored robes soaking in the ambiance to this fascinating Temple City.  The afternoon is free to explore on your own.

A morning’s drive brings you to Coimbatore near the Nilgiris Ranges just after lunch.  The afternoon is free to relax and pursue independent activities.

Today’s scenic drive takes you north through hill-station country with a stop in picturesque Ootacamund where the British Raj went to escape the summer heat.  Arrive in Mysore on the Deccan Plateau later in the day for a 2-night stay.  The balance of the day is at leisure.

Enjoy a morning excursion to visit Srirangapatanam. This great wooden palace has elaborately painted ceilings and walls with abstract designs and floral motifs. This
afternoon, tour Mysore, famous for it’s silk and a thriving sandalwood and incense industry. Visit the Mysore Palace, built in Indo-Saracenic style with a kaleidoscope of stained glass, mirrors, gilt and colors.  Then see the gigantic Nandi Bull carved out of solid rock, which attracts many pilgrims annually and at the top of Chamundi Hill stop to admire the 2000-year-old Chamundeswari Temple.

After a 3-hour drive to Hassan, check in at your hotel prior to touring the area.  First visit is to Belur an intricately carved temple from the Hoysala era where every Hindu deity is represented.  Next visit Halebid, another Hoysala temple and the most outstanding example of this exuberant form of carving with its highly stylized animals, birds and friezes depicting 12th Century life. .

Following breakfast, drive to Bangalore and en-route visit Shravanbelagola, ‘White Lake of Jain Hermit’. This is the leading Jain pilgrimage centre of the Deccan region. On arrival in Bangalore, the balance of the day is at leisure.

Enjoy a morning tour of Bangalore, the capital of the Karnataka State.  Your tour will include the State Secretariat, blending modern and traditional Dravidian architectural styles, the Government Museum, one of India’s oldest museums, the Lal Bagh Botanical Gardens, and the18th-century Tipu Sultan’s Fort and Palace.  Later in the day you will be transferred to the airport.