Southern Splendour – Tamil Nadu & Kerala

Day 01 : Arrive Chennai

Assistance on arrival at the airport and transfer to Hotel.

Overnight at the hotel.

Day 02 : In Chennai

Morning sightseeing tour of Chennai, the Capital city of Tamil Nadu state, Chennai is India's Southern Gateway city and one of the biggest centres of trade, and communications. Begin your tour with sightseeing of Chennai. Among the principal sights are the Fort St. George and Museum, which has the British East India Company documents, The Bronze Museum, St. Thom Cathedral, the Marina Beach, and drive past the Parthasarathy Temple at Mylapore.

Overnight at the hotel.

Day 03 : Chennai - Mahabalipuram - Kanchipuram - Pondichery

Morning depart by surface to Pondichery en route visiting the shore temples at Mahabalipuram and the famous Kanchipuram Temples.

Mahabalipuram – a quite seaside resort with a unique and glorious 7th century Shore Temple and some of the most beautiful rock-cut caves in the world. Visit the Krishna, Varaha and Mahishasura Mardhini Mandapas besides the famous stone bas-relief, Arjuna's Penance.

Kanchipuram was under the Pallavas from the 6th to 8th century AD and later became the citadel of the Cholas, Vijayanagar Kings, the Muslim and the British. It has been a centre of Tamil learning, cultural and religious background for centuries. Kanchipuram has magnificent temples of unique architectural beauty bearing eloquent testimony to its glorious Dravidian heritage. All the religious cities in India support one of the two sects in Hinduism - Vaishnavism and Shaivism, but Kanchipuram has blended itself equally to both the sects, dividing itself into Vishnu Kanchi, surrounding the Varadaraja Temple, and Shiva Kanchi, surrounding the Ekambareshwar (also spelt as Ekambareshwa) Temple, while the Kamakshi Amman Temple stands in between as a place of Shakti worship.

Later drive to Pondichery (160 kms/4 hrs approx) and upon arrival check-in at the hotel.

Overnight at the hotel.

Day 04 : Pondichery - Chidambaram - Kumbakonam - Tanjore

Morning sightseeing tour of Pondichery. Pondichery - a former French colony oozes a Mediterranean aura with classy streets, stylish houses and ornamental gardens, is famous for pleasant weather and easy paced life. Visit the serene atmosphere of Aurobindo Ashram, which was founded by Sri Aurobindo in 1926 and has attained international reputation for its spiritual tenets including yoga and modern science of living. The Botanical Gardens, conceived in 1826, boast a variety of rare and exotic plants from India and abroad, and take a stroll on the beaches of Pondichery.

Afternoon depart by surface to Tanjore en route visiting Chidambaram & Kumbakonam.

Chidambaram – situated between two rivers in a 40 acre temple – complex, lies the temples of Chidambaram, one of the oldest, most venerated and magnificent temples of South India. Shiva Natraja or the Dancing Shiva stand in his cosmic dance pose in the golden rooted sanctum sanctorum. Flanking the temple are 108 sculptured illustrations of Bharat Natya Shastra. In Akash Lingam hidden by a veil, lies the real secret of Chidambaram.

Kumbakonam is a very important Temple City of South India. Kumbakonam is one of the Oldest Towns in Tamil nadu and is famous for its Mahamaham festival. In the 7th Century it was the Capital of Chola Kings. Visit the Kumbeshwaran Temple. Upon arrival check-in at the hotel.

Overnight at the hotel.

Day 05 : Tanjore - Trichy

Morning sightseeing tour of famous Tanjore city, visit the beautiful Chola Temple of Brihadeeshwara. The temple 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 kms 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. Afternoon depart by surface to Trichi or Tiruchirapalli and upon arrival check-in at the hotel.

Overnight at the hotel.

Day 06 : Trichy - Madurai

Morning after breakfast, sightseeing tour of Trichy. Visit the ancient Rock Fort temples dedicated to Lord Ganesh, where steps cut out into the rock side and interspersed with shrines, lead to the temple, yet another flight leads to the temple of Lord Shiva. The ascend is climaxed by magnificent view of the sacred Kaveri river. Also visit Srirangam a massive temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, which contains within its walls a bazaar as well.

Afternoon depart by surface to Madurai (201 kms/4 hrs approx) and upon arrival check-in at the hotel. Evening witness the night ceremony at the Meenakshi Temple.

Overnight at the hotel.

Day 07 : Madurai - Periyar

Mornign sightseeing tour of Madurai city. Visit the great Meenakshi Temple, an excellent example of Dravidian Architecture, dedicated to the consort of Lord Shiva with its towering Gopurams (rising high above the surrounding country side). Also Visit the Tirumala Nayak Palace – A gracious building in the Indo Saracenic style, famous for the Stucco work on its domes and arches.

Afternoon depart by surface to Periyar (137 kms/4 hrs) crossing over the Tamil Nadu-Kerala boarder to enter into the Gods own Country. Upon arrival check-in at the hotel.

Thekkady, located in central Kerala, is a popular hill station and a wildlife centre. This town, which is an important plantation centre, conjures up images of elephants, unending chains of hills and spice scented plantations. Periyar Forest of Thekkady is one of the finest wildlife reserves of India and spread across the entire district are picturesque plantations and hill towns that hold immense opportunities for treks and mountain walks. The Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary offers a fairly good chance of seeing the great Indian tiger in its natural habitat.

Overnight at the hotel.

Day 08 : Periyar - Kumarakom

Early morning ake game viewing boat-ride on the Artificial Periyar Lake. Amongst the animals spotted here are wild elephants, which can be seen and photographed at close quarters, wild boar, sambar, tier, leopard, wild dog and languor monkeys.

Morning after breakfast, depart by surface to Kumarakom en route visiting a Spice Plantation. Upon arrival check-in at the hotel.

Kumarakom an unbelievably beautiful paradise of mangrove forests, emerald green paddy fields, and coconut groves interspersed with enchanting waterways and canals adorned with white lilies. Situated on the Vembanad Lake, in this small water world, you will come across plenty of traditional country crafts, boats and canoes. Kumarakom has also a Bird Sanctuary, which is ornithologist's paradise, with favourite haunt of migratory birds like the Siberian stork, egret, darter, heron and teal. Other common varieties like woodp0ecker, skylark, crane, water hen and parrots can also be spotted here.

Evening take an Optional sunset Cruise – there can be few better ways to adjust to the pace of backwater life than to spend the waning hours of the afternoon just watching the sun go down.

Overnight at the resort.

Day 09 : In Kumarakom

Day free at leisure or get an Ayurveda Rejuvenation massage at the resorts Ayurveda centre. Kerala is the originating place for Ayurveda, which is the ultimate natural way of treating and rejuvenating soul and body.

Overnight at the Resort

>Day 10 : Kumarakom - Alleppey - House Boat

Morning after breakfast, board a House Boat to cruise through on the Vembanad Lake (backwaters of Kerala) to the beautiful Island destination – Kumarakom (approx 3 hours) to Alleppey. Upon arrival at Alleppey drive to Cochin en route exploring the rustic ways of rural Kerala. You glide past coir processing villages, waterfront shrines and paddy fields. See the spectacular sunset over the backwaters of Kerala.

Overnight on board House Boat.

Day 11 : Alleppey - Cochin Or Kochi

Morning after breakfast, disembark from the House Boat and depart by surface to Cochin or Kochi. Upon arrival check-in at the hotel.

Afternoon half day sightseeing tour of Kochi (Cochin) – an important port city with a famous Jewish settlement and Synagogue, the Dutch Palace, the Chinese Nets, the Church of St Francis and the Tomb of Vasco da Gama. We will also include a visit to a School in Cochin during your sightseeing tour to show you and explain how the education system prevails in India.

Evening witness a Kathakali Dance drama performance at one of the auditoriums. This is an age old traditional art form of Kerala, where the artists paint their faces with colours and narrate the story of the Indian epics such as Ramayana or Mahabarat by way of their actions.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 12 :Depart Cochin

In time departure transfer to the Cochin airport to board flight to back home.