Overview
This trip samples the prime attractions of South India; we explore the great sculptures and architecture of Tamilnadu and Karnataka, cruise on the backwaters of Kerala and relax on the beautiful beaches of Goa. We explore some of South India’s finest rock carvings in laid-back city of Mamallapuram and join the bands of Hindu pilgrims who pour into the ancient temples of Kanchipuram, Trichy, Tanjore, Madurai and Kanyakumari . We experience a toy train ride and stay in a Maharaja’s Palace and walk through the beautiful hills of Ooty and boat trip on the intricate system of rivers, canal, lakes and lagoons, drifting by villages, paddy fields and coconut grooves. We go elephant and other wildlife spotting in Periyar Wildlife Reserve and spotting band of wild elephants and wildlife in Periyar National Park. We will also enjoy Kathakali dance performance-an astonishing blend of dance, pantomime and religious play.
Karnataka is another state that comes in the periphery of south India and it is considered to be one of the most charming states with the modern blending harmoniously with the old. We wander mesmerized through Mysore’s palaces, and the silks and sandalwood iconography and get amazed by the sculptured gods, dancers and elephants of the Hoysala temples of Belure and Halebid and explore the awesome ruins of the Vijayangar Empire in Hampi which was greater than Rome. We will also climb around the ancient caves and Hindu and Jain Temples at Badami, before we head to relax on the sun-kissed, palm-fringed beaches of Goa- a former Portuguese Enclave which has a character quite distinct from the rest of India.
Outline Itinerary
Day 01~Arrive at Chennai-the gateway city to South India.
Day 02~Drive via Kanchipuram-the city of 1000 temples to Mahabalipuram-the ancient port of Pallavas.
Day 03-04 A long day drive to Trichy and spend another day here, exploring the temples including the Rock Fort temple.
Day 05-06~Drive via Tanjore-the city of music, arts and crafts to Madurai and spend another day here visiting its temples; the prime attraction being the magnificent Meenakshi Temple.
Day 07~Drive to Periyar sanctuary where we take boat trip to watch the wildlife and take walks in the spice and aromatic plant gardens.
Day 08-09~We have two days in Kumarakoram for house boat cruise on the palm fringed backwaters.
Day 10~disembark your houseboat at Allepey and drive to Cochin, also known as Kochi and visit the Jewish synagogue, Portuguese churches, Muslim mosques and Hindu temples.
Day 11-12~Flight from Cochin to Bangalore and then drive to Mysore where we spend another day exploring the Maharaja Palace, Chamundeshwari Temple, colorful vegetable and flower market and bazaars.
Day 13~Drive to Hassan and explore the temples of Belur and Halebid.
Day 14-16 A long day drive to Hospet and spend another two days exploring the Hospet and Hampi.
Day 17~Explore Badami with rich with Hindu and Jain Temples carved out of sandstone hills.
Day 18-19~Relax in the beaches of Goa.
Day 20~Flight to Mumbai and connect with your international flight.
Itinerary
Day 01: Arrive Chennai (Formerly Madras)
Upon arrival, we are met by our local representative and transferred to our hotel. Afternoon, tour of Chennai. Until recently known as Madras, Chennai is the gateway city of South India and has a culture distinctly different than that of northern India. The places of interest are Kalakshetra-a school of art and music promoting traditional Bharatnatyam dances, Carnatic music, traditional weaving and designing; Fort St. George built in 1653 during British reign in India, - now houses the Secretariat and Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu; St. Mary's Church, the oldest Anglican Church in India with its premises; Sri Parthasarathy Temple built by Pallavas in the 8th century AD; Kapaliswara Temple, Mylapore also an eighth century Pallava Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva; San Thomas Cathedral Basilica rebuilt in 1606 as a cathedral and in 1896 it was made a basilica; and Theosophical Society - the world headquarters of the Theosophical Society created for the studies of comparative religion, philosophy and science. Overnight hotel in Chennai.
Day 02: Chennai - Kanchipuram - Mahabalipuram, 140 km
After breakfast, we leave hotel for Mahabalipuram. After about 70 km, we arrive Kanchipuram or Kanchi- a city of thousand temples. One of the seven sacred cities of the Hindus, it was the capital of the early Cholas as far back as the 2nd century BC. Kanchi was a major seat of Tamil learning as well as an important place of pilgrimage for Buddhists, Jains and Hindus. Apart from temples, the city is also famous for its silk weavers, settled here some 400 years ago who have given it an enviable reputation. We continue drive to Mahabalipuram-the ancient port of the Pallavas. The Pallavas have created many marvelous monuments with sculptural panels, caves, Monolithic Rathas and Temples. We will visit some of the Pallava’s creation; eg Krishna Mandapam with a big bas relief, notable for its realistic representation, Shore Temple of Dravidian style-one of the oldest in south India dating back to the 8th century , the Five Rathas-a group of five monolithic temples, each created in different style are another attraction. Overnight at the hotel in Covelong.
Day 03:Drive or take train to Trichy
We retrace drive to Chengalpattu and join the main Chennai-Trichy-Madurai trunk route. This is a long day drive and except the landscape, there is there nothing culturally significant worth stop and so we may choose to take express train as well. Upon arrival in Trichy, we check in hotel and take rest for the day.
Day:04 At Trichy
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. We will spend full day exploring the wonders of Trichy; the major are Rock Fort Temples and Shree Ranganathswamy Temple. The Rock Fort temple complex in Trichy is a collection of three temples - the Manikka Vinayakar temple at the foot of the hill, the Uchhi Pillayar Koyil at the top of the hill and the Taayumaanavar Koyil (Shivastalam) on the hill. This Shivastalam is a rock cut temple on a hill and is the most remarkable landmark in Tiruchirappalli that can be approached by a flight of steps en-route to the famous Ucchi Pillayar temple. At Srirangam Situated 7km from Trichy is Srirangam, the abode of the Supreme Lord, Sri Ranganatha, the reclining form of Lord Vishnu. The temple of Ranganatha, the largest in India, is of particular veneration to all Hindus. Srirangam is also listed as one of the Nava Graha Sthalas, or temples representing the nine planets of our solar system. Overnight Trichy.
Day 05:Trichy - Madurai
Drive to Madurai (250Kms) visiting Tanjore en route. At Tanjore, the beautiful Chola Temple of Brihadeshwara 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 06:Madurai - Meenakshi Temple
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. There is also an extensive museum dedicated to the life and work of Mahatma Gandhi. Afternoon free.Overnight Madurai.
Day 07:Madurai – Periyar (Kerala)
Morning drive to Periyar(150Kms/4hrs). The earliest sanctuary to be set up in 1934, it extends to 777 square km 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, languor monkeys, etc. Overnight Periyar.
Day 08:Periyar - Kumarakom
Morning drive to Kumarakom (125Kms). On arrival transfer to Backwater resort. PM Free on the backwater Resort with the option to visit the nearby Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary. Overnight in Kumarakom.
Day 09:Kumarakom - Houseboat
Morning relaxing and your Houseboat will pick you up at the resort jetty at noon. The rest of the day you will cruise slowly through the palm fringed backwaters. Your crew will pamper you with excellent Keralan food and show you various places of interest along the way. Overnight on board your Houseboat.
Day 10:Alleppey - Cochin
After breakfast, disembark your Houseboat at Alleppey and drive 65kms/1.5hrs to Cochin. On arrival, check into your hotel. Afternoon tour of Cochin. Cochin is the natural harbor 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 Harbor. Vasco-de-Gamma placed it on the world map. It has a Jewish synagogue, Portuguese churches, mosques & Hindu temples. Watch the Chinese Fishing Nets. Evening watch a performance of Kathakali Dancing Overnight Cochin.
Day 11:Cochin – Bangalore (Karnataka)
Morning transfer to Cochin airport to take the morning flight to Bangalore. Arrive Bangalore drive to Mysore (150Kms). En route visit Srirangapatanam, a wooden palace where Tipu Sultan hosted his afternoon tea parties. Overnight Mysore.
Day 12:Mysore
Morning tour of Mysore. Visit the palace of the Maharaja built in 1911.The palace is of harmonious syntheses of the Hindu and saracenic styles of architecture with archways, domes, turrets, colonnades and sculptures which are magnificent. Drive up to Chamundi hill to see Chamundeshwari Temple a panoramic view of Mysore. On the way back, see the Nandi Bull. Afternoon free for exploring the colorful vegetable and flower market and bazaars. Overnight hotel at Mysore.
Day 13:Mysore - Hassan (Belur and Halebid)
Morning Drive to Hassan (140Kms)and Full day tour of Belur and Halebid. The Chennakesava 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 Sravanbelagola. At Sravanbelagola, 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. Overnight at Hassan.
Day 14:Hassan - Hospet (Hampi)
It’s a long day drive to drive to Hospet (325kms) today. Overnight in Hospet.
Day 15 - 16: Hospet
Visit Hampi. The once beautiful capital city of Vijayanagar Empire - greater than Rome, had palaces, temples and 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.Overnight at Hospet.
Day 17: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.Overnight in Badami.
Day 18:Badami - Goa
Full day drive to Goa (350Kms). On arrival transfer to Hotel. PM Free for Relaxing on the Beach. Overnight Goa.
Day 19:Goa
Relaxing on the beach and Short Sightseeing of Goa. Overnight Goa.
Day 20: Goa - Mumbai.
Departure Transfer to Airport to connect flight to Mumbai. On arrival In Mumbai transfer to International Airport to Connect flight back to home.
Trip Info
Cost Includes
- Accommodation on twin sharing .
- Daily breakfast.
- All transfers and tour by a private vehicle.
- .English speaking local guide.
- Sightseeing admission fees including special permits.
- Ferry rides and jungle safaris.
- Service of internal airfare reservation.
Cost Does Not Include
- Drinks, tipping and other expenses of personal nature such as laundry, phone etc.
- Internal and international airfares and airport taxes.
- Extra expenses or loss due to nature and unforeseen events such as flight cancellation, delay, illness, civil unrest, inclement weather etc.
- Travel Insurance
Guaranteed departure with minimum 2 sign ups
We guarantee departures with sign-up of minimum two persons. Group of family and friends booking and traveling together are entitled good amount of saving. Sometime, there are early bird booking discounts and other offers are also available. Please, give us call to find out if there are any discounts available.
Trip Difficulty Level
This is basically motor vehicle based tour, suitable for travelers of all ages with normal health condition. Some monument, fort or castle visit might require climbing flight of stairs. Please, do not expect elevators or escalators! This trip also includes back water cruises, boating trips, soft hiking in the hill resorts.
Although, no major preparation is necessary for this trip, it's recommendable that you start a soft training program such as walking, jogging, cycling or aerobics about a month ahead of the trip to keep yourself optimally fit. About a month ahead of trip departure, we will mail you final trip dossier that includes the list of hotels and contacts, detailed pre-departure information including clothing recommendation, money matter and health and safety updates and some do's and don'ts.
Life on the Trip
A sightseeing day, depending on the season, starts between 8.30 am to 9 am. We are picked up at our hotel by our guide and driver. We visit the sights and monuments or participate in activities and we will have lunch break around noon to 1 pm. After lunch, we again embark on the tour for 2 to 3 hours and we are brought back to our hotel late afternoon and our guide will generally leave us free. We will have time to take rest, write diaries or wander about ourselves.
When we are driving from once city to another, we usually spend 4-5 hours on the road with occasional stops for photography and drinks and snacks. Some days can be longer.
We try our best to adhere to the itinerary but it should be taken as a general guideline or scope of activities rather than an inflexible series of events and depending on the local conditions or time factor; it can change from the exact sight to see to the exact city to stop. During the tour, we will have time enough for photography, interact with the locals or enjoy bargaining with the street vendors. Our guide and driver are flexible and will do their best to help you enjoy the trip the way you like. You may consider bringing some small gifts such as cigarettes for adults, candies or pencils for kids, in order to get along with them.
Indian Visa
You need to obtain Indian visa before hand as India does not grant visa upon arrival. Travisa Outsourcing handles all the India visa requests from inside the United States as a private contractor to the Indian Embassy and Consulates. For more information and application process, please follow the link below.
https://indiavisa.travisaoutsourcing.com/get-a-visa
If you are traveling multiple countries and returning to India within 60 days after your previous visit, you will also need to request for re-entry permit.
Accommodation
South India has choice of accommodation for every budget but our choice of accommodations are first class to deluxe class properties with all modern amenities that includes private bathroom with hot and cold shower, central air-conditioning, phone, mini refrigerator, restaurant etc. We give preference to the properties with local architecutre, small to medium boutique style properties and locally managed.
Tour Guide
All our trips are lead by local guides who are university graduate, trained and certified by Indian tourism authorities. They are knowledgeable, friendly and flexible. They will show you the wonders of the areas that you would never discover on your own and share their knowledge on Indian history, culture and religion. Your guide carries necessary vouchers for the hotels and buys admission tickets where necessary. Tour guide and driver are not the same person.
Transportation
Depending on the group size, we use air-conditioned Sedan Cars, SUVs, Mini Van or coaches for all transfers and tour. Our drivers are friendly locals with years of experience in driving vehicle in tourism and hospitality industry. Driver may have limited English.
International and Internal Airfares
You can purchase your international airfare to India and return on your own. If you need any help on this, certainly feel free to contact us. We will take care of the internal airfares for you. Local airport taxes may or may not be included in the airfare.
Booking
When you are sure you are traveling, please don't delay in booking. The internal flights are the key factor in determining whether your trip can be realized or not. A deposit of US$200 is requested along with complete trip application form and passport copies.
Balance payment is due 60 days prior to your departure. Depending on the number of applicants, we may set an early payment date. Credit card payment attracts additional fee.
Cancellation fee
- 90 days prior departure: Administrative fee US$ 50 per person.
- 60-89 day's prior departure: US$ 250 or 25% of the land cost whichever is higher.
- 45 days to 59 days prior departure: US$ 450 or 50% of the land cost whichever is higher.
- 30 days to 44 days prior departure: US$ 600 or 75% of the land cost whichever is higher.
- Less than 30 days: 100%
Highland Asia Travel, Inc.
We are an active adventure travel company, based in Minneapolis, USA with destination management offices in Kathmandu, Thimphu and Lhasa. We are BBB accredited business and an active member of American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA). We have set the standard for adventure travel and have a strong reputation for excellence that we do everything we can to maintain. Our managers and guides have more than 15 years of experience in organizing and leading adventure trips in the highlands of Asia. For us travel is not just a business, but a way of life.
Travel Protection Plan
While we plan and do our best to make your trip smooth and seamless, there may be chances of unforeseen events and conditions such as illness, accident, inclement weather, and flight cancellation or missed connection or loss of baggage etc. that may cause interruption or delay or total cancellation of your trip putting your hard earned travel investment in jeopardy. It's also possible that you may need medical assistance, emergency evacuation or medical transportation when you get ill or involve in an accident when you are traveling in remote areas. Highland Asia's Tour cost does not cover any of these expenses or losses and so we strongly recommend you that you should protect yourself and your travel investment against those unfavorable conditions.
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Tel: 1-612-605-4428
Toll Free: 1-866-838-5818
(from USA and Canada)
Trip Snapshot
- Difficulty Level
Moderate: This is moderate trip ! - RatingPopular
- Destination(s)India
- Trip Price
US$ 2850 (2-3 pax)
US$ 2565 (4-6 pax)
US$ 2280 (7-9 pax)
US$ 855 (Single Room Supplement)
Internal airfares are not included. - Trip Start FromChennai
- Trip Ends atMumbai
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Fax +977-1-4417211
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