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Day 01 / Arrival
Chennai
Arrive Chennai, meet assist at the airport and transfer
to hotel. Night stay in Chennai.
 Day
02 / Covelong
After breakfast proceed for full 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 7th century
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 pagoda style 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. Night stay in Covelong.
Day 03 / Covelong
– Pondicherry
After 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. Also visit
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. Night stay in Pondicherry.
Day 04 / Pondicherry
– Tanjore
After breakfast drive to Tanjore (177 kms. / 4½
hrs.)
Arrive Tanjore and transferto hotel. Afternoon sightseeing
tour of Tanjore- the capital of the Chola Empire from
the tenth to the fourteenth centuries. A Chola king,
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. Night
stay in Tanjore.
Day 05 / Tanjore
– Trichy – Madurai
After breakfast drive to Madurai (190 kms./ 5½
hrs.) enroute visiting Trichy. City 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. Arrive Madurai and transfer
to hotel.
Later visit 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.
Night stay in Madurai.
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 centuary 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. Evening at leisure. Night
stay in Madurai.
 Day
07 / Madurai - Periyar
After breakfast drive to Periyar (177 kms./ 5 hrs.).Arrive
Periyar and transfer to hotel. Later proceed for sightseeing
covering.
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. Night stay in Periyar.
Day 08 / Periyar
– Kumarakom
Early 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- a beautiful
backwater village on the shores of the enchanting Vembanad
Lake, criss crossed with meandering waterways and ancient
cottages. Night stay in Periyar.
Day 09 / Kumarakom
- Cochin
Morning 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 & transfer to hotel. Night stay in
Cochin.
 Day
10 / Cochin
Morning 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. Night stay
in Cochin.
Day 11 / Cochin
- Chennai - Departure
Morning at leisure. Afternoon transfer from hotel to
the airport to board the onward flight.
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