South India Exploration

Day 1: Cochin. Arrive at Cochin airport by your scheduled flight. Our services begin here. You are greeted at the Cochin airport by your chauffeur. You are than driven to your hotel and check in.

Day 2: Cochin. Proceed for a city tour of Cochin. The tour begins from the Jewish Synagogue built in 1568, and next to the synagogue is Cochin’s fascinating Jew Street with it’s antique stores. Also visit the St. Francis Church, established by the Portuguese Franciscan friars in 1503. Vasco Da Gama was buried in the courtyard of this European church, on of the first, built in India. Visit the Chinese fishing nets. More than a century old and still in use, they are a great part of this tour.
Evening – Drive to watch a Kathakali dance (the art of storytelling through dance) performance. After the show, you are driven back to your hotel.

Day 3: Cochin – Backwaters cruise. Check out from hotel and proceed on a drive to Alleppey in the morning & board your houseboat. Relax and have a great time till the next day as you cruise the amazing backwaters.

Day 4: Backwaters cruise – Kumarakom.

Disembark from your houseboat and you are driven to Kumarakom. Arrive at Kumarakom and check in to your resort. You are at leisure to enjoy the beautiful, lush lakeside environment at Kumarakom.

Day 5: Kumarakom.
You are at leisure to enjoy the beautiful, lush lakeside environment at Kumarakom resort.

Day 6: Kumarakom – Periyar National Park.
Check out from hotel in the morning and proceed on the drive to Periyar. Arrive at Thekkady and check in to your lodge.
Periyar wildlife sanctuary is located around a picturesque artificial lake that was formed in 1895 by building a dam on the Periyar River. The terrain is hilly and the elevation of the park ranges from a few hundred feet to about 6000 feet above sea level. The lake occupies the valleys of the thickly forested hills, serving as a permanent source of water for wildlife in the Park. Although it falls under “Project Tiger”, the main attractions of the park are definitely Elephants. Periyar is home to just under a thousand elephants and also over 60 other mammal species including tigers, bison, deer, wild boar, and wild dog. There are over 300 species of birds, and even 160 species of butterflies. Prominent among the birds are Cormorants, Kingfishers, Darters, the great Malabar Hornbill, and the racket-tailed Drongoes.
There is a break for lunch.
Afternoon – Enjoy wildlife viewing boat cruise on Lake Periyar.

Day 7: Periyar.
Continue your exploration of the lush jungles of Periyar with a guided trek into the jungle in the morning.
Return back to your hotel after trek.
There is a break for lunch.

Evening – Proceed for a visit of a neighboring spice plantation with a naturalist.

Day 8 : Periyar – Madurai. 
Check out from hotel in the morning and proceed on the drive to Madurai. Arrive at Madurai and check in to your hotel.
Evening – Witness the Palli Arai ceremony at the Meenakshi Temple. The great Meenakshi temple is dedicated to the consort of Lord Shiva.

Day 9: Madurai.
Proceed for the tour of Madurai, the second largest city of Tamil Nadu and over 2,500 years old. An important cultural and commercial centre, it was once the seat of Tamil learning and is still the place where the Tamil language is spoken in its purest form. The city is planned in the shape of a lotus. Modern Madurai is a burgeoning industrial centre, even though the vast stretches of paddy fields, dusty roads and crowded bazaars make it seems like an overgrown village. Modernity has reached the city of Madurai, but not at the cost of its rich tradition and culture.
Balance of the day you are at leisure.

Day 10: Madurai – Tanjore.  
You are assisted with check out from hotel in the morning and proceed on the drive to Trichy.

Visit the famous Rock Fort perched on an 84 m high rock. At its summit, reached by climbing 437 rock-cut steps, is the Vinayak temple dedicated to Lord Ganesh. There is also a Shiva temple and several cave temples with beautifully carved pillars and panels. Also tour the temple complex of Srirangam, which is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It is surrounded by 7 concentric walled courtyards with 21 magnificent gateways. Within the walls are several shrines and bazaars.
After tour, continue on with your drive to Tanjore. Arrive at Tanjore and check in to your hotel.

Day 11: Tanjore.
Proceed on a drive (2 hrs. drive) to Vaideeshwaram Koil Temple, Famous for Palm Leaf Reading or Nadi Predictions. Return back to Tanjore

There is a break for lunch.
Late afternoon – Visit one of the most spectacular of Tanjore temples, the Brihadishwara. This ancient temple has, as a crown, a monolithic cupola made of a single granite rock weighing 80 tons. The temple itself is decorated with carved panels depicting mythological events. An immense Nandi (the Bull) – 6 meters long – carved out of a single piece of granite stands in front of the shrine. Also visit Saraswati Mahal Library and Art Gallery. There is a large collection of ancient Chola bronzes on display, and the building itself is a unique example of Hindu architecture.

Day 12: Tanjore – Pondicherry.
You are assisted with your check out from hotel and proceed on the drive to Pondicherry. Arrive at Pondicherry and check in to your hotel.

There is a break for lunch.
Afternoon – Visit the town of Auroville, an oasis of peace and enlightenment. Explore the Ashram and drive back to Pondicherry in the late afternoon.

Day 13: Pondicherry.
Proceed for a tour of Pondicherry. Pondicherry, a former French colony, presents an unusual combination of European culture and Indian traditions. Its history can be traced back to Agastya, the revered sage of South India who built his hermitage here in 1500 BC.  It became a part of India in 1954, but traces of its history as a French colony still remain in its churches, cuisine, grid-pattern streets and colonial buildings.
Balance of the day you are at leisure.

Day 14: Pondicherry – Mahabalipuram.
Check out from your hotel in the morning and you are then driven to Mahabalipuram, which is an ancient coastal port located south of Chennai. Arrive at Mahabalipuram and you are assisted with your check in to your hotel.
There is a break for lunch.

Afternoon – Proceed for a tour of Mahabalipuram. An ancient coastal port, south of Chennai, world famous for its shore temple, Mahabalipuram was the second capital and sea port of the Pallava Kings of Kanchipuram, the first Tamil dynasty after the fall of the Gupta Empire. The whole of Mahabalipuram is a fabulous open-air museum of sculpture in living rock, Monolithic shrines, scooped out caverns, magnificently sculpted within and the world’s biggest, bas relief in rock, are truly wondrous examples of the sculptor’s art. Vying with this splendour is a beach. The famous temples of the Rathas, the Penance of Bhagirath, the Shore Temple and the eight Mandapams (Shallow, rock cut halls) are located right at the edge of the waterfront.

Day 15 : Mahabalipuram – Chennai.

Check out from your hotel at leisure and you are then driven to Chennai. Arrive at Chennai and check in to your hotel.
There is a break for lunch.
Afternoon – Proceed for a city tour of Chennai. The tour begins from the St. Mary’s Church, built between 1678 and 1680, this was the first English Church in Chennai. Next you will visit the Saint Thomas Cathedral, built in 1504, then re-built in neo – gothic style in 1893, this Roman Catholic Church is said to house the remains of St. Thomas the Apostle. Later visit the Kapaleeshwarar Temple, an ancient Shiva Temple and a great example of Dravidian temple architecture. You’ll also visit the 8^th century Parathasarathy Temple which is dedicated to Lord Krishna. Visit the National Art Gallery & Museum and explore the beautiful temple friezes, the bronze gallery, and the Archeological section. End the tour with a drive by the High Court, Fort St. George, and the Tamil film studios that come second only to Bollywood as they churn out hundreds of movies a year.

Day 16: Depart Chennai.
Check out from your hotel and you are driven to the airport to board your flight for onward destination.
Our services end at Chennai airport.

Day-by-Day Itinerary

Tour Features