South India Temple Tour
Duration : 14 nights /15 days
Destinations : Chennai, Tirupathi, Kanchipuram, Mamallapuram, Tiruvannamalai, Pondicherry, Chidambaram, Tanjore, Trichy, Madurai, Rameshwaram, Kanyakumari, Trivandrum, Kovalam
Day 1 : Arrive Chennai
Arrive Chennai meeting/assistance at airport and transfer to hotel. Rest of the day at leisure. overnight atr hotel.
Day 2 : Chennai
Morning breakfast at hotel and followed by city tour of Chennai, visiting Gandhi Memorial, Kala Kshetra, Mylapore temple and Marine beach. Overnight at hotel.
Day 3 : Chennai/Tirupathi (154kms/3.5hours)
Morning after breakfast at hotel, proceed to Tirupathi. Upon arrival check in at hotel. Tirupathi is a temple town known for the famous ancient temple of Lord Venkateswara. Afternoon Pooja & Darshan at the temple. Overnight at hotel
Day 4 : Tirupathi/Kanchipuram/Mamallapuram
Morning breakfast at hotel and drive to Mahabalipuram. Enroute visit Kanchipuram (120 kms/3 hrs) ? is the ancient capital of the Pallavas famous as a city of 1000 Temples and still has 124 shrines. Kanchipuram is also famous for its silks. Thereafter continue your drive to Mamallapuram (Mahabalipurm) (80 kms/2 hours) upon arrival check in at hotel. Overnight at hotel
Day 5: Mamallapuram
Morning after breakfast relax at beach. Afternoon visit the city - built in 7th century, earlier called Mahabalipuram, this ancient Pallava port, is today the sight of several antique sculptural marvels. In this ancient seaside town , shrines and huge sculptures cut-out of rocks more than 1200 years back during the reign of Pallava Kings in the region can be seen. Overnight at hotel.
Day 6 : Mamallapuram/Tiruvannamalai/Pondicherry
Morning breakfast at hotel and drive to Pondicherry. Enroute visit Tiruvannamallai (112kms/03hrs)- A pilgrim centre with an ancient temple of Lord Shiva. Thereafter continue your drive to Pondicherry (131kms/ 3.5hrs), which carries a strong whiff of the French presence in India. Legend says that Pondicherry is the place where St.Agasthaya settled down. Upon arrival Check in at hotel. Overnight at hotel.
Day 7 : Pondicherry
Morning breakfast at hotel. Visit Aurbindo Ashram, the city of dawn, which is 10kms north of Pondicherry. This ashram promotes Aurbindo's ideas in bringing about a synthesis of Yoga and modern science, so as to unite the spirit and matter. Afternoon, visit Auroville - a unique experiment in international living and in creating a new environment where men and women of all nationalities live together in harmony. Overnight at hotel.
Day 8 : Pondicherry/Chidambaram/Tanjore
Morning after breakfast at hotel drive to Tanjore. Enroute visit Chidambaram (65kms/1.5hrs) also called as Thillai, which has the famous Nataraja temple Tanjavur Mahalwith the root of the sanctum-sanctorum covered with golden plates is located in the centre of the town covering an area of 40 acres. Thereafter continue your drive to Tanjore (Thanjavur) (104kms/03hrs) enroute visiting the Brass factory at Kumbakonam. Upon arrival check in at hotel. Overnight at hotel .
Day 9 : Tanjore/Trichy (54kms/02hrs)
Morning after leisure breakfast at hotel leave for Trichy, short name of Trichurapalli, situated on the banks of Kaveri River is a blend of history and tradition as well as pilgrim centre, it is famous for Ranganath temple at Srirangam. Checkin at hotel. Afternoon city tour visiting Rock fort and its temple at a height of over 23mts. Also visit Srirangam and Jambukeshwar Temple.Overnight hotel.
Day 10 : Trichy/Madurai (133kms/3.5hrs)
Morning after breakfast at hotel proceed to Temple city Madurai. Upon arrival check in at hotel. The ancient city of Madurai, some 2600 years old is laid out in the banks of river Vaigai as a lotus flower with the Meenakshi temple in the centre. Afternoon city tour visiting - Meenakshi temple, King Tirumala's Palace, Great tank and Gandhi museum. Overnight at hotel.
Day 11 : Madurai/Rameshwaram/Madurai (154 kms/4hrs one way)
Morning breakfast at hotel and excursion to Rameshwaram- the most sacred temple town of India is an sland hallowed by the epic Ramayana, where Lord Rama is said to have visited before going into battle of Srilanka. Evening return to Madurai for Overnight stay at hotel.
Day 12 : Madurai/Kanyakumari( 235kms/06 hrs )
Morning breakfast at hotel and drive to Kanyakumari is the lands end of India where the water of the Arabian Sea , the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean meet. An important pilgrim centre of India. Upon arrival check in at hotel. Afternoon visit famous Amman Temples a symbol of unity and sanctity ? deidicated to the virgin Goddess , Kanya Kumari. and to its South East lies the famous Vivekananda Rock Memorial , a blend of all the architectural styles of India. Overnight at hotel.
Day 13 : Kanyakumari/Trivendrum/Kovalam
Morning after leisure breakfast at hotel drive to Kovalam. Enroute visit Trivandrum, visiting the ancient temple of Sri Padmanabhaswamy is one of te major attractions in the city of Thiruvananthapuram. Thereafter continue your drive to Kovalam upon arrival check in at hotel. Overnight at hotel.
Day 14 : Kovalam
Morning breakfast at hotel full day relax at beach. Overnight at hotel.
Day 15 : Kovalam/Trivandrum/Delhi by IC 168 at 1500/1955 hrs.
Morning breakfast at hotel. Intime meeting/assistance at hotel and transfer to Trivandrum airport to board return flight.
