Duration: 12 Days
Places to Visit: Chennai -
Kanchipuram - Mamallapooram - Tiruvannamalai - Pondicherry - Chidambaram -
Tanjore - Trichy - Madurai - Trivandrum
Day
1: Chennai Arrive Chennai - the gateway to southern India,
established in 1639 by the East India Company, is one of the oldest cities
of the country. Assistance and transfer to hotel.
After lunch at
hotel, half day sightseeing tour, visiting Gandhi Memorial, Kala Kshetra,
Mylapore temple and Marine beach. Dinner and overnight will be at hotel.
Day 2: Chennai (Excursion -
Tirupathi, 154kms/3.5hours)
After breakfast, proceed to Tirupathi.
Lunch at local restaurant Tirupathi is a temple town known for the famous
ancient temple of Lord Venkateswara (Lord of seven hills or Balaji, as he is
affectionately known) on the top of the 860mts high Tirumala hills. The
temple of Lord Venkateswara is not only believed to be amongst the oldest
temples in the country, but also the richest of them all. Legend has it that
Lord Venkateswara borrowed money from the divine treasurer Kubera for his
wedding expenses. He is still paying back this debt, which is why the
pilgrims donate generously to the temple funds. In the evening return to
Chennai for dinner and overnight stay.
Day
3: Chennai/Kanchipuram/Mamallapooram After breakfast drive
to Kanchipuram (76 kms/01.50 hrs) - is the ancient capital of the Pallavas
famous as a city of 1000 Temples and still has 124 shrines. The first temple
dedicated to Shiva was built in the 7th and 8th century and has paintings on
the walls. Temples of Ekambaswara , Kailasanatha, Sri Kamakshi and
Varadarajaswamy are of interest. Kanchipuram is also famous for its silks.
Lunch at local restaurant and later drive to Mamallapooram and check in at
hotel.
Afternoon visit the city - built in 7th century, earlier
called Mahabalipuram, this ancient Pallavas port, is today the sight of
several antique sculptural marvels. In this ancient seaside town, shrines
and huge sculptures cutout of rocks more than 1200 years back during the
reign of Pallava Kings in the region can be seen. The rock carvings
depicting mythological episodes - of demons, Gods and animals in battle and
others - are truly poems in stone. The only shore temple, which remains
here, is the spectacular two - spired shrine, unique because it houses both
Lord Shiva and the Lord Vishnu in its sanctum sanctorum. Dinner and
overnight will be at hotel.
Day 4:
Mamallapooram/Tiruvannamalai/Pondicherry
After
breakfast drive to Tiruvannamallai (112kms/03hrs)- a pilgrim centre with an
ancient temple of Lord Shiva. After lunch at local restaurant, proceed to
Pondicherry (131kms/ 3.5hrs), which carries a strong whiff of the French
presence in India. This erstwhile French colony on the east coast of South
India merged with the rest of the country in 1954. Legend says that
Pondicherry is the place where St.Agasthaya settled down. Check in, dinner
and overnight at hotel.
Day 5:
Pondicherry After breakfast drive to visit Aurobindo
Ashram, the city of dawn, which is 10kms north of Pondicherry. This ashram
promotes Aurobindo ideas in bringing about a synthesis of Yoga and modern
science, so as to unite the spirit and matter. After lunch at hotel, 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. Dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day
6: Pondicherry/Chidambaram/Tanjore After breakfast drive to
Chidambaram (65kms/1.5hrs) also called as Thillai, which has the famous
Nataraja temple with the root of the sanctum-sanctorum covered with golden
plates is located in the centre of the town covering an area of 40 acres. In
this temple, postures from the Bharatnatayam form of dance are depicted in
sculpture. Nataraja is Lord Shiva as a cosmic dancer. After lunch at local
restaurant, drive to Thanjavur (104kms/03hrs) enroute visiting the Brass
factory at Kumbakonam. Tanjore once the capital of Chola Kings has the
Brihadeeshwara temple (or the big temple of God). The temple tower rises to
a height of 15mts from a square base of 29 mts and then tapers off, making a
total of 66mts.Checkin, dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day 7: Tanjore/Trichy (54kms/02hrs)
After breakfast 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.
Check in at hotel. After lunch city tour visiting Rock fort and its temple
at a height of over 23mts. Also visit Srirangam and Jambukeshwar Temple.
Dinner and overnight will be at hotel.
Day
8: Trichy/Madurai (133kms/3.5hrs)
After breakfast proceed
to Madurai and 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. After lunch city tour visiting -
Meenakshi temple, King Tirumala's Palace, Great tank and Gandhi museum.
Dinner and overnight will be at hotel.
Day
9: Madurai (Excursion-Rameshwaram, 154kms/04hrs)
After
breakfast proceed to Rameshwaram- the most sacred temple town of India is an
island hallowed by the epic Ramayana, where Lord Rama is said to have
visited before going into battle of Srilanka. Legend has it that Lord Rama
sent Hanuman to Mount Kailash to bring a Lingam for worship when he set foot
after defeating Ravana. As Hanuman did not return when the auspicious hour
was approaching, Sita made a sand Lingam so that worship could be performed
in time, which is where the present day Ramanatha Swami Temple stands close
to sea on the eastern side of the island. One of the twelve Jyotirlingam
shrines is also well known for its magnificent corridors and the massive
sculptured pillars lining them. Lunch at local restaurant. Return to Madurai
for dinner and overnight stay at hotel.
Day
10: Madurai/Trivandrum (329 kms/08.50 hrs)
After breakfast
drive to Trivandrum and check in at hotel. Afternoon at leisure.
Day 11: Trivandrum (Excursion
Kanyakumari - 87 kms/02.00 hrs)
After breakfast proceeds for
Kanyakumari - is the land's 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, it is famous for the Amman Temples - a symbol of unity and sanctity -
dedicated to the virgin Goddess, Kanya Kumari. To its South - East lies the
famous Vivekananda Rock Memorial, a blend of all the architectural styles of
India. Lunch at local restaurant. Evening enjoy the beautiful sunset and
later return to Trivandrum. Dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day 12: Trivandrum/ Back Home
After breakfast transfer to airport to connect flight for onward journey.
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