Day 01 : Arrive Mumbai.
Transfer to Hotel.
Day 02 : Morning tour of Mumbai. Kamla Nehru Park, Hanging
Gardens situated on the slopes of Malabar Hill offering a panoramic
view of Marine drive, Chowpatty Beach, Prince of Wales Museum, Mani
Bhawan, Dhobi Ghat, Gateway of India & drive through the Crawford
Market, Marine Drive & Flora Fountain. Check-out at 1200 hrs.
Late evening transfer to airport for Aurangabad night train. Night
on board train.
Day 03 :Morning arrive Aurangabad and transfer to hotel.
Full day tour of Ajanta Caves. Ajanta Caves are 106 kms from Aurangabad
and date back to the 2nd century BC. The 30 rock hewn caves are
adorned with Buddhist sculpture and the frescoes portray in epic
form the religious and secular life through eight centuries. Overnight
Aurangabad.
Day 04 :Morning visit Ellora Caves (29 kms) encompassing
34 rock cut shrines representing Buddhist,Hindu & Jain art dating
from the 4th to 9th century A.D. The most remarkable among them
is the Kailash Temple, meant to be a replica of Lord Shivas celestial
abode - Kailash is the best example of Rock cut architecture and
an engineering marvel. Overnight Aurangabad.
Day 05 :
Day free. Check-out from the hotel 1200 hrs. Evening
transfer to rail-station for Hyderabad night train. Night on board
train.
Day 06 : Morning arrive Hyderabad and transfer to Hotel.
Afternoon tour of Hyderabad. Visit Charminar - Rectangular Four
Arched Monumental Gate often described as the -The Arch of Triumph
of the East, The Mecca Mosque & visit the Salar Jung Museum
- one man collection of Manuscripts, ancient weapons, costumes &
curios. Visit the High Court buildings. Overnight Hyderabad.
Day 07 : Day free or optional tour to Golconda. Check-out
at 1200 hrs. Evening transfer to rail-station for Chennai night
train. Night onboard train.
Day 08 : Morning arrive Chennai. Transfer to hotel. Full
day tour of Mahabalipuram & Kanchipuram. Kanchipuram (64 kms
from Chennai) 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.
The city of Mahabalipuram is famous for the seven pagodas. Here
on the seashore is an interesting group of ancient rock hewn temples
which are the examples of Dravidian style of Architecture.
Day 09 :Morning city tour. Visit the Museum to see the Art
and Bronze Gallery (Closed on Fridays and Public holidays). Drive
through the Flower and Fruit market, High court, Fort museum, Marina
Beach, Santhome Cathedral and snake park . Check-out at 1200 hrs
from the hotel. Late evening transfer to rail-station for Trichy
night train. Night on board train.
Day 10 :Morning arrive Trichy and transfer to hotel.
Afternoon tour of 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. Lord Robert Clive's
house is still there to see and so is the Danish Church. The Rock-Fort
is the landmark of Trichy. A climb of 434 steps leads to the ancient
temple of Ganapati on top and a further climb to a Shiva temple.
Overnight Trichy.
Day 11 :Morning drive to Madurai visiting Tanjore enroute.
At Tanjore, the beautiful Chola Temple of Brihadeeshwara 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 12 :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. Also visit
the Alagar Hills and Tirupara Kundran Rock temple. Afternoon free.
Overnight Madurai.
Day 13 :Morning drive to Periyar National Park. Set up in
1934,it extends to 777 square kms & 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,
langur monkeys, etc. Overnight Periyar.
Day14 : Drive to Cochin. Overnight Cochin.
Day15 : Morning tour of Cochin. Cochin is the natural harbour
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 Harbour. Vasco-de-Gama placed it on the world map.
It has a Jewish synagogue, Portuguese churches, mosques & Hindu
temples. Watch the Chinese Fishing Nets. Checkout at 1200 hrs. Transfer
to railstation for Bangalore night train. Night on board.
Day16 : Morning arrive Bangalore and drive directly to Mysore.
Overnight Mysore.
Day17 : Morning visit the palace of the Maharaja built in
1911 - 1912. The palace is of harmonious syntheses of the Hindu
and saracenic styles of architecture with archways, domes, turrets,
colonnades and sculptures which are magnificent. Visit the Art Gallery;
drive upto Chamundi hill to see Chamundeshwari Temple and a panoramic
view of Mysore. On the way back, see the Nandi Bull. Afternoon free.
Overnight Mysore.
Day18 : Drive to Bangalore airport in time for Mumbai flight.
Arrive & drive to city centre (No hotel). Later drive to international
airport. End of our services.