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.
Day13 : 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.