Mumbai to Chennai tour via Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu
This is a grand tour of South India. Though it shows starting from Mumbai, it can be customized to begin out of Delhi or Kolkata. The key access point is Bangalore and tour commences with visit to Mysore in Karnataka. From there it is to Kerala with stops at all the major sites of this spectacular state, including a houseboat experience. Then it is on to Madurai in Tamil Nadu to visit all the stunning temples and temple cities en route all the way to Chennai. The tour can be shortened and customized further per your request.
DAY 1 : Mumbai
Arrive Mumbai. Upon arrival you will be met and assisted at the Airport by our representative and transferred to Hotel. Overnight at Hotel.
DAY 2 : Mumbai
Breakfast at hotel. Morning visit Elephanta. Afternoon sightseeing of Mumbai City.
This morning you be transferred to the Gateway of India for an Excursion to the Elephanta Caves by boat. (This day should not be a Monday as the Elephanta Caves remain closed for maintenance on Mondays). This afternoon you will Mumbai. The visit will include the Crawford Market, the Dhobhighat and the Prince of Wales Museum. Late at night you will be transferred to the International Airport. Check-in on your flight back home.
Overnight in Mumbai.
Mumbai’s main areas of interest are located on the more southerly parts of the peninsula, where the European settlers established their enclave and where the various local communities took root. The center of Imperial Bombay is the area known as Fort, after the fortifications that protected the British settlement. Starting in the 1860s, the Governors of Bombay embarked on an ambitious program of building development, a process that continued under official and private patronage well into the 20th century. Superimposed on these two distinctly different parts of Mumbai is the modern city – the 1930s developments along Marine Drive and on Cumbala Hill, the modern office blocks to the west of the Maidans and the tower blocks that line the southern end of Back Bay. Further north, up the peninsula, are the suburbs of Mumbai and it is here that the worst of the shanty towns and slums are located. These are, sadly, as much part of modern Mumbai as the more glamorous areas to the south. The poverty, squalor and degradation is truly shocking.
DAY 3 : Mumbai / Banglore / Mysore
Breakfast at hotel and then transfer to Mumbai Airport with assistant on time to board flight for Bangalore.
Arrive Bangalore Airport and then proceed drive to Mysore. On arrival check in at Hotel Afternoon city sightseeing tour. You can visit the Mysore Palace, Art Gallery, Devraja Market and if time permits you can also visit Brindavan Gardens.
Mysore, 140 Kms from Bangalore lies the abode of untold grandeur and glory. Mysore, the capital city of the Wodeyars has always enchanted its admirers with its quaint charm, rich heritage, magnificent palaces, beautifully laid-out gardens, imposing buildings, broad shady avenues and sacred temples.
Mysore, or Mahishur as it was called then, traces its history back to the mythical past, when Goddess Chamundeshwari of Chamundi Hills killed the wicked buffalo-headed demon, Mahishasura. Mysore Dasara is the celebration of this victory of good over evil.
Overnight at hotel.
DAY 4 : Mysore / Telicherry
Breakfast at the resort. Drive to Telicherry. Check in at the Ayisha Manzil, Lunch at the house and afternoon at leisure. Cookery Class by Mrs. Moosa. Dinner & Overnight.
DAY 5 : Telicherry
Early morning visit of a Fish Market in Telicherry. Return to Hotel for breakfast. Visit the mosque of the Moosa Family and a beedi-rolling unit. Lunch at Ayisha Manzil. Afternoon visit the Telicherry Fort and the School of Kalaraipayattu and if possible see the students performing. Tea / Coffee at the drive in beach at Sunset.
Evening excursion to visit the Parrasinikadavu Temple at Kannur and a possible witness of Theyyam Dance. Dinner and overnight at Ayisha Manzil.
Ayisha Manzil- Heritage Home is a 138 year old luxuriously furnished bungalow. Presently the property has 6 master bedrooms furnished with old / antique furniture. It is located on a hillock overlooking the Arabian Sea. The British Style architecture reflects the colonial life style of the past.
The sit-out at the entrance of the house gives an excellent view of the Arabian Sea and one can spend the whole day watching the sea. It also has a unique swimming pool resembling the old temple pools. This house was built in 1862 by an English man and later bought by a Muslim Trader Mr. T. M. Moosa. It used to house European Judges for 5 years from 1900 to 1905 and was known as the European Judges Bungalow. The present owner Mr. C. P. Moosa warmly welcomes visitors to enjoy their family hospitality at this Heritage Home. His Faiza is a culinary expert, specializing in the Mopillah Cuisine of North Kerala. Both Moosa and Faiza personally look after the guests. You could also enroll yourself on one of the cookery holidays for a week.
DAY 6 : Telicherry / Cochin (Train)
Breakfast at hotel and then transfer to Telicherry Railway Station to board train for Cochin.
Arrive Cochin and then transfer to hotel. Overnight.
DAY 7 : Cochin
Breakfast at hotel. Visit St. Francis Church, which is India’s oldest European Church. Visit the, Mattancherry. A walk through the Jewish colony will take you to the Synagogue the oldest in commonwealth. Towards sunset proceed on a cruise on Cochin Harbor visiting Wellington Island, Bolghatty Islands and ending at Chinese Fishing Nets at Sunset. Overnight in Cochin.
DAY 8 : Cochin / Houseboat
Breakfast at Hotel. Morning transfer to Alleppey and visit of this ancient port City and which was the main port before Cochin came up. Alleppey was the hub of commercial activities, where all the merchandise used to arrive through the vast network of canals and exported out of the country.
One of the most memorable experiences for any traveler, is the opportunity to take a house boat journey on the backwaters of Kerala. This bewildering labyrinth of shimmering waterways, composed of lakes, canals, lined with dense vegetation preserves rural Keralan lifestyle that is completely cut off from the outside world.
It is an intricate network of innumerable lagoons, lakes, canals, estuaries and the deltas of forty four rivers that drain into the Arabian Sea.
The kettuvelloms (houseboats) of Kerala are giant country crafts, measuring up to 80 feet in length. It took great skill and meticulousness to construct these giants by tying huge planks of jackwood together, without the use of a single nail.
Today these goods carriers have been adapted to make the most exciting tourism product in India, the luxuriously furnished houseboat.
Board a houseboat at Alleppey Finishing Point Jetty. Cruise through, Kuttanad, the rice bowl of Kerala, because of her wealth of paddy crops.
DAY 9 : House Boat / Kumarakom
Reach Kumarakom and checkin-Into the Kumaragam Lake Resort. Rest of the day at leisure. You could use the Ayurvedic Centre for a massage or take a dip in the Large Pool. Overnight in Kumarakom. The hotel organizes daily cultural programs like a show of Kerala Martial Arts or Classical Dance Shows.
Overnight at Hotel.
DAY 10 : Kumarakom / Munnar
Early wakeup and breakfast at hotel. This morning you drive to Munnar.
In 1877, the Royal family of Anchanad sold to J. D. Munro (a British Officer), a tract of land in the Kannan Devan Hills. The tract was completely underdeveloped, largely unexplored and covered with thick forests and there were no means of communications. J. D. Munro formed the North Travancore Land Planting and Agricultural Society and members of the society developed their own estates in various parts of the High Range. The first cultivation was undertaken in 1877. The pioneers tried many crops, such as coffee, cinchosna, sisal and cardamom, before discovering in TEA a product best suited to the area. Today Munnar is plush with tea gardens. There are uninterrupted views of the tea estates.
Check-Into the Windermere Estate, a Charming Plantation Bungalow. Afternoon will be at leisure. Overnight in Munnar.
DAY 11 : Munnar
Breakfast at the Estate. The full day will be at your disposal to explore Munnar and its Estates.
Situated right on the confluence of three hill streams (Mudrapuzha, Nallathanni & Kundala), at an altitude of 1600 mts, Munnar used to be the summer retreat of the erstwhile British Government in South India. Sprawling tea plantations, winding lanes, forests & grasslands, all this teams up to make Munnar an ideal hill station to let oneself loose. Among the exotic flora found here is the Neelakurinji. This flower blooms & bathes the hills in blue every twelve years.
Afternoon you will visit Pothamedu. Located about 06 kms. from Munnar, it offers an excellent view of Tea, coffee & cardamom plantations. Thereafter visit Devikulam, an idyllic hill station with velvet lawns, exotic flora & fauna mixed with the cool mountain breeze. Visit the Eraivikulam Sanctuary to see the Nilgiri Tahr.
Overnight in Munnar.
DAY 12 : Munnar / Madurai
Breakfast at Hotel. Drive to Madurai, located 100 kms from Karaikudi. Two thousand six hundred years old, Madurai is often referred to as the Athens of the East, and is the oldest city in Tamil Nadu, both historically and mythologically.
Check-Into the hotel.
DAY 13 : Madurai
Breakfast at hotel.
Afternoon you will go for the sightseeing of Madurai & Shree Meenakshi Temple. After an early Dinner, re-visit Meenakshi Temple to witness the closing ceremony, where the idols of the God and the Goddess are taken in a procession around the temple for the bed chamber ceremony. Return to Hotel and Overnight in Madurai.
Madurai, the second largest city in Tamil Nadu is situated on the banks of the river Vaigai. An ancient city, more than 2,500 years old, Madurai is believed to have been built by the Pandyan King Kulasekara in the 6th century BC. Originally named Madhurapuri or the ‘land of nectar’, the name later got modified as Madurai. From such legendary beginnings, the actual history of Madurai emerges sometime during the 3rd century BC when it was the prosperous Pandya’s then capital which had trading contacts with Greece and Rome.
MEENAKSHI TEMPLE :
Synonymous with Madurai is the Meenakshi Sundareswarar twin Temple, the pivot around which the city has evolved. The Meenakshi Temple complex is literally a city – one of the largest of its kind in India and undoubtedly one of the oldest too. The temple grew with the contribution of each dynasty and victorious monarchs, into an enormous complex extending over an area of 65000 Sq m. The temple first came in to being 2000 years ago and was substantially expanded during the regime of Thirumalai Nayak(1623-55 AD)
DAY 14 : Madurai / Karaikudi
Breakfast at hotel. Drive to Karaikudi, the largest town in Chettinad also referred to as the Land of Chettiars the prosperous banking community who ventured overseas to South and South East Asia in the 19th and 20th Centuries and amassed great fortunes.
Check-Into The Bangala, a charming 75 year old Chettinad Bungalow, belonging to the Meyyappa Chettiar Family, that has been restored and converted into a heritage guest house.
Afternoon, explore Karaikudi, known for its fabulous mansions and with its many temples. Also visit the Chettinad Palace and the mansions at Karaikudi. One of the unique features of the stay at Bangala is the cuisine of Chettinad.
Overnight at Karaikudi.
DAY 15 : Karaikudi / Tanjore
Breakfast at Hotel and then drive to Tanjore On arrival check in at Hotel.
Overnight at hotel.
DAY 16 : Tanjore
Breakfast at hotel. Afternoon visit the Brihadeshwara Temple and the Bronze Museum.
Tanjore, also known as Thanjavur or Thanjavoor is located on the eastern coast of Tamil Nadu. Also called the rice bowl of Tamil Nadu, Tanjore is famous for many reasons since the time of Cholas. Tanjore also has a sound history of different dynasties that ruled over it. The Cholas conquered Thanjavoor in about 850 A.D. replacing the Mutharayar Chiefs and made it their capital. The Cholas ruled over Tamil Nadu for more than 400 years (850 to 1279) and have left an imperishable mark on its history. Besides the Cholas, the southern part of the Indian peninsula was also ruled by Pallavas, Pandyas and Cheras.
Tanjore has a number of important places that attract the attention of many tourists all through the year. Tanjore is primarily a place for the art lovers, especially for those who love temple architecture and wonder about kings who erected these magnificent monuments. The famous Thanjavur style of painting was developed by Serfoji, the 19th-century Maharaja of Thanjavur. This distinguished art of Thanjavur is a combination of raised and painted surfaces. The Brihadeeshwara temple, the wonderful Palace, Art Gallery and the Saraswati Mahal Library are some of the other things to see in Tanjore.
Overnight at hotel.
DAY 17 : Tanjore / Pondicherry
Breakfast at hotel and then drive to Pondicherry. Enroute stop at Chidambaram to visit the Shiva-Natraja Temple. Arrive Pondicherry, check in at Hotel. Afternoon visit of Aurobindo Ashram and walking visit of the Old Town.
A French colony up to 1954, Pondicherry is a living monument of French Culture in India. The Aurobindo Ashram and ‘Auroville’ the international township are famous all over the world.
Overnight at hotel.
DAY 18 : Pondicherry / Mahabalipuram
Breakfast at hotel and then drive to Mamallapuram, enroute-visiting Auroville. On arrival check in at Hotel. Afternoon at leisure.
The temple city of Mahabalipuram (also Mamallapuram) is situated just 60 km off Chennai on the Bay of Bengal coast in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The ancient Mamallapuram, as Mahabalipuram was formerly known, was flourishing port town of the Pallava rulers of south India who chiseled in stone a fabulous “open-air museum” of sculpture under the vault of a burning sky.
Overnight at hotel.
DAY 19 : Mahabalipuram
After breakfast at hotel, visit Rock Carvings and Shore Temple at Mamallapuram. Afternoon at leisure on the beach or visit the nearby villages and see stone carving. Return to Hotel. Overnight at hotel.
Most of the temples and rock carvings of this place were built during the reigns of Narsinha Varman I (AD 630-668) and Narsinha Varman II (AD 700-728). Though the initial kings of Pallava dynasty were followers of Jainism, the conversion of Mahendra Varman (AD 600-630) to Shaivism led most of the monuments to be related with Shiva or Vishnu.
Arjuna’s Penance, perhaps the world’s largest bas-relief, is the universe itself in stone, throbbing with a vastness of conception. Legend has it that King Bhagiratha had to bring down to earth the celestial Ganga to purify and redeem the cursed souls of his ancestors.
The five rathas (chariots) are architectural precursors of the temples of south India. The smallest and the simplest is the Draupadi ratha and the largest is the multi-storey Dharmaraja ratha scoped from a monolithic rock. These small, unfinished shrines ravaged by war and weather are things of undiminished beauty.
DAY 20 : Mahabalipuram / Chennai
Breakfast at hotel and drive to Chennai, enroute-visiting Kancheepuram. On arrival check in at hotel.
Kanchipuram is a Spectacular Temple city known as city of thousand temples which reflects the Glorious Traditions of South India with its noted temples. It is well known as one of the three destinations of the Golden Triangle apart from Chennai and Mahabalipuram. Kanchipuram has reserved its place in the world’s most famous tourist destinations on account of its dexterous Kanchi weavers who offer the excellent weaving articles. It is also the producer of the finest silk fabric in the world. Overnight stay at the hotel.
vernight at hotel.
DAY 21 : Dep. Chennai
Breakfast at Hotel. Transfer to Airport. Check-In on your flight.
