India's Great Divide is the
Vindhya Mountains. They run from east to west, separating the
fertile river valley of the Ganges called the Ganga, from the
Deccan Plateau which occupies much of the peninsula of India. It
also separates the north, where the predominant languages are
Sanskrit - based (brought in by the Indo Iranian herds people
about 3,500 years ago), from the Dravidian tongues brought in by
a long headed race from the Mediterranean about a thousand years
earlier. The South India's coastal plains are backed by the
mountains rimming the wedge of the Deccan plateau. On these
plains lie the best beaches in South India. On the rimming
mountains, the western and eastern ghats are the tea, coffee and
spice lands. Beyond these mountains, in the wedge shaped
plateau, are great old cities supported by rich farm lands and a
culture that has its roots in the almost historical Kumari
Continent from where, they claim, civilization spread across the
world. The south is gracious, graceful, Old India.
The delightful south; almost untouched by invasions throughout
its history, the Indian heritage is more intact here than in
other regions of the country.
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.
Day - 02
Chennai
After Breakfast at
hotel, half day sightseeing tour, visiting Gandhi
Memorial, KalaSkhetra, Mylapore temple, Marina beach
etc.,. Dinner and overnight stay at hotel.
Day - 03
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 at Chennai.
Day - 04
Chennai - Kancheepuram- Mahabalipuram
After breakfast drive
to Kanchipuram (76kms/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 Mahabalipuram and check in at hotel.
Afternoon visit the city - built in 7th century,
earlier called Mahabalipooram, 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. 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 - spire shrine, unique because
it houses both Lord Shiva and the Lord Vishnu in its
sanctum-sanctorum. Dinner and overnight stay at
hotel.
Day - 05
Mahabalipuram-Thiruvannamalai-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 stay at hotel.
Day - 06
Pondicherry
After breakfast drive
to 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. 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 stay at hotel.
Day - 07
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. Natraja 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 Brahadeswara 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 stay at hotel.
Day - 08
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. Checkin 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 stay at hotel.
Day - 09
Trichy - Madurai (133kms/3.5hrs)
After breakfast proceed
to Madurai and checkin 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, Mariamman Tepakkulam and Alagar Kovil.
Dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day - 10
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 Swamy 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 - 11
Madurai - Kanyakumari ( 258 kms/7 hrs )
After breakfast drive
to 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, dedicated
to Indian Saint Vivekananda, who meditated on this
very rock before he proceeded to West to propagate
Hinduism, where otherwise was perceived as a
barbaric religion. Also is a recently erected
memorial of Thiruvalluvar, a Tamil saint who had
written the Thirukkural, containing 1330 verses for
a better living for every human. Evening view the
sunset at the southern most tip of India, where the
3 seas meet (Namely Indian Ocean in the south,
Arabian sea in the west and Bay of Bengal in the
east). Overnight at hotel.
Day - 12
Kanyakumari - Trivandrum (87 kms/02.00 hrs )
Early morning view the
beautiful sunrise from at top the hotel’s terrace.
Visit to Suchindram and proceed to Trivandrum,
enroute visit Padmanabapuram Palace, arrive
Trivandrum. Arrive and visit Padmanabaswamy temple
from outside, visit the palace and the city palace
museum. A drive up to Kovalam. Overnight stay at
Hotel in Kovalam.
If you wish to extend your
stay in Kovalam Beach, please inform us so that we can quote for
the extension for the number of days you would like
to stay.
Day - 13
Trivandrum - Back Home
After breakfast
transfer to airport to connect flight for onward
journey. End of our services.
For
other tours in South India, Please send us your
requirements to
tours@akshayaindia.com . we
will contact you with the customized tour itinerary based on
your specific requirements at the soonest !!!
