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Beach Holidays
in India :
South India Tour With Beaches
SOUTH INDIA TOUR WITH BEACHES
Duration : 20 Days
Destination
: Madras - Mahabalipuram - Pondicherry - Tanjore - Madurai - Periyar -
Cochin - Bangalore - Mysore - Hassan - Hospet - Badami - Goa - Mumbai
Day
01 : Madras (Chennai) On arrival at Madras international airport,
welcome and transfer to hotel for overnight stay.
Day 02 :
Madras / Mahabalipuram After breakfast leave for city tour of
Madras. Later drive to Kanchipuram. Visit Kanchipuram, the golden city was
one of the seven sacred cities of India and once had 1000 temples. Now only
200 remain. It is also famed for its hand woven cottons & Kanjivaram
silk. Proceed to Mahabalipuram. On arrival check-in hotel for overnight
stay.
Day 03 : Mahabalipuram After breakfast visit
Mahabalipuram, also known as the seven Pagodas. This is a pleasant seaside
resort. Visit the Pallava monuments which are spread over a wide area, some
bordering the sea. The important monuments to be seen are the five Rathas,
the bas-relief on a huge rock popularly known as the Arjuna's penance, the
mahishasura Mandapam, the Krishna Mandapam and the shore temple. Evening
free to relax on the beach. Overnight in hotel.
Day 04 : Mahabalipuram / Pondicherry After breakfast drive to
Pondicherry (168 kms / 4 hrs approx). On arrival check-in hotel. Later
sight-seeing of Pondicherry. Overnight in hotel.
Day 05 :
Pondicherry / Tanjore After breakfast drive to Tanjore (177 kms / 5
hrs approx). Afternoon visit the famous 11th century Brihadeswara temple and
the saraswati library which has some rare collection of books and
manuscripts.
Day 06 : Tanjore / Madurai After
breakfast leave for Trichy which was the citadel of the Chola dynasty in the
medieval period. In the 18th century it witnessed the carnatic wars fought
between the French & 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. Proceed to Madurai (182 kms / 6 hrs
approx). On arrival in Madurai check-in hotel for overnight stay.
Day 07 : Madurai After breakfast city tour visiting 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 Sarracenia style,
famous for the stucco work on its domes and arches. Afternoon free at
leisure.
Day 08 : Madurai / Periyar After breakfast
drive to Periyar (137 kms / 4 hrs aprox). Afternoon enjoy boat ride on lake
Periyar to see wildlife. Evening free. Overnight in hotel.
Day 09 : Periyar / CochinAfter breakfast drive to Kottayam, start
backwater boat cruise crossing Vembanad lake into the backwaters of Kerala
till Alleppey. From here drive to Cochin. Afternoon free at leisure.
Overnight in hotel.
Day 10 : Cochin After breakfast
city tour visiting the Dutch Palace, Jewish Synagogue, Chinese fishing nets,
St. Francis Church & the Santa Cruz church. Afternoon free. Overnight in
hotel.
Day 11 : Cochin / Bangalore / Mysore Morning
transfer to airport for Bangalore flight. Arrive and drive directly to
Mysore (139 kms / 3 hrs approx), enroute visit Srirangapatna. Overnight in
hotel.
Day 12 : Mysore After breakfast visit the palace of the
Maharaja built in 1911-12. The palace is architecture with archways, domes,
turrets, colonnades, sculptures which are magnificent. Visit the art
gallery, drive upto Chamundi hill to see Chamundeshwari temple and a
panoramic view of Mysore. On your way back, see the Nandi bull. Overnight in
hotel.
Day 13 : Mysore / Hassan After breakfast
drive to Hassan (158 kms / 4 hrs approx). Full day excursion of Belur &
Halebid. The chenna Kesava temple of Belur built 900 years ago is an
exquisite example of hoysala art. Halebid's 12th century Hoysaleswara and
Kedareswara temple are masterpieces of Hindu art. Overnight in hotel.
Day
14 : Hassan / Hospet After breakfast drive to Hospet. Afternoon
visit Hampi. Hampi the once beautiful capital city of Vijayanagar empire and
the greater than Rome, had palaces, temple and sculptures, spread all over.
The city was razed to the ground by the sultanates of south in year 1565.
Some of the interesting ruins remaining are the Virupaksha, Vittala and
Hazara Rama temples huge Ganesha & Narasimha images, the elephant
stables, the Queen's bath, carvings on the Ramachandra temple, lotus Mahal.
Overnight in hotel.
Day 15 : Hospet / Badami After breakfast drive to Badami via Aihole
and Pattadakal. Aihole is the cradle of stone temple architecture of the
southern Dravida school. The oldest temple, lad khan goes back to the 5th
century A.D. there are 70 temples in this group. The Durga temple is noted
for its sculptures. the Meguti temple is built of 630 small stone blocks.
The Ravanaphadi cave has some beautiful carvings. Pattadakal, referred to as
Petrigal, reached its pinnacle of glory under the Chalukya kings from 7th to
9th centuries. The oldest in this group is the Sanghameshwara temple. the
Mallikarjuna temple has pillars depicting life of Krishna. Virpaksha temple
has sculptures and panels scenes from the epics, the Ramayana and
Mahabharata the Pananatha temple has impressive carvings. Overnight in
hotel.
Day 16 : Badami After breakfast visit the
Badami caves. Badami also known as Vatapi rich with Hindu and Jain temples
carved out of sand stone hills. The carved temples date back to the 6th
century. Of these three are Hindus and one Jain. Sculptured out of solid
rock they are adorned with carvings. Fort, on top of a hill encloses large
galleries, treasury & a watch tower. The famed Malegitti Shivalaya
temple set on the summit of a hill is built of stones joined without mortar.
Overnight in hotel.
Day 17 : Badami / Goa After breakfast drive to Goa. On arrival
check-in hotel. Rest of the day free at leisure. Overnight in hotel.
Day 18 : Goa After breakfast leave for half day tour of North Goa.
Afternoon free at leisure to enjoy the beaches. Overnight in hotel.
Day 19 : Goa / Mumbai Morning free. Later transfer to airport for
Bombay flight. Arrive and transfer to city hotel. Free time. Overnight in
hotel.
Day 20 : Mumbai / Onward destination After
breakfast leave for excursion to Elephanta caves by motor boat. Afternoon
city tour. Later transfer to international airport for flight to onward
destination.
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