South India

Welcome and assistance upon arrival and transfer to the hotel.

Breakfast.

Orientation tour of Chennai with a stop and visit to the Saint Thomas Basilica. Only three churches in the world are built on the relics of an apostle: Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome, the Cathedral of Saint James in Santiago de Compostela, and you are in the third one.

Lunch.

Departure by road to Kanchipuram, the “golden city.” It was the capital of the Pallava dynasty in the 7^th and 8^th centuries. A sacred city for both religious centers that welcomed Buddhism and Jainism before the Christian era. During the reign of the Pallava, the city became the center of the Hindu revival in the South.

Visit to the Ekambareshvara temple, with its mandapam, a hall with a thousand pillars and Vaikuntha Perumal, built in the 8th century and dedicated to Vishnu.

Continue to Mahabalipuram and check-in at the hotel.

Mahabalipuram, a seaside resort located on the wonderfully deserted Coromandel Coast with white sand. Nearly 2,000 years ago, it was known as a seaport by Phoenician, Arab, and Greek merchants. The Pallava left an astonishing heritage of unique monolithic temples carved in the rock, caves, massive bas-reliefs, and a coastal temple.

Dinner and accommodation.

Breakfast.

Visit to Mahabalipuram, the starting point between the 6^th and 9^th centuries for Hindu and Buddhist merchants, priests, architects, sculptors, and other scholars heading towards the coasts of Southeast Asia: the prototypes of the great Khmer or Javanese temples are here. The extraordinary 17-meter-long bas-relief sculpted at the very beginning of the 7^th century, adorned with ascetics, deities, Gandharvas, and Apsaras, amidst a jungle of elephants, lions, birds…: the mythological subject represented here would be either the “Descent of the Ganges” or the “Penance of Arjuna”. Discovery of the “Ratha”, monoliths carved and sculpted in the form of temples in the 7^th century and the Shore Temple built at the end of the 7^th century, dedicated both to Shiva and Vishnu.

Lunch.

Afternoon free for personal activities.

Dinner and accommodation.

Breakfast.

Continue to Pondicherry.

Arrive and check-in at the hotel.

Lunch.

Visits to the museum and the Sri Aurobindo Ashram where you will see the Samadhi (cenotaph), shaded by a frangipani tree and always in bloom, where the bodies of Aurobindo and Mirra Alfassa known as the Mother rest.

Rickshaw ride in the areas formerly occupied by the French: French Alliance, Post Office, bookstore.

Dinner and accommodation.

Breakfast.

Departure towards CHIDAMBARAM. Visit this remarkable sacred complex, characteristic of Dravidian (Chola) India, which spans 22 hectares and features four large gopurams dedicated to Shiva Nataraja, the king of dance. Two of the gopurams are adorned with sculptures illustrating the 108 positions of the NatyaShastra, the treatise of dramaturgy of Hindu ritual dances.

Lunch.

Continue towards Kumbakonam with a stop on the way at GANGAKONDACHOLAPURAM, where a magnificent stone temple from the Chola period stands with majesty and splendor reminiscent of the one in Tanjore. Raja Rajendra I, a powerful Chola king, founded his new capital and the magnificent Temple of Lord Siva, nestled in a coconut grove. It is renowned for its architecture and its rich sculptures. As you pass by the large Nandi and the impressive Dwarapalika, you can admire beautiful bas-reliefs associated with the worship of Shiva, his wife Parvati, and their son Skanda.

Dinner and accommodation.

Breakfast.

Travel to Trichy for a visit to the Vishnuite sanctuary of Sri Ranganathaswamy, a true religious city surrounded by 7 enclosures with 21 monumental gopurams, pyramidal-shaped gateway towers. In this ‘holy of holies’ (closed to non-Hindus), a statue of Vishnu lying on the primordial serpent is venerated.

Lunch.

Return to Tanjore and explore the city with a visit to the Brihadishwara temple dedicated to the god Shiva. This granite sanctuary rises to a height of 70 meters and is topped with an 80-ton monolithic dome. Visit the remarkable art gallery in the old Nayak palace, dating from the 16^th century. These sculptures date from the 9th to the 12th centuries and feature about a hundred bronzes representing Shiva, Parvati, Vishnu, in various poses.

Dinner and accommodation.

Breakfast.

Departure by road to Madurai. Arrival and check-in at the hotel.

Lunch.

In the afternoon, exploration of Madurai. The entire life of this very bustling city converges towards the Meenakshi-Sundareshwara Temple, rebuilt in the 17th century by King Tirumalai-Nayak. Visit to the Tirumalai Nayak Palace founded in 1636 and visit to the Meenakshi Sundareshvara Temple.

In the evening, departure by TUK-TUK to go to the Meenakshi Temple to attend the goddess’s bedtime ceremony.

Dinner and accommodation.

Breakfast.

Drive to Periyar National Park, located in the heart of the mountains. It is the most famous nature reserve in South India.

Arrival and check-in at the hotel.

Lunch.

In the afternoon, boat ride on Periyar Lake (subject to availability or walk in the park with a naturalist guide). The park features a 26 km² artificial lake, created by the British in 1895 to supply water to Madurai, extending to Tamil Nadu. It is home to bison, antelopes, sambars, wild boars, monkeys, langurs, a wide variety of birds, and approximately 750 elephants.

In the evening, stroll through the old spice market in Periyar.

Dinner and accommodation.

Breakfast.

Drive to board your “HOUSEBOAT” late in the morning.

Lunch on board.

Boat ride on the backwaters (lagoons and canals) of Kerala through villages and rice paddies. All along the Kerala coast, sometimes extending quite far inland, a series of lagoons, lakes, rivers, and canals dictate a very particular lifestyle to the inhabitants of the region and serve as fascinating means of transportation.

Dinner and accommodation on board.

Breakfast on board.

Disembark from the boat and head towards Trivandrum.

Lunch.

Visit the city of Trivandrum, including the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple (non-Hindus are not allowed inside) which dominates Trivandrum. This ancient temple, overlooking a tranquil reservoir, is a splendid example of Dravidian temple architecture with exquisite stone carvings and pavilions with superbly sculpted pillars. Visit the Napier Museum and the Srichithra Art Gallery. The colorful red and brown museum has a collection of South Indian bronzes, Keralite ornaments and costumes, and a model of a tharawad, the traditional house of a Nair communal family. The art gallery has several masterpieces from Japan, China, Indonesia, and other parts of India, but the pride of its collection is the work of indigenous Varma son Raja Ravi of Travancore. His paintings of religious mythology are reflected today in countless religious images in Hindu homes and workplaces.

Then return to Kovalam.

Dinner and accommodation.

Breakfast.

All day free for personal activities.

Lunch, dinner, and accommodation.

Breakfast.

Continue by road to Cochin, a former Portuguese and then Dutch trading post. The city is renowned for its bay and the spectacle of the large fishing nets being deployed (Chinese fishing nets).

Rich in historical heritage and superbly built on a group of islands and a narrow coastal lagoon strip, the fascinating city of Kochi perfectly reflects the eclecticism of Kerala. You will discover the oldest European church in India and winding lanes lined with charming 500-year-old Portuguese houses.

Arrival and check-in at your hotel.

Lunch.

Stroll through the old town of Cochin where you will see the Chinese fishing nets and visit the city during which you will discover:

The Dutch Palace (closed on Fridays), named after the renovations carried out by the Dutch after 1663. The highlight of this palace lies in the fabulous murals depicting scenes from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and Puranic legends related to Shiva, Vishnu, Krishna, Kumara, and Durga.

Saint Francis Church, the oldest Indian church built by Europeans. It was erected by Franciscan monks accompanying the expedition led by Pedro Alvarez Cabral.

The Synagogue (closed Fridays and Saturdays), founded in 1568, partially destroyed during the Portuguese assault of 1662, and restored two years later by the Dutch who became masters of the city. In the 18^th century, the merchant Ezekial Rahabi had magnificent blue hand-painted porcelain tiles from Canton, China, installed on the floor. He is also credited with building the clock tower that surmounts the building.

Dinner and accommodation.

Lunch.

Transfer to the station to take the train to Calicut, then drive to Mysore.

Lunch en route.

Arrival and check-in at the hotel.

Rest of the day free for personal activities.

Dinner and accommodation.

Breakfast.

Visit the charming small town at the foot of Mount Chamundi. Mysore is the former capital of the state of the same name: the Jaganmohan Palace which features a small collection of paintings and miniatures, the City Palace or Maharaja’s Palace rebuilt after a fire in 1897, quite extravagant in its eclectic style and magnificence.

Lunch.

Late afternoon stroll through a market ‘Devraja Bazar’ typical of Mysore.

Dinner and lodging.

Breakfast.

Drive to Bangalore.

Lunch.

Orientation tour of Bangalore and visit to the ‘Lal Bagh’ botanical garden.

Then transfer to the hotel.

Dinner.

Breakfast.

Transfer to the international airport for the flight to your destination.