| Day |
Place |
Date/Time |
Services |
| 1 |
Cochin |
|
Arrive Cochin. Transfer to hotel. |
| |
|
Afternoon |
City tour of Cochin Visit the Mattancherry Dutch Palace - (closed on Fridays and public holidays), which was built by the Portuguese in 1555 and renovated by the Dutch in 1663. In the ancient rooms are 17th century murals that relate in vibrant colour the story of the epic Ramayana. Visit a Jewish Synagogue - open 10.00 to 12.00 hrs. & 15.00 to 17.00 hrs.(closed on all Saturdays and Jewish holidays) in Jew Town and
Fort Cochin Area Legend dates Jewish trade with Kerala from the times of King Solomon. There are a couple of streets of picture-postcard houses out of another age, in 17th century Dutch and traditional Kerala styles. Visit St. Francis Church - open from 09.00 to 13.00 hrs. and 14.30 to 17.30 hrs.(closed for visitors on Sundays from 08.00 to 11.00 hrs.) the oldest European Church in India. It has several antiquities including a wealth of records. See the Chinese Fishing Nets, unique to this part of Kerala and living symbols of a centuries-old Chinese influence on this coast.
Overnight at hotel |
| 2 |
Cochin |
Morning |
Breakfast at hotel
Leave Cochin by road for Calicut 220 Km / 5 hrs. |
| |
Calicut |
|
Arrive and proceed to hotel.
Visit a boat building yard at Beypore. Beypore is a small coastal town known for centuries as a shipbuilding centre and still famous for its country crafts called "Uru" which are built by the traditional shipbuilders known as Khalasis. This art is a mnemonic tradition of almost 1500 yrs old. Beypore is still a favourite destination among the Arabs shopping for the large boats.
Overnight |
| 3 |
Calicut |
Morning |
Breakfast at hotel.
Leave by road for Mysore - 225 Km / 6 hrs. - Enroute visit Jain Temple at Sultan Battery |
| |
Mysore |
|
Arrive and proceed to the hotel.
Rest of the day at leisure
Overnight |
| 4 |
Mysore |
Morning |
Breakfast at hotel.
City tour of Mysore: Visit the Maharajas’s Palace - a synthesis of Hindu and Muslim architectural styles. Gateways, domes, arches, turrets, colonnades, sculpture - all are here in magnificent profusion. Continue on to Chamundi Hill named after the Royal family’s patron goddess. On the hill are the summer palaces, an ancient temple and the 16-foot tall Nandi (Siva’s bull) carved out of a single huge boulder. The view from the hill offers a beautiful panorama of Mysore and the range of hills, lakes and the turrets of temples and churches. |
| |
|
Afternoon |
Excursion to Srirangapatnam and Somnathpur. Srirangapatnam is an island between two branches of the Cauvery River and was the capital of the Mysore Rajas from 1610 to 1799. Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan were its most famous denizens. Visit ruins of Tipu’s fort, the summer pleasure palace and the Gumbaz, his mausoleum. The interiors of the palace are carved with ornate arches and ceilings, liberally gilded wall panels and charming frescoes.
Somnathpur - 25 miles east of Mysore lies the village of Somnathpur with its exquisite Hoysala Temple built in the second half of the 13th century at the confluence of the Rivers Kaveri and Kabini. It is triple-shrined, with an enclosed courtyard and is flat-roofed with the suggestion of a spire. The temple is well carved and sculpted with rows of friezes going right round the walls. The carved figures are beautifully detailed and intricately placed within the friezes.
Overnight |
| 5 |
Mysore |
Morning |
Breakfast at hotel.
Leave Mysore by road for Hassan en route visit Sravanbelgola. Sravanbelgola lies 62 miles north of Mysore, wedged between two rocky hills called Indragiri and Chandragiri. It is presided over and dominated by the colossal statue of the Jain saint, Gomateswara. The monolithic image, 57 ft. tall, has been watching over pilgrims for 1,000 years ever since the time of the Ganga kings under whose patronage Jainism flourished. Gomateswara’s nakedness suggests renunciation of all worldly things and the stiff posture indicates self-control. The serenity that Sravanbelgola emantes, derives from the simplicity of its ascetic inspiration and the grandeur of its scale (it is said to be the world’s tallest monolithic statue). |
| |
Hassan |
|
Arrive & proceed to hotel.
Overnight |
| 6 |
Hassan |
Morning |
Breakfast at hotel
Excursion to Belur and Halebid
Belur, a city which flourished under the Hoysala Kings 800 years ago. The sole reminder of this grandeur is the Chennakesava Temple which stands in a perfect state of preservation and is an outstanding testament to the skill of Hoysala craftsmen. Its polished black stone exterior is profusely carved with scenes from the epics, each figure sculpted with fine detail. A short distance away at Halebid is a sister temple, the Hoysalesvara, dedicated to Shiva. Here too, the sculptor’s art is remarkable with details endless and exquisite: frieze upon frieze of gods, goddesses, animals and humans. This temple is the best in medieval Indian sculpture. It was constructed a decade after the Belur Temple by the same king but left uncompleted after 80 years of labour.
Overnight |
| 7 |
Hassan |
Morning |
Breakfast at hotel
Leave Hassan by road for Bangalore.
(185 Km.)-5hr. |
| |
Bangalore |
|
Arrive and proceed to hotel
Overnight |
| 8 |
Bangalore |
6:00 hrs |
Early AM transfer to railway station.
Depart Bangalore by Shatabdi Express for Chennai (Operates daily except Tuesdays) |
| |
Chennai |
11:00 hrs |
Arrive and proceed to hotel. |
| |
|
Afternoon |
City tour of Chennai; Visit Fort St. George,
completed in 1653 and today filled with reminders of the past, including St. Mary’s, the first church consecrated on Indian soil. The National Art Gallery has many excellent bronzes including the famous Chola period bronze Nataraja, the God Shiva, in the cosmic dance pose. The Government
Museum (closed on Fridays) which contains sculpture and architecture produced by the Dravidian dynasties. Drive along the Marina, an elegant promenade and proceed to the old Indian section of Mylapore. Visit San Thome Basilica - the culmination of the enduring legend of Thomas Didymus, the apostle who doubted and who is believed to have lived and preached on Mylapore’s shores.
Overnight |
| 9 |
Chennai |
Full day |
Breakfast at hotel
Excursion to Kanchipuram and Mahabalipuram Kanchipuram “The Golden City “ has about 125 shrines, all of them centuries old, dating back to the early Cholas of 200 B.C. It was successively capital of the Cholas, the Pallavas and the Rayas of Vijayanagara. The height of Kanchi’s glory was when it was capital of the far-flung empire of the Pallavas from the 6th to the 8th centuries when Mahabalipuram and Mylapore were its great ports. All that is left are its magnificent temples. Kanchipuram ‘s other claim to fame is its silk, renowned for more than four centuries. A unique system of weavers makes and sells Kanchi saris which are the richest saris in India and certainly the most sought after.
Mahabalipuram is a beautiful beach resort which consists of a the tiny village by the sea in which all else is dwarfed by a dream world of awesome Tamil art, an open air museum of sculpture in living rock. The piece de resistance is Arjuna’s Penance or the Descent of the Ganga, the world’s largest bas-relief, 764 ft. by 288 ft. (27m by 9m). It is a beautiful composition of hundreds of celestial beings, human and animals all hurrying to a natural rock cleft that divides the giant stone. The best known landmark of Mahabalipuram, is the Shore Temple which has stood by the sea for 12 centuries. Its twin spires are pure poetry in granite. The other wonders of Mahablipuram are the mandapams, ratham. Each temple though incomplete, remains a gem. Also in this area are a
magnificent elephant and an exquisite Nandi, the sacred bull.
Overnight |
| 10 |
Chennai |
|
Breakfast at hotel.
Transfer to Chennai airport. Depart for onward destination.
|
| END OF SERVICES |
