Upon arrival in Bangalore, our Executive will meet you at the Airport followed by transfer from Airport to Hotel. Later proceed for sight seeing of Bangalore visiting - Vidhan Souda'-one of India's most spectacular building that houses the secretariat and the state legislature, Tippu’s Summer Palace (open hours 9am-5pm), which is, build mostly of wood. Further we will visit a hybrid of an ultramodern glass vernacular South Indian temple architecture, ISKCON's (International Society of Krishna Consciousness daily opening hours 7:30am - 1:00pm and 4:00-8:30pm). After we will visit the Bull Temple - with a magnificent stone statue of the sacred bull, Nandi. If you like to have a pleasant culture shock we will bring you to the bustling local market, which contains a tarpaulin covered fruit and vegetable bazaar, a spice market, plenty of garland sellers and hole-in-the-wall tailor shops. (Overnight stay in Bangalore)
Note: Sight seeing today will depend on your time of arrival. Incase of the said sight seeing not possible for the day, it shall be done the next day morning.
| DAY 02 -BANGALORE TO MYSORE (140KMS – 3.0HRS) |
After breakfast check out of the hotel and drive to Mysore – the palace city of South India. On arrival check in the hotel and depart for the sightseeing tour of Mysore visiting – Maharaja's Palace (Daily10:00am-5: 30pm). Built in Indo Saracenic style with domes, turrets, arches and colonnades, the Palace is a treasure house of exquisite carvings and works of art from all over the world it was once the residence of Wodeyars. Intricately carved doors open to luxuriously furnished rooms. The majestic Durbar Hall has an ornate ceiling and many sculpted pillars. In the evening we will visit Chamundi Hill Standing as the crown jewel of Mysore, Chamundi Hills is the abode of all-powerful Goddess, Chamundi or Chamundeswari with its carved in granite bull. (Overnight stay in Mysore)
| DAY 03 - IN MYSORE /Sight seeing of Somnathpur & Srirengapatnam |
After early breakfast at 08.00am we proceed for a day return excursion to Somnathpur and Srirangapattinum. Somnathpur - one need not search far for its history. An inscribed stone slab, in old Kannada, at the entrance says it all. The reigning monarch was Narasimha III (1254-91 A.D.) whose full regal title runs into a sizeable paragraph: "Sri Vishnuvaradhana, Pratapa Chakravarti, Hoysala Bhujabala, Sri Vira Narasimha, Maharajadhiraja, Raja Paramesvara, Sanivarasiddhi, Giridurgamalla etc. Later we drive to Srirangapattinam - place with Ancient history is an Island fortress town on the bank of river cauvery. Visit the Srirengapatnam fort and the summer palace of Tippu sultan. After sightseeing of Srirengapatnam around 13.30hrs break for lunch at a nice resort in same town. After lunch we visit Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary at a 3km distance on one of the three islands in the Cauvery River. It’s a good place to see Storks, Ibis, Egrets, Darters, Spoonbills and Cormorants round the year. Return to hotel in the evening and rest of the day for own activities. (Overnight at Hotel in Mysore).
| DAY 04 -MYSORE TO COORG (Madikkeri) (125 KMS / 3.0HRS) |
After breakfast check out of the hotel and drive to Coorg (Madikeri) known as the Scotland of India. The lush green vegetation and the misty climate makes Coorg one of the best holiday destinations in South India. Enroute visit to Bylakuppe – Tibetan settlement/monastery. Bylakuppe is the second largest Tibetan settlement outside Tibet, complete with a Tibetan monastery with 7,000 monks, a Tibetan village and a flea market. After visiting in here we drive to Coorg and check in to the beautiful hotel at a fascinating location. (Overnight stay in Coorg)
| DAY 05 -COORG TO WAYNAD (245 KMS/ 6.0 HRS) |
After breakfast check out of the hotel and drive to Waynad - a place where thousands of acres of unadorned rainforest come alive in timeless landscapes and vistas. Enroute visit ‘Tholpetty Wild life Sanctuary’ situated on the borders of Waynad (Coorg border). The sanctuary is very rich in fauna and flora. You can find spotted Deer’s, Elephants, Bison, Leopard...etc. or the greatest hunter of them all - the Tiger. Later drive to reach the beautiful resort at Vythiri. (Overnight stay in Wayanad)
| DAY 06 -IN WAYNAD / sight seeing |
After breakfast for sight seeing of Depart from hotel after breakfast at 08.00am drive to reach Edakkal Caves in the Ambukuthy Mountains. It is a cleft about 96ft.long and 22ft.wide in the rock. There are interesting carvings of pre-historic age. This location is of breath-taking beauty. Onward visit the ‘‘Jain temple’ one of the most important series of ruins spread across Kerala. The temple is believed to have built in 13th century and was an important Hindu Shrine. It is also believed that this place was used as Ammunition storage place by Tippu sulthans army. Visit next is to the ‘Heritage Museum’ home to interesting collections of artifacts that shed light on the history, culture and heritage of Waynad region. In an adjoining theatre in here guests can enjoy a multimedia presentation on waynad. Return to Vythiri and enroute visit to the ‘Chain Tree’ where a chain from a Banyan tree still hangs today to mark the spot where an Divas (tribal) was murdered by a British Colonialist. (Overnight at Hotel in Vythiri).
| DAY 07 -WAYNAD TO CALICUT (65 KMS / 1.5 HRS) |
After breakfast checkout from hotel and drive down hill to reach Calicut – the early capital of powerful Zamorins. The rapid rivers from the Western Ghats after passing through forest carry the clay, which is the raw-material for tiles, pottery and ceramic wares. There are more than a dozen tile factories in Feroke. Onward visit to one of the ‘Timber Mill’ at the place ‘Kallai’. Later return to hotel. (Overnight stay in Calicut)
| DAY 08 -CALICUTT TO COCHIN (185KMS / 4.0HRS) |
After breakfast depart from hotel at 10.00am and drive to reach Cochin – a cosmopolitan city in the federal state of Kerala. On arrival check in to hotel and at 17.30hrs visit to the famous dance drama of Kerala, the “Kathakali”. This dance can be characterized by grotesque gesticulations, amazing costumes and very extensive make-up. The stories are mostly taken from the epics Mahabharatha and Ramayana. Evenings by the Chinese fishing area is very lively with the daily fish market in here. All the live catch from time to time comes to sale. If you are a person who like to eat fish, then you can buy very fresh fish from here and ask the nearby restaurant to cook the same for you. Later return to hotel. (Overnight at hotel in Cochin).
| DAY 09 -IN COCHIN / Sight seeing. |
After breakfast, at 08.00am proceed for sight seeing tour of Cochin visiting - ‘The Jewish Synagogue’ at the heart of what is locally called the Jew Town, ‘The St. Francis Church’, the oldest European Church in India, ‘The Santa Cruz Basilica’ originally built in 1557 by the Portuguese, The Dutch Palace, Spice market at the narrow streets. Later break for lunch at a nice hotel in the old town. We finish the lunch break around 14.0hrs and onward proceed for a Village backwater trip in the outskirts of Cochin. A 30mts drive from the old town of Cochin will reach you to the spot where in you will be taken a Country wooden boat for an enchanting trip to know more about people and life at the villages on the backwaters. The trip also includes visit to Coir rope making, Coir mat making & other small scale house hold works done by the village people. Later return to hotel. (Overnight at hotel in Cochin).
| DAY 10 -COCHIN TO PERIYAR (195 KMS / 4.5 HRS) |
Check out from hotel after breakfast at 07.30am and drive to Periyar (also known as Thekkady). The name periyar comes after the Dam made here by the English in 1895. A wild life reserve hence is an ideal place to track down wild life such as Elephants, Bison, Deer and numerous other varieties of birds. The landscape here is with very tropical and you will be surrounded by tea, coffee & other spices. On arrival check on to hotel and at 16.00hrs leave for a guided plantation tour to the nearby garden where in various species of spices and other aromatic plants are cultivated. The guide explains & clarifies your doubts on this tour. Depending on the day’s opportunity you will also taken to visit a tea factory nearby. (Overnight at hotel in Thekkady).
| DAY 11 -IN PERIYAR/THEKKADY |
Early morning at 06.00am you go on a Guided Jungle walk at the Periyar tiger reserve / national park. This 03hrs walk (not very hard) is very interesting and gives you the chance to see the wildlife life at a very close distance. If you are lucky you may even spot the rarely sighted leopards & tigers. Return to hotel and rest. At 15.30hrs we leave for the most popular boat trip at the National Park - the best way to observe game in wild is by boat. There are many animals to see, including herds of elephants, bison’s and packs of wild boars that roam through the woods and parade along the shores of the lake just before sunrise and sunset. You can also see also different species of apes. The golden langur monkey that lives here is rarely seen in the rest of India. Other animals in Periyar are otters and porcupines. Water turtles can often be seen sunning themselves on the pieces of wood that stick out of the water. Osprey and Cormorants belong to the most important species of birds in this area. (Overnight at hotel in Thekkady).
| DAY 12 -PERIYAR TO ALLEPPEY (140 KMS / 3.5 HRS) |
[House Boat / Cruise: Alleppey Round Trip]
Checkout from the hotel at 08.00 am and we drive to Alleppey – The land of Backwater. Arrive Alleppey and at 12.00noon check-in to the private House Boat which is waiting to take you on a tour through the backwaters, a splendid area full of canals, lakes and coves. You can sunbathe on the deck or observe the landscape from the protection of the cabin. The population’s whole life takes place here on the water. The people sail, fish, swim and bathe here. They do their washing and their washing up. They are so adapted to the water that you can see people talking for an hour, while they are up to their necks in water. Peddlers take care of the supplies and the public transport goes on the water. Countless water birds wait for their chance to catch a fish. The trip goes through a wonderful area full of palm trees, rice fields and floating water plants that surround the boat like emerald Green Island. (Overnight onboard Houseboat).
| DAY 13 -ALLEPPEY TO KOVALAM/POOVAR - Via Trivandrum (175 KMS / 4.5 HRS) |
Disembark from Houseboat at 10.00am after breakfast and drive to Kovalam – One of the best beach destinations in south India. Enroute visit Trivandrum the capital of the Kerala state. It is a beautiful city of magnificent structures built on seven hills with ancient and modern style of architecture. And the beauty of the city is till intact, in the wide open avenues, parks, gardens, cultural institutions and undulating countryside. Sightseeing tour of Trivandrum visiting- The ancient temple of Sri “Padmanabhaswamy” is one of the major attractions in the city of Thiruvananthapuram. “Napier Museum” was built in 1880 and shows a harmonious blending of Kerala, Mughal, Chinese and Italian architectural styles. “Sri Chitra Art Gallery” has a good collection Tanjore, Mughal, and Rajput schools of art. Later drive to reach Poovar where in you will stay at one of the best unique backwater resorts of Kerala – The Poovar Island Resort. (Overnight at hotel in Poovar).
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