Grand Tour of Southern India

Fly overnight from London Heathrow, direct or via Dubai, to Chennai (formerly Madras), known as the ‘capital of the south’, and brimming with art, culture, and cosmopolitan character.

Morning arrival, transfer to hotel for breakfast, with wash and change facilities available. A tour of the city visits the Government Museum of natural history, archaeology, and geology; the 17^th-century Fort St. George, the first fortified settlement of the British East India company, and, within the fort, the Anglican Church of St. Mary; and Marina Beach, edging Chennai on the Bay of Bengal. Travel to Mahabalipuram for two nights at the 5-star Radisson Resort Temple Bay.
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A tour of this strollable city visits its oldest monument, the Shore Temple, a splendid UNESCO World Heritage site of shrines and carved granite monuments; and the 7^th-century Five Rathas pagoda temples, recalling the five Pandava brothers named in the Mahabharata. Continue to neighbouring Mamallapuram for the world’s largest open-air rock relief, Arjuna’s Penance, 27 metres-long by 9 high, carved with sculptures of birds and beasts, gods and saints; and the adjacent Krishna Mandapam, where bas-relief carvings depict village and pastoral life.
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Drive (3hrs) to Pondicherry, with an air of arty elegance in the tree-shaded streets of its colonial French Quarter, and a typically chaotic character in the ‘new’, post-union part of town. Visit the Pondicherry Museum of art and history; and the Catholic Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, built by French missionaries in 1908, its twin-towered, red and white facade a striking landmark in the town. Continue (4hrs) to Tanjore, an important centre of learning and religion in its glory days, its heritage continuing now as a university town. Overnight at the 4-star GRT Great Trails River View Resort.
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View traditional paintings in the Tamil Tanjore Art Gallery; visit the Royal Palace Museum, where exhibits include artworks, statues and manuscripts from ancient times and temples; and the legendary Brihadeshwara Temple, dedicated to the god Shiva. Set in gardens studded with ornate ‘gopuram’ towers, the UNESCO listed, 11th-century temple is a place of pilgrimage for Hindus, and of fascination for historians. Leave Tanjore and travel (5hrs) to Madurai, a terrifically Tamil town, set beside the Vaigai River. Two nights at the 4-star Heritage Madurai Hotel.
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Enjoy a rickshaw ride to the Meenakshi Amman Temple, as holy to Hindus as it is awe-inspiring for its artistry. Visit the 17th-century Thirumalai Nayak Palace, its lavish façade featuring phenomenal pillars, 25m high; and the Gandhi Memorial Museum, housed in the Rani Mangammal Mahal, and listed as one of the United Nations Peace Museums.
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 Drive into the Western Ghats (5hrs) to Periyar. Soak-up the scents and scenery on a visit to a spice plantation, and later experience a performance of Kalaraipayattu, a local martial art. Two nights at the 4-star boutique hotel ‘CGH Earth’ Spice Village.
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 Periyar National Park is one of seven Protected (biodiversity) Areas in India, and on the Project Tiger list of reserves. In a landscape of marshy grasslands, semi-evergreens, and dense tropical forests, a hundred-year-old man-made lake sits at its heart, and Nilgiri langur, lion-tailed macaques and barking deer share the ground with the starring predators. View the scene on a morning boat ride on the lake. Afternoon at leisure in Periyar.
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 This morning, visit a rubber plantation, with lunch at a plantation house; before travelling (4hrs) to Kumarakom, an intriguing backwater village, comprised of a cluster of little man-made islands, and set in the largest of Kerala’s lakes, Vembanad. Overnight at the 4-star ‘CGH Earth’ Coconut Lagoon, accessible only by boat.
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Take to the water on a Keralan houseboat, for a cruise of the web of waterways, with canoes to explore the smaller canals. Overnight on the houseboat.
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Disembark and drive to Cochin, a spice trading centre from the 14th century, when it was known as ‘the Queen of the Arabian Sea’, and a flourishing port city today. A walking tour of Fort Cochin includes the Mattancherry Palace, Paradesi Synagogue, and St. Francis Church; and, at the seafront, the famous, much photographed, Chinese fishing nets, hung on teak and bamboo poles. Enjoy a cooking demo and dinner with a local family. Two nights at the 4-star hotel The Fragrant Nature.
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Visit the village of Kumbalanghi, an Integrated Tourism Village Project which transformed its tiny island into a model fishing village; surrounded by backwaters and liberally draped with Chinese fishing nets. Afternoon at leisure in Cochin. Enjoy an evening performance of Kathakali classical Indian dance.
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Travel by train (4hrs) to Coimbatore, and continue by road (3hrs) to the hazy ‘Blue Mountains’ greenery surrounding the hectic hill station town of Ooty. Visit one of Ooty’s fourteen churches, enjoy the atmosphere of a local market, and stroll in the floral, pond-dotted acres of the Government Botanical Gardens. Two nights at the Fortune Resort Sullivan Court Ooty.
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Travel (1hr) to picturesque Coonoor on the Nilgiri Mountain Railway ‘Toy Train’, continuing its historic and splendidly scenic journey since 1899, and awarded UNESCO status. Visit a working tea plantation to enjoy lunch, then explore the botanical retreat of Sim’s Park, 1,780m above sea level, founded in 1874, and filled with exquisite flora.
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Travel to Bandipur, perhaps the most beautiful of India’s national parks, an area luxuriant with fruiting trees and flowering shrubs, set against a backdrop of the Western Ghat mountains, and boasting the largest elephant habitat in south Asia. Discover the park on a jungle safari by ‘canter’ open bus. Overnight at the 3-star Windflower Resort & Spa.
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 Forming part of the Nilgiri Biosphere area, Bandipur is home to sloth bears, guars, langurs, four-horned antelope, and 200 species of birds. After a morning canter safari, drive to Mysore, a city of silks, sandalwood, and spices. Visit the railway museum for a look at the locomotives of yesteryear; and the historic, unmissable, Devaraja market, its 800 shops and stalls spread over a three-acre area. Two nights at the 5-star Radisson Hotel.
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Visit the opulent, UNESCO listed palace, still the Maharaja’s residence; the 19th-century Jaganmohan Art Palace gallery; and, outside the city, Chamundi Hills, crowned by the Chamundeshwari Temple. After lunch at the Italianate palazzo hotel, Lalitha Mahal Palace, visit Tipu Sultan’s grand summer palace, now a museum. This evening, see Mysore Palace illumination, the building adorned with 96,000 lights.
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 Drive (3hrs) to Hassan, a quiet little town in a naturally scenic setting, taking its name from ‘the smiling goddess’ Hasanamma. Visit the 12th-century temples of Belur, complete with 645 elephant carvings; and Hoysaleswara, the largest monument in Halebidu. Overnight at the 3-star Hoysala Village Resort, Hassan.
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Visit the nearby Sravanbelagola Temple, with its sacred, soaring statue of Lord Bahubali, a thousand years old; and continue by road (4hrs) to Bangalore, a cosmopolitan, and comfortably ‘liveable’ city; for two nights at the 5-star ITC Windsor Hotel.
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A tour today views the Vidhan Soudha state legislature building, and visits the lavish Tipu Sultan’s Palace, known as the Abode of Happiness; the Chitrakala Parishath visual arts complex, its galleries featuring rare paintings and sculptures; and the 16th-century Bull Temple, focused on an enormous statue of the sacred bull, Nandi.
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Transfer to Bangalore airport for the return flight to London Heathrow.
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