South India Sojourn - Luxury Tour of India

Total Tour - 16 Days

CHENNAI / MAHABALIPURAM / KANCHIPURAM / BANGALORE / MYSORE / OOTY / COCHIN/ ALLEPPEY/ THEKKADY/ MADURAI/ CHENNAI

Day 01:
Saturday
Arrival at Chennai:

Our representative will meet and assist you upon your arrival at Chennai airport. Transfer to your hotel. Check in at the hotel in Chennai.

The first British Warehouse came up in 1639 when the British acquired the sandy beach from the local Nayaks on lease. It was called Madraspatinam then. Later by 1654, the Fort St. George was built. Still later the neighboring villages were included in the city which came either as grants or gifts. Triplicane was rented from the Sultan of Golconda in 1676. In 1744 Robert Clive worked as a writer from the Fort, later to become a military man of British Army. The Fort House, which housed the Governor and his council, were added in the 17th Century, the Assembly Hall in 1910 and the Secretariat in 1925.

All the neighboring areas were merged into the city known as Madras and now as Chennai. Until Independence, Madras was the capital of what in British times was called the Madras Presidency, comprising nearly the whole of South India, including the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada speaking areas.

Stay overnight at the Hotel.

Day 02
Sunday
Chennai:

Proceed for a city tour of Chennai in the morning after breakfast.

Santhome Cathedral. Built by the Portuguese in the 14th and 15th century, this Cathedral is named after St. Thomas. Historically important, it is one of the pilgrimages for the Christian community Fort St. George, one the first few bastions built by the East India Company, marks the beginning of Chennai as a modern city. It occupies a place of pride and prominence in Chennai. This bastion achieved its name from St. George, the patron saint of England. The state legislature and the secretariat are located in Fort St. George. It houses the St. Mary's church, the oldest Anglican Church in India which was built in 1680 and the tombstones in its courtyard are the oldest British tombstones in India. The Fort Museum, once a building that housed Chennai's first lighthouse, first commercial bank and first 'club', is now a well-kept repository of tangible memories of early Madras.

Kapaleeswarar Temple Dedicated to Lord Shiva, Kapaleeswarar temple has inscriptions from the 13th century A.D. The temple 'Gopuram' (tower) is in the characteristic Dravidian style of architecture. The walls and pillars of temple have very delicate and intricate carvings, which depict the scenes from Hindu mythology.

Stay overnight at the Hotel.

Day 03
Monday
Chennai - Mahabalipuram/ Kanchipuram - Chennai Excursion: By road full day excursion

Breakfast will be at the hotel. Proceed for Mahabalipuram by road.

Proceed for sight seeing of Mahabalipuram - famous for the seven pagodas. Here, on the seashore is an interesting group of ancient rock hewn temples, which are the examples of Dravidian style of architecture.

Visit Kanchipuram, ancient capital of the Pallavas, famous as a city of 1000 temples that still has 124 shrines. Kanchipuram is also famous for its silk sarees.

Return to Chennai and relax at the hotel. Overnight will be at Hotel.