South India Pilgrim Tour
Duration: 9 Nights - 10 Days
Destinations: Chennai - Tirupati - Chennai - Madurai - Kanyakumari -
Kovalam - Cochin - Bangalore - Puttaparthi - Bombay
Day 1 :
Abroad - Chennai
Arrive
Chennai International airport. On arrival, the guest will be met by our representative
and transferred to hotel. Overnight at hotel.
Day
2 : Chennai Morning city tour of Chennai - is the fourth largest
city in India. The sprawling city which is divided in two by the cooum
River, has few tall buildings to mark the impression of an easygoing market
town. The gracefulness is present in Madras in such liberal quantities is
propriate. Visit the Fort St. George - Still surrounded by cannon-proofwalls
the fort was rebuilt several times between 1642 when its original bastions
were completed and 1749 when the French left, it remains - moats and all -
pretty much today as when first made the seat of empire. Declared a national
monument in 1948, most of its buildings have been converted into government
offices, notably the Legislature and Secretariat. At various times the fort
was home of Robert Clive, Elihu Yale and Sir Arthur Wellesley. Within the
fort, visit the little St Mary's Church the oldest Protestant church east of
the Suez and the first Anglican one in India.
Overnight at hotel.
Day
3 : ChennaiFull day sightseeing tour of Kanchipuram and
Mahabalipuram Kanchipuram - known as the Golden City of a Thousand Temples,
is one of the oldest towns in India. It is famous for both its temples, many
of them remarkably well preserved and for its hand-woven silks. Kanchipuram
is one of the seven sacred cities of India and it is the only one associated
with both Shiva and Vishnu. Visit Ekambareshwar Temple, Kailashnath Temple,
Kamakshi Temple, the Vaikunthaperumal Temple, all built in the 7th and 8th
centuries. With a weaving tradition dating back to the Pallava era (when
silk was the royal cloth), Kanchipuram is justly famous for its particularly
fine silk saris, embellished with stunning patterns. Visit the local homes
of the weavers and watch them create magic out of silk thread into saris.
Mahabalipuram - This is a small, quiet seaside resort with
a unique 7th-century Shore Temple, a lovely beach and some of the most
beautiful rock-cut temples in the world. Situated on the shore of the Bay of
Bengal, Mahabalipuram was already a famous seaport in the 1st century AD.
This town was a workshop for temple building. Visit the seven pagoda-style
Shore temples, lashed by the waves of the sea and the seven rathas or temple
chariots, a group of monolithic monuments & animal figures carved out of
solid rock, the earliest known examples of Dravidian architecture. They were
constructed in a single century-long burst of creative enthusiasm, starting
in the reign of Narasimhavarman 1 (AD 630-68). End the visit by photography
of the beautiful Shore temples at sunset. Overnight at hotel.
Day
3 : Chennai - Tirupati
Full
day trip to Tirupati (154 kms each way) The "holy hill" of Tirumala
in the extreme south of Andhra Pradesh is one the most important pilgrimage
centres in India, and is claimed to be the busiest in the world - eclipsing
Jerusalem, Rome and Mecca in its sheer number of pilgrims. Tirumala is an engrossing
place where you can spend the whole day just wandering around. It's one of the
few temples in India which allows non-hindus into the sanctum but, despite this,
the place sees few foreign visitors.
Venkateshwara Temple - Pilgrims flock to
Tirumala to visit the ancient temple of Venkateshwara, an avtar of Vishnu.
This is the god whose pictures graces the reception areas of most lodges and
restaurants in Southern India and garlanded in so many flowers that only his
feet are visible.
Among the powers attributed to Venkateshwara is the
granting of any wish that is made in front of the idol at Tirumala; and so
the millions come. There are never less than 5000 pilgrims here at any one
time and, in single day, the total is often as high as 100,000. The temple
staff alone number nearly 6000. Overnight at a hotel.
Day 4 :
Tirupati - Chennai - MaduraiMorning drive to Chennai airport (154
kms) to connect flight Chennai - Madurai ( 1145 / 1240 hrs. )
Upon
arrival met and transferred to hotel.
Madurai - It's one
of the most pleasant Indian cities, and has a charming situation on the
River Vaigai, fringed by lush paddy fields and coconut groves.
Visit
the
Meenakshi temple one of the biggest temple complexes in India -
46 ft. long by 790 ft broad built in the 17th Century. It is a rectangular
twin shrine - the southern temple dedicated to Meenakshi (the consort of
Shiva) and the other to Shiva. It is Madurai's greatest landmark - a file
city within a city. The complex includes a bazaar that bustles from dawn to
nightfall. The high point of the Meenakshi temple is "Hall of a
Thousand Pillars", built in the 16th C which is as great a work of
structural engineering as it is of art.
You will drive (walk is
recommended ) through the fascinating bazaar that is bustling from dawn to
nightfall. If time permits you may also visit the palace of Tirumala Nayak
which is an example of the architectural mastery of the Nayaks - a blend of
Hindu and Saracen architecture. It's enormous roofed arcade supported by 48
foot high stoned pillar still stands.
Overnight at hotel
Day
5 : Madurai - Kanyakumari
Morning,
drive to Kanyakumari ( 240 kms / 5 hours).
Kanyakumari -
meeting point of three oceans, the Bay of Bengal meets the Indian Ocean and
the Arabian Sea. Kanyakumari is famous for its beautiful views of sunrise,
sunset and moonrise over the waters. Kanyakumari is also a popular
pilgrimage destination and of great significance to Hindus Overnight at
hotel
Day 6 : Kanyakumari - KovallamEarly morning
view the rising sun.
Return to the hotel for breakfast
Thereafter
drive to Kovallam (70 kms / 1 ½ hours).
Upon arrival check in at
hotel.
Kovallam - Kovallam is one of India's most
spectacular beach with the boundless blue of the Arabian Sea and the
unwinding miles of fine - sanded beaches washed by the surf which roars and
hisses at the feet of the stalwart palms. Located in idyllic surroundings,
it's a beautiful getaway for relaxation & recuperation.
Rest
of the day at leisure for own activities and enjoy the facilities of the
hotel or at the beach. Overnight at hotel
Day 7 : Kovallam -
Cochin - Bangalore - PuttaparthiMorning drive to Cochin airport to
connect flight Cochin / Bangalore.
Upon arrival in Bangalore - drive to
Puttparthi .
Ovenright at Ashram / hotel.
Day 8 :
Puttaparthi Day at Puttaparthi. Ovenright at Ashram / hotel.
Day
9 : Puttaparthi - Bombay Transfer to the airport for flight
Puttparthi - Bombay .
Upon arrival met and transferred to the
international airport for flight back home.
Day 10 : Bombay -
Abroad Depart Bombay
South India Pilgrim Tour Reservation Form
