CHENNAI-TIRUPATI-CHENNAI-MADURAI-KANYAKUMARI-KOVALAM-COCHIN
-BANGALORE-
PUTTAPARTHI-BOMBAY
Day 01 :
Abroad - Chennai
Arrive
Chennai International airport.
On arrival, the guest will be met by our representative
and transferred to hotel.
Overnight at hotel.
Day
02 : 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
03 : Chennai
Full
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
03 : 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
04 : Tirupati - Chennai - Madurai
Morning
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
05 : 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
06 : Kanyakumari - Kovallam
Early
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
07 : Kovallam - Cochin - Bangalore - Puttaparthi
Morning
drive to Cochin airport to connect flight Cochin /
Bangalore ( 1450 / 1545 hrs. )
Upon
arrival in Bangalore - drive to Puttparthi (170 kms
/ 3 ½ hours).
Ovenright
at Ashram / hotel.
Day
08 : Puttaparthi
Day
at Puttaparthi.
Ovenright at Ashram / hotel.
Day
09 : Puttaparthi - Bombay
Transfer
to the airport for flight Puttparthi - Bombay ( 1450
/ 1610 hrs. )
Upon
arrival met and transferred to the international airport
for flight back home.
Day
10 : Bombay - Abroad
Depart
Bombay
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