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DAY
01 Madras .
Early morning arrive madras and transfer to your hotel. Afternoon
get to know your motorcycle.Madras is India's fourth largest city
and the capital of Tamil Nadu state. It suffers far less from congestion
and overcrowding than other big cities in India.
DAY 02 Madras - Pondychery.
PONDICHERY. Formerly a French colony settled in the 18th century,
Pondicherry became part of the Indian Union in the early '50s when
the French voluntarily relinquished control. Together with the other
former French enclaves of Karaikal (also in Tamil Nadu), Mahe (Kerala)
and Yanam (Andhra Pradesh), it now forms the Union Territory of
Pondicherry.
DAY 03 Pondycherry - Thanjavur.
THANJAVUR. Thanjavur rose to glory during the later Chola period
between the 10th and 14th centuries AD and became the centre of
learning and culture. Overrun by green fertile plains, Thanjavur,
the headquarters of the district of the same name, is known as the
rice bowl of Tamil Nadu. The temple wonders of south India. The
district is also known for its exquisite handicrafts, bronze statue
casting, pit6h temple models and south Indian musical instruments
like the Veena and Mridangam.
DAY
04 Thanjavur - Madurai.
MADURAI. Madurai is a bustling city of a million people, packed
with pilgrims, business people, bullock carts rickshaw-wallahs.
It is one of southern India's oldest cities, and has been a centre
of learning and pilgrimage for centuries. Madurai's main attraction
is the famous Shree Meenakshi Temple in the heart of the old town,
a riotously baroque example of Dravidian architecture with gopurams
covered from top to bottom in a breathless profusion of multicolored
images of gods, goddesses, animals and mythical figures. Nothing
quite like it exists outside Disneyland. The temple seethes with
activity from dawn till dusk, its many shrines attracting from all
over the world. It's been estimated that there are 10,000 visitors
here on any one day!
DAY 05 Madurai. Sightseeing. .
Bazar, Shree Meenakshi Temple, Tirumalai Nayak Palace.
DAY
06 Madurai - Kanyakumari.
KANYAKUMARI. Kanyakumari is the Land's End of India. Here, the Bay
of Bengal meets the Indian Ocean and, at full moon, it's possible
to enjoy the unique experience of seeing the sunset and the moon
rise over the ocean simultaneously. Kanyakumari is also a popular
pilgrimage destination of great spiritual significance to Hindus.
It is dedicated to the goddess Kanyakumari, Youth Virgin, who is
an incarnation of Devi, Shiva's wife.
DAY 07 Kanyakumari - Kovalam.
KOVALAM. Just south of Thiruvananthapuram, is one of India's best
beaches and the favourite watering hole of travellers in southern
India. The main beach consists of a two fairly small, palm-fringed
coves which are separated from the beaches on either side by rocky
headlands. There is good surf on most day but, if you're not a strong
swimmer, you should approach the water cautiously until you're familiar
with the rip.
DAY
08 Kovalam - Cochin.
COCHIN. With its wealth of historical associations and its beautiful
setting on a cluster of islands and narrow peninsulas, the interesting
city of Kochi reflects the eclecticism of Kerala perfectly. Here,
you can see the oldest church in India, winding streets crammed
with 500 year old Portuguese houses, cantilevered Chinese fishing
nets, a Jewish community whose roots go back to the Diaspora, a
16th century synagogue, a palace built by the Portuguese and given
to the Raja of Cochin. It contains some of India's most beautiful
murals and several places where you can see a performance of the
world-famous Kathakali dance drams.
DAY 09 Cochin - Palakkad.
Palakkad. Surrounded by paddy fields. Historically, thanks to the
natural 20-km wide Palakkad gap in the western ghats, this area
has been one of the chief entry points into Kerala. The fort built
by haider Ali of Mysore is worth a visit.
DAY
10 Palakkad - Ooty.
OOTY. This famous hill station near the tri-junction of Tamil Nadu,
Kerala and Karnataka is 2268 m above sea level in the Nilgiri mountains.
It was founded by the British in the early part of the 19 century
to serve as the summer headquarters of the government of Madras.
Before that time, the area was inhabited by the Todas. These tribal
people still live there, but today, only 3000 remain. The Todas
were polygamists and worshipped buffalos, and you can see their
animist shrines in various places.
DAY 11 Ooty - Mysore.
MYSORE. Sandalwood City! Everywhere you go in this beautiful city
you'll find yourself surrounded by the lingering aromas of sandalwood,
jasmine, rose, musk, frangipani and many others. It's one of the
major centres of incense manufacture in India, and scores of small,
family-owned agarbathi factories are scattered all over town, their
products exported all over the world.
There are plenty of other reasons why you would not want to miss
Mysore. Until independence the city was the seat of the maharajas
of Mysore, a princely state covering about a third of present day
Karnataka.
DAY
12 Mysore - Bangalore.
BANGALORE : Located 1000 m above sea level, this bustling capital
city of Karnataka has a perpetual holiday atmosphere, thanks mainly
to its picnic weather. Founded in 1537 by a local chieftain Kempe
Gowda, Bangalore has seen much and imbibed even more. Rapid industrial
growth has not taken away Bangalore's old-world charms.
DAY
13 Bangalore - Madras.
DAY 14
Madras. Rest and shopping. Transfer to airport. .
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