Day 01: Cochin
Arrive Cochin, check in at hotel.
Day 02: Cochin
Sightseeing of Cochin, overnight in Cochin Visit Cochin – a natural harbour; Visit the Portuguese churches, mosques & Hindu Temples co-exist amicably in a typical example of Indian secularism. Overnight in Cochin
Day 03: Cochin – Alleppey
Drive Cochin to Alleppey, starting point ofbBackwaters Enjoy backwaters cruise. Enjoy an incredibly different experience just floating on the waters in a country craft and absorbing this unusual representation of Kerala life. On cruise scenery flashes up vivid contrasts of lush green and deep blues. For as far as the eye can see are bountiful spreads of coconut palms, many dotted with men who have clambered up to tap the nectar of the palm. Overnight in Houseboat.
Day 04: Kumarakom – Periyar
Arrive Kumarakom & drive to Periyar, overnight in Periyar
Day 05: Periyar
Sightseeing of Periyar, overnight in Periyar. Visit the nearby plantations or select your pick from the freshest of spices, straight from the spice gardens. Pm: Boat ride inside the wildlife sanctuary where you can watch wild animals from the safety of your boat, the wild elephants moving slowly, while the young ones feed on the tender shoots of elephant grass from the edge of the lake. Overnight in Periyar
Day 06: Periyar – Munnar
Drive to Munnar, check in at hotel, Sightseeing of Munnar; Visit the sprawling tea plantations, picture book towns, winding lanes, exotic flora found in the forests and grasslands of ‘Neelakurinji’. Anamudi is an ideal spot for trekking. Overnight in Munnar
Day 07: Munnar – Ooty
Drive to Ooty; afternoon sightseeing of Ooty – a famous hill resort of South India. Known for lofty hills and scenery, the climate is fantastic. Ooty is also known for its tea and coffee plantations and there are hundreds of tea estates in and around this hill resort. Overnight in Ooty
Day 08: Ooty – Mysore
Drive to Mysore – Mysore is the third-largest city in the state of Karnataka, India, which served as the capital city of Mysore Princely Kingdom (Kingdom of Mysore) for nearly six centuries, from 1399 until 1947. Located at the base of the Chamundi Hills about 146 km southwest of the state capital Bangalore. Overnight in Mysore
Day 09: Mysore
Full day visit of Mysore – Morning walk in the colorful Devaraja market and visit of the palace of the Maharaja, rebuilt after a fire in 1912, Walk on Chamundi Hill, which overlooks the city some 1000 steps lead to Chamundeswari Temple. Way down, we stop at the statue of Nandi, the bull of Shiva, 17th century carved from a block of granite 5 meters high. Afternoon free to visit the ruins of Srirangapatnam, where Hader Ali and Tippu Sultan marched part of south India in the 18th century (closed on Fridays). Overnight at hotel in Mysore
Day 10: Mysore – Hassan
Drive to Hassan visit Shravanabelagola, overnight at hotel in Hassan
Day 11: Hassan
Belur – This quaint hamlet – 38 kms from Hassan – is located on the banks of the river Yagachi. It was once the capital of the Hoysala Empire, today made unforgettable for its exquisite temples. The Chennakeshava Temple is one of the finest examples of Hoysala architecture. It took 103 years to complete and you can see why. The facade of the temple is filled with intricate sculptures and friezes with no portion left blank. Elephants, episodes from the epics, sensuous dancers.they are all there – awe-inspiring in their intricate workmanship. Inside are hand-lathe-turned filigreed pillars. The Veeranarayana Temple and the smaller shrines are well worth a visit.
Halebid – It is 27 kms north-west of Hassan and 17 kms east of Belur. The temples of Halebid – like those of Belur – bear mute testimony to the rich, cultural heritage of Karnataka. The Hoysaleswara Temple, dating back to the 12th century, is astounding for its wealth of sculptural details. The walls of the temple are covered with an endless variety of gods and goddesses, animals, birds and dancing girls. Yet no two facets of the temple are the same. This magnificent temple – guarded by a Nandi Bull – was never completed, despite 86 years of labor. The Jain basadis nearby are equally rich in sculptural detail. Belur and Halebid are 222 and 216 kms from Bangalore, respectively. Channarayapatna, Ramanathpur, Gorur and Manjarabad are the other places of interest. Overnight at hotel in Hassan.
Day 12: Hassan – Hospet
Drive to Hospet, overnight at hotel in Hospet
Day 13: Hospet
Full day visit of Hampi:
Virupaksha Temple: One of the earliest buildings to the western end of the city, Virupaksha Temple is dedicated to Virupaksha, a form of Lord Vishnu. The temple houses shrines of Lord Shiva and Goddesses Pampa and Bhuvaneswari. Parts of the temple is said to belong to 11th or 12th century. It is amazing to see that how when a ray of light passes from the east through a hole near the sanctum sanctorum, the shadow formed on the wall looks like a miniature shadow of the temple tower.
Vithala Temple: The Vithala temple is a World Heritage monument with fantastic sculptural work from the time of Vijayanagar Empire. It features 56 ‘Musical Pillars’, which reverberate when tapped and an ornate stone chariot in the temple courtyard with an image of Garuda, the Bird-God and the 9m tall statue of Lord Ganesha along with recently excavated ‘Nobleman’s Palace’.
Shivalinga: Next to the statue of Narasimha is the 3 m high Shivalinga that stands permanently in water coming through an ancient channel.
Lotus Mahal: A delightful blend of Hindu and Muslim style of architecture, this palace features two-storeyed elegant pavilion situated in the ‘ladies’ section’ of the palace. Overnight at hotel Mallagi
Day 14: Hospet – Badami
Drive to Badami enroute visit Aihole & Pattadakal Temples
Aihole has some of the most beautiful examples of Hindu temple architecture. It is also significant for historians, because an inscription that was discovered here helped them in piecing together the history of this period. During the Chalukyan period, Aihole was the experimental ground for different styles of temple construction.
Aihole, Badami and Pattadakal is considered cradle of Chalukyan Architecture. The oldest temple here is, perhaps, the Lad Khan temple dating back to the 5th Century. On the roof of the temple is another shrine-like Vimana,
Pattadakal is located 11 miles from Badami in Karnataka, between the Badami and Aihole road, on the bank of the Malhababra River. The distance to Banglore is about 267 miles. Pattadakal represents the glorious art of the Chalukya dynasty. It was the second capital of the Chalukya dynasty and venue of numerous coronation ceremonies. The temples’ art is a harmonious mixture of the architectural forms of Nagara of north India and Dravidian of south India. The ten temples including a Jain sanctuary, are decorated with numerous columns, extravagant scenes out of the Mahabharata and Ramayana, and motifs of everyday life. The temples are surrounded by several small shrines. Virupaksha temple is considered “the” masterpiece of all of the temples. The group of monuments in Pattadakal were nominated in 1987 by UNESCO for its world cultural heritage list. Check in at Hotel Badami court Later visit Badami Caves.The Badami cave temples are composed of four caves, all carved out of the soft Badami sandstone on a hill cliff in the late 6th to 7th centuries. The planning of four caves is simple. The entrance is a verandah (mukha mandapa) with stone columns and brackets, a distinctive feature of these caves, leading to a columned mandapa – main hall (also maha mandapa) and then to the small square shrine (sanctum sanctorum, garbhaghrha) cut deep into the cave..
Day 15: Badami – Goa
Drive Badami to Goa, overnight at a beach resort in Goa.
Day 16: Goa
Day free to relax, overnight at a beach resort in Goa .
Day 17: Goa – Mumbai – Onward Destination
Fly Goa – Mumbai to connect flight to onward destination.