STARTING OUT AT CHENNAI, India’s fourth largest city and the site of the first settlement of the East India Company in 1636, the itinerary journeys through the three southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala to take you to some of the most well-known places. Get ready for a visual and spiritual treat that will completely refresh your body and mind!
Cruise the backwaters in country boats, absorbing the beauty of Kerala villages. Pause at Western Ghats, and watch elephants, samber, tigers, gaur, lion tailed macaque and Nilgiri langurs. Marvel at the architectural wonder of centuries old temples all over Tamil Nadu. Dont just stop at seeing these amazing places - experience the unique cuisine, relax with some of the best ayurvedic massages and be a part of Chennai's gay nightlife while you are at it. It would not be far from the truth to assert that vast diversity that is South India cannot be encapsulated in one itinerary.
Throughout the duration of your tour in India, you will either choose to travel on your own or as a part of a larger gay group. All our guides are gays or gay welcoming, similarly all our host hotels in India welcome LGBT travelers.
Day 01: Arrival at Chennai
Reception and welcome at Chennai airport followed by transfer to your hotel. Spend the afternoon sightseeing museums and the profusion of suberb Indo-Saracenic buildings. The stay will be overnight at Chennai.
Day 02: Chennai - Mysore by overnight train
Full day excursion of Mahabalipuram & Kanchipuram .Kanchipuram (64 kms from Chennai) is the ancient capital of the Pallavas famous as a city of 1000 Temples and still has 124 shrines. The first temple dedicated to Shiva was built in the 7th and 8th century and has paintings on the walls. Temples of Ekambaswara, Kailasanatha, Sri Kamakshi and Varadarajaswamy are of interest. Kanchipuram is also famous for its silks.
Later in the evening transfer to railway station to board overnight train to Mysore.
Day 03: Mysore
Arrive at Mysore & transfer to hotel. Transport is at your disposal for you to explore the city. The stay will be overnight at Mysore.
Day 04: Mysore
The city has more than enough to keep you busy all day. Visit the palace of the Maharaja built in 1911-12. The palace is of harmonious syntheses of the hindu and saracenic styles of architecture with archways, domes, turrets, colonnades and sculptures which are magnificent. Visit the Art Gallery; drive upto Chamundi hill to see Chamundeshwari Temple & a panoramic view of Mysore. On the way back, see the Nandi Bull. The stay will be overnight at Mysore.
Day 05: Mysore - Coonoor
Drive to Ooty in the morning. After lunch take the exhilarating ride on the unique toy train that connects Coonoor and Ooty Coonoor is on the toy-train line between Mettupalayam (28 km) and Ooty. The Nilgiri Hills are famous for their sublime hill stations. Notable among them is Coonoor, located at the head of the Hulikal ravine at an altitude of 1,800 m above sea level. It is 19 km from Ooty, another famous hill station of the Nilgiris. Coonoor is famous for its verdant environs and for a variety of wildflowers and birds. Coonoor provides a perfect setting for activities like trekking and hiking. It is also famous for its tea plantations and festivals.
Day 06: Coonoor – Cochin
A long and interesting drive takes you to Cochin, on the west coast of India. Cochin is the natural harbour created by the famed underwater Malabar mud-banks whose quality ensures that the rougher the seas are outside the calmer the waters are within the Harbour. Vasco-de-Gama placed it on the world map. It has a Jewish synagogue, Portuguese churches, mosques & Hindu temples.
Day 07: Cochin
A boat cruise in the morning to see the Chinese fishing nets and the old city at Fort Cochin. Enjoy a Kathakali Dance performance in the evening.
Day 08: Cochin - Kumarakom
Another morning drive gets you to Kumarakom. After arriving there you transfer to the hotel. Later, you visit Kumarakom, the loveliest of villages in Kerala. It’s a place blessed with nature's rare gifts and lies on the Eastern side of the vast Vembanad Lake. The lake provides facilities for boating, yachting, fishing, surf riding & swimming. Cruise along the back-waters enjoying the bracing climate & green magic of nature.
Day 09: Kumarakom - Periyar
An early lunch will give you enough time to stop at spice plantations enroute to the Periyar Wildlife sanctuary. you visit a sanctuary. Set up in 1934, it extends to 777 square kms & forms a part of the high mountain ranges, the Western Ghats. Wild life can be seen while cruising on Periyar Lake in a motor boat. You can see elephants, wild boar, sambar, tiger, leopard, wild dog, langur monkeys, etc..
Day 10: Periyar - Madurai
Drive to lotus –shaped Madurai, once the seat of Tamil learning. Visit city. Visit the great Meenakshi Temple dedicated to the consort of Lord Shiva with its towering gopurams (rising high above the surrounding country side). Later, visit the Tirumala Nayak Palace - A gracious building in the Indo saracenic style, famous for the Stucco work on its domes & arches. Also visit the Alagar Hills and Tirupara Kundran Rock temple.
Day 11: Madurai - Trichy - Tanjore
Leave early to drive to Tanjore with a stopover at Trichy enroute. Explore the city and the world heritage site at the Brihadeshwara Temple. Trichy was the citadel of the Chola dynasty in the medieval period. In the 18th century it witnessed the Carnatic wars fought between the French and the English. Lord Robert Clive's house is still there to see and so is the Danish Church. The Rock-Fort is the landmark of Trichy. A climb of 434 steps leads to the ancient temple of Ganapati on top and a further climb to a Shiva temple. The stay will be overnight at Tanjore.
Day 12: Tanjore - Pondicherry
Gangaikondacholapuram makes for an interesting halt on the way to Pondicherry and the Sri Aurbindo Ashram. The stay will be overnight at Pondicherry.
Day 13: Pondicherry
The day is free to explore the city. The capital of French India before independence, Pondicherry traces its origin to Saint Agasthya, the revered sage of the south & excavations near-by reveal that a Roman settlement existed here 2000 years ago. It was the theatre of many a battle between the British. The stay will be overnight at Pondicherry.
Day 14: Pondicherry - Chennai
Drive back to Chennai via Mahabalipuram, visit the shore temple and the rock- cut murals that adorn the caves here. The city of Mahabalipuram is 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. The stay will be overnight at Chennai.
Day 15: Departure
The day is at leisure to spend as you will, as you await transfer to the airport in time for your flight out.
Price: from £1499 per person based on sharing a double room in 4 star hotels with daily breakfast. Flights from your local UK airport to and from Chennai are extra. We always quote the lowest flights at the time of booking.
Not Included. Airfares, Visa Fees, Meals other than breakfast, Monument's entrance fees and personal expenses.