Chennai, Mahabalipuram, Tanjore, Madurai

 

Day 01             Chennai

Meet & greet on arrival at Chennai airport / railway station. Later transfer to hotel.

NOON - Leave on half day city tour of Chennai .  visit Visit the museum to see the bronze gallery with its superb collection of Chola art. Drive through the flower and fruit market, past the High Court built in Indo-Saracenic style, the Fort Museum with its collection of colonial memorabilia and Marina Beach. Visit the San Thomas Cathedral said to house the remains of St Thomas the Apostle, Kapaleshwara temple and the Snake Park

Evening at leisure

Overnight in Chennai

 

Day 02             Chennai – Mahabalipuram              approx. 60 kms / 02 hrs     

After breakfast at hotel,  leave by road for Mahabalipuram

On reaching Mahabalipuram, transfer to hotel.

The temple town of Mahabalipuram is famous for its various temples and other attractive features. This 7th century city of the Pallavas is considered pioneer in the Dravidian architectural style. The city was earlier called Mallapuram and was a famous trading port of Pallavas.

Noon leave on tour of Mahabalipuram to visit :-

Arjuna's Penance : is the pride of not only Mahabalipuram and Tamilnadu but also of India. Arjuna's Penance is the world's largest bas-relief that measures 27 meters and 9 meters along its length and breadth respectively. This huge whaleback shaped rock contains figures of Gods, Demigods, Men, Beasts and Birds. The whole structure looks like the penance of Arjuna, the Pandava prince and one of the protagonists of Indian epic Mahabharata; hence the name. 

Five Rathas :- Five Rathas are the one of the most magnificent tourist attractions at Mahabalipuram Beaches. Five Rathas are actually five monolithic temples, each created in a different style. They are modeled around chariots that are called 'Rathas' in Hindi. They are also known as the 'Pancha Pandava Rathas', which means that each one of them represent 5 Pandavas, the protagonists of Indian epic Mahabharata. The most mesmerizing aspect of this monument is the fact that the four of the Rathas are supposed to have scooped out of a single rock formation. 

Dakshinachitra:- A must visit site on the Mahabalipuram beach is Dakshinachitra, a heritage village that is the brainchild of the Ministry of Culture. The village falls to your left when you start moving from Chennai to Mahabalipuram. The place is being developed as a model village that will have dedicated sectors depicting 19th century villages of states like Tamilnadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Everything, right from roads to utensils will represent that era. This ambitious project will take years to complete and is currently home to hundreds of artists and masons who are working on this project. 

            Shore Temples :- is one of the oldest temples in South India and the oldest one based on the Dravidian style architecture. It belongs to the early 8th                 century AD and is considered a pioneer in the Dravidian temple art. The monuments are floodlit at night in order to make it visible in the night. In fact,             the temple looks great in moonlit night. 

Tiger's Cave :- Tiger's Cave is just 4 kilometers off to the main monument complex of the Mahabalipuram beach. The place is actually an open-air theatre, where activities and programs highlighting the cultural heritage of Tamilnadu are held. As this place is ashore Coromandel Coast, it is very serene and calmVisit the Virupasha Temple,  Vijay Vitthal Temple  & Lotus Temple.

Overnight in Mahabalipuram

 

Day 03           Mahabalipuram – Tanjore                        approx. 06 hrs

              Breakfast at hotel.

Later leave for Tanjore

On reaching Tanjote, transfer to hotel.

Noon : Half day City tour of Tanjore (Thanjavur) which was the ancient capital of Chola kings. Visit the Brihadishwara temple which was built by Raja Raja and is termed as the crowning glory of Chola temple architecture. This temple is one of the monuments in India with World Heritage listing.

Rest of the day at leisure

Overnight in Tanjore

 

Day 04             Tanjore – enroute Trichy (Tiruchirapalli)  &  Srirangam – Madurai

EAM –leave by road for Madurai (250 kms – 06 hrs including excursions)

Enroute visit the Rock Fort Temple in Trichy (Tiruchirapalli) and the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam - This superb temple complex is surrounded by seven concentric walls with 21 gopurams and is probably the largest in India. Most of it dates back from 14th to 17th centuries. The largest gopuram was completed as recently as 1987, and now measures an astounding 73 meters.

Arrive Madurai and transfer to hotel

Rest of the day at leisure

Overnight:  in Madurai

 

Day 05             Madurai –  tour

Breakfast at hotel.

Later leave on Half day City tour  which includes – one of the oldest cities in South India and has

been a centre of learning & pilgrimage for centuries. Visit Madurai’s main attraction – Sri Meenakshi temple which attracts thousands of pilgrims from all over India. The temple is named after the daughter of a Pandyan King. Designed in 1560 by Vishwanatha Nayak, the present temple was substantially built during the reign of Tirumalai Nayak (1623-55 AD), but its history goes back 2000 years to the time when Madurai was the capital of Pandya Kings

Overnight:  in Madurai

 

Day 06             Madurai – depart

After breakfast, transer to Madurai airport / railway station

 

Tour End