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Detailed
Itinerary: The journey begins at Bangalore and takes you to
the historical Temple cities of Mamallapuram, Kanchipuram,
Tiruchirapalli, Thanjavur and Madurai. The beaches of Kovalam await
and you with their sandy shores. You will glide by boat trough the
palm fringed and silent canals of the Backwaters to Kochi, the lively
port city on the Arabian sea. You will experience history and finally
reach back to its starting point at Bangalore. |
Day
1 (Monday) - Bangaluru
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Depart
for Bangalore Sightseeing Tippu’s Palace, Bull Temple, Lalbagh and
shopping
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Arrival
at Yeshwantpur Railway Station, Platform No. 6. Traditional Indian
welcome at Railway Station and escorting to respective cabins.
Dinner onboard The Golden Chariot
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Day
2 (Tuesday) - Chennai
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Arrive
Chennai early morning
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Breakfast
onboard The Golden Chariot
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Proceed
for a sightseeing tour of Chennai. The tour begins from the ‘St.
Mary’s Church’, built in 1678 – 80, was the first English
Church in Chennai. Other attractions include the
National Art Gallery and Museum, which house some beautiful temple
friezes, the bronze gallery, archeological section. Drive past
the High Court Building, Fort St. George and the famous film
studios.
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Excursion
to Mamallapuram, an ancient coastal port, south of Chennai, world
famous for its shore temple, Mamallapuram was the second capital
and sea port of the Pallava Kings of Kanchipuram, the first Tamil
dynasty after the fall of the Gupta Empire. The whole of
Mamallapuram is a fabulous open-air museum of sculptures in living
rock, Monolithic shrines scooped out caverns magnificently sculpted
within and the world’s biggest Bas relief in rock, are truly
wondrous examples of the sculptor’s art. The famous temples of the
Rathas , the Penance of Bhagirath, the Shore Temple and the eight
Mandapams. (Shallow, rock cut halls) are also located at the beach.
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Dinner
onboard The Golden Chariot
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Departure
for Pondicherry after the dinner. Overnight in The Train
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Day
3 (Wednesday) - Pondicherry
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Breakfast
onboard The Golden Chariot
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The
Train arrives at Pondicherry (Vellupuram Railway Station) and drive
to Pondicherry
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Sightseeing
tour of Pondicherry, visiting Auroville. Conceived as a tribute to
Sri Aurobindo, Auroville is an entirely new concept in education and
urban living.
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Lunch
at Indo French Cuisine Restaurant of Neemrana Hotel
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The
Aurobindo Ashram is known to the world over as the "Centre of
Integral Yoga". Sri Aurobindo, India’s philosopher
around 1920 founded it.
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Drive
to Pondicherry (Vellupuram Railway Station)
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Dinner
onboard The Golden Cheriot.
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After
dinner onboard, the train continues to Tiruchirapalli
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Day
4 (Thursday) - Tiruchirapalli & Thanjavur
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Arrival
in Tiruchirapalli early in the morning
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Breakfast
onboard The Golden Chariot
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Trichy
(Tiruchirapalli) - Situated on the banks of the River Kaveri,
just 320 kms from Chennai, Trichy was a Chola Citadel during the
Sangam Age when the Pandyas and Pallavas held sway over this region
for short periods. The Nayaks of Madurai built the town and
the historic Rock Fort, which played a vital role in the Carnatic
wars in the 18th century. The most famous landmark is ‘The
Rock Fort Temple’, a spectacular monument perched on a rock
outcrop which rises abruptly from the plain to tower over the old
city. At the first level are the remnants of a huge hall
blasted into ruins in 1772. The next storey is the Mathrubhuteshwar
Shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva. Finally at the top of the
hill, is the Ucchi Pillayar Koil – A Lord Ganesh Temple, offering
a commanding view of the city
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Proceed
for a sightseeing tour of Tanjore where you will visit temples built
during the 10th and 14th centuries. These later became a part
of the Vijaynagar Kingdom, which subsequently passed into the hands
of the Marathas and went to the British. The most famous
landmark is the Brihadeshwara temple , which ,is now a world
heritage site
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Dinner
onboard The Golden Cheriot.
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After
dinner onboard and leave for Madurai
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Day
5 – (Friday) – Madurai
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Breakfast
onboard The Golden Chariot
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Proceed
for a sightseeing tour of Madurai – The primary interest is the
Meenakshi Temple, where Dravidian temple architecture may be considered
to be at its best. Its Hall of a thousand Pillars is fabulous and is
filled with worshippers at all hours of the day. The tour also
includes a visit to the – Thirumalai Nayak Palace &
Thiruparangundram temple
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Lunch
at Taj Garden Retreat
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Local
Market Tour and evening ceremony at Meenakshi Temple
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Dinner
onboard, overnight at The Golden Chariot
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The
Train will leave for Thiruvananthapuram
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Day
6 – (Saturday) – Thiruvananthapuram and Poovar
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Breakfast
onboard The Golden Chariot
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The
tour begins from “The Padamanabhaswami Temple”, which, was
constructed in the Dravidian style, by the Maharaja of Travancore in
1733. Only Hindus are allowed inside this temple. It has a 7
storey high tower with a curious pagoda – Shaped Peak. Later
also visit the Napier Museum, housed in a bizarrely attractive,
decaying Indo-Saracenic building dating back to 1880. The museum has
a good collection of historical and contemporary bronze ornaments,
temple carts, ivory carvings and life size figures of kathakali
dancers in full regalia. The tour also includes a visit to the Sri
Chitra Art Gallery, which houses paintings of the Rajput, Mughal and
Tanjore schools. It is renowned for its collection of art from
Tibet, China and Japan as well as from North and South India.
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Evening
Gala dinner with music and dance.at Estuary Poovar
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Day
7 – (Sunday) – Backwaters & Kochi
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Arrival
in Allepey and Backwater Cruise
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Arrive
at Kochi The tour of Kochi begins from “The Dutch Palace also
known as Mattancherry Palace, built by Portugues in 1555, which is
famous for its murals depicting scenes from the Ramayana and the puranic
legends. Adjacent to the palace is the Jewish Synagogue (closed on
Fridays & Saturdays) built in 1568. Also visit the St. Francis
Church (closed on Sundays), established by the Portuguese Franciscan
friars in 1503. Vasco Da Gama was buried in the courtyard of this
European church built in India. Other attractions include the
traditional fishing hamlets and the fisher folk in their colorful
costumes.
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Kathakali
dance and dinner at Taj Malabar Hotel
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Day
8 – (Monday) – Bangaluru
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Arrive
at Yeshwantpur Railway Station after Breakfast
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