Temple & cultural tour of South India

Arrival at Chennai

After arriving in Chennai, you’ll be escorted by our representatives from the airport after clearing immigration to the hotel, where you can rest for the day. Spend the night at the hotel and anticipate your wonderful journey.

Sightseeing in Chennai

Experience the diversity of the cultural heritage of India on your day in Chennai by walking into the Indian neighborhoods. Experience how they live their mundane lifestyle through the stories they have to offer. The Peacock Trail is a walk through Mylapore where you can listen to the stories of diffant people, gods, dmons, ancient history, and much more. Later, you can drive past Marina Beach, the second-longest beach in the world, to catch the beautiful sunset. Return to your hotel and relax for the day. Overnight, I will be in Chennai.

Exploring Kanchipuram

After exploring Chennai, Kanchipuram is your next stop on your journey. Kanchipuram is one of the finest destinations South India's temple tour packages have to offer. It is a small town in Tamil Nadu. This is a major pilgrimage center for all devotees, with several medieval-age temples. Kanchipuram was the capital of the Pallava Kingdom for centuries. The capital offered learning centers for major religions across southern India. Kanchipuram is a famous shopping center for women. Here you can find beautiful sarees woven with mulberry silk thread, scarves, stoles, and other pieces of fabric that you can add to your wardrobe collection back home. The materials that visit the famous silk sarees come from different parts of India, such as mulberry silk, which is obtained from South India, and the zari used in designing the saree, which comes from Gujarat. The saree is woven using three shuttles. The weaver sits on the right side, and his aide helps him out by sitting on the left side of the shuttle. Explore and visit various temples you find on your route toward your next destination, Mahabalipuram. Overnight, it will be at Mahabalipuram.

Enroute Mahabalipuram

Post breakfast, buckle yourself up to explore the following places in Mahabalipuram:

Mahabalipuram has a total of eight rock-cave temples, namely the Mahishasuramardini, Varaha, Krishna, Trimurti, Kotikal, Tiger, Panchapandava, and Atiranachanda.

The oldest and largest cave temple in Mahabalipuram is the Krishna Cave Temple, dedicated to Lord Krishna. The temple dates back to the mid-7th century. You can find a great number of devotees gathered around to carry out aarthi ceremonies in this temple.

Arujana’s Penance is another monument with a beautiful story behind it. It is a part of the Mahabharata where Arjuna performs austerities to save Lord Shiva’s weapon. The sculpture is 30 m long and 15m high.

The Pancha Rathas are excellent architectural edifices among the nine monolithic temples in Mahabalipuram.

Shore Temple is an excellent demonstration of Pallava architecture located on the Coromandel shore; you can see the Bay of Bengal from this region. After visiting these temples, your next destination on the South India temple tour is Pondicherry.

Traveling to Pondicherry

Spend a 2-hour journey in your car to travel to Pondicherry from Mahabalipuram. Pondicherry, also known as "the City of Dawn" or the “French Riviera of the East,” This city was developed by Aurobindo Ghose in 1926. The French architecture and Mediterranean-style houses depict the city’s dual nature. This city was the largest French colony in India. Events of historical trade and war in the city are very interesting. Later in the evening, you take a walk at Pondicherry Beach to enjoy the fresh breeze of the Bay of Bengal. You will be spending the night in this wonderful city.

Pondicherry-> Chidambaram-> Tranquebar

Chidambaram is your next stop and an important center for Shaivites. Chidambaram is famous for the Nataraja temple. There is a statue of Lord Shiva in metal. This temple is rich in terms of celebration, culture, and tradition.

Travel further towards Tranquebar. The gateway into the city is designed with a royal Danish insignia believed to transport visitors into a complete different era f the former Danish colony. Traveling further, you can spot the second-largest fort built by the Danish after the Kronborg Fort in Denmark, the Fort Dansborg. You can enjoy the beautiful views of the Bay of Bengal by climbing the fort, which rests on the shores of Tranquebar.

The Zion Church is your next stop, which is the oldest church in the city, followed by the New Jerusalem Church. These are the most beautiful attractions in the city. Also visit the Masilamani Nathar temple, which dates back to the Pandian Era.

End your day by visiting the Ziegenbalg Museum. A German missionary named Bartholomaeus Zeigenbalg spent most of his life in the house until his death in 1719. Experience the intercultural relationship between India and Europe through the exhibition, printing press, accessories as old as 250 years, other handwritings, and historic photographs.

Spend your evening at leisure and overnight at Tranquebar.

Tranquebar–Swamimalai

Pack your bags for a 3-hour journey to your next stop, Swamimalai. This destination is distinctively known for the Navagraha Temples, the nine-planet temples.

We will be spending 2 days in this destination with our stay at INDeco, which lies amidst 3 UNESCO World Heritage destinations: Darasuram, Gangaikondacholapuram, and the Brihadeeswara Temple in Tanjore.

The hotel has its own special museum for its in-house guests, which is a rich showcase of the lifestyle of the people in Swamimalai, their culture, and their heritage. Overnight at Swamimalai

Exploring Swamimalai

Before breakfast, you will be escorted toward the Kolam Drawing session. You can later proceed to engage yourself in different activities such as cycle tours of the village, a bullock cart ride, iconography, and a farm visit, which are part of the South Indian temple tour package.

Spend your evening at leisure and experience the art of cooking with the help of a demo.

Swamimalai -> Tanjore -> Trichy -> Chettinad

Enroute to Chettinad, while visiting Tanjore and Trichy, stops are made in between. Tanjore is known as the “rice bowl of India.” It is known for its handicrafts, bronze statues, and rich culture. This place is also referred to as the “art capital of South India.” The temples, forts, and palaces are witnesses to the great architecture.

Proceed further towards Trichy and visit India’s biggest temple, the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple. The temple comprises 49 different shrines and seven gopurams.

Later, proceed to Chettinad. Check into the hotel and spend your night there.

Traveling to Madurai

Post-breakfast, you will be traveling to Madurai. It is a 100-kilometer journey that will probably take around 2 hours by road. Travel to the city and check into your hotel. This is the third-largest city in Tamil Nadu. Madurai has famous temples in south India built by Pandayan and the Madurai Nayak Kings. Excellent examples of Dravadian architecture. Overnight is in Madurai.

Madurai -> Chennai -> Departure

Experience a walking tour of Madurai by interacting with the local people and carrying out their mundane activities like milking a cow, and visiting different types of markets, namely the banana market, vegetable market, coconut market, and many more. Madurai is a sleepless city. You can find little shops open irrespective of the time and enjoy blissful tea.

Enjoy your day, and we will transfer you to your flight to Chennai and connect you to your international flight back home.