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Day 1 - Arrive Chennai
Traditional welcome on arrival at the Chennai
international airport and transfer to the hotel for
overnight stay.
Day 2 - Chennai
Relaxed
breakfast at hotel, followed by a guided visit to Fort St.
George, War memorial, St. Mary's Church, the Basilica of
Saint Thomas, believed to have been built by St. Thomas, the
apostle, Snake Park ending the day on Marina Beach.
Overnight at hotel.
Day
3 - Chennai - Kanchipuram – Mahabalipuram (175 kms)
After breakfast, drive to Kanchipuram (1 hr.) the
erstwhile capital of the Pallavas and Cholas. Visit the
temples dedicated to various gods and goddesses. Also visit
the shopping area, as it is also home of weavers of the
famed Kanchipuram silks. Lunch at Kanchipuram. Evening drive
to Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram), a world heritage site and
check in hotel for overnight stay
Day
4 - Mahabalipuram
Breakfast at hotel. Guided sightseeing tour of
Mahabalipuram, which, too was part of the Pallavas dynasty
and exhibits some of the most outstanding examples of the
Dravidian style of art and architecture. Experience the
Arjuna’s Penance, the rock cut caves, the Krishna Mandapam,
the famous rathas and the Shore Temple. Evening free for
leisure. Overnight at hotel.
Day 5 - Mahabalipuram - Pondicherry (134 kms / 3.5 hrs)
After breakfast at hotel drive to Pondicherry and enjoy this
quaint French town. On arriving at Pondicherry transfer to
hotel for wash 'n' change. Afternoon, a guided sightseeing
tour visiting Auroville and Aurobindo Ashram. Overnight at
hotel.
Day 6 - Pondicherry - Tanjore (196
kms / 5 hrs)
Breakfast at hotel. Drive to Tanjore (Thanjavur): the former
city of Danish settlement from 1624 to 1825. Commonly known
amongst the Danish language as "Tranquebar". The town of
Tanjore is surrounded by lush green rice fields and winding
rivers with coconut and banana orchards. Afternoon, guided
visit to the Brahadeeswarar temple built by King Raja Cholan
between 985 & 1014 AD which is an architectural marvel.
Overnight at hotel.
Day 7 - Tanjore - Trichy - Madurai (198 kms / 5 hrs)
After breakfast, visit the palace, which also houses an art
gallery, a library, a hall of music and the Schwartz Church.
By noon drive to Trichy (Tiruchirappalli). After lunch in a
restaurant, guided visit to the Rockfort and Srirangam
Temple. Proceed for Madurai and on arrival check-in hotel.
Enjoy the sound and light show at Tirumalai Nayak Palace.
Overnight at hotel.
Day 8 - Madurai - Trivandrum (264 kms / 6 hrs)
Breakfast followed by a guided city tour visiting the
Meenakshi temple built in the Dravidian style and Teppa Kulu,
a tank with an island temple. Afternoon driven to
Trivandrum, on arriving transfer to hotel for overnight
stay.
Day 9 - Trivandrum
After breakfast, day free at leisure to enjoy the sandy
beach and sunshine. Overnight at resort.
Day 10 - Trivandrum - Colombo
Breakfast at hotel. Then, transfer to Trivandrum
(International) airport to board flight at 1130 hrs for
Colombo. On arriving at 1230 hrs, met & received and
transfer to hotel for wash 'n' change. Afternoon a guided
city tour of Colombo, like many capital cities in developing
countries is fast changing its face. Almost overnight,
skyscrapers arise from where old buildings once stood. Yet
in some parts, the old world charm is retained. For example,
there is a 100-year-old clock tower and several British
built colonial buildings. Other places of interest are the
Pettah bazaar-where one can shop for bargain, a Hindu and a
Buddhist temple, residential areas where you find the
stately homes of the affluent, the Colombo museum, the
Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH)-an
outright gift to Sri Lanka from the People’s Republic of
China, the new Parliament and the Dutch Museum.
Day 11 - Colombo - Anuradhapura
(180 kms / 05 hrs)
After breakfast drive to Anuradhapura, it was the
first capital and undoubtedly the grandest city of the
ancient Sri Lanka. It is the home of two world heritage
sites. Many places of historical and archaeological interest
could be visited. Sri Maha Bodhi (Sacred Bo Tree) was
brought as a sapling of the tree under which Prince
Siddhartha attained to enlightenment and it is over 2,200
years old and is the oldest historically documented tree in
the world. At Brazen Palace (2nd century B.C), the 1600
stone columns you see are all that is left of a magnificent
multi-storied residence for monks. Ruwanweliseya (2nd
century B.C) is the most famous of all the Dagobas. It
originally depicted the perfect ‘bubble shape” that modern
restoration has not been able to accurately reproduce.
‘Samadhi’ –the Buddha statue (4th century AD0 is one of the
most famous statues, depicting the Buddha in a state of
‘Samadhi’ or deep meditation. Isurumuniya Rock Temple (3rd
century B.C0 is well known for its rock carvings. Overnight
stay at Hotel.
Day12 - Anuradhapura - Dambulla - Sigiriya (90km / 03
hrs)
Breakfast at hotel. Then, transfer to Dambulla. Dambulla
rock temple has been built by King Walagambahu in the 1st
century B.C. and it is a world heritage site. Also, it is
the most impressive of Sri Lanka’s cave temples. The complex
of five caves with over 2000sq. meters of painted walls and
ceilings is the largest area of paintings found in the
world. It contains over 150 images of the Buddha of which
the largest is the colossal figure of the Buddha carved out
of rock and spanning 14 meters. Transfer from Dambulla to
Sigiriya. Overnight stay at hotel.
Day 13 - Sigiriya (06 hours sightseeing)
Breakfast at hotel. Then, climb the 5th century Sigiriya
rock fortress, which is a world heritage site, built by King
Kashyapa (477-495 AD). The ‘Lion Rock’ is a citadel of
unusual beauty rising 200 meters from the scrub jungle. The
rock was the innermost stronghold of the 70 hectare
fortified town. A moat, rampart, and extensive gardens
including the renowned water gardens ring the base of the
rock. Visit the world-renowned frescoes of the ‘Heavenly
Maidens’ of Sigiriya, which are in a sheltered pocket of the
rock approached by a spiral stairway. These frescoes are
painted in earth pigments on plaster. Overnight stay at
hotel.
Day 14 - Sigiriya - Nuwara Eliya (170 km / 06 hrs)
Breakfast at hotel. Transfer from Sigiriya to Nuwara Eliya,
because of its invigorating mountain climate and scenery, is
Sri Lanka’s most popular hill resort. Nuwara Eliya is also
the heart of Sri Lanka’s tea country, producing a
significant share of the world’s best tea. Sri Lanka’s
highest mountain Pidurutalagala (8282 feet) is located here.
Nuwara-Eliya also has one of the finest 18 hole golf courses
in South Asia. Overnight stay at hotel.
Day 15 - Nuwara Eliya - Tea Plantation - Kandy (120 km /
06 hrs)
Breakfast at hotel. Visit a tea estate and a tea factory,
where the best tea in the world is produced. Here you could
observe all about the process of manufacturing tea. You can
also see how tea is graded. Taste a cup of pure Ceylon tea
in the factory. Transfer from tea plantation to Kandy. Kandy
was the last capital of the Sri Lankan kings, which is a
world heritage site. The name “Kandy” conjures visions of
splendour and magnificence. Many of the legends, traditions
and folklore are still lovingly kept alive. Drive around the
Kandy Lake built by the last Sinhala King, Sri Wickrama
Rajasinghe in 1798. Visit the Kandy town and Bazaar, the
arts and crafts center, a gem museum and a lapidary. Also
visit the Temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy. Thereafter
witness a Cultural show. Overnight stay athotel.
Day 16 - Kandy - Pinnawala -
Colombo (100 km / 03 hrs)
Breakfast at hotel. Drive to Pinnawela Elephant
Orphanage, established in 1975, commenced with seven
orphans. Today some of these orphans enjoy the fortune of
seeing their grandchildren born in the same location. The
original objective of establishing the orphanage inclined
more towards tourism, but is soon became a conservation and
educational centre. With the help of local and foreign
elephant experts, Pinnawela started a scientific
captive-breeding programme for elephants. The free movement
of the herd enhanced the chances for respective individuals
of both sexes to get together and mate. The success story of
Pinnawela has role in this regard, and in 1984, the first
baby of Pinnawela was born. The success story of Pinnawela
has drawn the attention of scientists from all over the
world. A considerable number of books and research articles
on Pinnawela have been published in several languages. The
members of the Pinnawela herd have articles on Pinnawela
have been published in several languages. The member of the
Pinnawela herd have been filmed, videoed and photographed
thousands of times by professionals. Transfer from Pinnawala
to Colombo international airport to board flight for onward
destination. |
