Premium South India

Premium South India

Swaying palm trees, rolling emerald hills and tranquil backwaters make up the lush surface of southern India, but dig a little deeper and discover a land of charismatic people, ancient religion and cherished cuisine. This 13-day Premium adventure will take you into the home of a local family, down the French-inspired streets of Puducherry, through the maze of food stalls in Madurai and into the wilderness of the Periyar National Park, all with the passionate guidance of a local leader.

Activities

• Complimentary Airport Arrival Transfer
• Chennai – Welcome dinner
• Mamallapuram – Shore Temples guided tour
• Auroville – Experimental township
• Puducherry – Leader-led French Quarter walking tour
• Puducherry – Sri Aurobindo Ashram
• Madurai – Leader-led street food tour
• Madurai – Sri Meenakshi 1000 Pillar
• Madurai – Sri Meenakshi Temple
• Madurai – Gandhi Museum
• Madurai – Leader-led walking tour
• Madurai – Thirumalai Nayakkar Palace
• Madurai – Local family visit and home-cooked Tamil dinner
• Thekkady – Expert-guided spice plantation visit and lunch
• Periyar – Kalaripayattu (Indian Martial Art) performance
• Periyar – Guided nature walk
• Munnar – Tea plantation
• Munnar – Tea Museum
• Munnar – Mattupetty Dam
• Munnar – Leader-led town walking tour
• Kochi – Kathakali performance
• Kochi – Jewish Synagogue
• Kochi – Ferry to Mattancherry
• Kochi – Leader-led Fort Kochi walking tour
• Kochi – Dutch Palace
• Kochi – Ayurveda-inspired dinner
• Kochi – Converstation with an expert on Satvik Bhojan (Ayurvedic food)

Highlights

• Find out what makes Indian cuisine so special during Exclusive Experiences, including an off-the-beaten-path food tour in Madurai, a home-cooked meal with a local family, a fragrant lunch at a spice plantation and an ayurvedic cooking demonstration in Kochi.
• Enjoy a high-energy Exclusive Experience with a live performance of kalarippayattu in Thekkady – believed to be oldest surviving martial art in India, this will be a show to remember.
• Witness a fusion of influences in the stunning former French colony of Puducherry, and see touches of a Portuguese, Dutch, Chinese and British past in the exuberantly multicultural Kochi.
• Experience a thousand shades of green as you tour a scenic tea plantation in Munnar and track footprints in search of wild elephants in the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Enjoy accommodation like no other – a beautiful converted houseboat on the Kerala backwaters is your Feature Stays for this adventure.