13-Nights Tailor Made India: Mysteries of the South - Luxury Tailor Made Travel

Thanjavur

Also known as Thanjai or Tanjore, this city is considered as the "granary and rice bowl" of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. This city was once an ancient capital of the Chola Kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries. It's best known for the magnificent landmark of Brahadeeswara Temple (Big Temple). Today, Thanjavur is an agricultural town with a mix of religious beliefs.  

Mumbai

About 300 years ago, the area of Bombay was nothing more than seven islands occupied by small fishing settlements. Today this bustling city offers a seemingly endless array of sights and cultural activities. Mumbai is the glamour of Bollywood cinema, cricket on the maidans on weekends, bhelpuri on the beach at Chowpatty and red double-decker buses. It is also the infamous cages of the red-light district, Asia's largest slums, communalist politics and powerful mafia dons. This pungent drama is played out against a Victorian townscape more reminiscent of a prosperous 19th-century English industrial city than anything you'd expect to find on the edge of the Arabian Sea. Mumbai has vital streetlife, India's best nightlife, and more bazaars than a visitor could ever explore.

Kochi (Cochin)

Kochi (Cochin) is the great, old Keralan spice city. It consists of mainland Ernakulam, islands of Willingdon, Bolgatty and Gundu in the harbor, Fort Cochin and Mattancheri on the southern peninsula and Vypeen Island north of Cochin. Because of the area’s dense tropical forests, extensive ridges and ravines, it has been sheltered from invaders and the rest of India. This encouraged Keralites to welcome maritime contact, and therefore influence from the outside world. In Cochin there is still a small community of descendants from Jewish settlers who fled Palestine 2,000 years ago. When the Portuguese arrived here some 500 years ago, they were surprised to find Christianity already established along this coast. People from far-off lands have been coming to Kerala since ancient times in search of spices, sandalwood and ivory. Such long contact with people from overseas has resulted in the blending of various cultures and has given Keralites a cosmopolitan outlook.

Kumarakom

Kumarakom, a small cluster of islands on the backwaters of Vembanad is a popular bird sanctuary and a tourist destination in Kerala, India. The village is abundant in history, rice fields and coconut trees. Visitors can rent and dine onboard a boathouse while cruising through Vembanad Lake, birdwatch at the Vembanad Bird Sanctuary, or munch on local delicacies that emphasizes on exotic spices.

Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary

A National Park and a Wildlife Sanctuary, Periyar (Thekaddy) is South India's protected are and nature reserve. Created by the British in 1895, Periyar is a mountain scenery of jungle walks that's home to bison, sambar, wild boar, languar, elephants and tigers. 

Madurai

A great capital that once traded with the Roman Empire, Madurai sits at the banks of the river Vaigai. It is known as one of the oldest cities in the world that is locally inhabited. Madurai is famous of its temples built by the Pandyan and Madurai Nayak kings like the Shree Meenakshi Sudreshwara Temple, the Thirumalai Nayak Palace and the Ghandi Memorial Museum.

Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram)

Mahabalipuram, an ancient seaport of India's medieval Pallava dynasty (circa 300-900), lies south of Chennai. The Pallavas left behind an astonishing heritage of Dravidian architecture in the form of huge monuments carved out of solid rock.

The Shore Temple close to the beach is remarkable: a twin-towered structure within a courtyard that's surrounded by a wall topped with rows of sitting bulls.

Equally impressive is Arjuna's Penance and the Descent of the Ganges, a huge bas-relief carved from one enormous monolithic rock between 670 and 715.

Chennai

Chennai (formerly known as Madras) is the capital of the great state Tamil Nadu and is one of four metropolitan cities in India. Compared to the other major metros of India, it is far less congested and polluted. Chennai, is a journey into timeless India, rich in historical treasures, from temples and shrines to forts and palaces. Chennai is also host to some cultural theatres that showcase various India traditional dances and plays on a regular basis. Chennai is also the center of the film industry in South India.