SOUTH INDIA: Kerala & Karnataka

9th -27th November 2008 with Wendy Marr

Southern India offers a delightful variety of experiences. It is a green and beautiful land, with lush vegetation, brilliant green rice paddy, waterways lined with coconut palms, contrasting with dramatic hills growing spices or tea and coffee. The Dravidian people, tracing their origins from very ancient times, are hospitable, gentle and devout. They preserve their Hindu faith through traditional worship, music and dance, painting and sculpture. They are devoted to their deities residing in the many magnificent temples that frequently dominate the skyline. In the towns and cities the pace of life is slower and more relaxed than in the north, and often the main activities seem to be preparation for festivals or just selling flowers to offer the God or for ladies to wear in their hair.

During this tour we explore something of the diversity of this region and culture. We visit temples and beaches, music and dance, palaces and princely states, and wonderful ancient monuments. We can observe patterns of agriculture in the varied landscapes of our journey. We travel at a comparatively leisurely pace, allowing time to explore alone or simply relax at some very comfortable hotels. Many of the journeys are through very beautiful scenery and we have time to stop to look at the many fascinating scenes and activities along the way.

OUR TOUR HAS SEVERAL BROAD AIMS:
We visit some of the great monuments of Indian history and culture, hoping to provide insights to art, architecture and the decorative and folk arts of some of the great civilisations of India. The great Hoysola temples near Mysore and the simply wonderful site of Hampi (capital of the Vijayanagar Empire) in Karnataca are wonders of the world.
It caters for those who wish to understand something of the 'REAL INDIA' - the India of people who live in towns and villages. We hope to look at their domestic lives, their work, religions, and cultural traditions (including their houses and farm buildings; costume; music and dance); together with some advances aimed at improving their lives - the education of adults and children, the technical achievements in water supply, medicine, irrigation and farming. We make these visits, normally denied to ordinary tourists, by planning the tour with some time to stop and look!
This is a holiday! There is so much to see, but we cannot see everything! So the itinerary is selective, yet offers great variety with some time to explore alone, go shopping or just relax beside a swimming pool. When we are not in transit you are perfectly free to include or omit any of the day’s activities. We stay in hotels chosen for their location, interest and personal attention rather than every western 5* luxury although the hotels on this tour are often the best available! We do our utmost to plan carefully, but frustrations can occur with flights or hotels, which may involve changes in our programme. Indians are most hospitable, friendly and helpful and any difficulties can easily be overcome if we are tolerant and adaptable.
We hope to offer very good value for money: this is not the cheapest tour to India as we use convenient scheduled flights, good ground services and appropriate hotels. The tour is rather longer, more varied and, dare we say, more interesting and better planned than some that are much more expensive!

COCHIN Our flight from London takes us (via Dubai) to COCHIN (now called KOCHI), a thrilling city on the Arabian Sea. Settled by Jews, Portuguese, Dutch, and British, as well as various Indian rulers, it is built on a series of islands connected by bridges and ferries. Shipping, fishing, coconut processing and religious festivals seem the main activities. We visit the harbour by boat, and see a variety of monuments including the old city, the rajah's palace (built by the Dutch as a gift, with excellent Indian murals), the Jewish synagogue, Chinese fishing nets, and Christian churches.
3 nights at the Taj Malabar Hotel. A luxury hotel with a marvellous position overlooking Cochin harbour.

NILGIRI HILLS Leaving Cochin, we climb into the spectacular scenery of the NILGIRI HILLS, arriving at the small hill station of COONOR for a night halt. We may walk through the fine Botanical gardens. The next morning we make the final ascent by tiny toy train to "OOTY" - the "Snooty Ooty" of the British Raj. Created in the 1830's, it became the summer HQ of the Madras Government, with all the trappings of a classic hill station - club (where army officers invented snooker), library, race-course, golf, boarding schools and bungalows. Now rather run down!
1 night at the Taj Garden, Coonor, a former British Guesthouse - lovely garden and views.

NAGARHOLE WILD LIFE RESERVE We descend through more spectacular scenery to the Jungles on the Tamil Nadu/ Kerala / Karnataka border to stay in the reserve for jungle visits by elephant & jeep. There are large herds of deer, wild elephants and Indian Gaur (wild cattle) and many species of birds. Last year our group saw several leopard, tigers and crocodiles. Shall we be lucky again?
2 nights at The Kabini River Lodge in the sanctuary. Comfortable & well organised for game viewing.

MYSORE We drive down through beautiful scenery to the plain and through the jungles and game reserves of MADUMALAI before arriving at the lovely city of MYSORE, capital of the princely state until 1947. The palaces, temples and markets are delightful - a city well worth exploring alone or in small groups. We plan an orientation tour of the city [with a wonderful vegetable and flower market] and city palace. Nearby is SERINGAPATAM where Tipu Sultan was finally defeated by the British in 1799. Tipu's painted wooden summer palace survives intact. Nearby, too, is the beautiful Hoysola temple of SOMNATHPUR, with some of the finest stone carving in South India [the Hoysolas were a ruling dynasty of 12th & 13th centuries].
3 nights at the LALITA MAHAL PALACE HOTEL, the magnificent former palace guest house of the Maharajah of Mysore - a spectacular white marble and stucco wedding cake in spacious grounds with a pool. Magnificent dining room with classical Indian music. Service does not always match up to the surroundings!

BELUR AND HALEBID We drive north east to visit the sites of BELUR and HALEBID, magnificent temples dating from the 12th and 13th centuries, representing the climax of Hoysola art. The architecture is breathtaking and the temples are encrusted with wonderful carvings. If time permits we may visit the 17 metre Jain monolithic statue of Lord Bahubali, dating from 981 AD, the centre of a Jain pilgrimage centre.
2 nights at the Taj Garden Retreat, CHIKMAGALUR. This small hotel is set in the hills, close to coffee gardens and a game reserve, and within easy reach of Belur and Halebid

HOSPET & HAMPI A long but interesting drive north takes us to one of the major highlights of our tour at HAMPI - the ancient capital city of Vijayanagar - one of the greatest of the Hindu empires, which controlled almost all of South India by the early 16th century. European visitors described Hampi in the early 16th century, with its great colonnaded and paved streets, palaces and temples, as larger and more magnificent than Rome! The wealth of the Vijayanagar Empire and its great capital was based on the spice and cotton trades of South India (as well as booty from the wars with neighbours). Successive rulers used their wealth to build magnificent temples and palaces and, in the later stages, to hire mercenaries, including Moslem mounted archers, to defend it against Moslem Sultans from the Deccan. The Empire was finally defeated in 1565 and the city was abandoned and fell in ruins. The Vittala Temple is a World Heritage site, but other temples and the magnificent Royal Palace complex, including the Lotus Palace and Elephant stables are superb, as is the dramatic setting for the ruined capital. A sunset walk through the site, along the river, is magical.
2 nights at the MALLIGI TOURIST HOME at Hospet. A modest hotel with swimming pool and pleasant outdoor restaurant. By far the ‘best in town’ or any other town for miles!

BADAMI Leaving the Hampi area we first visit the fascinating rock-cut caves of Badami - once the capital city of the Chalukyan Empire, rulers of the central Deccan from 4th - 8th centuries AD. Set in a ravine, the site is surrounded by fortifications, but most famous of all are the carved and inscribed temples cut from the solid rock. We drive on to Hubli for
1 night at the NAVEEN HOTEL - a modern comfortable hotel overlooking a lake, with pool.

GOA The next morning we drive down to the coast for a few days relaxation. The journey is very beautiful as we descend through the forests and the Western Ghats. Goa is the former Portuguese Colony that is now India’s foremost beach resort. It is an excellent place to rest after a long but rewarding tour of the main delights that South India has to offer.
2 nights (more if you wish) at the TAJ HOLIDAY VILLAGE, with fine beach, swimming pool, indoor and outdoor restaurants and personal service. This is a 5* hotel with very delightful cottages set in a lovely tropical garden. If you wish we can arrange excursions to visit some of the Portuguese Baroque churches or a boat trip to the local markets. A farewell dinner at one of the beach restaurants.

We fly from GOA to DUBAI for the onward non-stop flight to London (Emirates) arriving London on the same day.