Arrival in Chennai from Delhi

Your morning IndiGo or Air India departure from IGI Terminal 3 lands at Chennai’s Kamaraj airport in a little under three hours. Our chauffeur meets you at the arrivals gate with a placard and drives you to your hotel in T Nagar or Nungambakkam, roughly 30 minutes on the outer ring road bypass. After a short rest, head out for an easy afternoon at Marina Beach, followed by a walk through Kapaleeshwarar Temple in Mylapore and a proper filter-coffee stop at Amethyst. Dinner at Sangeetha or Karpagambal Mess for authentic Tamil vegetarian fare. Overnight in Chennai.

Chennai to Mahabalipuram via Kanchipuram

Check out after breakfast and drive down the East Coast Road toward the UNESCO shore town. En route, halt at Kanchipuram for a guided walk of Ekambareswarar and Kailasanathar temples plus a silk-weaving demonstration at a state cooperative. Arrive Mahabalipuram by 3 pm and check into a beach-facing property. A licensed heritage guide walks you through the Shore Temple, Arjuna’s Penance and the Five Rathas before sunset, explaining Pallava iconography and the tsunami revelations of 2004. Beach-facing seafood dinner at your hotel. Overnight in Mahabalipuram.

Mahabalipuram to Pondicherry

A relaxed post-breakfast drive of 100 kilometres brings you into the old French quarter by lunchtime. Check in at a heritage property on Rue Suffren or Rue Romain Rolland. Afternoon walking tour of White Town covers Aurobindo Ashram, Notre Dame des Anges, the French Consulate and Promenade Beach. Sunset cycle-rickshaw ride along Rock Beach for the fisher-boat activity. Dinner at a heritage French bistro on Rue Dumas with authentic ratatouille and Pondicherry-brewed beer. Overnight in Pondicherry.

Pondicherry to Thanjavur via Chidambaram

After a leisurely breakfast, begin the 200-kilometre drive south into the Chola heartland. First stop is Chidambaram, where the Nataraja Temple’s golden roof and the Chit Sabha’s philosophical mystery keep architecture enthusiasts busy for a solid ninety minutes. Continue to Gangaikonda Cholapuram for a shorter forty-minute stop at the second Chola capital, its main temple a quieter cousin of Thanjavur’s giant. Reach Thanjavur by 6 pm and check into a heritage hotel a short walk from the Brihadeeswarar Temple. Evening at leisure, ideally watching the temple light up at sunset from the outer courtyard. South Indian thali dinner at the property. Overnight in Thanjavur.

Thanjavur to Trichy to Madurai

Morning guided tour of Brihadeeswarar Temple, a UNESCO monument whose 66-metre vimana was completed in the eleventh century without cranes or steel. Visit the Thanjavur Royal Palace and Saraswathi Mahal Library, then drive to Trichy by lunch. Afternoon covers the Rockfort Temple’s 437 steps to the summit and Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam, one of the largest functioning Hindu temples in the world with seven concentric walls. Continue by road to Madurai, arriving around 8 pm. Attend the evening ceremony at Meenakshi Amman Temple when Lord Sundareswarar is symbolically carried to his consort’s chamber. Overnight in Madurai.

Madurai to Periyar

Sunrise darshan and photography at Meenakshi Amman Temple: the thousand-pillar hall, the musical pillars, and the sanctum’s fourteen towering gopurams painted in Dravidian primary colours. Post-breakfast drive of 140 kilometres up the Western Ghats into Thekkady town at Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. Roads climb through cardamom, black pepper and coffee estates with tea-stall halts at Kumily viewpoint. Reach the resort by mid-afternoon. Optional Kalaripayattu martial arts demonstration or a full Kathakali make-up and performance session in the evening. Overnight in Thekkady.

Periyar to Alleppey Houseboat

Early morning boat safari on Periyar Lake gives a fair chance of spotting Asian elephants, sambar deer, Nilgiri langurs and, if lucky, a lone tusker at the water’s edge. Post-breakfast spice plantation walk in Kumily covers vanilla, cardamom, clove and turmeric with a live oil-extraction demonstration. Drive to Alleppey by noon and board your private houseboat at Punnamada Lake. Sail through the palm-fringed backwater channels with lunch, evening tea and a traditional Kerala thali dinner served onboard. Sunset stops at village churches and coir-making cooperatives. Overnight anchored on the houseboat.

Alleppey to Cochin

Wake to a backwater sunrise and a fresh appam-and-egg breakfast served on the houseboat deck. Disembark by 9 am and drive to Fort Kochi, roughly 90 minutes away over the Vypeen bridge. Check into a heritage property in the old Portuguese quarter. Afternoon walking tour: Chinese fishing nets on the seafront, St Francis Church where Vasco da Gama was first buried, Santa Cruz Basilica, and Mattancherry Palace with its extraordinary Ramayana murals. End at Jew Town for spice shopping and antique browsing. Overnight in Fort Kochi.

Fort Kochi Leisure and Culture

A deliberately slower day. Optional Ayurvedic massage at a certified centre in the morning followed by a healthy South Indian breakfast. Post-lunch cooking demonstration at a heritage home in Mattancherry, learning appam batter fermentation and Kerala fish curry from a Syrian Christian home cook. Attend a full Kathakali make-up and performance session at Kerala Kathakali Centre from 5 pm to 7 pm. Sunset boat ride at Bolgatty backwater. Farewell Kerala seafood dinner at a waterfront restaurant on Vasco da Gama Square. Overnight in Fort Kochi.

Fort Kochi to Delhi Departure

Post-breakfast at leisure until check-out. Airport transfer to Cochin International, roughly 90 minutes from Fort Kochi via the new Vypeen bridge and NH66. Board your afternoon direct flight to IGI Delhi Terminal 3, landing home in under three-and-a-half hours. Your delhi to south india tour package concludes with a memory-book of Chola temples, French colonial cafes, Ghats spice trails, Kerala backwaters and coastal breezes, along with an invitation to review your journey on our Contact Us page.