Grand South India Circuit

Route: Chennai International Airport (MAA) to Taj Coromandel, about 20 km

Your driver meets you at Chennai airport and takes you to Taj Coromandel, in the quiet Nungambakkam district. Chennai, once called Madras, was the first English settlement on the east coast, founded in 1639. It is also the gateway to Tamil culture, and the base for the first week of the journey.

The rest of the day is free. If you arrive early, walk on the seafront at sunset, where families gather. Rest well, as the tour begins in earnest tomorrow.

Experience of the Day

• Airport welcome and check-in

• Evening on the seafront, if you arrive early

Food

Recommended: Dinner at the hotel, with South Indian dishes.

Must-Try: Dosa, idli and filter coffee, or a banana-leaf meal of rice, sambar and curd.

Activities to Do

• Rest after the flight

• Short walk near the hotel

Route: Chennai: Government Museum – Fort St George – Santhome – airport – Madurai

Start at the Government Museum in Egmore. Its bronze gallery holds some of the finest Chola bronzes in the world, cast by the lost-wax method in the 10th to 12th centuries. The figures of Shiva as the cosmic dancer, and of Parvati, show the south Indian idea of grace in metal. The museum also holds carved limestone slabs from the Buddhist stupa at Amaravati.

Drive on to Fort St George, begun in 1644 by the English East India Company, and see the church of St Mary, built in 1680. Then stop at Santhome, where a church was first built by the Portuguese in the 16th century. After lunch, your driver takes you to the airport for the afternoon flight to Madurai.

You reach Madurai in the evening. Heritage Madurai stands on a quiet stretch of land outside the city, with large villas set among lawns.

Note on opening hours: The Government Museum is closed on Fridays and keeps set hours. We confirm opening times and plan the day around them. The flight is a separate domestic ticket, and we book it with the package.

Experience of the Day

• Chola bronzes at the Government Museum

• Fort St George and St Mary's Church

• Flight to Madurai

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a Chennai restaurant. Dinner at the hotel.

Must-Try: Chettinad pepper chicken, or a vegetable meal on a banana leaf.

Activities to Do

• Rest at the hotel

• Walk in the hotel grounds

Route: Madurai: temple area – Thirumalai Nayak Palace – Pudu Mandapam – city

Madurai grew around the Meenakshi Amman temple, rebuilt by the Nayak kings in the 16th and 17th centuries. It has four tall gateways, each over 45 metres, thick with painted figures of gods and animals. Your guide explains the colours and the carving.

Walk the temple streets to the tank and gateways. The Madras High Court order of 2024 limits non-Hindus at this temple to the area before the flagpole, unless a written undertaking is given. We do not plan the inner shrine. The Hall of a Thousand Pillars is now a museum of temple art, and we confirm its opening on the day.

In the afternoon, visit the Thirumalai Nayak Palace, built around 1636, with its tall arches and plaster work. Then stroll through Pudu Mandapam, a pillared hall full of tailors, and visit the flower market at dusk.

Note on temple entry: Rules at Hindu temples run by the state can change. Your guide tells you what applies on the day, and nothing in the plan depends on the inner shrine.

Experience of the Day

• Meenakshi gateways and tank

• Thirumalai Nayak Palace

• Pudu Mandapam and the flower market

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a local restaurant. Dinner at the hotel.

Must-Try: Jigarthanda, a cold milk drink with almond gum and ice cream, and parotta with a spiced curry.

Shopping

Cotton and silk saris from Madurai, and brass lamps.

Activities to Do

• Optional cooking class at the hotel

• Optional street food walk

Route: Madurai – Theni – Bodinayakanur – Bodimettu – Munnar, about 160 km

Drive west across the dry plain of southern Tamil Nadu, with palm groves and fields of banana and grape around Theni. At Bodinayakanur, the road begins to climb the Western Ghats. The ghat road has many hairpin bends, and passes into Kerala at the Bodimettu pass.

The scenery changes within an hour. Cardamom plantations and forest replace the plain, and the air grows cool. Munnar stands at about 1,500 metres, where three rivers meet, among tea estates planted from the late 19th century. Windermere Estate lies near Pothamedu, on a cardamom and coffee plantation. You arrive in the afternoon, and walk among the estate's spice plants.

Note on the road: The Bodimettu ghat road is narrow and winding. Travel sickness tablets help. Mist or rain can slow it, and we plan the day with time in hand.

Experience of the Day

• Drive across the plain

• Climb through the Ghats

• Evening estate walk

Food

Recommended: Lunch on the road. Dinner at the hotel.

Must-Try: Kerala appam with vegetable stew, and a cup of fresh Munnar tea.

Shopping

Tea, cardamom, pepper and homemade chocolate from the estate shops.

Activities to Do

• Rest after the drive

• Walk among the cardamom

Route: Munnar: Eravikulam National Park – Tea Museum – Mattupetty – Echo Point

Start early at Eravikulam National Park, about 15 km from town. A shuttle takes you up the grassland to the walking path. This is the home of the Nilgiri tahr, a wild mountain goat found only in the southern hills, and you often see it close by.

After lunch, visit the Tea Museum in the town. It shows the old machines and the steps from leaf to cup, and ends with a tasting. Drive on to Mattupetty lake and the Echo Point, set among tea slopes and pines. Return for tea at the hotel.

Note on Eravikulam: The park closes for about 45 to 60 days from about 1 February, while the tahr calve. We check the dates before you book. The park limits the number of visitors a day.

Experience of the Day

• Eravikulam National Park

• Tea Museum and tasting

• Mattupetty lake and Echo Point

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a local restaurant. Dinner at the hotel.

Must-Try: Kerala parotta with a vegetable curry, and fresh tea from the estate.

Shopping

Tea from the museum, and spices in the town market.

Activities to Do

• Optional Kolukkumalai sunrise by jeep

• Optional Kathakali evening

Route: Munnar – Adimali – Kothamangalam – Kochi – Fort Kochi, about 130 km

Leave Munnar after breakfast and descend through tea and rubber country. Waterfalls come down the cliffs beside the road, at Valara and Cheeyappara. The road passes Adimali and Kothamangalam, and reaches the coastal plain.

Fort Kochi is the old quarter of Kochi, on a peninsula where the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British each left their mark. Brunton Boatyard stands where the Brunton family built boats more than a century ago, and every room faces the water. You arrive in the early afternoon. Walk along the waterfront at dusk, where fishermen work the Chinese fishing nets.

Experience of the Day

• Descent through the tea hills

• Fort Kochi at dusk

• Chinese fishing nets

Food

Recommended: Lunch on the road. Dinner at the hotel.

Must-Try: Kochi-style fish moilee, fish cooked gently in coconut milk.

Activities to Do

• Rest at the hotel

• Evening walk on the waterfront

Route: Fort Kochi: St Francis Church – Mattancherry – Jew Town – spice market – Kathakali

Start at St Francis Church, built by the Portuguese in 1503, and one of the oldest European churches in India. Walk to Mattancherry to see the Dutch Palace, with its murals of the Ramayana. Visit the Paradesi Synagogue, in Jew Town, built in 1568 for the small Jewish community of Kochi, and now one of the few still open.

After lunch, visit a spice market, where pepper, cardamom and ginger are traded as they have been for centuries. In the evening, watch a Kathakali performance. The actors wear painted faces and large costumes, and tell stories from the epics without a word. Arrive early to see the make-up.

Note on opening hours: The synagogue and palace keep set hours and close on some days. We confirm them before you go.

Experience of the Day

• St Francis Church

• Dutch Palace and Jew Town

• Spice market

• Kathakali performance

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a Fort Kochi cafe. Dinner at the hotel.

Must-Try: Fresh seafood, or karimeen (pearl spot fish) wrapped in banana leaf.

Shopping

Spices, antiques and handloom cloth from Jew Town.

Activities to Do

• Optional Alleppey backwater day trip (paid separately)

• Optional Kerala cooking class

Route: Fort Kochi – Thrissur – Kozhikode – Wayanad ghat – Wayanad, about 250 km

This is the longest drive of the tour. Leave early and drive north on the Kerala coastal highway through Thrissur and Kozhikode. The road passes rice fields, coconut groves and busy towns. From Kozhikode, turn inland and climb the Wayanad ghat road, a series of hairpin bends through forest.

Wayanad is a high plateau of coffee, tea, pepper and forest, at about 700 to 900 metres. The Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary lies on its north. Parisons Plantation Resort stands on a working estate. You arrive by late afternoon, and walk among the plants before dinner. This night is a bridge stop, and splits the long road from Kochi to Coorg.

Note on the day: The day is long, and the ghat road is steep. For a gentler pace, we can add a night at Kozhikode or Thrissur. Wayanad has leeches in the wet months.

Experience of the Day

• Drive north through Kerala

• Climb the Wayanad ghat

• Evening plantation walk

Food

Recommended: Lunch on the road. Dinner at the resort.

Must-Try: A Malabar meal of fish curry and rice, or a vegetable thali.

Activities to Do

• Rest at the resort

• Plantation walk

Route: Wayanad – Manathavady – Kutta – Virajpet – Madikeri, about 120 km

Leave Wayanad by the forest road to the Karnataka border. The road runs through the edge of the Brahmagiri and Nagarhole forests, where elephants sometimes cross. Keep your speed down and your eyes open. After the border, the land changes to Kodagu, as Coorg is also known.

Coorg is a hill district of coffee, pepper and cardamom, with its own language, dress and food. The Kodava people are proud warriors, and their homes stand in the middle of their estates. Check in at Vivanta Madikeri, near Madikeri town. Spend the late afternoon at leisure.

Experience of the Day

• Forest road to Karnataka

• First view of the coffee hills

• Check-in at Madikeri

Food

Recommended: Lunch on the road. Dinner at the hotel.

Must-Try: Kodava pandi curry with kadambuttu rice dumplings, or a vegetable curry with the same dumplings.

Shopping

Coorg honey, pepper and cardamom.

Activities to Do

• Rest at the hotel

• Walk near the hotel

Route: Madikeri – coffee estate – Talacauvery – Bhagamandala – Abbey Falls – Madikeri, about 90 km

Start with a walk through a coffee estate. Coffee here grows in the shade of tall trees, with pepper vines on their trunks. Your guide shows the stages, from the white blossom to the picked berry, the drying yard and the roast. The visit ends with a tasting.

In the afternoon, drive to Talacauvery, about 45 km away. This is the traditional source of the Cauvery river, a small temple tank at the foot of the Brahmagiri hills. Nearby is Bhagamandala, where three rivers meet at a temple. On the way back, stop at Abbey Falls, a waterfall in a coffee estate. Return before dusk, when mist is common.

Experience of the Day

• Coffee estate walk and tasting

• Talacauvery and Bhagamandala

• Abbey Falls

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a Kodava restaurant. Dinner at the hotel.

Must-Try: Noolputtu (steamed rice noodles) with a Coorg curry, and a cup of fresh filter coffee.

Shopping

Estate-roasted coffee, honey and spices.

Activities to Do

• Optional Raja's Seat viewpoint at sunset

• Optional evening at the hotel spa

Route: Madikeri – Kushalnagar – Bylakuppe – Mysuru, about 120 km

Leave Coorg after breakfast and drive east. At Bylakuppe, Tibetan refugees settled in the 1960s. The Namdroling Monastery has a golden-roofed prayer hall and rows of red-robed monks. Visit in the morning, when the hall is in use.

Continue to Mysuru, the city of the Wodeyar kings, who ruled from here for more than 500 years. The city is orderly, with wide avenues and old palaces. Metropole Heritage Hotel is a heritage house in the old part of town. Mysore Palace is lit with thousands of bulbs on Sundays and festival evenings. Check the dates for your visit.

Experience of the Day

• Bylakuppe and Namdroling Monastery

• Drive to Mysuru

• Evening walk near the palace

Food

Recommended: Lunch at Bylakuppe or on the road. Dinner at the hotel.

Must-Try: Mysore pak, a sweet of gram flour, ghee and sugar, first made in the palace kitchen.

Shopping

Sandalwood products, silk, and Mysore incense sticks.

Activities to Do

• Rest at the hotel

• Palace lights, on Sundays and festival evenings

Route: Mysuru: Mysore Palace – Chamundi Hill – Devaraja Market – Somanathapura, about 90 km

Visit Mysore Palace in the morning. The present palace was built by the architect Henry Irwin between 1897 and 1912, after the old one burned down, and mixes Indian, Islamic and Gothic styles. The great durbar hall, the carved doors and the stained glass are the highlights. Then drive up Chamundi Hill, about 1,060 metres high, for a view over the city and a look at the giant Nandi bull on the way down.

In the afternoon, drive about 38 km to Somanathapura. The Chennakesava temple, built in 1258 under the Hoysala kings, is a small star-shaped temple covered in carved figures. It is part of the Hoysala temples inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2023. Return to Mysuru, and walk through the Devaraja Market, a lively market of flowers, fruit and spices.

Note on opening hours: Mysore Palace is open for most of the day, usually until about 5:30 pm. Photography rules inside are strict. Your guide confirms them at the door.

Experience of the Day

• Mysore Palace

• Chamundi Hill

• Somanathapura

• Devaraja Market

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a local restaurant. Dinner at the hotel.

Must-Try: Mysore masala dosa, and a plate of idli with sambar and chutney.

Shopping

Silk, sandalwood and incense from the market.

Activities to Do

• Optional Srirangapatna visit (the fort of Tipu Sultan)

• Optional yoga session at the hotel

Route: Mysuru – Bengaluru airport (BLR) – Goa airport (GOI) – Benaulim, about 170 km by road, then a flight

Goa is well over 700 km from Mysuru by road, a drive of more than 14 hours, so you fly. Leave Mysuru by about 10 am and drive to Bengaluru airport on the expressway. Several nonstop flights serve Goa each day, and we book the one that suits you best, leaving after about 3 pm.

In Goa, a driver meets you and takes you south to Benaulim. Taj Exotica stands by the sea in a coconut garden. The Portuguese held Goa from 1510 to 1961, and its churches, painted houses and fish curries make it a change from the inland stops. Walk on the beach at sunset.

Note on the flight: Flights between Bengaluru and Goa are frequent, and times can change. We book the best available flight and confirm timings before you travel. If your flight lands at Mopa in North Goa, tell us, as the transfer is longer.

Experience of the Day

• Drive to Bengaluru airport

• Flight to Goa

• Sunset walk on the beach

Food

Recommended: Lunch at the airport or on the road. Dinner at the hotel.

Must-Try: Goan fish curry with rice, made with coconut, kokum and red chilli.

Activities to Do

• Rest after the journey

• Swim or walk on the beach

Route: Benaulim – Old Goa – Divar Island – Panjim (Fontainhas) – Benaulim, about 100 km

After breakfast, drive to Old Goa, the Portuguese capital until the 18th century. The churches and convents here have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986. The Basilica of Bom Jesus holds the remains of St Francis Xavier, and the Se Cathedral is one of the largest churches in Asia.

From Old Goa, take a short ferry to Divar Island. The island has fields, small villages and old houses with red-tiled roofs, and almost no traffic. Return by ferry and drive to Panjim for a walk through Fontainhas, the old Latin Quarter, with its painted houses and tiled name plates. Return to the hotel in the late afternoon.

Note on churches: Old Goa's churches are active places of worship. Cover shoulders and knees. Photography rules vary inside, and your guide confirms them at each door. Ferry timings and church hours change on Sundays and feast days.

Experience of the Day

• Basilica of Bom Jesus and Se Cathedral

• Ferry to Divar Island

• Fontainhas walk

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a Panjim restaurant serving Goan Catholic food.

Must-Try: Pork vindaloo and bebinca, a layered coconut pudding.

Shopping

Cashew nuts, spices and local pottery.

Activities to Do

• Optional spice plantation visit near Ponda (half day; paid separately)

• Evening at the hotel spa

Route: Benaulim – Cabo de Rama – Agonda – Palolem – Benaulim, about 110 km

Drive south through coconut groves and fishing villages to Cabo de Rama, a fort on a headland above the sea. The ruins are plain, but the view down the coast is the point. Agonda, a long open beach with few buildings, is next.

Spend the afternoon at Palolem, a curved bay lined with palms and small boats. Walk to the end of the beach, swim where the guide says the water is calm, and have a seafood lunch at a beach cafe. Return to the hotel by early evening for a farewell dinner.

Note on swimming: Goa's beaches have currents, and lifeguards cover only the main stretches. Swim where your guide says it is safe. From June to September the sea is rough and swimming is not advised.

Experience of the Day

• Cabo de Rama fort

• Agonda beach

• Palolem bay

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a Palolem beach cafe. Farewell dinner at the hotel.

Must-Try: Grilled fish with recheado masala, a red chilli and vinegar paste.

Activities to Do

• Optional kayaking at Palolem (paid separately)

• Optional private beach dinner at the hotel (paid separately)

Route: Benaulim to Goa airport (GOI), about 30 km

After a slow breakfast, your driver takes you to Goa airport. Most flights leave from Dabolim (GOI). If your flight leaves from Mopa in North Goa, tell us, as the transfer is much longer. Allow time for the road, and arrive at the airport well before your flight.

Experience of the Day

• Airport transfer