SOUTHERN INDIA ODSSEY
1st November 2024

Join us over 15 fabulous days.

Chennai, located on the Bay of Bengal in eastern India and the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu. The city is home to Fort St. George, built in 1644 showcasing the city’s roots as a British military garrison and East India Company trading outpost, when it was called Madras and is a perfect start point for our tour as we discover enchanting Southern India and it’s melting pot of rich cultures, colours,  cuisines, traditions, wildlife sanctuary’s, tea and spice plantations, palm lined canals and sandy beaches.  

Travelling from Chennai in the east to Cochin in the west, we visit the bustling bazaars of George Town, the Temples of Mahaballipuram, learn to cook Indo-French Style all before taking time out for an afternoon to experience meditation at a local ashram.  We journey on to visit the UNESCO World Heritage site of Chola Temples and attend a Pooja ceremony at the Meenakshi Temple.  We spend time in the Misty Hills of the beautiful tea plantations including a visit to the iconic Tata Tea Factory.  Our tour would not be complete without a visit to the infamous Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, regarded as one of the best National Parks in India and if we are lucky, we may spot that elusive Tiger. 

All this before heading onwards to Alleppey, where step back in time and board our wonderful ‘Kettuvallam’ these days converted into a luxury houseboat, to cruise the canals of Kerela before our final stop in Cochin , located by the Arabian Sea for over 600 years, serene Cochin has been drawing traders, explorers and travellers to its shores that formed the first European colonies of colonial India and resulted in a mix of Portuguese, Dutch, and British villages that blended into the tropical Malabar Coast.

Nowhere else in India could we find such an intriguing mix: giant fishing nets from China, a 400-year-old synagogue, traditional art-crafts scene complimented with traditional live dances called Kathakali and crumbling remains of the British Raj and is a wonderful place of discovery.