PEARLS SOUTH INDIA – ‘SEDUCTIVE SOUTH’

You will be met on arrival at Chennai Airport and transferred to Taj Vivanta Fisherman’s Cove Hotel, a seaside location an hour from the city.

Visit Mamallapuram’s cave temples and ancient bas-reliefs that celebrate the Pallava Kings. This Tamil dynasty was at its height from the 5th to 8th centuries as a temple and port town of great significance. After a delightful seafood lunch continue to Pondicherry.

This afternoon visit the thriving Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Ganesha in all his manifestations and take darshan with the many devotees.

Pondicherry is a delightful and unique corner of India that remains forever France, a final staging post for the retreating French during British rule with wide tree-lined boulevards, gorgeous colonial mansions and French street names. Though there is increasing pressure on its heritage, there are many eclectic restaurants, cafes, and stylish boutiques.
 Our intimate luxury hotel combines French colonial chic with Indian exotica with cool spacious rooms, lovely colonnaded balconies and a swimming pool.

Today ‘s excursion is to the fascinating intentional community of Auroville, the world’s largest spiritual experiment conceived and inaugurated in 1971 by ‘the Mother” as an international utopia free of government, free of money, ownership, religion and conflict. Whilst not all is as it may seem, there are some wonderful enterprises here and a visit to the astonishing Matramandir, the gold-clad meditation orb at its centre, an unforgettable experience as compelling as being in one of the grand cathedrals of Europe.

Drive south via the famous temple city of Chidambaram with its Nataraja (dancing Shiva) Dravidian temple to Thanjavur, the ancient capital of the Chola kings who go back to the beginning the Christian era. Your hotel is a boutique luxury property built around a quintessential Tamil heritage home, with a pool and delightful and inventive Sattvic cuisine and incomparable service.

Visit Brihadeshvara temple built it in honour of Lord Shiva in about 1009 A.D. and one of the most outstanding monuments of the Chola Period.

At the hotel, the chef will be happy to invite you into his kitchens to demonstrate some of his special dishes. Learn about the ancient art of bronze using the cire perdue (lost wax technique) and in the evening enjoy a music recital.

Today journey towards Karaikudi, the biggest city in Chettinad famous for its Ganesha temple, antiques, woven textiles, crafts, majestic mansions and a most distinctive cuisine. Seventy four other villages comprise Chettinad, the homeland of the Nattukottai Chettiars who were a prosperous banking community who ventured overseas to do business in South and Southeast Asia in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Their legacies are the fascinating houses they built with precious rosewood, teak and Japanese tiles. Your hotel is an outstanding example of one of these ancestral homes converted to a find boutique hotel.

The Chettiars are known for their family temples and ancestral mansions.

Today’s culinary highlight is a cooking demonstration illuminating the wonderful spicing of Chettinad cuisine that bristles with the fragrant aromas of freshly ground spices, especially pepper. You will be served an exceptional sadya banquet served on banana leaf in the home of one of Chettinad’s most famed cooks.

Today, traverse the beautiful scenery and tropical farmlands of the Western Ghats, rich with coffee, tea and spice plantations, to reach Thekaddy by late afternoon.

Today’s excursions include a rural ramble with elephants and a visit to a tea plantation. Marieke will introduce you to her all time favourite spice merchant so you carry home spices more fragrant and fresh than anything you’ll find at home.

Travel through very lush, verdant tropical scenery to reach the Kerala backwaters. Lunch en-route will be enjoyed at a private coffee and rubber Estate with its lovingly restored art deco bungalow where our hostess is renowned as a custodian over wonderful family recipes.

Board your individual Kettuvalam houseboat. They are Kerala’s magical answer to the caravans of the West. Each houseboat comes with en-suite air-conditioned cabins and is a floating hotel space with its own staff. It is a spellbinding experience drifting in the canals and lagoons and absorbing the ancient way of life along the smaller canals and waterways. A traditional dinner will be served accompanied by a flute recital.

Take in the major historic and architectural sites of the Fort, the colourful antique bazaars and delightful boutiques.

Tonight’s special dinner is with the renowned Nimmy Paul in her culinary atelier. A master of Syrian Christian cooking, Nimmy will demonstrate some beautiful dishes that form part of the banquet she serves at her long table.

Fort Kochi is a wonderful melange of all those explorers and traders who came to her shores since long ago & the Chinese, Portuguese and Dutch, Jews and the British whose faded vestiges remain to be enjoyed in this charming town. This evening attend a Kathakali, a stylised classical Indian dance drama famous for its elaborate costumes and exaggerated gestures. It’s utterly mesmerising watching the performers prepare their make-up.

Farewell dinner at the hotel.

This is a relaxed day for last minute sightseeing or shopping. This evening you will be transferred to Kochi airport for international departure or you may continue your travels in India arranged by Art of Living.

SUGGESTED TOUR EXTENSIONS:

- Mysore or Hampi via Bangalore
- A Gastronomic Extension From Cochin To Tellicherry | Tranquil | Mysore
- An Ayurveda Resort recommended by AoL
- Sri Lanka