Day 1 Bangalore 

Arrive Bangalore airport. You will be met and transferred to your hotel. Stay at the Radisson Blu / Royal Orchid for the night. Both are business class hotels that provide a comfortable stay and has all modern facilities. Should time permit you could visit Tharangini,  a textile unit that produces printed fabric using natural dyes. 

Day 2     Bangalore – Mysore 

Drive to Mysore visiting a Channapatana Toy making unit and the Government silk cocoon market, considered to be the largest in Asia. On arrival check-into the Efkay’s for 2 nights. This is a tastefully done private residence in a spacious garden. You will be looked after by the hosts who live next doors. Evening visit the Devaraja Fruit and vegetable market. The walk in the market and the surrounding street will let you have an experience of life in Mysore. 

Day 3 Mysore 

Morning visit a village on the outskirts of Mysore where you will get to experience the full process of the silk industry. Mysore is renowned for its silk and here you will see the mulberry farms, the growth cycle of the cocoon. Later you will visit the Somnathpur temple which is one of the best examples of Hoysala temple architecture. It is one of the few temples that still remains intact and was not damaged by invaders. Afternoon visit the city palace of the Maharaja of Mysore and the Silk Factory.  

Day 4 Mysore – train – Chennai 

Visit a local farmers market in the morning. This is a wholesale market where the local farmers come to sell their produce. It is a photographer’s delight with all the colorful fruits and vegetable on display. Transfer to the railway station after midday to board the Shatabdi Express to Chennai (1415-2130) Met on arrival and transferred to your hotel. Stay at the GRT Grand for 2 nights. GRT Grand is a modern first class hotel centrally located with modern facilities.  

Day 5 Chennai 

Morning visit Kalashetra . Spread over almost 100 acres by the seashore in Chennai, the Kalakshetra Foundation, as it is known today, is a vital center for the study and performance of fine arts. You will visit their textile unit to see the ancient art of Kalamkari painting on fabric. Later visit DakshinChitra, a theme village that showcases the lifestyle, architecture. textile and traditional arts and crafts of the Southern states. Later return to the hotel. 

Day 6 Chennai-Mahabalipuram-Pondicherry 

Drive to Pondicherry in the morning visiting the Pallava temples at Mahabalipuram en-route. The temples at Mahabalipuram are considered to one of earliest temples in granite dating from the 6th century. On arrival check-into Villa Helena for 3 nights 

Day 7 Pondicherry 

Enjoy an excursion to Auroville. It was started in 1968 as a place for alternate living where people could live in harmony preserving nature and culture. With the Visitor centre and the Maitri Mandir as the centre focus  Auroville is spread out and dotted with "green" industries who focus on Auroville's efforts towards a self-supporting township. There are small and medium-scale?industries, training centres, arts and crafts, and the city's administration. On your ‘ Day in Auroville’ tour you will have an Aurovillian guide who will take you around Auroville and you can see how the community works. All the units here practice eco-friendly and responsible practices and use mainly organic materials. Lunch will be at the ‘Solar community kitchen’ which in itself is an experience. If you let us know in advance what your interests are we can surely tailor your visit to include them. 

Day 8 Pondicherry 

Morning enjoy a walking tour of Pondicherry that will cover the French part and the Timil part of this diverse township. You can also visit the embroidery center run by the Sisters of Cluny which provides employment to many destitute and underprivileged women. You can also visit the weaving center at Atelier Shanti, again a charitable institution. 

Day 9 Pondicherry – Kumbakonam 

Drive to Kumbakonam visiting the famous temple at Gangaikondacholapuram en-route. Stay at the Mantrakoodam for 2 nights. Located in a rural village the property is in a great location to explore life in rural Tamilnadu. 

Day 10 Kumbakonam 

Day to explore the area with a guide. The villages in the area are known for its population of weavers who moved from Gujarat during the 10th century to weave silk fabric for the Chola kings. The community still exists and practicing the age-old  weaving method using manual looms. You can also visit a unit that makes bronzes using the lost wax process and a unit that makes the famous Tanjore gold-leaf painings. 

Day 11 Kumbakonam – Chettinad – Madurai 

Drive to Madurai in the morning visiting the temple at Tanjore and the heritage township of Chettinad en-route. On arrival check-into the GRT Regency for 2 nights. 

Day 12 Madurai 

Morning visit some of the lesser visited but interesting sights in Madurai. You visit a clay idol making village, a Vedic school where Brahmin boys learn to become priests, a wholesale flower market and have lunch in a local restaurant. Late afternoon go for a walking tour in the heritage part of town and also visit the Meenakshi Temple complex. 

Day 13 Madurai – Munnar 

Drive to Munnar in the morning. On arrival check-into the Windermere Estate for 2 nights. Afternoon go for a plantation tour and short walk in the estate. 

Day 14 Munnar 

Visit Sristi, a charitable organization started by Tata and is now self-sustaining. They have a textile unit that does various types of printing and processing of fabric using organic and natural dyes and their handmade paper until that mainly uses recycled materials. Later visit a tea estate where you will get to see how tea is harvested and processed. 

Day 15 Munnar – Alleppey 

Drive to Alleppey in the morning. Board your private riceboat for a journey through the backwaters of Alleppey. The cruise will be from midday until evening and the boat will be stationary for the night. 

Day 16 Alleppey – Cochin 

Disembark in the morning from the board and proceed by road to Cochin. Stay for 2 nights at the Secret Garden for the night. A tastefully done property in traditional style it is a great place to stay in Fort Cochin.  Enjoy a tuk-tuk tour of Fort Cochin and Mattencherry in the afternoon. The tour will include visits to places that are off the tourist track and also the main monuments like the Dutch Palace and the synagogue. 

Day 17 Cochin

Excursion to the Chendamangalam and Cherai to visit the weavers village and after a relaxing lunch by the seaside return back to Cochin. Afternoon at leisure

Day 18 Departure

Transfer to the airport in the morning.