Day One – Saturday, 15 September 2018

Fly to Bangalore. Officially known as Bengaluru, it is located in southern India on the Deccan Plateau. Its elevation is over 3,000 feet, the highest of India’s major cities.

Day Two – Sunday, 16 September 2018, Bangalore Meals on your own

Upon arrival in Bangalore, we transfer to our hotel, The Oberoi . This 5-star luxury hotel is built around the 120-year-old rain tree (Albezia saman). Acres of lush tropical gardens enhance the setting. It’s an oasis in the middle of the city. Every room and suite has a private balcony and garden views. High-speed internet access is complimentary for up to four devices per room.

Day Three – Monday 17 September 2018, Bangalore B, L, D included

After breakfast at the hotel, we’ll visit Lalbagh Botanical Garden. The Hindi word lalbagh means red garden. Built in the Mughal style popular at the time it was commissioned in 1760, the 240-acre garden has the largest collection of tropical plants in India. Other highlights include the great glass house, which was modeled on London’s Crystal Palace; flowerbeds, lotus pools, fountains, and a large clock made of living plants.

In the afternoon we’ll go to Tipu Palace and Bull Temple.

Completed in 1791, Tipu Palace was the summer residence of the Mysorean ruler Tipu Sultan. The Indo-Islamic building was built entirely of teak and is adorned with pillars, arches, and balconies and beautiful floral motifs on the walls.

The Bull – or Nandi – Temple (Dodda Ganeshana Gudi) is exclusively for worshiping the sacred bull, Nandi. The Hindi word nandi means joyful in Sanskrit.

That evening we’ll enjoy a special welcome dinner.

Day Four - Tuesday 18 September 2018, Srirangaptna & Mysore, B, D included

After breakfast we depart for Mysore. En route will visit Srirangaptna, a town of religious, cultural and historic importance. The town takes its name from the celebrated Ranganathaswamy Temple, which was built by the Ganga dynasty rulers of the area in the 9^th century. Dominating the town, the temple was strengthened and improved upon in the 12^th century.

That evening in Mysore we visit the Brindavan Gardens. The garden is laid out in 3 terraces, which contain water fountains, Ficus trees, foliage plants such as Duranta plumaria and Euphorbia flowering plants, topiary, pergolas, and gazebos. Work on the 60-acre garden began in 1927 and was completed in 1932.

Day Five - Wednesday, 19 September 2018, Mysore, Coorg B, L, D included

After breakfast we visit the Chamundi Hills, site of the Hindu Chamundeshwari Temple, which is believed to have been built in the 12^th century.

We continue on to Mysore Palace, the official residence of the Wadiyar dynasty and the seat of the Kingdom of Mysore. The original palace was built inside the Old Fort in the 14th century. It was demolished and constructed multiple times. The current palace was constructed between 1897 and 1912, after the Old Palace was burnt ablaze. Mysore Palace is one of the most famous tourist attractions in India, after the Taj Mahal.

After lunch we’ll drive to Coorg. We will stay in the luxurious Evolve Back Resort, which has won the National Geographic magazine World Legacy Award.

Day Six – Thursday 20 September 2018, Coorg B, L, D included

Coorg is known for the wide diversity of birds, so early in the morning we’ll join a bird watching tour with an ornithologist as our guide . After breakfast we’ll take a 2 ½-hour guided nature walk in the Dubare Forest.

Coorg is nicknamed “The Coffee Cup of India.” After lunch at the hotel, we’ll take a guided walking tour of the 300-acre working coffee and spice plantation. You’ll learn the difference between Arabica and Robusta coffees, and explore the spice-scented pathways of the plantation.

That evening we’ll enjoy the bonfire and local cultural program.

Day Seven – Friday 21 September 2018, Kabini, Nagarhole National Park B, L, D included

After breakfast at the hotel we’ll head to Kabini, where we will be staying in another Evolve Back resort, the Kuruba Safari Lodge, Kabini. We’ll have lunch when we arrive, then you’ll have a free afternoon to relax and enjoy the beautiful grounds, swimming pools, and spa facilities.

In the evening we’ll join a vehicle safari into Nagarhole National Park. The ecosystem supports the highest density of herbivores anywhere in Asia with approximately 108 animals per sq. km. Tigers, leopards, and wild dogs also live in the protected park, as well as the largest population of Asian elephants in the world (their summer home). Three hundred species of birds have been recorded in the region.

After dinner enjoy the Kabini Story Corner.

Day Eight – Saturday 22 September 2018, Kabini B, L, D included

After an early morning jeep safari, we’ll breakfast at the hotel. Following breakfast, we’ll visit a local tribal village. We’ll return to the resort for lunch, and then take to the river in coracles, a small, rounded, lightweight boat. The design is unique to the rivers of southern India - and the rivers of Ireland. We will ride down the Kabini River, hugging the shoreline so we can get a good view of flora and fauna. Afterwards we’ll visit the interpretation center and butterfly park.

In the evening we’ll be treated to a performance by a troupe of Karuba tribal dancers, who perform their traditional dance around a campfire. These dances are traditionally performed during festivals and times of strife, and are meant to be inviting the gods to join them and bless the occasion. Also available that evening is a night trail walk and a wildlife documentary.

Day Nine – Sunday 23 September 2018, Ooty B, L, D included

After breakfast at Kabini lodge, we depart for Ooty. Nicknamed “Queen of Hill Stations,” the area came under the rule of the East India Company at the end of the 18th century, and it became a popular retreat for the British who were looking to escape the extreme summer heat at the lower elevations. Ooty generally features mild temperatures throughout the year, apparently stuck in eternal spring. Snooker originated on the billiard tables of the Ootacamund Club, invented by army officer Neville Francis Fitzgerald Chamberlain.

In the late afternoon we will board one of the boats for a tour of Ooty lake.

Day Ten – Monday 24 September 2018, Ooty B, D included

After breakfast we depart for our visit to Ooty's Doddabetta Peak. At 8,650 feet elevation, it’s highest mountain in the Nilgiri Hills, and the fourth highest peak in southern India. There is a protected forest area around the peak, with patches of stunted tropical montane forest (sholas) in valleys. A common sight is slightly stunted, rhododendron trees in the midst of thick coarse grass and flowering sub-alpine shrubs and herbs. On a clear day, the view towards Ooty and the other mountain peaks are magnificent. To the north you can see Chamundi Peak, which we visited in Mysore.

In the afternoon we’ll visit to the The Government Botanical Garden. Set on the slopes of Doddabetta Peak, the terraced garden is divided into 6 sections: Lower Garden, New Garden, Italian Garden, Conservatory, Fountain Terrace and Nurseries. There are around 1,000 species of exotic and indigenous plants, including trees, shrubs, ferns, flowering and medicinal plants, and bonsais. At the center of the gardens is a fossilized tree trunk estimated to be 20 million years old.

Day Eleven – Tuesday 25 September 2018, Coonoor, Munnar B, L, D included

After breakfast at the hotel, we’ll board the toy train (Nilgiri Mountain Railway) for a ride over the mountain to Coonoor. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, the hour long journey passes through rocky mountain terrain, ravines, tea plantations, and picturesque forested hills.

Once in Coonoor, we’ll visit Sims Park, a park-cum-botanical garden developed in 1874 around the natural contours of the land in by Mr. J.D. Sims and Major Murray. The natural shola with winding footpaths all over the higher slopes of the park is the most distinctive feature of this park.

We’ll then drive to Munnar, stopping for lunch en route. The name Munnar means three rivers. Fed by three mountain streams, the Muthipuzha, Nallathani and the Kundala, Munnar is blessed with almost every shade of green that the mind can conjure. An equally enticing feature is its weather—cool and pleasant all through the year. We will be staying at the Windermere Estate located on the slopes of the Western Ghats. The estate features 55 acres of undulating rises and dips covered with cardamom and coffee trees. Our our 1,200 sq. ft. Planter’s Rooms include a sitting and small dining area, and a balcony with large windows overlooking the mountains.

Day Twelve – Wednesday 26 September 2018, Munnar B, D included

After breakfast at the hotel, we will visit the tea garden, museum, and factory.

In the afternoon you are free to stroll in the estate gardens, relax with a good book in the library, snooze in one of the hammocks hung in a grove of pine trees, climb the steps to the view point overlooking the valley below, or enjoy one of the many other activities available on the estate.

Day Thirteen - Thursday 27 September 2018, Kerala Backwaters, B, L, D

After breakfast at Windermere Estate, we will depart for Alleppey, “The Venice of the India,” where we will board our houseboat for an overnight tour of Kerala’s beautiful backwaters.

Day Fourteen – Friday 28 September 2018, Cochin B, L, D included

After breakfast we disembark the houseboat and drive to Cochin. There we will visit the Paradesi Synagogue, the oldest active synagogue in the Commonwealth of Nations. Built in 1567 by Sephardic or Spanish-speaking Jews, many of whom came from families exiled in Aleppo, Safed and other West Asian localities. The name Paradesi means "foreigners."

Day Fifteen – Saturday 29 September 2018, Cochin B, L, D included

After breakfast at the hotel we will visit St. Francis Church, Mattancherry Palace, commonly known as the Dutch Palace, and the Chinese fishing nets.

The St. Francis Church is well-known for its beautiful architecture. It is believed to be one of the oldest churches built by the Europeans in India, owing its origin to the Portuguese Franciscan Friars, who reached Kochi along with Pedro Alvarez Cabral. Vasco de Gama died in 1524 during his third visit to Kochi. He was buried in this church. Fourteen years later, his body was taken back to Portugal, but his former burial spot inside the church is clearly marked.

Mattancherry Palace was built and gifted by the Portuguese as a present to the king of Cochin around 1555. The Dutch carried out some extensions and renovations in the palace in 1663, and thereafter it was popularly called Dutch Palace. Today the Dutch Palace it is a portrait gallery of the Cochin Rajas and notable for some of the best mythological murals in India, which are in the best traditions of Hindu temple art.

While commonly known as "Chinese fishing nets" in India, the more formal name for such nets is "shore operated lift nets.” Their size and elegant construction is photogenic and the slow rhythm of their operation is quite hypnotic.

Our farewell evening will include a beautiful Kathalkali dance show. One of the major forms of classical Indian dance, Kathalkali is one of the "story play" genre of art, but one distinguished by the elaborately colorful make-up, costumes and face masks that the traditionally male actor-dancers wear.

Day Sixteen – Saturday 29 September 2018 B included

We breakfast at the hotel, and then transfer to Cochin International Airport to board the flight back home.