Southern India tour, temples & nature

Please note we can accommodate a 3rd person for a minimal additional cost to cover accommodation, fees etc.
Description of Southern India tour, temples & nature
Experience six days of nature, historic temples and monuments on our Southern India tour. We assure you that just like us, you will return home awed and humbled.
Highlights include:
- Evening walk in a sub-tropical rain forest
- Homestay accommodation
- Jeep Safari through a National Park
- Amba Vilas Palace visit
- Halebid temple complex
Price includes: Accommodation (5 star/eco where possible), transportation, entry fees, guide charges, camera fees, road/toll taxes & soft drinks (water, tea coffee, juices).
Please note: I would be delighted to telephone you to discuss your individual travel arrangements, so please leave your telephone number when you complete the online enquiry form.
Itinerary
Day 1: | We make our way up from Coimbatore to the hills of the Nilgiris and to a Homestay nestled in plantations and rolling hills. We take a walk in the evening in a sub-tropical rain forest. |
Day 2: | We spend the morning trekking down the mountain with the destination being a jeep safari through a National Park in the evening. This National Park is now designated a Project Tiger and Project Elephant sanctuary. |
Day 3: | We drive to the historic city of Mysore where will we use a historic Palace Hotel as a base in this city. On arrival, we will visit a wildlife sanctuary, a nesting site to sixteen species of migratory birds and home to the Indian Marsh Crocodile. We spend the afternoon experiencing this city’s famous silk and the production of the South Indian Silk Saree. |
Day 4: | Mysore would be incomplete without a visit to the opulent Amba Vilas Palace that showcases the life, rule and the power of the Wodeyar Kings. We complete the day visiting the very colourful and vibrant farmers market of Mysore. |
Day 5: | We proceed north to the town of Hassan, which we use to visit the ancient Capitals of the Hoysala Kings. We spend the rest of the day at the 12th century temple site of Belur where we soak in the history and breathtakingly unique architecture. |
Day 6: | We spend the morning at the 13th century Halebid temple complex from where post-lunch we drive to the Garden city of Bangalore. |
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Reviews
7 Reviews of Southern India tour, temples & nature
Reviewed on 25 Feb 2020 by Donna Connell
The homestay with Renu, Ravi & Rajat Kumar was exceptionally warm and comfortable with great food & cultural knowledge shared! Read full reviewReviewed on 13 Feb 2018 by Judy Powell
The most memorable was the boat safari in Nagarhoke national park and watching a tiger for 30 minutes. Read full reviewReviewed on 18 Jan 2016 by Alex Silver
The most memorable part was Orange county - feeling like a queen and wonderful safari. Read full reviewReviewed on 04 Feb 2014 by Robyn Nadolny
Five stars! We had an incredible adventure for our honeymoon, and hope to go back. Southern India is breathtaking, and we had nothing but good experiences with all of the people and companies we traveled with. Read full reviewReviewed on 06 Jul 2013 by Melinda Rice
Excellent, I can't say enough good things about the trip and the experience....There were two very memorable parts of the holiday. First the wonderful home stay in the Nilgiri mountains with Rajat and his family. An unforgettable experience that gave me a deeper understanding of the culture of South India. Read full reviewReviewed on 04 Nov 2012 by Anna Perkins
I had a wonderful holiday. I have recommended it to many friends already. I think Akriti and explore India do a great job of making a trip across India easy. Great for people who want to go but feel overwhelmed or nervous. Read full reviewResponsible Travel
Planet and people
This operator was created with the vision to run and manage a business that would offer our guests traveling to India an extremely personal form of travel, shared with members of the family.We are based in the Nilgiri Hills of TamilNadu situated in the forested Western Ghats. These forested hills used to be home to the Toda tribes of the Nilgiris whose art consists of traditional garments spun from fibers and natural fruit and berry dyes sourced from the surrounding forests. With development, the tribes were forced out of their forest dwellings and were ‘rehabilitated’ in villages outside. However this drastic change in their life, threatened the very art that defined their identity and the means to the only livelihood they knew. Being a part of the local community here in the Nilgiris, we took it up to make sure this art form doesn’t die out like the ancient Toda lifestyle sadly has. We further their art today by sourcing all their products from their Community Center and encourage all our guests visiting us here in the Nilgiris to buy some artifact as a gesture of support towards the Toda lifestyle.
We support of the local village ‘tea shops’ along our routes and the use of only local gasoline sourced from Indian Oil Wells and distributed by Indian Gas Stations. We use the local tribal guides on our teks. Their dedication and knowledge with regards to the forests is commendable and we make sure we give back with some monetary help after every trek and also in kind by supplying them with trekking shoes or clothes that we know they could use.
As long serving members of the Nilgiri Wildlife & Environmental Association (a local affiliate of the World Wildlife Fund), we had actively campaigned to halt the process of timber logging or for that matter clearing of natural forests for any reason whatsoever. As an organisation we represented our case in the Supreme Court, India's Highest Judicial Body, and received a decree that placed a blanket ban on any form of logging in natural forests in the Nilgiri Hills.
We have procured land on which, as a family we currently have planted 350-saplings with a 99% success rate. In addition, we sponsor the trees on lands owned by the forest department where over these years they have afforested with over 100,000 saplings, in this case with a 97% success rate. Today we have seen a rise in the bird species that thrived in these rain-forested areas. Within our property itself we have seen an addition of close to twenty-five bird species. we actively encourage our guests to plant and own a tree or tree saplings of their choice.
As of date, our guests have planted over 125 tree saplings of which all have survived. We keep our guests involved in this experience by emailing them progress photos of their sapling/saplings.
By contributing regularly to a Blind Orphan Childrens Home in a nearby town, we attempt to give these children back a life affected by blindness. At this orphanage, these children are taught skills like basket weaving, tailoring, etc. in the hope that they may become self-sufficient in the future.
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