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DAY
01 |
BOMBAY |
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Transfer to hotel. 
Bombay is the capital of Maharashtra
and the
economic powerhouse
of India. It's the fastest moving, most affluent
and most
industrialized city in India. It also has India's busiest international airport and the country's busiest
port, handling nearly 50% of the country's
total foreign trade.When the Portuguese arrive on the
scene Mumbai consisted of seven islands occupied by fisherfolk
known as Kolis. In 1534 the
seven island,
from Colava in the south to Mahim in
the north, were ceded to Portugal by the Sultan of Gujarat in the Treaty of Bassein. The Portuguese did little
with them and the major island of the group, Mumbadevi, was part of the wedding dowry when Catherine of Braganza married
England's Charles II in 1616. |
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| DAY
02 |
BOMBAY - COIMBATORE |
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Visit the city.
COIMBATORE : is a large industrial city known for
textile manufacturing and engineering goods, and is full
of suiting and shirting's shops. It is a convenient overnight
stop if you are heading up to Ooty. |
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| DAY
03 |
COIMBATORE - OOTY
- METTUPALAYAM.
TOY TRAIN TO OOTY. |
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| OOTY: This famous hill station
near the tri-junction of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka
is 2268 m above sea level in the Nilgiri mountains. It
was founded by the British in the early part of the 19
century to serve as the summer headquarters of the government
of Madras. Before that time, the area was inhabited by
the Todas. These tribal people still live there, but today,
only 3000 remain. The Todas were polygamists and worshipped
buffalos, and you can see their animist shrines in various
place. |
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| DAY
04 |
OOTY |
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| Free day to explore the area and get
used to the bicycles. |
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| DAY
05 |
OOTY - KOTAGIRI (28
Km) |
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| DAY
06 |
KOTAGIRI - ELK FALLS
(16 Km) |
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| DAY
07 |
ELK FALLS - MADUMALAI |
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| MADUMALAI SANCTUARY : Established
in 1938 and now expanded to cover 124 sq. miles (322 sq.
km.) of mixed and moist deciduous forests. Bisected by
the road from Mysore to Ootacamund and bounded to the
north by Bandipur National Park in Karnataka and to the
west by the Wynad Sanctuary in Kerala. Good game-viewing
and facilities. Vehicles and elephant riding available. |
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| DAY
08 |
MADUMALAI SANCTUARY |
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| Free day in the reserve to spot animals. |
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| DAY
09 |
MADUMALAI SANCTUARY |
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| We will take it easy and roam on our
bicycles outside the park. |
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| DAY
10 |
MADUMALAI - MYSORE,
by bus. |
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MYSORE : Sandalwood City! Everywhere
you go in this beautiful city you'll find yourself surrounded
by the lingering aromas of sandalwood, jasmine, rose,
musk, frangipani and many others. It's one of the major
center of incense manufacture in India, and scores of
small, family-owned agarbathi factories are scattered
all over town, their products exported all over the world.
There are plenty of other reasons why you would not want
to miss Mysore. Until independence the city was the seat
of the maharajas of Mysore, a princely state covering
about a third of present day Karnataka. |
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| DAY
11 |
MYSORE. Sightseeing. |
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MAHARAJA'S PALACE : The beautiful
profile of this walled Indo-Saracenic palace, the seat
of the maharajas of Mysore, graces the city's skyline.
It was built in 1907 at a cost of Rs.4.2 million to replace
the former palace which burned down.
JAGANMOHAN PALACE : Another place worth a visit
is the Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery in Jaganmohan Palace.
Not only does it display paintings, particularly by Ravi
Varma, but it has handicrafts, historical objects of interest
and rare musical instruments. The palace itself was built
in 1861 and served as a royal auditorium.
ST. PHILOMENA'S CATHEDRAL : This cathedral is interesting
if you want to see what the Christians got up to in Mysore
earlier this century. It's one of the largest churches
in India and is built in neo-Gothic style.
BRINDAVAN GARDENS : These ornamental gardens are
laid out below the Krishnaraja Sagar across the Cauvery
River, 19 km from Mysore.
SOMNATHPUR : The Sri Channakeshara temple stands
at the edge of the tranquil village of Somnathpur. Built
around 1260 AD during the heyday of the Hoysala kings,
it's an extremely beautiful and unspoiled building.
The walls of the star-shaped temple are literally covered
with superb sculptures in stone depicting various scenes
from the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Gita and the life and
times of the Hoysala kings.
SRIRANGAPATNAM : 16 km. from Mysore stand the ruins
of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan's capital from which they
ruled much of southern India during the 18th century.
Inside the fortress walls there's a mosque and the Sri
Ranganathaswamy temple. |
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| DAY
12 |
MYSORE - BANGALORE (bus)
- BOMBAY (flight). |
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| DAY
13 |
BOMBAY. Sightseeing. |
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ELEPHANTA CAVES : They are
thought to have been cut out between 450 and 750 AD, and
at that time island was known as Gharapuri, the Fortress
City. When the Portuguese arrived they renamed it Elephanta
after the large stone elephant near the landing place.
The cave are reached by a stairway up the hillside from
the ferry landing. Palanquins are available for anybody
in need of being carried up. There is one main cave with
a number of large sculpted panels, all relating to Siva,
and a separate lingam shrine.
The most interesting of the panels includes one of Trimurti,
or the three-headed Siva, where he also takes the role
of Brahma, the creator, and Vishnu, the preserver. In
other panels Siva appears as Ardhanari, where he unites
both sexes in one body-one side of the sculpture is male,
one side female.
There are figures of Siva and his wife Parvati and of
their marriage. In another panel Siva dances the Tandava,
the dance that shakes the world. Parvati and their son,
Ganesh, look on a little astonished. One of the best panels
is that of Ravana shaking Kailasa. The demon king of Lanka
decided to carry Siva and his companions off by the simple
expedient of removing their Himalayan home, the mountain
Kailasa. Parvati became panic-stricken at his energetic
attempts to jerk the mountain free, but Siva calmly pushed
mountain back down with one toe, trapping Ravana beneath
it for 10,000 years.
MARINE DRIVE : Now officially renamed Netaji Subhash
Rd, Marine Drive is built on land reclaimed in 1920. It
runs along the shoreline of Back Bay, starting at Nariman
Point and sweeping around by Chowpatty Beach and up to
Malabar Hill. The road is backed with high residential
buildings and is one of Mumbai's most popular promenades.
HANGING GARDENS : On top of Malabar Hill, these
gardens were laid out in 1881 and are correctly known
as the Pherozeshah Mehta Gardens. They take their name
from the fact that they are built on top of a series of
reservoirs that supply water to Mumbai.
HAJI ALI'S TOMB : This tomb and mosque are devoted
to a Muslim saint who drowned here. The buildings are
reached by a long causeway which can only be crossed at
low tide. Here a scene of typical Indian ingenuity and
resourcefulness takes place.
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| DAY
14 |
BOMBAY. Rest and
shopping. Transfer to airport. |
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