This Incredible 13-day Tour Features
Visits to the Holy Saints of South India
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 Susan Shumsky of Divine Travels is a member of Travel Service Network, Inc. (TSN). Professional industry affiliations include:      
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 Fly
overnight to India, arriving in the late evening. Your tour leader
will accompany you to your hotel in the heart of Delhi, followed
by the Traditional Indian Welcome at the hotel. Overnight at
hotel.Hotel: The Oberoi Maidens or Similar
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Visit the powerful,
majestic Hindu Temples of Delhi: Chattarpur Temple, Yogmaya Temple
& Lakshmi Narayan Temple.  
New Delhi: The new capital designed by Sir Edward Lutyens. An interesting drive in the one passing through the impressive Rajpath from the World War I memorial arch, the India Gate towards the Presidential Palace. Visit Humayun's Tomb built in 1565 AD, Safdarjung's Tomb, the Qutab Minar, 72 meters high and the most curious antique, the uncorroded Iron Pillar, which dates back to the 4th century AD. |
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After breakfast,
full day at Puttaparthi and visit Sri Sathya Sai Baba Ashram.
Dinner & overnight at hotel.    |
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After breakfast,
drive to Tirupati and transfer to hotel. Visit to Lord Balaji
Temple. Dinner & overnight at hotel.
It is a pleasant
drive from Tirupati up to Tirumalai and as the road winds its
way up the forested slopes there are splendid views of Tirupati
and the plains. In earlier times people climbed to the temple
on foot, many do even today making the 11 kilometer trek a part
of their pilgrimage. They start the ascent from Alipiri, and
as the groups of devotees go up the hills echo with the chant
of "Govinda Govinda" and "Om Namoh Venkatesaiya"
Up at Tirumalai is a sparkling Around the temple itself are colourful stalls selling souvenirs and handicrafts, brass lamps, copper ritual vessels and all the paraphernalia needed for the rituals. The air is full of the indefinable fragrance that surrounds a temple, of flowers, incense sticks a flickering oil lamps. All around is a shifting mosaic of cour as people move towards the temples. Yet there is order in all this chaos and devotees are directed to well-equipped sheds where they form orderly queues as they wait patiently for a darshan or a glimpse of the deity.
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Mahabalipuram: Globally renown for its shore temples, Mahabalipuram was the second capital of the Pallava kings of Kanchipuram. 58 kilometres from Madras on the Bay of Bengal, this tiny sea - side village of Mahabalipuram, is set in a boulder - strewn landscape. Tourists are drawn to this place by its miles of unspoiled beach and rock-cut art.
Kanchipuram is among the most famous of the 'temple cities' of Tamil Nadu. Its temples house different Hindu sects. Though today it is only a destination for pilgrims, and a repository of major architectural monuments, in antiquity it occupied a more preeminent place in the history of South India. The city was the political capital of the Pallava rulers during the 7th - 9th centuries. It remained an important city during the succeeding Chola and Vijayanagara periods.The Kailasanatha temple is the finest structural project of the Pallava ruler Rajasimha. The temple is almost entirely constructed of sandstone and is integrated into a coherent complex. A large variety of Shaiva images adorns the outer walls; the inner walls were once painted. A polished linga (phallus, the symbol of regeneration associated with Shiva) is enshrined within.
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OPTIONAL: Visit to Thiru Annamalai and the ashram in Arunachala of famous Vedanta Advaita (Non-dualism philosophy) saint, Ramana Maharishi. 
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Madurai, situated in southern Tamil Nadu, is a district with its headquarters in Madurai city, on the banks of Vaigai river. Madurai is the second largest city in Tamil Nadu. It is more than 2,500 years old and is an important cultural and commercial centre. Madurai, once the seat of Tamil learning and still the place where Tamil language is spoken in its purest form, is an ancient city planned in the shape of lotus. |
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Cape Comorin, Land's End mainland India's southernmost point, where three seas meet and where the shore temple to the virgin goddess Kanyakumari stands. It is one of the sacred pilgrimage places of the hindus. There are two significant memorials here. One is the Gandhi Mandapam, built to commemorate the immersion of the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi in the waters by the temple. The other memorial, dedicated to Swami Vivekananda, is built on the rock 656 ft. from the shore where he meditated in 1892 before taking the message of the Hindu philosophy to the west. Swami Vivekananda was the foremost disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.      |
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Mata Amritanandamayi is believed to be an avatar--an incarnation of Mother Divine in human form. She is the first Indian saint to give her blessings by hugging each aspirant who visits her. To receive a hug from "Ammachi," as she is called by her devotees, is to experience the nectar of divine love flowing into your heart and illuminating your mind. This is something that has to be experienced in order to understand its power. A feeling of true spiritual grace is bestowed upon every person who visits this wonderful saint. We will have the honor of spending New Years Eve and New Years Day with her. |
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After late breakfast, transfer to Airport for flight to Delhi, IC # 804 at 13.50 Hrs. Reach Delhi at 19.00 Hrs. and transfer to Village BISTRO for Farewell Dinner and later on transfer to IGI Airport and tour terminates. |
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Meet your group over the late
breakfast, then enjoy a walking tour of Old Delhi, featuring
Raj Ghat, where Jama
Masjid, India's largest mosque. In the afternoon, drive through
New Delhi to visit the India Gate and the old residences of British
Viceroys.
Old Delhi: The 350
years old walled city was built by Emperor Shah Jehan in 1648
as his capital. Opposite the fort are the black and white onion
dome and minarets of the Jama Masjid, the most elegant mosque
in India. Raj Ghat is worth a visit where Mahatma Gandhi was
cremated in 1948.
After
late breakfast, transfer to Domestic Airport for flight to Bangalore,
IC # 403 at 16.30 Hrs. Reach Bangalore at 19.00 Hrs and continue
to Puttaparthy by surface. Reach Puttaparthy. Transfer to hotel.
Dinner & overnight at hotel.
Tirupati
is a dusty bustling little town at the foot of the Tirumalai
Hills in the southern tip of Andhra Pradesh. Every day thousands
of pilgrims descend on Tirupati spilling out of buses, cars,
taxis and trains. They are all on their way up to the temple
of the Lord Venkatswara up in the Tirumalai hills. It is an old
temple, that has witnessed the rise and fall of powerful dynasties.
The Pallavas, Cholas and Pandayas were all patrons of the shrine
and they endowed it with jewels and wealth. Later in the 16th
century the great Vijayanagar kings enriched and embellished
the temple and gave it a new lease of life. Today this shrine
probably attracts more devotees than any other temple in India
and about 25,000 people coming from all over the country visit
it daily, firm in the belief that any wish expressed before this
image of the Lord Venkateswara will be granted. 
The
temple is located in the cool of the verdant hills at a height
of 890 metres. It nestles in a hollow surrounded by the peaks
of the 7 hills of Tirumalai and legend has it that these are
the seven hoods of the serpent god Adishesha, the vahanam or
the mount of the Lord Venkateswara.
little
township, beautifully maintained, with its guest houses, hotels
and gardens. The imposing gopurams or gateways of the temple
dominate the scene.
After
breakfast, drive to Chennai. Reach Chennai and later on half-day
city tour of Chennai. Dinner & overnight at hotel.
Immensely
proud and aware of the classic antiquty of their three thousand
years old Dravidian Culture, respected by the Aryans when they
came in 1500 B.C., many modern day Tamils still live largely
the same life in many ways, not only in their culture and language,
but in their food and clothes as well. Tamil -- one of the oldest
languages known on the earth -- spoken by majority of the people,
today Chennai is a city that still sustains a pure Tamil culture
vibrantly alive with modern participation. Inspite of successive
invasions, the Tamil art, scriptures, religion, dance, drama,
vocal and instrumental music and architecture have remained essentially
untouched.
Modern day Chennai sprawls over 174 square
kilometers and is home of more than 5 million people. This modern
metropolis of Chennai, Tamilnadu's principal port, offers excellent
hotels and transport, a terrfic range of food and some serious
shopping for silks, cottons, jewellery and handicrafts. And of
course, magnificent old Hindu temples that offer more than just
a fabulous photo opportunity to the discerning. More, you will
hear the splendid strains of classical music and sniff a heady
compound of jasmines and spices living traditions that are still
savored from Chennai's ancient past.
After breakfast, leave for Mahabalipuram,
en route visiting Kanchipuram and Kamakshi Temple. Reach Mahabalipuram
in the evening. Dinner & overnight at hotel.
The sculpture here is particularly
interesting because it shows scenes of day-to- day life, in contrast
with the rest of the state of Tamil Nadu, where the carvings
generally depict gods and goddesses. Mahabalipuram art can be
divided into four categories : open air bas - reliefs structured
temples, man-made caves and rathas ('chariots' carved from single
boulders, to resemble temples or chariots used in temple processions).
The famous Arjuna's Penance and the Krishna Mandapa, adorn massive
rocks near the centre of 
the
village. The beautiful Shore Temple towers over the waves, behind
a protective breakwater. Sixteen man-made caves in different
stages of completion are also seen, scattered through the area.
The Ekambareshvara temple is the
principle Shaiva sanctuary and its soaring gopuras dominate the
city's skyline. This temple was erected in 1509 by the Vijayanagara
emperor Krishnadeva Raya. The temple is preceded by a long columned
mandapa into which earlier shrines and altars have been incorporated.
A corridor surrounds the principle shrine on four sides, presenting
a continuous sequence of receding piers.The Vardhamana temple
is the most important Vaishanava temple. Local legend has it
that the temple commemorates the site where the Lord Brahma performed
a yajna (fire sacrifice) to invoke the presence of Vishnu. It
has a long history spanning the Chola and the Vijayanagara periods.
One of the two high towered gopuras resemble 12th-13th century
Chola projects while the other is characteristic of the 16th
century Vijayanagara period. The main sanctuary enshrines bronze
images of Vishnu flanked by his consorts. Some specimens of Vijayanagara
paintings are still preserved on the walls.
After
breakfast, transfer to Domestic Airport for flight to Madurai,
IC # 671 at 11.45 Hrs. Reach Madurai at 12.40 Hrs. Afterwards,
visit to the Meenakshi Temple and transfer to hotel. Dinner and
overnight at hotel.
After
breakfast, half-day sightseeing of Madurai and continue to Kanyakumari.
Reach Kanyakumari and transfer to hotel. Dinner & overnight
at hotel.
After breakfast, full day sightseeing
of Kanyakumari and Vivekenanda Memorial Rock. Dinner and overnight
at hotel.
