Escorted Tours 2023 - 2025

Day 7: Kabini to Ooty B/L/D After breakfast journey to the hill station of Ooty, one of three that occupy the UNESCO recognised biome of Nilgiri Hill. For the next two nights, your elevated position offers stunning views across the southern plains and tea gardens that hug the sloping terrain. Day 8: Ooty B/L/D Completed in 1899 by British colonial forces, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway transports passengers through a series of gauges, across lofty bridges and around hillsides blanketed by tea plantations. Day 9: Ooty to Madurai B/L/D Depart Ooty for one of India’s oldest cites, Madurai. As an important place of worship and commerce, it encapsulates the complex historical tapestry of South India. Later this evening, witness a night ceremony at Madurai’s biggest temple; during this procession, behold the spectacle of Lord Shiva’s bronze statue being carried to the Hindu God of Love’s bedchamber, accompanied by religious prayer and atmospheric temple music. Day 10: Madurai B/L/D This morning, visit one of India’s grandest temples, Meenakshi Amman Temple. This complex presents 33,000 sculptures, illustrating vivid Hindu tales amongst 12 gargantuan gopuram towers engraved with gods, goddesses and demons - all in staggering detail. The pinnacle of your visit and testimony to the region’s architectural finesse lies within the ‘Hall of a Thousand Pillars’, a masterpiece of lifelike sculptures clinging to towering pillars within a vast gallery. Day 11: Madurai to Munnar B/L/D Following breakfast, cross into the Indian state of Kerala arriving in Munnar - a region famed for its rolling hillsides coated in emerald tea plantations. The rest of your day is at leisure. Day 12: Munnar B/L/D Today visit natural splendours of the region including the mirror-like waters of Mattupetty Lake, call out at Echo Point whilst listening patiently to the returning call from surrounding hills, discover the origins of your morning tea at a plantation. Return to Munnar for a well-deserved rest. Day 13: Munnar to Alleppey B/L/D This morning, travel to Alleppy, a hub of Kerala’s vast waterway network. Here you’ll board a traditional houseboat which will be your transport and accommodation for the night. Enjoy a leisurely cruise through winding backwaters and meander through picturesque lagoons, admiring stunning rural scenery and the quaint surrounding villages. (For guests with morning land safaris, an evening boat safari is scheduled. Similarly, guests with morning boat safaris will have a land safari in the afternoon.) Day 14: Alleppey to Cochin B/L/D Beckoning merchants and explorers for over 500 years, the port city of Cochin offers a dynamic cultural mixture of Portuguese houses, ancient mosques and crumbling remains of British colonialism, all overlooking the tropical Malabar Coast. Disembark this morning for a half-day sightseeing tour to visit the seemingly modest Mattancherry Palace, home to astonishing Hindu murals depicting Puranic legends. Continue to the edifice of St Francis Church, believed to be one of India’s oldest churches and gaze at Cochin’s promenade, lined with distinct spiderlike Chinese fishing nets. This evening, enjoy a farewell meal. Day 15: Cochin B/L/D Enjoy a full day of leisure in Cochin. In the early evening, head to a Kathakali cultural show and watch a traditionally based dance based on themes of Hindu mythology. Day 16: Cochin to the UK B After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your return flight, or continue on to your chosen extension. Alleppey Backwaters Mysore Palace The guide we had was very good and knowledgeable and helpful. I am unable to pick a specific highlight as the tour was so varied and truly amazing. A wonderful holiday in all.” K. Saunders What’s included ✔ Return flights Heathrow to India with Air Vistara. See page 136-37 for regional flights ✔ Where you’ll stay Bangalore, 4 H St Mark’s Hotel Mysore, 4 H Radisson Blu Plaza Kabini, 4 H Regenta Kabini Spring Resort Ooty, 4 H Gem Park Hotel Madurai, 5 H Heritage Resort Munnar, 4 H Tea County Resort Alleppey, Traditional Houseboat Cochin, 4 H Holiday Inn ✔ 42 meals ✔ 8 excursions ✔ Expert local tour guide Tour pace: Intermediate Extend your tour Kerala beach stay, 3 nights, 3 H from £219 or 5 H from £585 Mumbai city stay, 3 nights, 4 H Full Board from £399 No Single Supplement Rooms with no single supplement are available. Once sold, supplement starts from £569 Departures & from prices Oct 2023 £2,299 Nov 2024 £2,599 Nov 2023 £2,329 Jan 2025 £2,599 Jan 2024 £2,499 Feb 2025 £2,399 Feb 2024 £2,299 Mar 2025 £2,399 Mar 2024 £2,299 Apr 2025 £2,299 Apr 2024 £2,199 May 2025 £2,099 May 2024 £1,999 Sep 2025 £2,199 Sep 2024 £2,099 Oct 2025 £2,599 Oct 2024 £2,499 Nov 2025 £2,699 • Lead-in price based on 16 May 24 • Solo Group departures available from £2,399 • Tipping paid locally £45 pp per tour 21 Southern Asia Visit our website or call 0800 954 9329 to book or for further details