Day 1 Arrival in Chennai
Welcome to the land of the first civilization. Meeting at the airport with a representative of the company. Transfer to hotel after check-in to to hotel rest for the day.
Overnight stay in Chennai.
Day 2 Chennai – Pondicherry (165 km / 3 hrs.)
After Breakfast, sightseeing tour of the city, passing through the main street Anna Salai and along the city's waterfront Marina Drive, long 13km. You will see Fort St. George, which began construction of the city, and now it is the seat of the government of Tamil Nadu. You will get acquainted with the mission of the Holy
Apostle Thomas (Unbeliever) in India by visiting the Cathedral where his relics are buried. You will visit the National gallery of art, which has one of the country's best collections of bronze, South Indian musical instruments and jewelry, Rajasthan and Mughal paintings of the 16th-17th centuries, as well as works of folk crafts of the 11th and 12th centuries. After the tour transfer to Pondicherry-the former capital of the French colony.
Overnight stay in Pondicherry.
Day 3 Pondicherry – Auroville – Pondicherry
After Breakfast visit Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Unlike ordinary Ashram monasteries, Sri Aurobindo Ashram was organized as a model of spiritual transformation of the world in order to transform people who seek harmony, but at the same time remain to live in society. Followers and people who simply share the views of Sri Aurobindo come to the Ashram from all over the world to pay their respects to the teacher, to touch the teachings, to communicate and to participate in classes and meditations. In the afternoon you will visit the "city of the future - Auroville", created by Sri Aurobindo, visit the Auroville Museum and see the legendary temple of
meditation - Matrimandir. Elegant, amazingly beautiful clothes created in Auroville, sold in stores in the city, it will please any fashionista. In the restaurant of Auroville you can enjoy eco-cuisine, all products for it are produced on the plantations of the community. Upon returning to Pondicherry, you can walk along the evening
Promenade and dine in the iconic restaurant "Rendezvous".
Overnight stay in Pondicherry.
Day 4 Pondicherry – Chidambaram – Thiruvanamalai – Pondicherry
Today you are going to one of the most sacred places in India. Chidambaram is one of the five places associated with the elements of creation. You will see this ancient city and visit the world's only temple of "Dancing Shiva" - Shiva Nataraja. Indians believe that this is where Shiva danced his cosmic dance, symbolizing the five divine roles of Shiva: creation, support, dissolution, concealment and bestowal of grace. The temple altar holds the greatest mystery of Shiva, invisible to the naked eye Shiva lingam of ether (akasha). The complex of temple buildings symbolically correlates with the body of the ideal person – Purusha. After visiting the temple of "Dancing Shiva" move to Tiruvanamalai. On the way stop for lunch. Then you go to a meeting with "the Mountain of the eternal dawn" - a sacred Arunachaleswara. The mountain, an extinct volcano, is a manifestation
of the Shiva lingam of fire and it is unclear which is more sacred - the mountain or the Shiva Shakti temple complex at its foot. Amazing secrets keeps this "Temple of Enlightenment", it is here that the state of mahasamadhi (liberation) reached the greatest Saint of the 20th century Sri Ramana Maharshi. You will visit the Ashram of the Saint. Return to Pondicherry in the evening.
Overnight stay in Pondicherry.
Day 5 Pondicherry – Kanchipuram – Mahabalipuram (100 km / 2 hrs.)
After Breakfast, head to Kanchipuram, one of the seven holiest cities in India. At first glance, it is an ordinary populous city, but once it was, according to the great poet Kalidasa, the most magnificent city in India, and it was called "the city of a thousand Golden temples." Since ancient times Kanchipuram is divided into two parts: the Western part of the city is dedicated to Shiva; South-East - Vishnu. Three main temple on the side of Shiva is Ekambareswarar, Kamakshi-Amman and [kaylasanatkhe]. Each of these temples is unique and you will see it for yourself. It is said that once a rival Pallava in the struggle for power, king Vikramaditya, took Kanchipuram by storm, vowing to destroy all the buildings of the city. But when he saw the temple of Kailasanath, he bowed before its Majesty and Holiness and did not destroy anything. So beauty once again saved the world and, as the Scriptures say, "the mighty conqueror was defeated by architecture." After visiting the shop of famous Kanchipuram fabrics which are considered as sacred as the city itself, moving to Mahabalipuram. On arrival check-in to hotel.
Overnight stay in Mahabalipuram.
Day 6 Mahabalipuram
After Breakfast you will get acquainted with Mahabalipuram. Known for ancient cave temples, famous for stone carving and annual dance festival, Mahabalipuram was the main seaport of the Pallava state in the 2nd half of the 1st Millennium ad. During this dynasty, the first stone temples that have survived to the present day, now they are protected by UNESCO as the heritage of all mankind. You will see the Coastal temple, the rock temples of the " Five radhas "(chariots) dedicated to the Pandava brothers - the heroes of the Mahabharata, the" wall of the Ganges descent " and the ancient lighthouse. After that, swimming in the ocean and a fascinating study of the many shops on the streets of the city. In the evening you can try in small restaurants seafood (fish, shrimp, crab, etc.).
Overnight stay in Mahabalipuram.
Day 7 Mahabalipuram – Chennai airport (45 km / 1 hr.)
Morning after breakfast, check out from the hotel, transfer to Chennai airport for departure to your destination.