Karnataka – 11N/12D

Day01ArriveBangalore
Arrive Bangalore, popularly known as the Garden City.  After check-in at hotel proceed for the sightseeing of Bangalore.  Visit Tipus Sultan’s Palace – a fine specimen of military architecture of the 18th century with a two storeyed ornate structure built entirely in wood, Bull temple at Basavangudi, Vidhana Soudha, Cubbon Park and Lalbagh Botanical Gardens.

Day02Mysore
Drive to Mysore, the Sandalwood City.  It is preserved to this day with its magnificent palaces, beautiful laid out gardens, imposing buildings and many ancient temples.  Visit Maharaja’s Palace  – built in indosarcenic style of architecture with domes, turrets, arches and colonnades, the palace is decorated with Hoysala style carvings. Chamundi Hills – a monolith in granite of 5 metre high Nandi beautifully carved with garlands and bells. Brindavan Gardens – the fabulous garden that stretch out in terraces below dam and change into an exotic fairyland with twinkling lights, swirling fountains and artificial water falls. A musical fountain dances to the tunes and harmony.

Day03Mysore
Day excursion to Somnathpur and Srirangapatna. SOMNATHPUR – Dedicated to the Lord Siva, the exquisitely carved, star-shaped temple with triple towers is a perfect example of Hoysala architecture.  Beautifully sculptured images of gods, goddesses, and scenes from the epics, as well as the remarkably ornate ceilings in the pillared hall will take your breath away.

SRIRANGAPATNA – The Little Island Fortress Of Tipu Sultan, Who Was Once Known As The “Tiger Of Mysore”. Visit the Summer Palace, The Daria Daulat, and the Beautiful Wall Paintings.

Day04Chickmagalur
Chickmagalur enjoys salubrious climate and has venerated monuments and temples all round the region.  Situated in a fertile valley surrounded by lush coffee growing hills, the town with its bracing climate and scenic splendour is worth visiting.  This town is a perfect base for visiting belur and Halebid temples.  Places of interest are the Fort, Ishwara temple, St.Joseph’s Cathedral and Kondandarama Temple.

Day05Chickmagalur
Day excursion to Belur and Halebid.

Belur 40 km from Hassan, a temple town famous for its exquisite temples.
Halebid 30 km from Hassan. It is also known as Dwara Samudra, the wealthy capital of Hoysalas. The Hoysaleshwara temple stands on a platform like a casket in shining black stone carved with variety of gods and goddesses, animals, birds and dancing girls. There is a museum on the lawns with 12th century sculptures and gold coins in use at that time. One km from Halebid is Jain Basti hill built in the 8th century surrounded by gleaming carved black stone pillars.

Day06Hospet
Chitradurga means umbrella shaped lofty hill.  Visit the Fort which has 4 secret entrances, 19 gateways and ingenious water tanks.  Many ancient temples are also located within its precincts, the Hidimbeshwara temple is the oldest among them.  Hospet is the perfect base for visiting Hampi ruins.

Day07Hampi
Early morning breakfast, checkout and proceed to Hampi, the World Heritage Center, is the most beautiful and evocative of all the ruins of Karnataka. Capital of Vijayanagar kingdom is full of delightful surprises, viz., Kings Balance where kings were weighed against grain, gold or money which was then distributed to the poor, other attractions are Queen’s Bath with its arched corridors, projecting balconies, Lotus Mahal Vittala Temple, Virupaksha Temple, Ugra Narasimha are not to be missed. Lunch enroute and on arrival check in to a hotel  evening free.

Day08Hampi
The best way to experience this World Heritage Site is to take a leisurely stroll through the eloquent ruins.  Most of the important structure and ruins are located in tow areas, which are generally referred to as the Royal Centre and the Sacred Centre.  The Royal Centre contains structures that seem to have been palaces, baths, pavilions, royal stables, and temples for ceremonial use.  The sacred centre  is situated on the banks of the holy Tungabhadra river. Visit Vittthala temple and Virupaksha temple.

Day09Badami
After breakfast drive to Badami.  It has exquisite cave temples belonging to the golden period of Chalukyan rule.  There are 4 cave temples – all hewn out of sand stone on the precipice of a hill.  The first cave temple has an exquisite carving of Nataraja embodying 81 poses.  The third cave is dedicated to Vishnu and is the largest and most ornamental.  The fresco paintings in the cave resemble those of Ajanta.  Overlooking the cave temples is a large tank around which are temples dedicated to Vishnu and Shiva.

Day10Badami
Morning breakfast and proceed to visit Aihole and Pattadakal. Aihole – is famous as the Cradle of Indian Temple Architecture has over 125 temples all intricately carved and rich in detail famous ones are Lad Khan Temple, Drug (fort) Temple, Ravalphadi Cave Temple, Konti Temple Complex, Jain Meguthi Temple are few not to be Missed.  Pattadaka l-a World Heritage center has 10 major temples representing early Chalukyan architecture. Temples to visit are Virupaksha, Mallikarjuna and Panatha. Return to Badami in the evening.

Day11Badami
Full day excursion to Bijapur, known as the City of Victory.  It has about 50 mosques, more than 20 tombs and numerous palaces.  Visit Gol Gumbaz:  The tomb of Mohammed Adil Shah is an astounding engineering feat, being the second largest dome in the world, which is mysteriously unsupported by any pillar.  The monument has become memorable for the whispering gallery under the dome, whose acoustics are superb. It carries the faintest whisper around the dome and returns it to the listener nine times.  Ibrahim Rouza, Jumma Masjid, Archaeological Museum are the other interests of this town.

Day12Goa
After breakfast, check out and drive to Goa to relax.  OR   Board your flight for onward destination from Panjim, Goa’s Capital.

Day01ArriveBangalore
Arrive Bangalore, popularly known as the Garden City. After check-in at hotel proceed for the sightseeing of Bangalore. Visit Tipus Sultan’s Palace – a fine specimen of military architecture of the 18th century with a two storeyed ornate structure built entirely in wood, Bull temple at Basavangudi, Vidhana Soudha, Cubbon Park and Lalbagh Botanical Gardens.

Day02Mysore
Drive to Mysore, the Sandalwood City. It is preserved to this day with its magnificent palaces, beautiful laid out gardens, imposing buildings and many ancient temples. Visit Maharaja’s Palace – built in indosarcenic style of architecture with domes, turrets, arches and colonnades, the palace is decorated with Hoysala style carvings. Chamundi Hills – a monolith in granite of 5 metre high Nandi beautifully carved with garlands and bells. Brindavan Gardens – the fabulous garden that stretch out in terraces below dam and change into an exotic fairyland with twinkling lights, swirling fountains and artificial water falls. A musical fountain dances to the tunes and harmony.

Day03Mysore
Day excursion to Somnathpur and Srirangapatna. SOMNATHPUR – Dedicated to the Lord Siva, the exquisitely carved, star-shaped temple with triple towers is a perfect example of Hoysala architecture. Beautifully sculptured images of gods, goddesses, and scenes from the epics, as well as the remarkably ornate ceilings in the pillared hall will take your breath away.

SRIRANGAPATNA – The Little Island Fortress Of Tipu Sultan, Who Was Once Known As The “Tiger Of Mysore”. Visit the Summer Palace, The Daria Daulat, and the Beautiful Wall Paintings.

Day04Chickmagalur
Chickmagalur enjoys salubrious climate and has venerated monuments and temples all round the region. Situated in a fertile valley surrounded by lush coffee growing hills, the town with its bracing climate and scenic splendour is worth visiting. This town is a perfect base for visiting belur and Halebid temples. Places of interest are the Fort, Ishwara temple, St.Joseph’s Cathedral and Kondandarama Temple.

Day05Chickmagalur
Day excursion to Belur and Halebid.
Belur 40 km from Hassan, a temple town famous for its exquisite temples.
Halebid 30 km from Hassan. It is also known as Dwara Samudra, the wealthy capital of Hoysalas. The Hoysaleshwara temple stands on a platform like a casket in shining black stone carved with variety of gods and goddesses, animals, birds and dancing girls. There is a museum on the lawns with 12th century sculptures and gold coins in use at that time. One km from Halebid is Jain Basti hill built in the 8th century surrounded by gleaming carved black stone pillars.

Day06Hospet
Chitradurga means umbrella shaped lofty hill. Visit the Fort which has 4 secret entrances, 19 gateways and ingenious water tanks. Many ancient temples are also located within its precincts, the Hidimbeshwara temple is the oldest among them. Hospet is the perfect base for visiting Hampi ruins.

Day07Hampi
Early morning breakfast, checkout and proceed to Hampi, the World Heritage Center, is the most beautiful and evocative of all the ruins of Karnataka. Capital of Vijayanagar kingdom is full of delightful surprises, viz., Kings Balance where kings were weighed against grain, gold or money which was then distributed to the poor, other attractions are Queen’s Bath with its arched corridors, projecting balconies, Lotus Mahal Vittala Temple, Virupaksha Temple, Ugra Narasimha are not to be missed. Lunch enroute and on arrival check in to a hotel Malligi or similar evening free.

Day08Hampi
The best way to experience this World Heritage Site is to take a leisurely stroll through the eloquent ruins. Most of the important structure and ruins are located in tow areas, which are generally referred to as the Royal Centre and the Sacred Centre. The Royal Centre contains structures that seem to have been palaces, baths, pavilions, royal stables, and temples for ceremonial use. The sacred centre is situated on the banks of the holy Tungabhadra river. Visit Vittthala temple and Virupaksha temple.

Day09Badami
After breakfast drive to Badami. It has exquisite cave temples belonging to the golden period of Chalukyan rule. There are 4 cave temples – all hewn out of sand stone on the precipice of a hill. The first cave temple has an exquisite carving of Nataraja embodying 81 poses. The third cave is dedicated to Vishnu and is the largest and most ornamental. The fresco paintings in the cave resemble those of Ajanta. Overlooking the cave temples is a large tank around which are temples dedicated to Vishnu and Shiva.

Day10Badami
Morning breakfast and proceed to visit Aihole and Pattadakal. Aihole – is famous as the Cradle of Indian Temple Architecture has over 125 temples all intricately carved and rich in detail famous ones are Lad Khan Temple, Drug (fort) Temple, Ravalphadi Cave Temple, Konti Temple Complex, Jain Meguthi Temple are few not to be Missed. Pattadaka l-a World Heritage center has 10 major temples representing early Chalukyan architecture. Temples to visit are Virupaksha, Mallikarjuna and Panatha. Return to Badami in the evening.

Day11Badami
Full day excursion to Bijapur, known as the City of Victory. It has about 50 mosques, more than 20 tombs and numerous palaces. Visit Gol Gumbaz: The tomb of Mohammed Adil Shah is an astounding engineering feat, being the second largest dome in the world, which is mysteriously unsupported by any pillar. The monument has become memorable for the whispering gallery under the dome, whose acoustics are superb. It carries the faintest whisper around the dome and returns it to the listener nine times. Ibrahim Rouza, Jumma Masjid, Archaeological Museum are the other interests of this town.

Day12Goa
After breakfast, check out and drive to Goa to relax. OR Board your flight for onward destination from Panjim, Goa’s Capital.