Iconic South India

DAY 1 | CHENNAI | 1 NIGHT

Arrive in Chennai and transfer to your hotel where you have the remainder of the evening at leisure to relax, enjoy a cuppa, and prepare for the fortnight ahead.

Accommodation: The Leela Palace – 1 night including breakfast

DAY 2 | PONDICHERRY | 2 NIGHTS

Our journey begins in Chennai, where we explore San Thome Cathedral and St Thomas Mount — two sites intimately connected with the arrival of Christianity in India and the legacy of St Thomas the Apostle. Continue to Fort St George and St Mary’s Church, before visiting the Fort Museum, whose artefacts and exhibits bring the city’s colonial history vividly to life.

From here, we travel south along the coast to Mahabalipuram, where intricately carved rock-cut temples, the Shore Temple and the balancing granite boulder known as Krishna’s Butterball showcase the remarkable artistry of the Pallava dynasty.

Continue onwards to Pondicherry, where the atmosphere becomes noticeably more relaxed and the town’s faded French elegance gradually begins to emerge. After time to settle in, we’ll gather this evening for a Welcome Dinner at Maison Restaurant.

Accommodation: Maison Perumal – 2 nights including breakfast, light lunch & dinner

DAY 3 | PONDICHERRY

This morning, we step into the gentle rhythm of Pondicherry, where broad leafy streets, pastel façades and wrought-iron balconies hint at the town’s long French colonial past. Walking through the atmospheric French Quarter, we’ll discover a place where European influences sit quietly layered over the textures, colours and spirit of southern India. Visit the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, whose calm and contemplative atmosphere offers a striking contrast to the bustle found elsewhere in India, before spending time at the museum to better understand the philosophy and legacy behind the community.

Later, continue to nearby Auroville — an experimental township founded on ideals of human unity and conscious living. Auroville was envisioned as an international community free of government, money, religion and strife, and there is nothing like it anywhere else in the world. Here we will have the opportunity to engage with local artisans as they work, and you have the option visit a pre-school in Mohanam run by an Auroville NGO. Thought-provoking, unconventional and unlike anywhere else in the country, it is often one of the journey’s most memorable and surprising experiences.

DAY 4 | KUMBAKONAM | 1 NIGHT

Leaving the coast behind, we travel inland today into the temple heartland of Tamil Nadu, where spirituality, artistry and history intertwine at every turn. Arriving in Kumbakonam, we visit the extraordinary Airavatesvara Temple, one of the great masterpieces of Chola architecture and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Every surface seems intricately carved, with stone figures, pillars, and reliefs revealing stories of mythology, devotion, and daily life. This is where the journey begins to deepen — moving beyond the layers of colonialism into the rich artistic and spiritual traditions of southern India.

Continue to Mantra Koodam, where there is time to relax with a swim in the pool before enjoying a dinner of Tamil cuisine this evening.

Accommodation: Mantra Koodam– 1 night including breakfast, light lunch & dinner

DAY 5 | CHETTINAD | 1 NIGHT

This morning there is the option to begin the day with a yoga class before continuing south via Trichy. En route, we stop at the dramatic Rock Fort Temple, perched high above the city on an ancient granite outcrop and rewarded by sweeping views for those who make the climb. Continue onwards to the immense Sri Ranganathswamy Temple, one of the most important and atmospheric temple complexes in South India, where layers of shrines, towering gopurams and vibrant rituals create an experience that feels both deeply spiritual and intensely alive.

Later, arrive in Chettinad, a region renowned for its opulent heritage mansions built by wealthy merchant families whose trade networks once stretched across Asia. Spend time wandering and absorbing the character of this quietly elegant region before dinner this evening at the beautifully atmospheric 86 Pillars.

Accommodation: The Lotus Palace – 1 night including breakfast, light lunch & dinner

DAY 6 | PERIYAR | 2 NIGHTS

Today, our journey crosses into Kerala, and the change in atmosphere feels almost immediate. The landscape becomes softer, greener and unmistakably tropical as we travel into the Cardamom Hills, where misty slopes, dense forests and spice plantations replace the drier plains of Tamil Nadu.

Arriving in Periyar, the air feels cooler and the pace noticeably calmer. After time to settle in, join a guided walk through a spice garden to discover the ingredients that form the foundations of Kerala cuisine — cardamom, pepper, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg filling the air with fragrance. Later, enjoy a hands-on cooking class followed by dinner, offering a delicious introduction to the region’s flavours.

Accommodation: Spice Village – 2 nights including breakfast, light lunch & dinner