Karnataka + Goa
India is pretty simple to describe. It is a Cornucopia – a cornucopia of people, traditions, culture, climate and even topography. It is also the seventh largest country in the world and the second most populous country after China. India is referred to as the largest democracy in the world, by virtue of the fact that it has the largest electing population among democratic countries. The echo of her heroes, her freedom fighters is felt not just in India but all over the world. It is the land of ‘Ahimsa’, the land of Gandhi.
Welcome to this land of diversity!!!
Day 01 Arrive Bangalore
Arrive in Bangalore. DestinAsia Journeys representative will receive you at the airport and then escort you to the hotel of your stay.
Stay overnight in Bangalore.
Day 02 Bangalore – Mysore
Enjoy your breakfast at the hotel and proceed for a short tour of Bangalore before leaving for Mysore.
Lal Bagh Garden: Surrounding one of the towers erected by Kempe Gowda, the founder of Bangalore is the 240 acres landscaped Lal Bagh gardens. Haider Ali, the warrior-king of Mysore, decided to create this garden in 1740 on the lines of the Mughal Gardens that were popular during his time and later improved upon by Tipu Sultan. It houses a splendid collection of above 1800 species of tropical, subtropical and medicinal plans brought from Persia, Afghanistan and France. Hyder al’s son, Tipu Sultan, added to the beauty of the garden by publicizing his wish to receive much-sought-after species of plants from visiting dignitaries.
Bull Temple: This is one of the oldest temples situated in Basavanagudi and dedicated to Nandi, the mount of Lord Shiva. The 4.5 mts tall and 6 mts long monolithic bull is supposed to be older than the temple housing it. It is believed that the source of the river Vishva Bharti originates at the feet of the statue. The Bull temple is famous for the myth it carries and an awesome monolithic deity of Nandi, the celestial bull, carved out in the typical Dravidian style of architecture.
After the visit, drive to Mysore enroute visiting summer palace at Srirangapatnam. Tipu Summer Palace built in 1784, was one of his favorite retreats. It stands on a raised platform at a height of 1.5 mts. The Bagh is situated on the banks of Cauvery river has treasured the paintings, engravings, arms that depicts the valiant victories and struggles of Tipu Sultan. The structure made of teak, this Indo-Sarcenic structure has ornate and beautiful frescoes. The corridors showcase murals which describe Tipu’s ordeals in the battlefield against the British.
Upon arrival in Mysore check-in at the hotel of your stay
Rest of evening is free for you to relax.
Stay overnight in Mysore.
Day 03 Mysore
Today early morning visit the Devaraja fruits and flower market. Return to hotel for breakfast.
Later visit the Mysore Palace: it attracts everyone as all roads in the city lead to this majestic Palace of Maharaja’s. The Palace is a treasure of gorgeous sculptures and carvings from all over the world. The palace is the foremost specimen of Indo-Sarcenic style of architecture with its imposing Durbar Hall showcasing arrayed ceiling with beautiful designs and patterns and many sculpted pillars. Majestic golden throne all studded with jewels and precious stones are worth a watch. The throne is displayed in the hall during the time of Dasara for public viewing.
Chamundi hills: It is 3 kms from the city and it is at the height of 1065 mts above the sea level and 800 mts from Mysore city. The Chamundi temple belongs to 11th century Goddess Chamundi, an incarnation of Goddess Parvati who took a ferocious form to destroy the demon King Mahishasura Devraj Wodeyar who ruled Mysore built the 1000 steps carved out of granite rock.
In the evening visit the beautiful Brindavan garden. These gardens are famous for the illuminated dancing fountains with music that come to life after sunset. Krishna raja Dam is best know example for its fine engineering architects built in 1924 by Sir M. Vishveswariyah one of the India’s finest engineers. The dam was built using a mixture of limestone and brick powder instead of cement and holds the pride of being the first dam to have automatic sluice gates.
Stay overnight in Mysore.
Day 04 Mysore – Hassan
Enjoy your breakfast at the hotel and drive to Hassan enroute visiting Sravanabelagola.
The word Sravanabelagola literally means “the white pond of Sravana”. There is a beautiful pond in the town, true to its name. The statue of Lord Gomateshwara, built by Chandrayana of the Gangas is in Vindyagiri. It is the largest monolithic idol in the world. It spans centuries with different ruling dynasties and kings adding their own contributions and so is a living historical evidence of the last millennia. Bahubali, as the Jains call Lord Gomateshwara, offers the path of eternal happiness by helping man live a life attuned to the natural world around him and not causing any harm to any living being.
Upon arrival in the hotel, check-in and relax for sometime.
In the afternoon visit Halebid and Belur
Hoysaleswara Temple: It is dedicated to Hindu God Shiva. This temple was constructed by the King Vishnuvardhana in 12th century. The construction was completed in 1121 AD. Halebid was sacked and looted by Muslim invaders from northern India and the temple fell into a state of ruin and neglect. The entire outside and some of the interior is covered with a riot of Hindu deities, sages, stylized animals and friezes depicting the life of the Hoysala rulers. It is one of the largest temples dedicated to God Shiva in South India.
Later visit Belur, located on the banks of the river Yagachi, it is a quaint hamlet famous for its exquisite temples. In fact it is also know as Dakshina Varanasi or Southern Banaras. The Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana built its celebrated temple of Channakeshava in 1117 AD to commemorate his conversion from Jainism to Vaishavism. The main structure of the temple, which is star-shaped, is a homogeneous architectural unit on a raised platform. Carved out of soap stone the temple looks as if it had been skillfully crafted out of metal. At the entrance the winged figure of Lord Vishnu’s carrier Garuda stands guard and the 650 elephants on the frieze around the walls outside are all different from each other. The exotic bracket figures on the walls portray the artistic and architectural talent prevalent at that time.
Stay overnight in Hassan.
Day 05 Hassan – Hospet
Today morning post breakfast start drive to Hospet via Hampi.
Hampi is a village in northern Karnataka and was a capital city of Vijayanagar Kingdom. Hampi is famous for its ruins. The ruins and monuments of the city Hampi is the evidence for the archeological wonders of the Era. Virupaksha and Vitala temple is the hand examples for the architecture and engineering work of the Vijayanagar Kings. Hampi is 15 kms away from Hospet.
Upon arrival check-in at the hotel of your stay
Stay overnight in Hospet.
Day 06 Hospet
Today morning after breakfast enjoy the city tour.
Vithala temple: It is the splendid monument of Hampi. This temple is situated on the southern bank of river Tungabhadra. It is 15th century heritage monument and this temple is well known for its sculptured work, carvings and decorated pillars. The temple’s pillar in the main hall of the temple produces the musical notes when it is stuck which is the wonder in the architectural world. In the courtyard is the life-size chariot carved out of granite with actually revolving wheels.
Virupaksha Temple: This temple is the main pilgrimage of Hampi. This temple is for Lord Shiva and in the form of Virupaksha and his deity Parvati, also called Pampa.
Lotus Mahal: Today it has been turned into archeological museum and houses a good number of artifacts discovered during the excavations since 1976. It remained the resting place for the kings in the past.
Stay overnight in Hospet.
Day 07 Hospet – Badami
Enjoy your breakfast and drive to Badami.
Badami was called as Vatapi in ancient India. It was the Chalukyan capitol from 540 AD to 757 AD. The capitol was changed from Aihole and Pattadakkal to Badami which resulted in creation of many rock cut cave Temples and many other temples in the region.
During Badami’s Golden Era the Aihole and Pattadakkal served as a trail ground for new temple architecture, the Aihole and Pattadakkal are now world heritage sites. Badami is famous for its Dravidian architecture and also its one of the archeological wonders enroute visit temples at Aihole
Aihole is village of 100 Temples which was built in between the 04th and 06th Century AD. This is the regional capital of Chalukyan Empire, and these are all examples of South Indian Hindu Architecture. The most impressive of them all is the 07th Century Durga Temple. It is notable for its Semi circular apse. The Museum behind the temple contains further examples of Chalukyan Architecture then visit Pattadakkal. The secondary capital for Chalukyan Empire is Pattadakkal, known for its group of Temples which are collectively a world heritage site.
Stay overnight in Badami.
Day 08 Badami – Goa
Enjoy an early breakfast today and leave for Goa.
Upon arrival check-in at the hotel of your stay and relax for the remainder of the evening.
Stay overnight in Goa.
Day 09 Goa
Enjoy your breakfast at the hotel and then proceed for Spice Plantation tour and Old Goa.
The Spice plantation gives lesson in the organic farming. Once you are at the plantation, you will be welcome with Herbal Tea and a leaflet briefing you about the plantation. The guide will take you on a refreshing walk around the plantation, regaling you with information on various spices and there medicinal values. Around Spice Plantation you will see Goa’s traditional Plantation, Tropical trees like Cashew, Areca nut (Betel nut) palm trees and Tropical Fruit like Star fruit, Jack Fruit, Custard Apple, Bananas, Papayas, and Pineapple. At the Spice Plantation you can experience the thrill of watching a Kingfisher dive for his catch. You will also enjoy watching the monkeys as they frolic on the trees. The Spice Plantation guided tour will refresh your senses and make you feel a part of nature.
After the guided tour, you will be served an exquisite Goan lunch in our open air restaurant, where no walls separates you from nature. Food is served in a traditional manner on a Banana leaf, offer fresh fruits along with traditional Goan dessert.
In the afternoon enjoy the sightseeing of North Goa which covers inspiring Churches of Old Goa, Se Cathedral the seat of Portuguese Bishop and one of the biggest Churches in Asia and The Basilica of Bom Jesus where the relics of the Spanish Saint, St. Francis Xavier are kept. Further continue your drive to Panjim, also known as Panaji and is one of the India’s smallest and pleasantest state capitals and is located on the south bank of the wide Mandovi River. The town has preserved its Portuguese heritage remarkable well and parts of its still consist of narrow winding streets, old houses with over hanging balconies, red-tiled roofs and numerous small bars and cafes.
Stay overnight in Goa.
Day 10 Goa
Full day leisure on the beach.
Stay overnight in Goa.
Day 11 Goa
Full day leisure on the beach.
Stay overnight in Goa.
Day 12 Leave Goa
In time transfer to airport to board flight for onward destination.
** Imp: all our program’s are 100% tailor made and can be modified as per the requirements.