Itinerary

Day 1, Bangalore

Arrive at Bangalore where you are met and transferred to your hotel. Today is at leisure to explore Bangalore, one of the most modern and westernised areas of India, replete with modern shopping malls, bars and fast food restaurants.

Stay at Hotel Ivory Tower

Day 2, Bangalore to Mysore

Drive to Mysore (3 hrs), a friendly and easy-going city with plenty of shady trees, a good climate, beautiful palaces and graceful pre-Independence buildings giving the place an air of faded grandeur. The city is a crafts centre, and there are numerous shops selling a large range of sandalwood, rosewood and teak carvings, and furniture.

Stay at The Green Hotel for two nights

Day 3, Mysore

Morning sightseeing tour of Mysore visiting the Maharaja’s palace which gives a taste of the splendid lifestyle of the Wodeyar rulers of Mysore. The Wodeyars were devoted to the goddess Chamundesvari, enshrined in a hill called the Chamundi Hill (13-km). Half way up the hill is a gigantic monolithic Nandi the Bull, about 5 metres high. There is also a 12th-century temple dedicated to the goddess.

Day 4, Mysore to Nagarhole

Drive to Nagarhole (2 hrs). Nagarhole is open year-round, but the best time to visit the place is the dry season (Oct-May) when the weather is pleasant and the wildlife aplenty.

Stay at Orange County for two nights

Day 5, Nagarhole

Nagarhole National Park has an astonishing abundance of wildlife. The park has elephants, gaur, dhole, wild cats, four-horned antelopes, flying squirrels, sloth bears, monkeys, sambhar deer and panthers. Many varieties of birds include the rare Malabar trogon, great black woodpecker, Indian pitta, pied hornbill, whistling thrush and Green Imperial pigeon.

Day 6, Nagarhole to Coorg

Drive to Siddhapura (2 hrs), a tiny hamlet on the banks of the Cauvery river in the south of Kodagu (Coorg). This sleepy coffee town is set amidst hundreds of acres of coffee and spice plantations interspersed with banana and coconut palms. The remainder of the day is at leisure to enjoy the nature trails or visit the Golden Tibetan Monastery.

Stay at Orange County Resort

Day 7, Coorg to Hassan

Continue to Hassan (3 hrs), the most convenient base for visiting Belur and Halebid that were once the capital cities of the Hoysala kings. The temples, built as commemorations for victory in battle, are small but superbly conceived.

Stay at the Hoysala Village Resort

Day 8, Hassan to Bangalore

Today your tour ends with a drive to Bangalore (4 hrs) to connect with your onward travel. From Bangalore you can fly to Goa, Chennai or Kochi to further explore the south of India.