Tamil Nadu Temple Explorer
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Kick off and wind up in Chennai on this 8–day spin through Tamil Nadu – a culture–packed route of temple towns, coastal views and colonial charm. You’ll explore Kanchipuram, Tiruvannamalai and Trichy for soaring gopurams and sacred rituals, then visit Madurai’s spellbinding Meenakshi complex. Cross to Rameshwaram for its endless pillared corridors and a look at the fabled Adam’s Bridge. Detour through Chettinad’s palatial mansions and the UNESCO–listed Chola masterpieces at Tanjore, Darasuram and Gangaikonda Cholapuram. In Pondicherry, wander the leafy French Quarter and Auroville, then cap it all at Mahabalipuram’s Shore Temple and rock–cut wonders – before returning to Chennai.
For a detailed itinerary and information about visas, money, weather and more.
Accommodation Standard
Prices
Tour Overview
Duration
8 daysHotel Rating
3, 4 or 5 star hotelsStarts
ChennaiEnds
ChennaiMinimum Age
No minimum ageMaximum Age
Tours have upper age limits for several reasons, such as but not limited to: tour pace, activity level, and accommodation standards. If you fall outside of this age limit, we do have lots of other tours in India that are suitable for all ages!
Arrival Transfer
YesDeparture Transfer
YesTour Guide
Yes - for included sightseeing.Country
IndiaPassengers
€3,540.00
€1,770.00
Accommodation Standard
Prices
Tour Style
Group Size
Min 1 / Max Private Tour
Trip Type
Private Tours
Range
On this tour, you won't be joined by other travellers, and will just be travelling with your booking party. Some transportation & sightseeing may be shared, check the Inclusions for more information.
Guiding Style
This tour includes scheduled sightseeing with expert guides in key destinations as per the Inclusions, as well as transportation (either with a driver or public transport), plus of course your accommodation. There is no single tour guide or tour leader throughout the trip. You’ll have support where it counts, and more freedom in between. Our cruise tours also fall into this category where you will be looked after by a crew. For more information, check the Inclusions of this tour.
Tour Pace
A balanced pace, with a mix of free time and visits to multiple locations, allowing for both relaxation and exploration. Generally doesn't visit more than one or two destinations per day.
Physical Rating
A moderate amount of walking is required during sightseeing, with some free time, offering a balance between activity and relaxation. As a general rule, you should be able to walk 2-kilometres without stopping.
Tour Guide
Yes - for included sightseeing.Group Size
Min 1 / Max Private TourRange
On this tour, you won't be joined by other travellers, and will just be travelling with your booking party. Some transportation & sightseeing may be shared, check the Inclusions for more information.
Guiding Style
This tour includes scheduled sightseeing with expert guides in key destinations as per the Inclusions, as well as transportation (either with a driver or public transport), plus of course your accommodation. There is no single tour guide or tour leader throughout the trip. You’ll have support where it counts, and more freedom in between. Our cruise tours also fall into this category where you will be looked after by a crew. For more information, check the Inclusions of this tour.
Tour Pace
A balanced pace, with a mix of free time and visits to multiple locations, allowing for both relaxation and exploration. Generally doesn't visit more than one or two destinations per day.
Physical Rating
A moderate amount of walking is required during sightseeing, with some free time, offering a balance between activity and relaxation. As a general rule, you should be able to walk 2-kilometres without stopping.
Trip Type
Private ToursPlaces You'll See
Chennai
Kanchipuram
Vellore
Tiruvannamalai
Trichy
Madurai
Tiruchirappalli
Rameshwaram
Rameswaram
Chettinad
Thanjore
Darasuram
Gangaikonda Cholapuram
Chidambaram
Thanjavur
Pondicherry
Mahabalipuram
Accommodation Standard
Prices
Included
Not Included
Accommodation Standard
Prices
Itinerary
Day 1 - Chennai
On arrival at Chennai airport, we provide assistance and transfer you to your hotel to settle in. Later, we take a city tour of Chennai, visiting Fort St. George and its museum – built by the British East India Company in 1640 and regarded as the first British establishment in India. We continue to Kapaleeshwarar Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva; Semmozhi Poonga, a beautifully landscaped botanical garden; Dakshina Chitra, a living history museum; and Arulmigu Sri Parthasarathy Temple, an 8th century Vaishnavite temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. In the evening, we enjoy a relaxed walk along Marina Beach. Overnight at the hotel.
Day 2 - Kanchipuram & Vellore
We pick you up from your hotel in Chennai and drive 140 kilometres – around 3 hours – to Vellore, stopping in Kanchipuram en route. Here we visit Kailasanathar Temple from the 8th century, noted for its architecture, sculptures and the 58 small shrines around the main sanctuary. We continue to Ekambareswarar Temple, home to a 2,500 years old mango tree whose four branches yield different varieties of fruit, then on to Varadharaja Temple for its fine sculptures, Vaikundhaperumal Temple – one of the 108 Divyadesams – and Kamakshiamman Temple, dedicated to Goddess Kamakshi.
We then drive on to Vellore and check in at the hotel. Later we explore the 16th century Vellore Fort with its granite walls and moat, visit the intricately carved Jalakandeswarar Temple inside the fort, and call at the nearby Government Museum for its prehistoric relics and natural history displays. We also visit the Sri Lakshmi Narayani Golden Temple in the Sripuram spiritual park – the temple is gilded with 1,500 kg of pure gold, twice the 750 kg gilding of the dome of the Golden Temple at Amritsar. You have free time to relax afterwards. Overnight at the hotel in Vellore.
Day 3 - Journey to Trichy
After breakfast, we drive from Vellore to Trichy via Tiruvannamalai – around 280 kilometres and about 6 hours by road. In Tiruvannamalai, a Hindu pilgrimage town at the foot of sacred Arunachala Hill, we visit the vast Arulmigu Arunachaleswarar Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva and known for its intricately carved gopurams. Here Shiva is worshipped as Arunachalesvara and represented by the lingam known as the Agni lingam, while his consort Parvati is depicted as Unnamalai Amman. To the west lies the Sathanur Dam, built in 1958 on the Thenpennai River – the surrounding area has gardens, a crocodile farm and a small zoo. We then continue to Trichy and check in at the hotel. In the evening, we visit Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple to attend the Arti ceremony. Overnight at the hotel.
Day 4 - Trichy to Madurai
Trichy to Madurai – 135 km/3 hours approx. After breakfast we explore Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple – famed for its 22 gopurams, including India’s tallest at 72 metres – shaped over centuries by the Chera, Pandya, Chola, Hoysala and Vijayanagara rulers. We continue to the Rock Fort Temple, set atop an 83 metres high outcrop that ranks among the planet’s oldest rock formations, then visit Tiruvanaikkaval’s Jambukeshwara Temple, dedicated to Shiva and enclosed by five concentric walls with seven gopurams. After sightseeing we drive to Madurai and check in at the hotel.
Later we take a city tour of Madurai. We visit the Meenakshi Sundareshwarar Temple – a vast complex built between the 16th and 18th centuries – known for its ongoing rituals, devoted crowds and lively market stalls. We then see Tiruparankundram Murugan Temple, one of the Six Abodes of Murugan with Pandya-era rock‑cut architecture, and finish at Tirumalai Nayak’s Palace, noted for its grand roofed arcade supported by stone pillars 48 feet high. Overnight in Madurai.
Day 5 - Madurai to Rameshwaram
After breakfast we drive 170 km – around three hours – from Madurai to Rameshwaram and check in to the hotel. Set on an island separated from the mainland by a narrow strait, Rameshwaram is a major Hindu pilgrimage centre. We visit the temple complex, associated with Lord Rama and revered as one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Shiva – a sacred site for both Shaivites and Vaishnavites. Its most striking feature is the pillared corridor, stretching about 1,219 metres with 3.6‑metre granite columns, richly carved and finely proportioned.
We also visit Adam’s Bridge, the chain of reefs, sandbanks and islets that almost links India with Sri Lanka, long connected in legend to Hanuman’s army during Rama’s journey to Lanka. Overnight at the hotel.
Day 6 - Chettinad & Tanjore
After breakfast we drive from Rameshwaram to Tanjore – about 250 km, around 5 hours – stopping en route in Chettinad. We explore the region’s celebrated 19th century mansions, known for their wide courtyards and spacious rooms finished with marble and teak. Many materials and furnishings were imported – marble from Italy, chandeliers and teak from Burma, crockery from Indonesia, crystals from Europe and wall to wall mirrors from Belgium – and a local limestone called karai was widely used in construction. It is estimated that around 11,000 mansions remain, roughly half the number from a century ago. They were built by merchants who traded in goods from salt to gems with Burma, Malaysia and Singapore, investing their profits in these grand residences, often called natukottai or regional forts. From the mid‑20th century many Chettiar families moved to cities, leaving caretakers to maintain the homes for occasional family visits, festivals and weddings such as Pongal.
We visit a selection of mansions open to visitors, including Chettinad Mansions and Chettinad Palace, and several notable temples such as Vairavan Kovil Temple, Karpaga Vinayakar Temple, Kundrakudi Murugan Temple and Kottaiyur Sivan Temple. We then continue to Tanjore and check in at your hotel. Overnight in Tanjore.
Day 7 - Journey to Pondicherry
After breakfast, we travel from Tanjore to Pondicherry – about 180 kilometres, around four hours – with visits en route. We begin at the Brihadeshwara Temple and Fort, a 10th century Chola masterpiece and UNESCO World Heritage Site, then continue to the Tanjore Palace complex, including its art gallery of Chola period granite and bronze sculpture and the Saraswathi Mahal Library, which preserves over 30,000 palm leaf and paper manuscripts in Indian and European languages. We then visit the Airavateshwarar Temple at Darasuram, noted for its 85 feet high vimana, fine stone carvings and a front mandapam shaped like a chariot drawn by horses, with the Periya Nayaki Amman temple adjacent. We continue to Gangaikonda Cholapuram, planned in the Tamil square style with symmetrical mandapas, including the Nandi, Alankar, Maha, Mukha and Ardha mandapas. Together, Tanjore, Darasuram and Gangaikonda Cholapuram form the Great Living Chola Temples – a UNESCO World Heritage Site dating from the 10th to 12th centuries. We then stop at Chidambaram to visit the Nataraja Temple, dedicated to Shiva in his dancing form, a site with roots dating back to when the town was known as Thillai. Arrive in Pondicherry and check in – overnight at the hotel.
Day 8 - Mahabalipuram & Chennai
Pondicherry – Mahabalipuram – Chennai (160 km – around 3 hours). After breakfast we explore Pondicherry, beginning at Auroville, founded in 1968 by Mirra Alfassa as a community for people from around the world – its centrepiece is the Matrimandir, a striking spherical structure clad in gold discs. We continue to the Pondicherry Museum, noted for its outstanding Chola bronzes, including 81 pieces made using the lost wax method. We then stroll through the French Colony to appreciate its blend of French and Tamil architecture – you can pause for a coffee and desserts along the way. You can also customise the walk with your guide to include the French Consulate, French Institute, Raj Nivas, Bharati Park (Aayi Monument), Government Square, beaches, monuments, churches and French schools.
We drive on to Chennai via Mahabalipuram, visiting the monolithic rathas – temples chiselled from single boulders – the Shore Temple, built in granite in the 7th century with two Shiva shrines and a carving of Anantasayana Vishnu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984, and the cave temples decorated with panels in the Pallava Mamalla style, where traces show they were once plastered and painted. We also see Krishna’s Butterball, a huge granite boulder perched on a slope. We continue to Chennai and drop you at the airport for your evening or late night onward flight.
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Extras and add-ons
If you'd like to add extras or add-ons to your booking, you can do this easily during checkout. Just review the available options and select any additional services or upgrades you'd like before completing your purchase.
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Hotels
The hotels listed below are examples which we frequently use on this tour. Alternative hotels of a similar standard may be used instead.
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Prices & Dates
The prices you see below are a guide, with final prices per person being determined by the number of travellers in your booking party, desired hotel standard and the rooming arrangements required. To see an accurate price, please click "Book Dates" and enter the details for your booking party.
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