Women’s Travel Group Festivals of South India Jan 8-17, 2019

Tour Prices If you have been on our wonderful North India creating harmony with nature. Return to the (per person) trips, this is a must do winter adventure. Southern hotel in the late afternoon. (BD) India and , do one or both this January. Day 5 -. Jan 13: Kumarakom / Madurai 6 hour Double Occupancy $3,310 The sights, sounds and aromas of India await as drive Single Supplement $1,495 you wind your way through the lush landscapes Internal Airfare Coach Class $105 and colorful markets of Kerala. The Portuguese, This morning drive to Madurai, the city that (Trichy to Chennai) Syrian Christians, Jews and Dutch all left their grew from drops of nectar that flowed from the Sri Lanka Extension mark on the cuisine and culture. One highlight is locks of Shiva. We will stop on the way to visit Based on minimum 6 pax $1,970 visiting during the Rice Festival! It’s Trichy’s most a spice plantation. Many pilgrims throng the Single Supplement avaiable important festival, celebrating the harvest with narrow streets. The Puja ceremony performed music and ceremony. It’s a special thanksgiving to nightly at the Meenakshi Temple this evening is Tour based on minimum 6 travelers God, the Earth and the Sun. fascinating. Heritage Hotel Madurai (BL) Day 1 - Jan 9 Arrive Cochin Day 6 - Jan 14 Madurai Sightseeing Includes Fly to Cochin in the state of Kerala (D) Visit Shree Meenakshi Temple, ThirumalaiNayak • Accommodation on Twin sharing basis at Palace, the Gandhi Museum, and Mariamman A Welcome dinner is scheduled this evening. the hotels mentioned above or similar Teppakkulam Tank, site of the annual Teppam, • Daily breakfast Gateway Ernakulum (Executive Sea Facing) or Float Festival. (BD) • 2 Lunches & 5 Dinners Day 2 - Jan 10 Cochin Day 7 - Jan 15 Madurai / Trichy / Chennai • All sightseeing by an Air-Conditioned (Madras) transport including transfer of baggage In Cochin, visit the Portuguese church built by by the same vehicle (1 piece per person) St. Francis in 1562, the Jewish Synagogue, the Depart after breakfast for Tiruchirappalli (Trichy) • Entrances to the monuments famed Mattancherry Palace, and learn about Spend the day enjoying the spectacle of the • Accompanying Escort the Chinese fishing nets. Enjoy an evening annual Rice Festival before flying to Chennai • Services of English speaking local tour presentation of the colorful Kathakali dancedra- this evening . (B) ma. Kathkali is a dramatic Hindu dance drama guide during sightseeing tours only ITC Chola Sheraton (Executive Club) • Services of our representative at unique to Kerala utilizing vivid makeup and airport on arrival/departures masks. (B) Day 8 - Jan 16 Kanchipuram & • All present applicable government taxes. Day 3 - Jan 11 Cochin to Kumarakom Mahabalipuram Excursion Not Included Drive approximately 1 ¼ hours through rural Journey to Kanchipuram, with its many temples India to Kumarakom. and visit the three that exemplify this sacred • International Airfare town—Kailasantha and Ekambareshwara, • Internal airfare (Supplement Check in at COCONUT LAGOON. Your afternoon dedicated to Lord Shiva, and Vaikuntaperumal advised separately) is at leisure. You may want to experience an dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Travel to the ancient • Meals other than mentioned. Ayurvedic therapeutic massage, indigenous to Pallavan port of Mamallapuram and visit the • Any services during leisure time. this region, which is both relaxing and healing. last surviving shore temple, stone chariots and • Airport taxes We’ve arranged a sunset cruise before dinner. a bas-relief depicting Hindu legends. (BLD) • Visa fees and processing Coconut Lagoon (BD) Farewell dinner this evening • Insurance Day 4 - Jan 12 Cruise • Tipping/gratuities Day 9 - Jan 17 Chennai (Madras) Sightseeing • Items of personal nature such as tele- This morning enjoy a boat ride through the - Depart Chennai phone, laundry, beverages, Any items series of canals and lagoons snaking their way through several tiny villages and tropical veg- The morning tour of Chennai includes stops not listed above.as telephone, laundry, at the Victoria Art Gallery, Bronze Gallery and beverages, Any items not listed above. etation. Not only do the backwaters of Kerala link the state together, they are an integral Chennai Museum. The Fort St. George, San element in maintaining ecological balance and Thome Cathedral and Kapaleeswarar Temple complete your visit Bid India farewell and board your International flight home or continue to by palaces, shrines, monasteries, pavilions, , Sri Lanka. (B) parks, ponds and irrigation lakes. Sri Lanka extension is strewn with ruins in a resplendent state of preservation. Colombo / Anuradapura / Habarana / Kandy The ‘Gal Vihara’ which consists of statues of the Duration: 06 nights / 07 days recumbent, standing and seated Buddha have Day 1 - Jan. 17 Arrive Colombo (BD) been cut from a single granite wall and rank among the true masterpieces of Sri Lankan Art. On arrival in Colombo, Sri Lanka you will be welcomed at the airport by a WTG/SITA rep- After sightseeing leave for Habarana, a small resentative, who will escort you to your hotel. village with excellent hotel accommodation, Check in at your hotel. This afternoon your a central location for all the ancient city sites. guide will introduce you to the sights and Check in at your hotel on arrival and spend the rest of the evening at leisure. Hotel in Sri Lanka extension sounds of Colombo. Habarana Habarana Village Inclusions: Drive through the commercial and city center • Meeting and assistance on arrival known as the “Fort”, built by the Portuguese Day 6 Jan. 21 excursion (BD) & assistance on departure in the 16th century where grand colonial era After breakfast leave for Sigiriya. Begin the • Accommodation on Half Board buildings stand alongside dern office struc- morning by climbing the rock fortress of at the mentioned hotels or tures. See the vibrant markets and bazaars Sigiriya - a 5th Century “Fortress in the Sky”. hotels with similar standards of Pettah, and the National Museum with its Built by King Kassapa the fortress was a Royal • Transportation fine collection of lovely antiques and art of Sri Citadel for more than 18 years. The lion rock • 02 pax – A/C car Lanka. You could visit a Buddhist temple and ( UNESCO World Heritage Site) is a citadel of • 04 pax – A/C van a Hindu Kovil to experience the diversity of unusual beauty, rising 674 feet from the scrub • 06 pax – A/C van religion, ethnicity and customs of the people. jungle. The base of the rock is ringed by a moat • Entrance tickets to all the sites Hotel in Colombo: Ozo Colombo and rampart and extensive gardens including mentioned in the itinerary Day 2 Jan. 18 Colombo to Anuradapura (BD) the renowned water gardens. The majestic • Service of an English-speaking Lion’s Paw picturesquely guards the stairway chauffeur-guide (02-06 pax) After breakfast set off to Anuradhapura of the palace on the summit. See the famous Not Included: and check in to your hotel on arrival. After frescoes of the “Heavenly maidens” of Sigiriya in • Visa processing a short rest, visit the sacred ancient city of a sheltered pocket of the rock and the 10-foot- • Lunch (payable locally direct) Anuradhapura founded in the 4th century B.C high Mirror Wall. • Mini-bars in hotel rooms a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1982. It has • Mineral water, alcoholic or non- the largest number of ancient monuments of Evening at leisure. Hotel in Habarana Habarana alcoholic beverages during excursions the great Sinhala civilization which flourished in Village • Video/Camera fees at sites this region. Day 7 Jan. 22 Habarana to Kandy (BD) • Items of personal nature such as You will see some of the most famous as well as laundry, telephone calls, tipping etc. After breakfast leave for Kandy. En route you the tallest Stupas of Sri Lanka and the ruins of • International airfares will visit a spice garden in Matale. You will ancient royal palaces. Another amazing site is check in at your hotel on arrival and once you the ‘Sri Maha Bodhi’ or the sacred Bo tree which are rested, continue on your tour of Kandy! is over 2200 years old grown from a branch of the very tree under which “The Buddha” Kandy, the bustling hill country capital is now attained enlightenment - the oldest histori- a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is famous for cally documented tree in the world. Hotel in the pink painted Temple of the Tooth which Anuradhapura: Forest Rock Garden Resort houses the most sacred religious relic, the tooth of the Buddha, the Kandy Lake built in 1807 Contact for Day 3 Jan 19 Mihintale / Aukana (BD) which is an attractive centerpiece to the town reservations: After breakfast leave for Mihintale. Visit the and the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens. ancient remains of Mihintale, a sacred place In the evening you will visit the sacred Temple which is regarded as the cradle of Buddhism in of the Tooth Relic. Thereafter enjoy the Kandyan Mary Barnett Sri Lanka. The rock is dotted with shrines and Cultural show at the Kandyan Arts & Cultural rock dwellings. A grand stairway of 1840 steps Centre. The show features the graceful and 800.421.5643 ext. made of granite slabs, 17 feet wide leads to the rhythmic dancers and drummers culminating in 1518 summit with its splendid views of the surround- an impressive fire walking display. Hotel in [email protected] ing countryside. Kandy Cinnamon Citadel Proceed to Aukana to see the statue of the Day 8 Jan. 23 Kandy to Colombo Airport (B) Aukana Buddha. This is undoubtedly the most magnificent undamaged ancient image in the After breakfast your chauffeur / guide will take island. The 5th century statue ascribed to King you to the international airport in time for your CST# 2003643-40 Dhatusena is 13 meters high standing beneath return flight. Say farewell to a lovely tropical a recently constructed brick shelter. Evening isle. at leisure. Hotel in Anuradhapura Forest Rock Garden Resort Day 4 Jan. 20 Anuradhapura / Polonnaruwa / Habarana (BD) After breakfast continue to one of the ruins of ancient Ceylon - the UNESCO World Heritage City of Polonnaruwa, which was the Capital of Sri Lanka from the 11th to 13th century. A well- planned medieval city defended by enclosing walls (around 3 mi. which still remain), graced