DAY 01
ARRIVE MUMBAI, TRANSFER TO HOTEL.

MUMBAI  : Mumbai is the capital of Maharashtra and  the  economic powerhouse  of India. It's the fastest moving, most affluent  and most  industrialized city in India. It also has  India's  busiest international  airport and the country's busiest  port,  handling nearly 50% of the country's total foreign trade.When the Portuguese arrive on the scene Mumbai consisted of seven islands occupied by fisherfolk known as Kolis. In 1534 the  seven island,  from  Colava in the south to Mahim in  the  north,  were ceded  to  Portugal  by the Sultan of Gujarat in  the  Treaty  of Bassein. The Portuguese did little with them and the major island of  the  group,  Mumbadevi, was part of the  wedding  dowry  when Catherine of Braganza married England's Charles II in 1616.

DAY 02
FLY MUMBAI - COIMBATORE, VISIT THE CITY

COIMBATORE : is a large industrial city known for textile manufacturing and engineering goods, and is full of suiting and shirting's shops. It is a convenient overnight stop if you are heading up to Ooty. 

DAY 03
COIMBATORE - OOTY, DRIVE TO METTUPPALIAYAM AND TAKE TOY TRAIN TO OOTY.

OOTY: This famous hill station near the tri-junction of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka is 2268 m above sea level in the Nilgiri mountains. It was founded by the British in the early part of the 19 century to serve as the summer headquarters of the government of Madras. Before that time, the area was inhabited by the Todas. These tribal people still live there, but today, only 3000 remain. The Todas were polygamists and worshipped buffaloes, and you can see their animist shrines in various place.

ON ARRIVAL MEET YOUR GUIDE AND BYCYCLES

DAY 04
FREE DAY IN AND AROUND OOTY SO THAT YOU GET USED TO YOUR BICYCLE AND THE ROADS

DAY 05
OOTY - KOTAGIRI A DISTANCE OF 28 KM. HERE WE CAMP FOR THE NIGHT.

DAY 06
KOTAGIRI - ELK FALLS 16 KM.

DAY 07
ELK FALLS - MADUMALAI

MUDUMALAI SANCTUARY : Established in 1938 and now expanded to cover 124 sq. miles (322 sq. km.) of mixed and moist deciduous forests. Bisected by the road from Mysore to Ootacamund and bounded to the north by Bandipur National Park in Karnataka and to the west by the Wynad Sanctuary in Kerala. Good game-viewing and facilities. Vehicles and elephant riding available.

DAY 08
FREE IN THE RESERVE TO SPOT AMINALS

DAY 09
WE WILL TAKE IT EASY AND ROAM ON OUR BICYCLES OUTSIDE THE PARK.

DAY 10
DRIVE BY BUS TO MYSORE

MYSORE : Sandalwood City! Everywhere you go in this beautiful city you'll find yourself surrounded by the lingering aromas of sandalwood, jasmine, rose, musk, frangipani and many others. It's one of the major center of incense manufacture in India, and scores of small, family-owned agarbathi factories are scattered all over town, their products exported all over the world. 

There are plenty of other reasons why you would not want to miss Mysore. Until independence the city was the seat of the maharajas of Mysore, a princely state covering about a third of present day Karnataka.

DAY 11
SIGHTSEEING OF THE CITY

MAHARAJA'S PALACE : The beautiful profile of this walled Indo-Saracenic palace, the seat of the maharajas of Mysore, graces the city's skyline. It was built in 1907 at a cost of Rs.4.2 million to replace the former palace which burned down.

JAGANMOHAN PALACE : Another place worth a visit is the Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery in Jaganmohan Palace. Not only does it display paintings, particularly by Ravi Varma, but it has handicrafts, historical objects of interest and rare musical instruments. The palace itself was built in 1861 and served as a royal auditorium. 

ST. PHILOMENA'S CATHEDRAL : This cathedral is interesting if you want to see what the Christians got up to in Mysore earlier this century. It's one of the largest churches in India and is built in neo-Gothic style.

BRINDAVAN GARDENS : These ornamental gardens are laid out below the Krishnaraja Sagar across the Cauvery River, 19 km from Mysore.

SOMNATHPUR : The Sri Channakeshara temple stands at the edge of the tranquil village of Somnathpur. Built around 1260 AD during the heyday of the Hoysala kings, it's an extremely beautiful and unspoiled building.

The walls of the star-shaped temple are literally covered with superb sculptures in stone depicting various scenes from the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Gita and the life and times of the Hoysala kings.


SRIRANGAPATNAM : 16 km. from Mysore stand the ruins of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan's capital from which they ruled much of southern India during the 18th century. Inside the fortress walls there's a mosque and the Sri Ranganathaswamy temple.

DAY 12
DRIVE MYSORE - BANGALORE, FLY TO MUMBAI

DAY 13
SIGHTSEEING OF THE CITY

ELEPHANTA CAVES : They are thought to have been cut out between 450 and 750 AD, and at that time island was known as Gharapuri, the Fortress City. When the Portuguese arrived they renamed it Elephanta after the large stone elephant near the landing place. The cave are reached by a stairway up the hillside from the ferry landing. Palanquins are available for anybody in need of being carried up. There is one main cave with a number of large sculpted panels, all relating to Siva, and a separate lingam shrine.

The most interesting of the panels includes one of Trimurti, or the three-headed Siva, where he also takes the role of Brahma, the creator, and Vishnu, the preserver. In other panels Siva appears as Ardhanari, where he unites both sexes in one body-one side of the sculpture is male, one side female.

There are figures of Siva and his wife Parvati and of their marriage. In another panel Siva dances the Tandava, the dance that shakes the world. Parvati and their son, Ganesh, look on a little astonished. One of the best panels is that of Ravana shaking Kailasa. The demon king of Lanka decided to carry Siva and his companions off by the simple expedient of removing their Himalayan home, the mountain Kailasa. Parvati became panic-stricken at his energetic attempts to jerk the mountain free, but Siva calmly pushed mountain back down with one toe, trapping Ravana beneath it for 10,000 years.

MARINE DRIVE : Now officially renamed Netaji Subhash Rd, Marine Drive is built on land reclaimed in 1920. It runs along the shoreline of Back Bay, starting at Nariman Point and sweeping around by Chowpatty Beach and up to Malabar Hill. The road is backed with high residential buildings and is one of Mumbai's most popular promenades.

HANGING GARDENS : On top of Malabar Hill, these gardens were laid out in 1881 and are correctly known as the Pherozeshah Mehta Gardens. They take their name from the fact that they are built on top of a series of reservoirs that supply water to Mumbai.

HAJI ALI'S TOMB : This tomb and mosque are devoted to a Muslim saint who drowned here. The buildings are reached by a long causeway which can only be crossed at low tide. Here a scene of typical Indian ingenuity and resourcefulness takes place.

DAY 14
Rest and shopping. Transfer to airport.