Meet on arrival and transfer to hotel. Depending on the arrival time, half day sight seeing, visit to cover Lalbagh - 240 acres of beautifully sculpted gardens, flowers abound, rare collection of tropical and sub-tropical plants. GlassHouse (built on the lines of London's Crystal Palace) covers 18000sq feet. Vidhana Soudha -built in 1954 in granite, this massive building houses the state Legislature and the Secretariat, Cubbon Park , Bull Temple -Dravidian-style temple, has a huge monolithic Bull is the vahana of Lord Shiva. Overnight.
Morning breakfast and full day sightseeing, visit to Iskcon temple - built in an architectural style, the Krishna Temple is a blend of Modern technology and spiritual harmony, Venkatappa Art Gallery - houses the paintings and art materials of the eminent artists, Government Museum - Acclaimed as one of the oldest museums in the country, this museum houses an amazing collection of archaeological objects, including stone carvings, pottery, weapons, paintings, coins, textiles, sculptures, inscriptions, stone carvings and weapons, Tippu's Palace - Built in 1791, Tippu Sultan's summer retreat is a two-storied ornate wooden structure with fluted pillars, cusped arches and balconies. It now houses a museum that contains artifacts relating to the Hyder-Tipu regime. Later in the evening visit Indira Gandhi Musical Fountain - View the colourful swirling fountains dancing in tune to music, free for shopping at night. Dinner and overnight
Meet on arrival and transfer to Mysore, enroute visit Srirangapatna - Island fortress of Tippu Sultan, the legendary Tiger of Mysore who put up a valiant fight against British domination. Visit Tippu's summer Palace, Mosque, and Sriranganatha Temple. On arrival transfer to Hotel. Evening free.
Morning breakfast, and full day sight seeing, visit to Maharaja Palace -built in 1911-12 by Wodeyar Rulers, the palace is a splendid structure in the Indo-Saracenic Style, among its many attractions are a magnificent gold throne displayed during the Dasara celebrations. It is an entirely modern structure continuing the Hindu and saracenic styles of Architecture, Mysore Zoo - Established with royal patronage in the 19 th century, the zoo's collection of fauna includes rare and exotic species housed in lush green environs, St. Philomena's Church - this imposing Gothic structure with beautiful stained glass windows and lofty towers is a must see, Sri Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery - the art gallery in the Jaganmohan Palace houses an excellent collection of ceramics, sandalwood, ivory, stone, antique furniture and ancient musical instruments, Chamundi Hills - perched a top a hill 13 km outside Mysore City is the temple of Chamundeshwari, the patron d deity of the wodeyars. The 4.8m tall monolith of Nandi and the gigantic Mahishasura statue are added attractions, visit to Mysore's famous Devaraja Market and later on in the evening visit to world famous Brindavan Garden - the Krishna Raja Sagar Dam after sundown, when musical fountains and colored lights transform this place into a magical fairyland. Overnight.
Morning breakfast, checkout and proceed to Hassan, enroute visit famous Shravanabelagola - Jain's Pilgrim Center. Check in to hotel on arrival and after lunch visit Belur - On the banks of the Yagachi River in Belur, a star-shaped temple with hand lathe-turned filigreed pillars and sculptures will take your breath away. It is the only Hoysala temple still in active worship. Friezes of charging elephants, each different from the other, mythological figures, military scenes, dancers and musicians and elaborate decorative motifs charge the imagination. The winged figure of Garuda, Lord Vishnu's carrier, stands at the entrance facing the temple, palms touching in homage. The most marvelous specimens of Hoysala architecture found exclusively at Belur . Halebid - Just 17 kms away from Belur is Halebid, the ancient capital of the Hoysalas. The temple, perched on a star-shaped base amidst lawns, is a sculptural extravaganza. Its walls are richly carved with an endless variety of Hindu deities, sages, stylized animals, birds and friezes depicting the life of the Hoysala kings. The temple complex has a museum which houses the idols, statues, busts and sculptures excavated by the Archaeological Department from the ruins. Dinner and overnight.
Early morning breakfast, checkout and proceed to Hampi - the World Heritage Center, is the most beautiful and evocative of all the ruins of Karnataka. Capital of Vijaya Nagar kingdom is full of delightful surprises. On arrival check in to Hotel, Lunch and relax. Later on sight seeing, visit to King's Palace - This is the largest enclosure, including two major platform structures, an underground chamber which must have served as a treasury or private audience hall, several other platforms, double fortification walls and several other interesting architectural elements. Mahanavami Dibba - Equally impressive is the massive Mahanavami Dibba, where the kings once sat on gem-studded golden thrones and watched processions pass by. The platform sports densely carved bands of horses, soldiers and depictions of the various aspects of courtly life. Queen's Bath - This structure has a very plain exterior but the interior is stunningly ornate, with graceful arched corridors, projecting balconies and lotus-shaped fountains that used to spout perfumed water for the ladies of the court. Return to hotel and overnight.
Morning breakfast and full day sight seeing, visiting to Lotus Mahal - This visually appealing structure has two levels, with open pavilions at the bottom and balconies above. An elegant example of the fusion of the Hindu and Muslim styles of architecture, the Mahal derives its name from its beautiful, geometrically-arranged cusped arches that resemble the petals of a flower opening to the sun. Elephant Stables - An imposing edifice with arched entrances and many domes that once housed the magnificent state elephants. Pushkarni - This stepped water tank, excavated in the mid-1980s, was originally a part of the palace complex. Almost lyrical in its beauty, the tank is a tiered structure crafted from rectangular pieces of granite. Hazara Rama Temple - This was a royal temple reserved for ceremonial use. The entire temple is embellished with bas-relief's depicting scenes from the epic 'Ramayana'. The walls of the enclosure are richly carved with friezes depicting processions of horses, elephants, dancing girls and soldiers attired in splendid weaponry. Inside, four exquisitely sculpted granite pillars add to the beauty of the ardha mantapa. Overnight.
Morning breakfast and full day sight seeing, visiting to Virupaksha Temple - One of the earliest buildings to the western end of the city, Virupaksha Temple is dedicated to Virupaksha, a form of Lord Vishnu. The temple houses shrines of Lord Shiva and Goddesses Pampa and Bhuvaneswari. Parts of the temple is said to belong to 11th or 12th century. It is amazing to see that how when a ray of light passes from the east through a hole near the sanctum sanctorum, Ugra Narasimha - To the south of Virupaksha Temple, atop Hemkuta Hills, is the early ruins of Jain temples and the 6.7m tall monolith of 'Ugra Narasimha', a form of Lord Vishnu with head of a lion and body of a man. He is shown seated under the canopy of a seven-hooded snake, Vithala Temple - is a World Heritage monument with fantastic sculptural work from the time of Vijayanagar Empire. It features 56 'Musical Pillars', which reverberate when tapped and an ornate stone chariot in the temple courtyard with an image of Garuda, the Bird-God and the 9m tall statue of Lord Ganesha along with recently excavated 'Nobleman's Palace, Singaradu Hebbagilu - Just behind the legendary elephant stables, is one of the oldest gateways of the erstwhile capital known as 'Singara Hebbagilu' (the beautiful door), which was once the main entrance to the city. Return back to the hotel and overnight.
Morning breakfast and check out of the Hotel and proceed to Badami. On arrival check in to the Hotel, Lunch and half day sight seeing visiting to Badami Caves - Picturesquely situated at the mouth of a ravine between two rocky hills, the exquisite sculptures and the rust red sandstone cliffs of Badami tell many a tale of yore. Climb a flight of steps to reach the four ancient rock-cut caves replete with carved pillars and bracket figures, all hewn out of red sandstone on the precipice of a hill. The largest of them is the third cave, dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The first sculptural embellishment to dazzle the eye is the 18-armed Nataraja striking 81 dance poses in the first cave. Overlooking the caves is the Agastya Theertha Tank, its banks dotted with a cluster of Bhoothanatha temples. North Fort - This is the largest enclosure, including two major platform structures, an underground chamber which must have served as a treasury or private audience hall, several other platforms, double fortification walls and several other interesting architectural elements. Banashankari - is a quaint hamlet taking its name from the goddess Banashankari. Built in the Dravidian style, the temple is dedicated to Banashankari, a form of Parvati highly revered by the weaver community. The idol depicts the powerful eight-armed goddess seated on a snarling lion. There is a large pond in front of the temple called Harida Theertha, which is enclosed on three sides by stone mantapas with inner colonnades. The annual temple festival in Banashankari is more than a religious event. During this time, the streets around the temple are taken over by a huge fair, marked by colour and gaiety and attended by thousands of devotees. Overnight.
Morning breakfast and proceed to visit Aihole and Pattadakal , Aihole is famous as the Cradle of Indian Temple Architecture has over 125temples all intricately carved and rich in detail famous ones are Lad Khan Temple, Drug (fort) Temple, Ravalphadi Cave Temple, Konti Temple Complex, Jain Meguthi Temple are few not to be missed. Pattadakal- A World Heritage center has 10 major temples representing early Chalukyan architecture. Temples to visited area Virupaksha, Mallikarjuna and Morning breakfast, check out and proceed to Panjim, Goa's Capital to board your flight or train. Return back to Badami in the evening. Overnight.
Morning breakfast, check out and proceed to Panjim, Goa's Capital to board your flight or train. Tour ends.
