Historical east and south India tour

On your arrival in Kolkata you will be transferred to your hotel. Kolkata is an important commercial and cultural point in East India. In the 17th century, the Nawab of Bengal granted the East India Company a trading license. Kolkata was the Capital of India till 1911, under the British rule after which the Capital was shifted to Delhi. Kolkata is also called as the City of Joy and also the Cultural Capital of India. The Bengalis of Kolkata are known to be educated, cultured and soft spoken. Kolkata also came into prominence due to Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity.

Your morning Kolkata sight-seeing will take you to the most important Jain Temple dedicated to Parasvanath, the 23rd Jain Tirthankara. Devout Jains from all parts of India flock to the Temple precincts all-round the year. The complex consists of four temples inside of it. The deity of Lord Sitalnathji is seated in the sanctum sanctorum, and his diamond-studded forehead is a major attraction. You will continue with your tour visiting the Victoria Memorial which is one of India's most beautiful monuments built between 1906 and 1921 in white marble. The memorial was the inspiration of Lord Curzon, who in 1901, felt that his lately departed Queen Empress, required a suitable monument to her memory. It houses paintings, manuscripts, and other objects of historic value in its Museum and Art Gallery (Closed on Mondays & National Holidays).
Today you have the afternoon at leisure.
Overnight at hotel.

You will be transferred to airport in time for your flight to Bhubaneshwar.On your arrival in Bhubaneshwar you will be transferred to your hotel.
Bhubaneshwar with a history of over 3,000 years derives its name from Tribhubaneswar, meaning Shiva, the Lord of the Three Worlds. Bhubaneswar known as the Temple City of India had over a thousand temples and some of the important temples are Lingaraja Temple, Muktesvara Temple, Rajarani Temple, and Ananta Vasudeva Temple. The festivals celebrated here are the Ratha Yatra, Durga Puja, Diwali, Shivaratri, Ganesh Puja, Nuakhai and Saraswati Puja, Eid and Christmas. The world famous Odissi classical dance originated from this place. Bhubaneshwar is a base to for excursions to the tribal areas.
In the afternoon city tour of Bhubaneshwar, you will be visiting the various temples of this city. Bhubaneswar known as the Temple City of India had over a thousand temples and some of the important temples are Lingaraj Temple ( Note : At Lingraaj temple non Hindu religion people are not allowed to visit the temple from Inside & one can see the temple from the outside ) , Muktesvara Temple, Rajarani Temple, and Ananta Vasudeva Temple. Most of the temples built between 7th and 11th century are of Lord Shiva. The State Museum houses artifacts, weapons and local arts and crafts. A visit to the Nandankanan Zoological Park is quite interesting. The botanical garden has a good collection of exotic and regional fauna.

After breakfast, Today visit to Hatakeswar Temple near Atri (60 kms), also visit the Mukteswar temple & the Parasurameswar temple – All these temples are dedicated to Lord Shiva. 2 hills i.e. Khandagiri hills & Udaygiri hills are in with in the vicinity of the Bhubaneshwar city. Evening is free to explore the bustling colourful markets and shopping at Orissan handicrafts or you can visit Bindusagar Lake - one of the popular tourist attractions. Return to the hotel for overnight stay.

Ater breakfast, Morning drive to Puri, enroute you will visit, Dhauli -Today you have a half day tour of Dhauli hills. This is the place where the Kalinga war was fought and has major edicts of Ashoka engraved on a rock. It is said that the Daya River became red with the blood of the dead and injured soldiers. Ashoka was horrified at the brutality and the pain of the injured and made Dhauli an important centre of Buddhist activities by building chaityas, stupas and pillars. He had houses excavated for the recluse and explained the main principles of dandaniti for the public. The Japan Buddha Sangha and the Kalinga Nippon Buddha Sangha built a pagoda on top of the hill.
Konark: Konark is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is famous for its Sun Temple of 13the century also known as the Black Pagoda as it was built in black granite. The name Konark comes from the Sanskrit words Kona (angle) and Arka (Sun) and is dedicated to Surya the Sun God. The Temple is designed as a huge chariot of the Surya with twelve pairs of wheels, some of them 3 meters wide and pulled by seven horses. Konark is home to the Konark Dance Festival devoted to the classical Indian dance forms, including Odissi.
Puri : Puri is one of the holiest places for Hindus and has many names like Jagannath Puri, Srikshetra, Shankhakshetra, Purusottama Puri, Neelachala, Neeladri, etc. Puri has one of the four Mathas (Hindu monastery) established by Adi Shankaracharya. The others are at Jyotirmath, Sringeri and Dwarika.

After breakfast, Today take a city tour of Puri.
The tour of Puri will take you the various temples of Puri. Puri is the only shrine where Radha, Lakshmi, Durga, Parvati, Sati and Shakti abode with Krishna. Thousand of pilgrims flock to Puri every year to participate in the Ratha Yatra (Festival of Chariots).
Jagannath Puri Temple ( Note : At Jagannath Puri temple non Hindu religion people are not allowed to visit the temple from nside & one can see the temple from the outside.)
Every Hindu would like to make a pilgrimage tour to four temples towns at least once in his life and Puri is one of them and the other three are Badrinath, Dwarika and Rameshwaram. Shree Lokanath Temple is where Lord Shiva hid himself from Shani, in a pond and the Shivalinga is partially submerged.
Overnight stay at the hotel.

Raghurajpur Raghurajpur village, a small village near Puri, is well-known for its art and culture. Apart from that, the village is also home to crafts like Tussar paintings, palm leaf engravings, stone and wood carvings, wooden, cowdung and papier mache toys, and masks.
Almost every family in Raghurajpur village is engaged in art and craft works. This village houses HAS numerous small temples dedicated to Lord Lamxinarayan, Radha Mohan, Raghunath, Gouranga, Gopinath and Bhuasuni, whom they worshipped as local deity’s of the village.
Chilka lake excursion After visit drive to Chilka Lake, Asia’s largest salt water lagoon. The lake and its reed islands teem with nesting birds-white bellied sea eagles, sand pipers, flamingos, pelicans, shovellers, gulls, ospreys, golden plovers, include migratory ones flying great distances from middle east Iran, Central Asia and Siberia.
Later drive back & overnight in Puri.

After breakfast, Morning drive to Bhubaneswar airport to board the flight for Hyderabad. On your arrival in Hyderabad you will be transferred to your hotel.
Rest of the day free for the independent activities. Overnight at the hotel.
Hyderabad "Lion City" was established by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah in 1591. The world famous Kohinoor diamond was mined in Golconda. A stroll in the old city through the different bazaars is quite fascinating. Hyderabad historically a pearl and diamond trading centre is called the City of Pearls and its bazaars - Laad Bazaar, Begum Bazaar and Sultan Bazaar are quite busy even today. Golkonda was famous for its fabled diamonds and some of the world famous diamonds mined here are Kohinoor, Darya-e Nur, The Hope, Nur-Ul-Ain, Princie, Regent, etc. Do not forget to taste the delicious Hyderabadi biryani.

Today you have a full day tour of Hyderabad and Golconda fort. The Hyderabad tour includes visits to Char Minar, Mecca Masjid and Salarjung Museum. The Charminar (four minarets) an icon of the city is located in the olden part of Hyderabad and is a square structure four grand
arches and four minarets. The Mecca Masjid is one of the oldest and largest Mosques and is in the old part of the city. The Salarjung Museum established in 1951 is one of the largest museums of India and houses the largest one-man collection of antiques and has a good collection of sculptures, paintings, textiles, manuscripts, etc., collected from all over the world.
Golkonda was the capital of Golconda Sultanate and the original fort was built by the Kakatiyas in 1143. The fort is on a granite hill and is surrounded by large ramparts. In the fort is designed a perfect system by which a hand clap at the fort's main gates is heard at the top - 300 ft height. The Fort contains the tombs of the Qutub Shahi kings. Golkonda was famous world over for its fabled diamonds.

After breakfast, Today take a full day excursion of Ramoji film city,
The Ramoji Film City is slightly located outside the city of Hyderabad which is Spread over 1666 acres. It t is the largest integrated film city in the world and it is been by the Guinness World Records as the largest studio in the world. This studio was built by Telugu film producer Ramoji Rao in 1996. You may get the chance to see the regional movie actor while shooting in this studio.
Drive back to hotel.
Overnight stay at the hotel.

After breakfast, Morning drive to Gulbarga enroute visit Bidar.
The history of the present fort at Bidar is attributed to the sultan Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah who was the first sultan of the Bahmani dynasty to 1427, when he shifted his capital from Gulbarga to Bidar as Bidar has a good weather condition.
In earlier records of history of its existence as a small and strong fort is also traced to prince Ulugh Khan in 1322, where after it came under the reign of the Tughlaq dynasty.
With the establishment of the Bahmanid dynasty (1347), Bidar was occupied by Sultan Ala-ud- Din Bahman Shah Bahmani. During the period from 1422–1486, Bidar was made the capital city of Bahmani Kingdom.
Later on continue drive to Gulbarga. Arrive Gulbarga and check in at the hotel.
Gulbarga was the first capital of the Bahmanis from 1347. The Fort here was originally built by one Raja Gulchand, a feudatory of the Orangal Kakatiyas, and was rebuilt by Allah-ud-din several Bahmani with majestic towers. Inside the fort there is a huge mosque built by Muhammed Bahmani in 1367.
Overnight stay at the hotel in Gulbarga.

After breakfast, Morning drive to Bijapur & transfer to the hotel. Afternoon visit Bijapur, known for its Gol Gumbaz, it is the mausoleum of Mohammed Adil Shah which was built in 1659. Bijapur district is historically, traditionally one of the richest districts in the state.

After breakfast, Morning drive to Badami En route visit to nearly Pattadakal You will be transferred by road to Badami visiting Aihole and Pattadakal enroute.
Aihole, a temple complex was a prominent city of the Chalukya Dynasty. Aihole is the cradle of stone temple architecture of the Dravida School and has about 125 temples, divided into groups. The prominent groups are the Kontigudi and the Galaganatha group of temples. Lad Khan temple is the oldest and dates back to the fifth century. Durga temple is one the best temples of Aihole. Ravana Phadi cave a rock cut temple dates back to the 6th century. The Jyothirlinga Group has two temples which are flat roofed. There are various other groups which are equally interesting.
Pattadakal is a World Heritage site and was the place for Chalukyas Coronation. Pattadakal was the capital of the Chalukya dynasty who constructed the temples between the 7th and 9th centuries. The largest temple - Virupaksha from the 8th Century was built by Queen Lokamahadevi to celebrate her husband's victory over the Pallavas. Sangameshwara Temple was built by the Chalukyan King Vijayaditya Satyashraya. The other well-known temples are Chandrashekhara temple, Mallikarjuna & Kasivisvanatha temples, Galganatha temple, Kadasiddhesvara and Jambulingeswara temples, etc.
Badami earlier known as Vatapi was the capital of Chalukyas from 540 to 757 AD and is known for its red sandstone cave temples. The legend goes that the story is that two demons llvala and Vatapi killed people by magic. They used to invite travelers to their home. Vatapi was converted to a goat and was fed to the guests. After the meal llvala would say "Vatapi, come out" and Vatapi who was in the stomach of the guest would tear it open and come out. Once a great sage Agasthya was fed the same way, but he digested Vatapi and killed llvala.

After breakfast, Start sightseeing trip of Badami.
Your tour of Badami will take you to the Hindu and Jain temples. Cave temple 1 has a hall with many pillars and a square shaped sanctum with paintings of couples on the ceiling, Shiva and
Parvati and Nataraja in 81 poses. In Cave temple 2 Vishnu is shown with one foot on Earth and the other on the sky, and also as Varaha and Krishna. The Cave temple 3 shows the culture and clothing of the 6th century and also carvings of Vishnu Narasimha, Varaha, Harihara and Trivikrama. The Cave temple 4 shows a carving of the Jain Tirthankara Parshavnatha. Continue with the tour visiting Badami Fort and the Malegitti-Shivalaya.
Overnight at hotel.

After breakfast, Morning drive to Gokarna on arrival transfer to the hotel. Rest of the evening is free for leisure. Overnight stay at the hotel.
Gokarna situated in coastal Karnataka is 453 kms from Bangalore and about 55 kms from Karwar. As per the mythological history that the Atmalinga brought by Ravana got struck here and his efforts to free the linga it resulted in his throwing the coverings of the Linga to Dhareshwar, Gunavanteshwara, Murdeshwar and Shejjeshwar temples (the last places is very near Karwar). The Mahabaleshwara is one of the major temples here.

After breakfast, Morning visit The Mahabaleshwara is one of the major temples here, Murdeshwar and Shejjeshwar temples (near to Karwar), later visit to Kudle beach overnight stay.

After breakfast, morning You will be transferred by road to Goa. Rest of the day free at hotel. Goa is a beautiful place to rejuvenate you by spending time in the surrounding of soothing waves of sea and clean sands at the beaches. Goa exhibits a huge influence of the Portuguese from their ruling period and is known for its beautiful beaches, clean blue water, verdant lush green mountains as well as the idyllic lifestyle of this place that completely embraces you. Vasco-da Gama is the largest city of Goa, and Panjim is the capital. Goa is a good place to explore the various beaches or temples and churches and bazaars. You could visit the Ancestral Goa Museum, Chapora Fort, Fort Aguada, The Secretariat, Anjuna Beach, Baga Beach, Candolim Beach and many other popular beaches of Goa along with various other religious places.

This morning you will be visiting Old Goa. Visit the Basilica of Bom Jesus built in the 16th century, wherein it is enshrined in an ornate silver casket the body of St.Francis Xavier, the most popular and famous of all churches in Goa. Also visit St Cathedral, the biggest in Goa, Church of St Francis of Assisi, St Cajetan Church, built in the style of St Peter's Basilica in Rome, Church of Lady of Rosary and Nunnery of St. Monica. Even though the place attracts tourists
from across the world throughout the year, yet the best recommended time to visit Goa is during the winters when the climate is very pleasant and will boost up your pleasure and enjoyment.
Afternoon free at hotel.
.Overnight at hotel.

After breakfast. Day free at hotel. Overnight at Hotel.

After breakfast. Checkout from the hotel at 1200 Hours (Noon) & transfer to the airport to board the flight for onward journey . End of tour.