Sacred South India

After breakfast at the hotel, you will be driven to Pondicherry and en-route visit Mahabalipuram. Mahabalipuram or Mamallapuram is best known as the Shore Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site featuring Hindu Monuments from the 7th & 8th century. There we will stop for a delicious sea-side Indian seafood lunch.

From there we will travel to the former French territory of Pondicherry, with its distinctive colonial heritage and home to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Located in the state of Tamil Nadu and heavily French-influenced, Pondicherry was under French rule until 1954. The vestiges of French colonialism are still evident from the lifestyle shops and restaurants that sell French-inspired fare to the people who up to this day still speak French. Brightly painted houses, large boulevards, French road signs, colonial buildings, and massive gothic churches are what make Pondicherry famous.

We will also visit the progressive, experimental town of Auroville, a manifestation of Sri Aurobindo’s vision of diversity, equality and universal compassion. Sri Aurobindo’s advanced world vision, the backbone of Auroville, expands one’s sense of self, of life, and our connection to the world and those around us. The spiritual path or “sadhana” that he developed, works with a combination of various psychological disciplines and yogic practices. Already a century ago he declared “All life is Yoga”.

After breakfast at the hotel, you will be driven through the timeless Indian countryside to Tiruvanamalai where the great sage Sri Ramana Maharshi lived and meditated for 54 years. Here, we will visit the Arunachaleswarar temple, a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Shiva, located at the base of Arunachala hill. It is significant to the Hindu sect of Shaivism as one of the temples associated with the five elements, the Pancha Bhoota Stalas, and specifically the element of fire, or Agni. Shiva is worshiped as Arunachalesvara and is represented by the lingam. His consort the goddess Parvati is depicted as Unnamalai Amman or Apithakucha Ambal, the divine feminine.=

After lunch take a walk near the holy mountain Arunachala, which is considered the fire vortex of India where it is said that Shiva became an infinite column of fire. Cosmic love comes as waves from this mountain, revered by millions of Hindus as the living body of Shiva, the Great God and Destroyer of the Indian Trinity. Why is Shiva called the Destroyer, and what does He destroy? Shiva, being pure infinite consciousness, transcends all illusion of separateness. He consumes all duality in his divine fire. Throughout history, people have remarked upon the way in which all discursive thought ends when in the presence of Arunachala.

That evening you will enjoy exploring the town of Tiruvanamalai with your new travel friends.

Visit the Arunachalesvara Temple followed by a visit to the Ramana Maharishi Ashram in the afternoon. There we will pay homage the ancient and powerful Shiva lingham. Then take a short hike up the mountain and spend time meditating and investigating the nature of awareness in Ramana Maharshi’s meditation cave which is bursting with shakti energy. 

In the afternoon meditate at the Ramana Maharishi Ashram and explore his non-dual perspective of reality and his embodied meditative wisdom of being. There we will have time to investigate the nature of awareness and non-duality as we meditate on Ramana’s well known transformative question, “Who Am I”. 

This is an extraordinarily special opportunity to witness and take part in the vastness of spiritual India. This mountain has drawn pilgrims who worship Shiva in the form of Arunachalesvara. We will have the opportunity to circumambulate the Arunachala hill barefoot (shoes are optional). The circumambulation covers a distance of 14 kilometres (8.7 mi), and is referred to as Girivalam. According to Hindu legend, the walk removes sins, fullfils desires and helps achieve freedom from the cycle of birth and rebirth. It is a tremendously transformative experience. Offerings to Shiva and Shakti are made in a string of tanks, shrines, pillared meditation halls, springs and caves around the hill. This will be an otherworldly experience that will light your inner fire for time to come!

Thanjavur, often called the “Cultural Capital of Tamil Nadu,” is a city steeped in art, music, temple architecture, and sacred devotion. Once the mighty seat of the Chola dynasty, Thanjavur gave birth to some of South India’s most celebrated cultural and spiritual treasures. At the heart of the city lies the magnificent Brihadeeswarar Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a masterpiece of Dravidian architecture.

Towering over the landscape with its 216-foot vimana (temple tower), this 11th-century marvel was built by Raja Raja Chola I and is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Walking its vast stone courtyard beneath the gaze of the temple’s guardian bulls and celestial sculptures, one feels transported to another era—where architecture was an offering to the divine.

Visit Rameshwaram, nestled at the southeastern tip of Tamil Nadu, is one of the holiest pilgrimage sites in all of India—revered as one of the Char Dham and deeply intertwined with the epic of the Ramayana. It is said that Lord Rama built a bridge of floating stones from Rameshwaram to Lanka to rescue Sita, and upon his victorious return, he installed a Shiva lingam at the Ramanathaswamy Temple to atone for the sin of killing Ravana, a Brahmin.

This temple, with its majestic thousand-pillared corridors and sacred bathing tanks (theerthams), is an architectural marvel and spiritual powerhouse, where pilgrims come to purify themselves through ritual ablutions and inner reflection.

Madurai, the radiant heart of Tamil Nadu, is a city that pulses with ancient wisdom and living devotion. Once a flourishing hub that traded with the Roman Empire, Madurai is among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in India. At its center stands the majestic Meenakshi Amman Temple—an awe-inspiring, kaleidoscopic labyrinth of towering gopurams and intricate carvings that tell stories of gods, goddesses, and celestial love. This temple is not just an architectural marvel—it is a living, breathing sanctuary dedicated to the Goddess Meenakshi, a fierce and compassionate form of Parvati, who reigns here as the principal deity, reversing the norm of Shiva-centric temples across South India.

In the afternoon, we’ll explore the elegant Thirumalai Nayakar Mahal and then return to Meenakshi Temple, set along the sacred Vaigai River. There, we’ll immerse ourselves in the divine rhythm of devotion, witnessing the evening Going to Bed Ceremony—a ritual where Meenakshi and her consort Sundareshwarar (Shiva) are ceremonially reunited, symbolizing the cosmic dance and sacred union of feminine and masculine energies. As chants fill the air and lamps flicker like stars, we’ll be drawn into the beauty and mystery of a city where every stone sings with story and every gesture echoes the presence of the divine.

After breakfast, drive to the Madurai Airport to board the flight back to Chennai for your onward journey.