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Madurai, Tanjore & beyond
Pongal Special!
TOUR OVERVIEW
In the Tamil language, the word ‘Pongal’ means ‘boil and spill over’. Come January, prosperity and exuberance bubbles and spills over in every Tamil home as they gear up for ‘Pongal’, the harvest festival, which is the most anticipated 4-day celebration of the year! The festive atmosphere with colours, sights, sounds, traditional dance and music is to be seen to be believed.
Try authentic local food & revel in the sweet fragrance of Jasmine flowers of Madurai. Experience what living in a mammoth luxurious mansion of the Chettinad region feels like. Interact with artisans making Chola style bronze idols and Tanjore paintings. Marvel at the architecture of the Big Temple. Allow the longest temple corridor in the world and the seaside ghost town blow your mind.
Come, participate in the Pongal festivities of Tamil Nadu with F5.
Dates: 11th January to 16th January, 2025
Price: INR 47,000 + 5% GST
Duration – 5N / 6D
Single occupancy surcharge – INR 15,000 + 5% GST
GALLERY
Day 1 - 11 Jan 2025
Arrive and settle in Madurai. Set out to explore the city after lunch. Understand the city’s history and explore the attractions here including the Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal Palace, the imposing Meenakshi Amman Temple complex and the shopping complexes around. A plethora of sensory experiences await you. Overnight at Madurai.
Day 2 - 12 Jan 2025
Proceed to Rameshwaram after an early breakfast, driving through Pamban bridge on the way. Check in, have lunch and relax. Proceed to visit the wonderful Memorial built for our great missile man, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. Did you know he was born and raised in Rameswaram? Visit the Rameswaram temple this evening and marvel at the expansive outer corridors, considered to be the longest in the world! Overnight at Rameshwaram.
Day 3 - 13 Jan 2025
Witness sunrise at land’s end, Dhanushkodi. Dhanushkodi is a ghost town which was declared unfit for living by the government post the disastrous 1964 cyclone. After breakfast, set out for Tanjore. Experience one of the most inspiring pieces of Chola architecture – The 11th century Brihadisvara Temple complex in Tanjore. It is the largest temple complex in India and one of the largest in the world. Also visit the Tanjore palace complex, which presents the region’s rich Maratha and Tamil history. Also get an opportunity to understand some of the famed local arts and crafts. Overnight at Tanjore.
Day 4 - 14 Jan 2025
Today is Pongal day! Take in the aroma of fresh flowers and witness delicious Pongal cooking in small makeshift stoves, decorated with turmeric, kumkum and flowers. Take a bite of sugarcane. Revel in the morning festivities and continue the journey onward to the Chettinad region. Explore the huge mansions of Chettinad, stay in a mansion and enjoy your grand dinner. Stay in Kadiapatti.
Day 5 - 15 Jan 2025
Today is the day of Maattu Pongal. This is the day when farmers worship their livestock. Cows and bulls with their horns painted in all hues are quite a sight to behold! Participate in more festive activities today and witness traditional music and dance forms such as Parai, Karagattam, Mayilattam etc. Proceed to Madurai. Overnight stay in Madurai.
Day 6 - 16 Jan 2025
After breakfast, visit the pride of Tamilnadu – the recently unearthed Keeladi excavation site and museum, which bears testimony to the thriving Sangam civilization from 500 BC! Get dropped at the airport for your flight out by 1 PM. Tour ends.
Inclusions
- All meals from day 1 lunch to day 6 breakfast, including tea/coffee.
- Transport in an AC Tempo Traveller throughout the trip
- All stay on twin sharing basis
- All entry, parking and permit charges
- Guide charges at Madurai, Tanjore and Rameswaram temple
- Festive activities at Chettinaad and Tanjore
- Temple special entry tickets
- Guidance of an F5 trip lead all through the trip.
Exclusions
- Flight/bus/train tickets to Madurai from your city of residence and back.
- Tips, Shopping, Camera charges, Any Personal Expenses.
- Packaged drinking water.
- Food other than inclusions.
- Anything not included in inclusions.
- Any cost arising due to natural calamities, personal flight delays and aspects beyond our control. We will definitely facilitate an alternative and handle the contingency, the cost being yours.
- 5% GST
Terms & Conditions
REFUNDS/CANCELLATION
- 15% of the trip cost if cancelled 90 days or more in advance.
- 25% of the trip cost if cancelled 89 – 60 days in advance.
- 50% of the trip cost if it is cancelled 59 to 16 days in advance.
- Last 15 days – no show – the entire amount will be forfeited.
- If you use our services to book flights, cancellation charges will apply
Disclaimer
- F5 Escapes is in no way responsible for any untoward incident happening due to the ignorance/negligence of the guests, natural/man-made calamities, accidents or any other events that are out of human control during the trip.
- All our trips are well-researched, including identifying access to medical facilities. In case of a medical emergency, F5 will assist the traveller in getting medical attention.
- F5 reserves the right to cancel the trip under certain conditions – in such a case, the amount will be refunded in full.
Arrival and Departure
This trip is to Ex-Madurai. Joining us from a different city?
Madurai is very well connected by air, train and road. Arrive no later than 1 PM on Day 1 and plan your return after 3 PM on Day 6.
Fooood!
Festival days will typically have vegetarian food only. We will try and arrange for authentic Chettinaad food and Madurai food, with non-vegetarian options wherever possible. However, we cannot guarantee availability of non-vegetarian food in Rameshwaram. If you have any specific meal preferences / dietary requirements, please let us know beforehand.
Stay
We will be staying in well-appointed hotels in Madurai, Tanjore and Rameshwaram and in a luxurious Chettinad style mansion in Karaikudi.
Weather
January is the season of mildest weather (About 25-30 degree Celsius) in Madurai, but given that Madurai weather is ‘hot, hotter, hottest’ all through the year, brace yourself for some heat and humidity in the coastal region.
*Please note that now a days, climate/ weather is dependent on many factors and unpredictable hence above information might be subject to change during your actual travel days
Note on Alcohol and Smoking
Everyone joining is an adult and we realise that we cannot dictate the behaviour on how you should enjoy the trip.
Alcohol is no readily available in shops in the region we are visiting and is usually frowned upon in the temple towns.
If you smoke, please do so outside the room, even if the rooms have ashtray, as you would be sharing the room.
Note > Prepare > Accept > Embrace:
- Madurai and surrounding areas are steeped in Tamil culture and rich history. If you are not that interested in culture and heritage, you can consider some other trips of ours. If you love stories, history and experiencing local culture through their temples and food, then this trip is for you.
- This trip will have a lot of temple visits. We will try keeping it as non-religious, and as story-oriented and culture oriented, as possible.
- Interior TamilNadu has a very scant number of people who can understand or communicate in Hindi. Our tour lead would be someone who can converse in Tamil, Hindi and English well.
- This trip will require a fair bit of walking as all temple complexes are huge.
‘F5 Escapes’ is a Bangalore-based, experiential travel company, with a focus on redefining the way women travel in India. The premise of F5 is an ambitious dream – to put India on the global travel map as a preferred destination for women from across the globe.
F5 Escapes offers fixed departure all-women group tours, customized itineraries for families, groups and solo travellers. We also do in-city engagements which include #JustGo travel meetups, workshops to educate women on travel safety, sustainable menstruation, motorbiking etc.