Best of India: a 25-Day Grand Tour from Delhi to Chennai

Arrive in Delhi

Your driver meets you outside the arrivals hall at Indira Gandhi International Airport with a sign bearing your name and takes you to your hotel. Bank ATMs and mobile phone counters are in the arrivals area if you need rupees or a local SIM; your driver will wait. The drive in is a first look at New Delhi's wide, tree-lined avenues.

After a long flight, the best plan for the first day is very little. Check in, rest and adjust to Indian time; staying awake until a normal bedtime helps with jet lag. If you land early and feel fresh, an easy walk in Lodhi Garden, where 15th- and 16th-century tombs of the Sayyid and Lodi sultans stand among lawns and old trees, is a gentle introduction to the city.

Keep the first dinner simple. Delhi is known for rich North Indian cooking such as dal makhani and tandoori kebabs; for the first few days, stick to freshly cooked hot food and bottled or filtered water.

Your coordinator in Mumbai will call or message to welcome you, confirm tomorrow's start time and answer any questions.

• ArrivalMeet and greet at the airport; private transfer to your hotel
• AfternoonRest, or an optional walk in Lodhi Garden
• EveningFree, with an early night before tomorrow's sightseeing

OvernightDelhi. See the hotel options below.

Old and New Delhi with your guide

Start in Old Delhi, the walled city built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the 17th century. Climb the steps of the Jama Masjid, one of India's largest mosques, then take a cycle-rickshaw through Chandni Chowk, a tangle of lanes selling silver, saris, sweets and spices. Walk on to Khari Baoli, the great spice market, and pass the red sandstone walls of the Red Fort.

After lunch, cross into New Delhi. Humayun's Tomb, finished around 1570, is the garden tomb that inspired the Taj Mahal and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Continue to the 73-metre Qutub Minar, begun around 1200 and also UNESCO listed, then drive along Kartavya Path past the President's House to India Gate.

For a quieter moment, add Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, the Sikh temple whose community kitchen serves free meals to thousands of visitors daily.

Wear clothes that cover shoulders and knees and shoes that slip off: they come off at the Jama Masjid and the gurudwara, where heads are also covered (scarves are provided). The Red Fort is closed on Mondays, so your guide plans around it. Old Delhi is the place to try street food with your guide, from stuffed parathas to hot jalebis.

• MorningJama Masjid, cycle-rickshaw through Chandni Chowk, the spice market and the Red Fort
• AfternoonHumayun's Tomb and the Qutub Minar
• EveningIndia Gate, then dinner at leisure

OvernightDelhi.

To Agra via Akbar's tomb at Sikandra

After breakfast, drive south to Agra on the Yamuna Expressway. Just before the city, stop at Sikandra to see the tomb of Akbar, the greatest of the Mughal emperors, set in a vast walled garden where blackbuck and langur monkeys roam. Akbar began the tomb himself, and his son Jahangir completed it around 1613. Its gateway, inlaid with white marble patterns, is a preview of what was to come at the Taj.

Check in to your hotel in Agra and rest. In the late afternoon, if you have energy, visit the tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah, the Baby Taj, on the far bank of the Yamuna; its delicate stone inlay was the first of its kind in Mughal India.

Your guide will confirm the plan for tomorrow's early start at the Taj Mahal, which is closed on Fridays. Before dinner, try petha, Agra's translucent sweet made from ash gourd, sold all over the city.

• MorningDrive to Agra, stopping at Akbar's tomb at Sikandra
• AfternoonCheck in and rest
• Late afternoonOptional visit to the Baby Taj

OvernightAgra, 2 nights.

The Taj Mahal at sunrise and Agra Fort

Your guide collects you before dawn so you enter the Taj Mahal as the gates open, 30 minutes before sunrise. Built by Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal and completed in 1653, it shifts from grey to pink to dazzling white as the sun rises. Take your time in the gardens and on the river terrace; this is the quietest hour of the day.

After breakfast and a rest, explore Agra Fort, the red sandstone citadel that was the Mughal emperors' main residence until the court moved to Delhi in 1638. Inside are white marble halls of audience and the Musamman Burj, the tower where Shah Jahan is said to have spent his last years looking at the Taj.

At sunset, cross the river to Mehtab Bagh for the view of the Taj reflected in the Yamuna. In the evening, your guide can recommend a restaurant for Mughlai food, the rich cooking of the old court.

• SunriseThe Taj Mahal as the gates open
• MiddayAgra Fort
• SunsetThe Taj from Mehtab Bagh across the river

OvernightAgra.

Fatehpur Sikri and on to Jaipur

After breakfast, drive west to Fatehpur Sikri, the city Emperor Akbar built in red sandstone in the 1570s and abandoned within a few decades. With your guide, walk through the palaces of his queens, the Diwan-i-Khas with its carved central pillar, and the great Jama Masjid entered through the 54-metre Buland Darwaza. Look for the five-storey Panch Mahal, an open pavilion built to catch the breeze, and, in the mosque courtyard, the white marble tomb of the Sufi saint Salim Chishti, where visitors tie threads to the carved screens as they make a wish. Go early, as there is little shade.

Continue into Rajasthan, the land of the Rajput kings. If you would like a stop on the way, the Chand Baori stepwell at Abhaneri is a short detour, its thousands of steps cut in a perfect geometric pattern.

Arrive in Jaipur in the late afternoon and settle into your hotel for three nights. If you have energy, take an evening walk to see the old city's gates lit up, or try Rajasthani dishes such as dal baati churma for dinner.

• MorningFatehpur Sikri with your guide
• AfternoonDrive to Jaipur, with an optional stop at the Chand Baori stepwell
• EveningFree in Jaipur

OvernightJaipur, 2 nights.

Amber Fort and the Pink City

Drive out early to Amber Fort, the hilltop palace of the Kachwaha rulers and part of the UNESCO-listed Hill Forts of Rajasthan, before the heat and the tour buses arrive. Walk up through its courtyards to the Sheesh Mahal, the Hall of Mirrors, whose ceilings are set with thousands of tiny mirrors that sparkle in the light of a single flame. We take you up by jeep, not by elephant. On the way back, stop to photograph the Jal Mahal floating in Man Sagar Lake.

In the afternoon, explore the walled old city, founded in 1727 and painted pink in 1876 to welcome the Prince of Wales. See the honeycomb façade of the Hawa Mahal, the Palace of Winds; the City Palace, still home to the former royal family, where two enormous silver urns stand in the hall of private audience; and the Jantar Mantar, an 18th-century observatory with a giant stone sundial and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

End with an hour in Johari and Bapu bazaars for jewellery, textiles and block prints, or watch the sunset from Nahargarh Fort above the city. For a snack, try pyaaz kachori, a spiced onion pastry, or ghewar, a honeycomb-like sweet.

• MorningAmber Fort and the Hall of Mirrors; photo stop at the Jal Mahal
• AfternoonHawa Mahal, City Palace and the Jantar Mantar
• EveningOld city bazaars, or sunset from Nahargarh Fort

OvernightJaipur.

Across Rajasthan to the Blue City

Leave Jaipur after breakfast and drive west across Rajasthan on a good highway. The country slowly dries out as you go: in winter, green fields of wheat and yellow mustard give way to scrub, thorny khejri trees, grazing goats and the occasional camel cart. Your driver will stop for tea along the way and for lunch at a clean roadside restaurant, so the drive is broken into easy stages.

As you near Jodhpur, the walls of Mehrangarh Fort appear on their rock high above the city. Check in to your heritage hotel. Jodhpur is called the Blue City for the indigo-washed houses of its old town, packed below the fort. The blue was once linked with Brahmin households and is often said to help keep the houses cool.

In the evening, watch the sunset over the city from a rooftop restaurant with views of Mehrangarh, as the fort walls turn gold and are then lit up after dark. Jodhpur is known for mirchi bada, a large green chilli stuffed with spiced potato and fried in batter, and for makhaniya lassi, a thick, saffron-scented lassi.

• DayDrive from Jaipur to Jodhpur, with a lunch stop
• AfternoonCheck in at your heritage hotel
• SunsetRooftop view of Mehrangarh Fort

OvernightJodhpur, 2 nights, at a heritage hotel.

Mehrangarh Fort and the Blue City

Start early, while it is cooler and quieter, at Mehrangarh Fort, founded by Rao Jodha in 1459 and rising about 120 metres above the city. You enter through a series of seven gates; by the Loha Pol, look for the small handprints of royal widows carved into the wall. Inside are some of the finest palace rooms in India, the gilded Phool Mahal and the mirrored Sheesh Mahal, and galleries of royal palanquins, elephant howdahs, weapons and miniature paintings. A lift runs to the upper levels if you would rather not walk up the ramp.

Stop at Jaswant Thada, the white marble memorial built in 1899 for Maharaja Jaswant Singh II. Its marble is cut so thin that it glows in the sun. Then walk down through the blue lanes of the old city to the Clock Tower and Sardar Market, full of spices, bangles and bandhani tie-dye textiles.

The rest of the day is free. Rest at your hotel through the afternoon heat, or, if you have energy, visit the museum wing of Umaid Bhawan Palace, completed in the 1940s and still partly the home of the former royal family.

• MorningMehrangarh Fort and Jaswant Thada
• MiddayBlue lanes and the Clock Tower market
• AfternoonFree; optional Umaid Bhawan Palace museum

OvernightJodhpur.

Through the Aravalli hills to Udaipur

Drive south from the flat desert country around Jodhpur into the Aravalli hills, one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world. The road becomes greener and more winding, passing farming villages, small temples and herders with their flocks, and the drive is one of the prettiest in Rajasthan.

If you would like, stop at Ranakpur to see the 15th-century Jain temple dedicated to Adinath, the first Tirthankara. Set in a forested valley, it is built of pale marble and has 1,444 carved pillars, traditionally said to be no two alike. Look up at the domed ceilings, carved into lace-like patterns. Non-Jain visitors may enter from noon to 5 pm. Shoes and leather items such as belts and bags must be left outside, and shoulders and knees should be covered. Have a simple vegetarian lunch nearby before continuing.

Arrive in Udaipur, founded by Maharana Udai Singh II in 1559 and known as the City of Lakes, in time for an evening by the water. Ambrai Ghat, across the lake from the City Palace, is a good place to watch the palace lights come on and reflect in Lake Pichola.

• MorningDrive south through the Aravalli hills
• MiddayOptional stop at the Ranakpur Jain temple
• EveningBy Lake Pichola at Ambrai Ghat

OvernightUdaipur, 2 nights, at a lakeside hotel.

The City Palace and Lake Pichola

Explore the City Palace, the largest palace complex in Rajasthan, built over four centuries by the Maharanas of Mewar from 1559. Go soon after it opens, before the tour groups arrive. Its courtyards and painted rooms look out over the lake; in the Mor Chowk, look for the peacock mosaics made of coloured glass. In the Fateh Prakash Palace, the Crystal Gallery holds crystal furniture ordered from England in 1877 and never used.

Have lunch in the old city, where many places serve a Rajasthani thali or dal baati churma, baked wheat balls with lentils and sweet crumbled wheat. Afterwards, rest at your hotel or browse the lanes near the palace for miniature paintings, a long-standing Udaipur craft.

In the late afternoon, take a boat on Lake Pichola past the bathing ghats and the Lake Palace to Jag Mandir, the island palace where the young Prince Khurram, later the emperor Shah Jahan, took refuge in the 1620s. The light is softest towards sunset.

In the evening, walk through the old city to the Jagdish Temple, built in 1651, or watch the folk dance show at Bagore ki Haveli, which usually starts around 7 pm.

• MorningCity Palace and the Crystal Gallery
• MiddayLunch and the old city lanes
• Late afternoonBoat ride on Lake Pichola to Jag Mandir
• EveningJagdish Temple or the Bagore ki Haveli dance show

OvernightUdaipur.

Fly from Rajasthan to the Ganges

Depending on your flight time, you may have a free morning in Udaipur for a last walk by the lake or a visit to Saheliyon ki Bari, the 18th-century Garden of the Maidens with its fountains and lotus pools. Your driver then takes you to Udaipur airport, about 22 km east of the city.

Fly to Varanasi, connecting via Delhi or Mumbai. It marks the shift from Rajasthan's desert forts and palaces to the sacred plains of the Ganges, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Keep a small bag with essentials with you in case of a long connection.

Your Varanasi driver meets you at the airport, about 25 km from the city, and takes you to your hotel near the ghats; the drive can take an hour or more in traffic. The lanes of the old city are too narrow for cars, so the last stretch may be on foot or by cycle rickshaw, with help for your luggage. If you arrive in time, walk to Dashashwamedh Ghat for the evening aarti, which starts around sunset.

• MorningFree in Udaipur, depending on flight times
• DayFlights from Udaipur to Varanasi
• EveningOptional evening aarti

OvernightVaranasi, 3 nights, near the ghats.

Sunrise on the Ganges and the evening aarti

Take a rowing boat at first light along the ghats, the stone steps that line the river for several kilometres. The river is at its most alive at dawn: bathers taking a holy dip, pilgrims offering marigolds and small oil lamps, washermen at work and sadhus at prayer. You pass smoke rising from Manikarnika, the main cremation ghat, where fires burn day and night; Hindus believe that dying in Varanasi brings release from the cycle of rebirth. Cameras must go away here.

After breakfast, walk the lanes of the old city with your guide towards the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, one of the twelve Jyotirlinga temples of Shiva, whose spires were covered in gold given by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, opened in 2021, now links the temple to the river. Phones, bags and leather items are not allowed inside, so many guests view it from the corridor outside.

Rest in the afternoon. In the evening, watch the Ganga aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat, when priests offer fire, flowers and incense to the river to the sound of bells and conch shells. Arrive early for a place on the steps, or watch from a boat on the water.

• DawnRowing boat along the ghats
• MorningOld city lanes and Kashi Vishwanath
• AfternoonRest
• EveningThe Ganga aarti

OvernightVaranasi.

Sarnath and the silk weavers

Drive to Sarnath, where the Buddha gave his first sermon about 2,500 years ago, in the Deer Park, to the five companions who had practised with him. It is one of the four main Buddhist pilgrimage sites, and you will often see monks and pilgrims from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tibet and Japan here.

See the Dhamek Stupa, a massive solid stupa of brick and carved stone, mostly dating from the Gupta period, the brick foundations of ancient monasteries and the stump of an Ashokan pillar. Nearby, the Mulagandha Kuti Vihara, a modern temple opened in 1931, has wall paintings by the Japanese artist Kosetsu Nosu. The archaeological museum is home to the Lion Capital of Ashoka, India's national emblem, and a fine 5th-century seated Buddha shown teaching. The museum is closed on Fridays, and photography is not allowed inside.

In the afternoon, visit a family of Banarasi silk weavers at their handlooms. A brocade sari woven with gold or silver zari thread can take weeks to finish, and there is no pressure to buy. Or spend the time sitting on the ghats watching the life of the river. The evening is free.

• MorningSarnath, the Dhamek Stupa and the museum
• AfternoonBanarasi silk weavers, or the ghats
• EveningFree

OvernightVaranasi.

Fly south to Kerala

If your flight leaves late enough, take a last early walk along the ghats, or go to Assi Ghat, where a morning programme of music, prayer and yoga is held at dawn. Then transfer to Varanasi airport.

Fly to Kochi, connecting via Delhi, Mumbai or Bengaluru, completing the shift from sacred North India to tropical Kerala, with its coconut palms, backwaters and spice-scented air. Expect warmer, more humid weather, and swap your layers for light cotton.

Your driver meets you at Kochi airport, about 40 km from Fort Kochi, and takes you there in about an hour and a half. Fort Kochi is a quiet, walkable old port town shaped by Arab, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch and British traders over the centuries.

In the evening, walk along the seafront past the Chinese fishing nets at sunset. These large cantilevered nets are said to have been introduced by Chinese traders in the 14th century, and teams of fishermen still work them. Have dinner of Kerala seafood, perhaps karimeen, pearl spot fish fried with spices, or appam with a mild coconut stew.

• MorningOptional last walk on the ghats
• DayFlights from Varanasi to Kochi
• SunsetChinese fishing nets in Fort Kochi
• EveningKerala seafood dinner

OvernightFort Kochi, 2 nights.

Fort Kochi, Jew Town and a Kathakali performance

Fort Kochi is small and flat, and the best way to see it is slowly, on foot, in the cooler morning. Walk with your guide to St Francis Church, where Vasco da Gama was first buried in 1524; the Santa Cruz Basilica, with its painted ceilings; and lanes of Portuguese and Dutch houses now filled with cafés and galleries.

Continue to Mattancherry and Jew Town, home to one of India's oldest Jewish communities. See the Paradesi Synagogue, built in 1568, with its blue and white Chinese floor tiles and Belgian glass lamps, and browse the antique and spice shops, where the air smells of pepper and ginger. The Mattancherry Palace, built by the Portuguese for the Raja of Kochi, has some of the finest Hindu murals in Kerala. The synagogue is closed on Fridays, Saturdays and Jewish holidays and the palace on Fridays, so we plan the day around them. Shoes come off and photography is not allowed inside the synagogue.

In the evening, watch a Kathakali performance, Kerala's classical dance drama, in which the dancers tell stories from the epics through facial expression and hand gestures. Arrive early to see them apply their elaborate make-up.

• MorningFort Kochi: St Francis Church and the Santa Cruz Basilica
• AfternoonJew Town, the Paradesi Synagogue and Mattancherry Palace
• EveningKathakali performance

OvernightFort Kochi.

Up into the tea hills of Munnar

Drive east into the Western Ghats. The road climbs through rubber and spice plantations, past waterfalls such as Cheeyappara and Valara, into Munnar, a former British hill station at about 1,600 metres, wrapped in emerald tea estates.

The last stretch winds up through many hairpin bends, so take a travel-sickness tablet if you need one. On the way, you can stop at a spice garden to see cardamom, pepper and cinnamon growing, and, as you near Munnar, the first tea estates appear, with pickers working along the steep, clipped rows. Your driver will stop at viewpoints for photographs.

Check in to your resort among the tea gardens and enjoy the cool air and the views. Evenings in Munnar can be chilly, especially from December to February, so have a warm layer handy. With a cup of fresh local tea, try pazham pori, ripe banana fritters, a favourite Kerala teatime snack. Munnar town is small and busy, and most resorts are a short drive outside it, which makes for quiet evenings.

• DayDrive to Munnar via spice plantations and waterfalls
• AfternoonOptional spice garden stop and tea estate viewpoints
• EveningFree at your resort

OvernightMunnar, 2 nights, at a resort among the tea estates.

Tea gardens and Eravikulam National Park

Walk through the tea plantations with a guide, learning how the leaves are plucked by hand, then visit the Tata Tea Museum to see how tea is processed, from withering and rolling to drying, and taste the local blends. The museum is closed on Mondays.

Later, visit Eravikulam National Park, home to the endangered Nilgiri tahr, a mountain goat found only in the Western Ghats, and to the high grasslands below Anamudi, the highest peak in South India. Visitors ride the park's own buses up to the viewing area at Rajamalai, then walk along a paved road, so the effort is low. Go as early as you can: mist often rolls in by midday and queues build at weekends. The park closes for the tahr's calving season, usually in February and March.

If you have time, stop at Mattupetty Dam or the viewpoint at Top Station on the Tamil Nadu border. Munnar is also known for home-made chocolate and fresh cardamom, sold in small shops in town.

• MorningTea plantation walk and the Tata Tea Museum
• AfternoonEravikulam National Park and the Nilgiri tahr
• OptionalMattupetty Dam or Top Station

OvernightMunnar.

A night on a houseboat in the backwaters

Drive down from the hills to Alleppey (Alappuzha), the gateway to Kerala's backwaters, a network of lakes, canals and rivers running parallel to the coast. Around midday, board your private kettuvallam, a traditional rice barge converted into a houseboat with bedrooms, a deck and your own crew. The name means a boat of knots: the hulls were traditionally made of wooden planks tied together with coir rope.

Cruise slowly along palm-lined canals and across Vembanad Lake, past paddy fields below water level, village churches and temples, and people washing, fishing and paddling canoes. Kingfishers, egrets and cormorants are easy to spot from the deck. Your cook prepares Kerala meals on board, with fish curry, vegetable dishes and fresh coconut; tell the crew if you prefer milder spicing.

By local rules, houseboats moor for the night in the early evening. Watch the sunset from the deck, then sleep surrounded by the quiet of the water. On most boats the air conditioning runs only at night, so bring a hat and sunscreen for the deck, and insect repellent for the evening.

• MorningDrive to Alleppey
• MiddayBoard your private houseboat
• AfternoonCruise through the backwaters and across Vembanad Lake
• EveningSunset and dinner on deck

OvernightOvernight aboard a private houseboat on the Alleppey backwaters, all meals included.

Over the Western Ghats to Madurai

Disembark after breakfast and drive east, climbing back over the Western Ghats through cardamom country and down onto the plains of Tamil Nadu. The road usually crosses the hills near Kumily, on the edge of Periyar Tiger Reserve, then drops through hairpin bends into the Cumbum valley, known for its vineyards and coconut groves. It is a long day, broken by tea stops and lunch on the way.

Arrive in Madurai, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, built around the great temple of Meenakshi. For centuries it was a centre of Tamil poetry and learning. The architecture, food and language change completely as you cross the hills: rice and coconut give way to millet and chillies, and Malayalam to Tamil. Your guide will explain the differences.

In the evening, if you have energy, try a Madurai speciality, jigarthanda, a cold drink of milk, almond gum and ice cream, or simply rest before tomorrow's temple visit.

• DayDrive from Kerala to Tamil Nadu over the Western Ghats
• EveningFree in Madurai; optional jigarthanda

OvernightMadurai, 2 nights.

The Meenakshi Temple

Visit the Meenakshi Amman Temple, a city within a city dedicated to the goddess Meenakshi and her consort Sundareswarar, a form of Shiva. Its 14 gopurams, or gateway towers, are covered with thousands of brightly painted figures of gods, demons and animals. Inside, see the Hall of a Thousand Pillars and the Golden Lotus Tank. The inner sanctums are open only to Hindus. Mobile phones and cameras are not allowed inside the temple, so leave them with your driver, and dress modestly; shoes are left at the gate.

In the afternoon, visit the Thirumalai Nayak Palace, a 17th-century palace with huge columns and stucco work, and the flower market, heaped with jasmine and marigold. For lunch, try a Tamil meal served on a banana leaf, or Madurai's flaky parotta with spicy curry.

Return to the temple at night for the closing ceremony, when the image of Sundareswarar is carried in a silver palanquin to Meenakshi's chamber, with drums, pipes and lamps. It usually takes place in the late evening; your guide confirms the time.

• MorningMeenakshi Amman Temple
• AfternoonThirumalai Nayak Palace and the flower market
• NightThe temple's closing ceremony

OvernightMadurai.

Thanjavur and the great Chola temple

Drive north-east to Thanjavur, capital of the Chola kings, who ruled much of South India and parts of Southeast Asia a thousand years ago. As you approach, the dry plains give way to the green rice fields of the Kaveri delta, long called the rice bowl of Tamil Nadu.

Visit the Brihadeeswarar Temple, completed in 1010 by Rajaraja Chola I and part of the UNESCO-listed Great Living Chola Temples. Its 66-metre granite tower was the tallest in India when it was built, and the capstone at the top is said to weigh about 80 tonnes. A huge carved Nandi bull guards the entrance, and the long cloisters hold rows of Shiva lingams and fragments of Chola-era paintings. Shoes are left outside, and the stone paving gets hot at midday. Go in the late afternoon, when the stone glows gold and local families come to worship.

If time allows, visit the Thanjavur Royal Palace and its gallery of Chola bronzes. The town is also known for Thanjavur paintings, bright devotional pictures decorated with gold leaf, and for its classical music tradition.

• MorningDrive to Thanjavur
• AfternoonBrihadeeswarar Temple
• OptionalRoyal Palace and Chola bronzes

OvernightThanjavur, 1 night.

Kanchipuram silk and the shore temples

A long but varied day, so set off early after breakfast. Drive north to Kanchipuram, one of India's seven holy cities, famous for its temples and its silk weavers, whose heavy, gold-bordered saris are prized across South India. Watch a weaver at a handloom, and, if time allows, see the 8th-century Kailasanatha Temple, the oldest in the city. Stop for a South Indian lunch of dosa or a banana-leaf meal.

Continue to Mahabalipuram on the Bay of Bengal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Pallava kings from the 7th and 8th centuries. See the Shore Temple in the late afternoon light, the five monolithic Pancha Rathas, each carved from a single rock, and Arjuna's Penance, one of the largest rock reliefs in the world, crowded with gods, elephants and sages. In the evening, walk through the small town, where stone carvers still work in the Pallava tradition, and try fresh seafood near the beach. The sea here is rough, so it is not a place for swimming.

If you prefer a shorter day, we can skip Kanchipuram and drive along the coast via Pondicherry.

• MorningDrive to Kanchipuram; silk weavers
• AfternoonDrive to Mahabalipuram
• SunsetThe Shore Temple

OvernightMahabalipuram, 1 night.

Arrive in Chennai

In the morning, see the Pancha Rathas and Arjuna's Penance if you missed them, then drive up the East Coast Road to Chennai, formerly Madras, past fishing villages, casuarina groves and beach resorts.

In the afternoon, explore the city with your guide. In Mylapore, the Kapaleeshwarar Temple, dedicated to Shiva, has a tall painted gopuram and a large temple tank; the lanes around it are full of flower sellers and shops selling brass lamps. Nearby, the San Thome Basilica stands over what is said to be the tomb of St Thomas the Apostle. Continue to Fort St George, where the British East India Company began in 1639; inside, St Mary's Church is one of the oldest British buildings in India.

End with sunset on Marina Beach, where families gather among snack stalls; swimming is not safe here. For dinner, try Chettinad cooking, known for its peppery, aromatic curries, and finish with South Indian filter coffee. If you have extra time, the Government Museum in Egmore has a fine collection of Chola bronzes.

• MorningMahabalipuram, then drive to Chennai
• AfternoonKapaleeshwarar Temple, San Thome and Fort St George
• SunsetMarina Beach

OvernightChennai, 2 nights.

A free final day

A free final day in Chennai, with your car and driver, for last sightseeing, shopping, or simply time to reflect on three and a half weeks across the length of India. Chennai is warm for most of the year, so plan anything outdoors for the morning or late afternoon.

For art lovers, the Government Museum in Egmore has one of the finest collections of Chola bronzes anywhere, including several dancing Shiva figures, or Nataraja; it is closed on Fridays. South of the city on the coast road, DakshinaChitra is a heritage centre of rebuilt traditional houses from across South India, with craft demonstrations; it is usually closed on Tuesdays. In Adyar, the gardens of the Theosophical Society are a quiet place to walk under a huge old banyan tree.

For shopping, T. Nagar is the city's busy silk and jewellery district, where Kanchipuram silk saris, stoles and fabric are sold by the metre. Have a South Indian meal served on a banana leaf at lunch, and finish with a strong, frothy filter coffee. In the evening, a last walk on Marina Beach is a good way to end the trip.

• MorningGovernment Museum or DakshinaChitra
• AfternoonSilk shopping in T. Nagar, or rest
• EveningMarina Beach

OvernightChennai.

Fly home from Chennai

Depending on your flight time, enjoy a last South Indian breakfast of idli, dosa and filter coffee, and finish your packing. Many international flights from Chennai leave late at night or in the early hours; if yours does, ask us about a late check-out or a day-use room.

Your driver transfers you to Chennai International Airport for your onward or departing flight. Allow extra time in rush-hour traffic, and aim to reach the airport about three hours before an international departure. Chennai has direct flights to the Gulf, Singapore, Europe and other hubs, with easy connections to the US, the UK and Australia.

• DepartureTransfer to Chennai airport