Mystical South India – Kerala and Tamil Nadhu

Highlights include…

• World famous shore temples of Mahabalipuram
• The ancient and remarkable boulder-strewn landscape of Gingee Fort
• Arunachala, one of the world’s great spiritual power centres
• Chidambaram by boat: the worlds second largest mangrove forest
• An ascent of Arunachala
• Fascinating train journeys
• The tiny French sea-side state of Pondicherry
• The tropical forests of the Western Ghats
• Emerald green tea plantations
• Exciting cycle rickshaw ride through old Madurai
• Partners of photographers welcome
• Guaranteed departure

General Summary

Our innovative and exciting photographic adventure during Christmas and New Year 2010/11 visits both Tamil Nadhu and Kerala. As this is a special Christmas New year trip partners of photographers will be more than welcome and the level of physical activity is low compared to many of our other trips. For over two weeks we will be immersed in the vibrantly colourful, spiritual and bustling heart of this mystical sub-continent. South India’s culture like its people is a rich mosaic, vibrant, chaotic, a land of incredible contrasts and paradoxes: a singularly beautiful land offering abundant opportunities for landscape and people photography, offering a fantastic challenge to those of us who hope to capture its essence with images. By immersing ourselves in the moment and approaching each day’s photography with curiosity and flexibility we will come to understand that India is truly one of the world’s most stunning locations and we will no doubt return home with some truly striking adventure travel images.
Accompanying us throughout is photography tutor Martin Sammtleben. He will be joined by various local location experts who will ensure that we are in the right place at the right time for those superb and unusual images.

The Locations in Brief

Kerala

A region of South-West India is well known for its stunning natural beauty. Bordered by the tropical rain forest of the Western Ghats on the east, and the Arabian Sea on the west, Kerala is covered by lush tropical vegetation, fragrant spice and tea plantations.

Tamil Nadhu

Home to an ancient and little changed Dravidian civilisation, it is less frequented than its more visited neighbour Kerala; a remarkable and intensely rewarding place to explore, the Tamils are a welcoming, curious and friendly people. The coast of the Gulf of Bengal offers long and lovely beaches where traditional fishing aboard catamarans is common, you will find, rice-fields, coconut groves, market garden produce, cotton plantations, sugar cane, tobacco, mangoes and bananas.

Brief Itinerary

For full details download the trip dossier

Day 1

Transfer from Chennai International Airport to the Ideal Beach Resort at Mahabalipuram famous for it’s its miles of unspoiled beaches and rock-cut art.
Our hotel is beautifully situated right by the beach.

Day 2

Today we explore Mahabalipuram, a UNESCO World heritage site. These sanctuaries, founded by the Pallava kings, were carved out of rock along the Coromandel coast in the 7th and 8th centuries. This remarkable place is popular and we will make good use of the ambient early morning sunrises and the evening light.
Accommodation Beach Resort

Days 3-6

This morning we will rise before breakfast to make the most of the early morning quietness and light before driving to the ancient and remarkable boulder-strewn landscape of Gingee Fort: it is a surreal and highly photogenic landscape.
For the next three days our base in Tiruvanamalai at the foot of Arunachala offers fine opportunities to experience Southern India at it’s chaotic best! The holy mountain of Shiva, Arunachala rises directly for almost 3000ft from the flat plain. During our four days here we will have the opportunity to capture bustling markets; a myriad of colour, the peaceful tranquility of Sri Ramana Ashram at dawn and dusk, women in brightly coloured saris planting rice, orange robed Sadhus, weird fortresses that rise abruptly from the shimmering forested hills, ancient shrines, peacocks, monkeys and hermits caves, small village farming communities hidden away in the hills where life has changed little for thousands of years, bullocks are still used for ploughing the fields and transport. In addition to our photography tutor Martin Sammtleben, we will be joined by David Godman who has lived in the area for over thirty years and has unsurpassed local knowledge. that he will share with us.
Accommodation Sparsha Eco Resort

Day 7

This morning we take the hour and a half drive to Pondicherry situated on the Coromandel coast, a restored, attractive, former French colony, exuding a Mediterranean aura with its chic streets, elegant houses, ornamental gardens. There is a charming atmosphere, excellent restaurants with a fine selection of french wine. Our hotel overlooks the Bay of Bengal.

Day 8

This afternoon we take a two hour drive to the Pichavaram mangrove forest, the world’s second largest and among the healthiest the world. We will explore the maze of picturesque backwaters through the mangrove by boat with a local guide who knows this complicated area well. This is not an area that is visited by tourists.
Accommodation will be a clean but basic standard hotel.

Day 9

Following further exploration of Chiddabaram we drive to Cuddalore for an early dinner and our overnight train to Coimbature. We will arrive at the station early to photograph, in our experience no photographic trip to India is complete without a railway experience. Life on and around the railways of India is quite simply a reflection of life in India today, it is colourful, shocking, unbelievable, inspiring and exceedingly busy. Our journey in comfortable air conditioned carriages allows us to travel across India whilst sleeping allowing us to arrive fresh and rested at our destination.
Accommodation overnight train.

Day 10-13

Overnight we will have arrived in Kerala, quite often referred to as “God’s own country” Our transport will be waiting to transport us high into the Western Ghats, a fascinating journey that will take us steadily uphill, through coffee and spice plantations, huge expanses of symetrical, emerald green tea plantations, past granite domed mountains until we arrive at our base for the next four days, The High Range. Originally a club for the gentlemen planters of the High Range in Kerala, it is within walking distance of the typically Indian town of Munnar. High Range has changed very little in character and ambience from the early nineteenth century, it is a delightful and unusually quirky place for our stay in the Cardamom Hills. The photographic opportunities are diverse and will include several of the highest tea estates in the world where women in colourful saris harvest the tea shoots with deft fingers into large baskets, the planters houses that dot the hillsides, the vegetable, spice and meat markets, of Munnar, forest and mountain exploration, the hills are densely forested and the various protected areas support a large number of exotic species of flora and fauna, Rajamala National Park, has half the world’s population of Nilgiri Tahr, a rare endangered species of mountain goat; elephants and Tigers also roam the forests here. During our stay in the Ghats we will be accompanied by local Indian guide Siby who has vast experience in the area and can be relied upon to find us the best and most unusual locations.
We will spend 4 nights at the High Range, leaving on the morning of Day 14.

Day 14

This morning we drive down the Eastern flanks of the Ghats to the great plain and Madurai, an ancient and prestigious city bursting with remarkable places to visit. We will spend our second last night in the luxurious Taj Gateway Hotel Pasumalai located on 60 acres of land on a hill overlooking Madurai; a peaceful place to relax in a beautiful setting. A large pool surrounded by lush vegetation provides a place to relax after exploring the city.

Day 15

Today we will have a guided tour of some of Madurai’s important and iconic sights including the temple and an exciting bicycle rickshaw ride through the old part of the city.
Accommodation overnight train journey to Chennai.

Day 16

Early morning we will arrive in Chennai for a transfer to the international airport. Day rooms will be reserved in a hotel close to the international airport for use whilst awaiting for flights.
 

During the holiday, Martin will be offering Lightroom tuition to enable participants to take home some really professional images.