Grand Tamil Nadu Circuit
Route Covered
Overnight stops in day orderOverview
This Chennai to Kanyakumari tour package is an 8-day, 7-night private drive through Tamil Nadu, with one stop in the union territory of Puducherry. It links Chennai, Mahabalipuram, Puducherry, Thanjavur, Madurai and Kanyakumari. It suits first-time visitors who want Pallava, Chola and Nayak monuments, and November to February is the comfortable season.
First-time visitors who want a wide sweep of the state's temples, palaces and coast, and accept three long drive days
Highlights
Good to know
Long drive days
Days 4, 5 and 7 each have a drive of about 4 hours or more, the longest being Madurai to KanyakumariTemple dress
Light clothes that cover shoulders and knees suit the temples, where footwear comes off at the doorAuroville
The Matrimandir can be added on request, but visits are by appointment and need booking aheadRock memorial ferry
Ferry timings and tickets for the Vivekananda Rock Memorial are checked on the day and can changeDay-by-Day Itinerary
- San Thome Basilica
- Marina Beach walk
Landing in Chennai, with San Thome Basilica and Marina Beach
- 1Meet your driver at Chennai International Airport
- 2Drive about 21 km to the hotel and rest after the flight
- 3If time allows, visit the neo-Gothic San Thome Basilica in Santhome
- 4Finish with a walk along Marina Beach at dusk
- Government Museum bronze gallery
- Kapaleeshwarar Temple
- Shore Temple at sunset
Government Museum and Mylapore, then the Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram
- 1Start at the Government Museum in Egmore and head for its bronze gallery
- 2Continue to the Kapaleeshwarar Temple in Mylapore, with its tall stucco gateway
- 3Take the East Coast Road south for about 56 km to Mahabalipuram
- 4Reach the Shore Temple in the late afternoon, when the light on the granite is warm
- Pancha Rathas
- Arjuna's Penance
- Pallava cave sanctuaries
- Krishna's Butterball
- Puducherry Promenade
Pancha Rathas and Arjuna's Penance, then the coast road to Puducherry
- 1Spend the morning in the monument area, where five rathas stand, each cut from one boulder
- 2See the Arjuna's Penance relief and the Pallava cave sanctuaries
- 3Pause at Krishna's Butterball, a balanced granite boulder
- 4Drive about 96 km down the East Coast Road to Puducherry
- 5Walk the seafront Promenade at the end of the day
- French Quarter
- Sri Aurobindo Ashram
- Immaculate Conception Cathedral
French Quarter and Sri Aurobindo Ashram, then on to Thanjavur
- 1Walk the French Quarter's yellow-painted lanes before the day warms up
- 2Visit the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and its white marble shrine
- 3Look in at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral
- 4Drive about 182 km inland to Thanjavur, a ride of roughly four hours
- 5Settle in with time for an evening look at the temple's outer courtyard if energy allows
- Brihadisvara Temple
- Monolithic Nandi
- Raja Raja Chola Art Gallery
- Saraswathi Mahal Library
Brihadisvara Temple and Maratha Palace, then Madurai
- 1See the Brihadisvara Temple, the Chola masterpiece with a tower of around 60 metres and a huge monolithic Nandi bull
- 2Move to the Thanjavur Maratha Palace for the Durbar Hall and the art gallery of stone and bronze images
- 3Ask at the ticket counter which parts of the palace, including the Saraswathi Mahal Library, are open that day
- 4Drive about 189 km south-west to Madurai, roughly four hours
- 5Evening at leisure near your hotel
- Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple
- Thousand-Pillared Hall
- Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal
- Teppakulam tank
- Light-and-sound show
Meenakshi Temple, Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal and the Teppakulam
- 1Begin at the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, around which the old city is laid out
- 2Walk its gopurams, the Thousand-Pillared Hall and the Golden Lotus tank
- 3Cross about 2 km to the Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal, a courtyard of massive round pillars
- 4Take in the Vandiyur Mariamman Teppakulam, the granite-stepped temple tank
- 5Optional evening light-and-sound show at the palace, in Tamil and English
- Sunset at the southern tip
- Kumari Amman Temple
- Gandhi Mandapam
Madurai to Kanyakumari for sunset at the southern tip
- 1Leave Madurai after breakfast and drive about 245 km south via Tirunelveli and Nagercoil
- 2Stop for lunch on the way
- 3Reach Kanyakumari by late afternoon
- 4Watch the sun go down from the shore viewpoint, where three seas meet
- 5Stroll to the Kumari Amman Temple and Gandhi Mandapam on the seafront
- Kanyakumari sunrise
- Vivekananda Rock Memorial
- Thiruvalluvar statue
Sunrise, Vivekananda Rock Memorial and Thiruvananthapuram departure
- 1Be at the shore for sunrise over the water
- 2If the ferry is running, cross about 500 metres to the Vivekananda Rock Memorial and the 133 ft Thiruvalluvar statue beside it
- 3Return to the hotel and check out
- 4Drive about 90 km to Thiruvananthapuram airport in Kerala, around 2.5 to 3 hours
- 5A flight after midday leaves a comfortable margin
Indicative — varies with season and hotel category.
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Trip Facts
Local Activities & Events
Updated Oct 2, 2026Chennai — Days 1-2 of this trip
Mylapore Festival
culturalUsually early to mid January. The 2026 festival had a prelude on 3 and 4 January and the main days on 8 to 11 January. No 2027 dates found.
A neighbourhood festival in Mylapore with heritage walks, a food walk, board-game contests and a quiz, held around the temple streets in early January.
Reach out to us for the confirmed datesMahabalipuram — Days 2-3 of this trip
Indian Dance Festival, Mamallapuram
culturalUsually runs from the third week of December into mid-to-late January
Classical and folk dancers perform in the evenings on an open-air stage in front of the Shore Temple, in a festival run by Tamil Nadu's tourism department.
Reach out to us for the confirmed datesKanyakumari — Days 7-8 of this trip
Suchindram Margazhi festival
festivalUsually December to January, in the Tamil month of Margazhi.
A ten-day festival at the Thanumalayan Temple in Suchindram, with a ninth-day procession of the deities on three festival cars through the streets.
Reach out to us for the confirmed datesTamil Nadu — across your trip
Kanda Sashti and Soorasamharam
festivalSix days of fasting and worship at Tiruchendur's Murugan temple lead to Soorasamharam, the re-enactment of Murugan's victory over the demon Surapadman.
Karthigai Deepam
festivalArunachaleswarar temple in Tiruvannamalai holds a ten-day festival that ends with a flame lit on Arunachala hill at dusk and an overnight walk around it.
Music Academy 100th Annual Concerts (Chennai December Season)
culturalThe Music Academy marks its hundredth annual concerts with daily performances and morning conference sessions during Chennai's December season.
Vaikuntha Ekadashi at Srirangam
festivalThe northern Paramapada Vasal gate of the Ranganathaswamy Temple opens on this single day, and the processional deity passes through at daybreak.
Arudra Darshan at Chidambaram
festivalThe Nataraja deity at Chidambaram is carried out in a temple-car procession and anointed in a long ceremony on the Thiruvathirai star.
Events are reviewed by our team before publishing and drop off after they end. Please confirm timings and availability with us before your trip — local schedules can change without notice.
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