Our tour starts today in Puducherry, formerly known as Pondicherry, a former French colonial outpost on India's southeast coast. Known for its tree-lined boulevards, colonial-era villas and lively markets, the city blends French architecture with Tamil traditions, giving it a charming seaside atmosphere. For those arriving in time for the 10am joining time, we'll transfer together from Chennai International Airport (approximately three-and-a-half hours). En route, we'll stop in Mamallapuram, a UNESCO site where intricately 7th and 8th century carved shore temples and roadside stone workshops showcase a craft that has thrived for centuries. Customers making their own arrangements should aim to be at the hotel in Pondicherry by 3pm. After checking in and having lunch, we'll meet the tour leader at the hotel lobby around 3:30 pm to get set up with our bikes and take a gentle warm-up ride of around 6 kilometres/4 miles through the French Quarter and along the coast. Back at the hotel, there's time to freshen up before we head out for our first group dinner and an evening briefing about the journey ahead. Our total cycling distance today is approximately 6 kilometres / 4 miles on flat terrain.

We start our first full day in Puducherry with a ride out to Auroville, an experimental township founded in 1968. Created with human unity in mind, the spiritual commune was developed by Mirra Alfass, also known as 'The Mother', whose idea was to create a place for all people, regardless of their gender, nationality or religion, to live together in harmony. Today, Auroville is recognised for both its giant golden meditation dome, the Matrimandir, and for being one of the most famous ashrams in India. After exploring Auroville's visitor centre and learning about the community's philosophy, we head back to Puducherry for lunch. In the afternoon, our tour leader will take us on a city tour of this French colonial town on foot, exploring the European-style buildings of the French Quarter. We'll learn why the French colony settled in Puducherry in the 18th century, whilst walking past the colourful markets and colonial houses. Our total cycling distance today is approximately 32 kilometres / 20 miles on flat terrain

After breakfast, we take a 30-minute transfer out of Puducherry to avoid the city's busy traffic. At our starting point, we meet the crew and support vehicle with our bikes before beginning today's ride. We follow quiet backroads towards Chidambaram, passing through small rural settlements and agricultural land, experiencing rural day-to-day life in Southern India unfold. We'll make a stop for some lunch at a roadside restaurant before continuing our ride to Chidambaram. On arrival in the city this afternoon we use our vehicle again to avoid the busier urban sections, thencheck into our hotel before visiting the Nataraja Temple with our tour leader. Dedicated to Shiva in his form as the cosmic dancer, it's one of the most important Hindu pilgrimage sites in Southern India. The temple complex is known for its towering gopurams (gateway towers) covered in intricate carvings. We'll also visit the local bazaar with its stalls selling flowers, incense, and temple offerings. For those who want to experience nature, there is an optional one-hour boat trip in the nearby Pichavaram Mangrove Forest. Known as one of the largest mangrove forests in India, this unique coastal ecosystem is home to migrant and local birds, such as cormorants, egrets, storks, herons and pelicans. Please see the budgeting section for more information on optional activities. Our total cycling distance today is approximately 60 kilometres / 37 miles (total 370 metres or 1214 feet accumulated ascent and descent).

After breakfast, we take a short transfer to the outskirts of the city to bypass the morning traffic. From our starting point, we'll mount our bikes and begin our 60-kilometre ride on quiet country roads as we follow the Cauvery River towards Thanjavur city. Known as the 'Rice Bowl of Tamil Nadu', as it boasts some of the most fertile lands in India, producing vast quantities of rice, Thanjavur is also famed for its Chola dynasty temples and rich cultural heritage. At the end of our ride we complete the busier section of road into town in our vehicle. Thanjavur was the former heartland of the Chola dynasty, an empire that originated in the fertile valley of the Cauvery River and ruled for over four centuries, from the 9th to the 13th century. Its power stretched beyond the borders of India, to as far as Sri Lanka, the Maldives and parts of Southeast Asia, thanks to its maritime presence. Besides their enormous influence in establishing trade connections between India and Southeast Asia, the Cholas were also great patrons of Tamil arts. This afternoon we visit the UNESCO-listed Brihadeeswarar Temple, an outstanding example of Chola architecture with its 66-metre-high vimana (tower) and large stone Nandi bull statue. From here, we will visit the Royal Palace, whose paintings, manuscripts and sculptures depict the Chola dynasty. From here, we will wander over to the Sangeet Mahal, a Hall of Music designed to showcase its excellent acoustics, where public events and concerts once took place. Our total cycling distance today is approximately 60 kilometres / 37 miles (total 265 metres or 870 feef accumulated ascent and descent).

This morning, we leave the Chola heartland of Tamil Nadu as we head further south into the Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu. Known for its impressive mansions built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by wealthy traders known as Chettiars, we'll cycle past these lavish mansions that once showcased the wealth and power of the Nattukottai Chettiar community. This community amassed their wealth by trading precious stones with other Southeast Asian countries. Sadly, overseas trade was impacted by the Second World War, which resulted in many of these mansions being abandoned as the traders of the Nattukottai Chettiar community fled the country. Despite many of the mansions being abandoned and left to ruin, in more recent years, some of the mansions have been restored as boutique hotels, offering guests the chance to glimpse into the past. After taking a short transfer into the city to avoid the traffic, we'll visit the Chettinad Museum, where we will see how the famous Athangudi tiles are made. These tiles were used in the grand Chettiar mansions and are impressively poured, painted and polished all by hand. If time permits, we'll also make a stop at the local Santhai market where hand-spun cotton fabrics, palmyra leaf baskets and locally-grown produce are sold. Aside from its impressive Chettiar mansions, the Chettinad region is also renowned for its famous cuisine. This evening, we'll enjoy a cooking demonstration to discover why this part of Tamil Nadu is so celebrated, sampling a couple of regional dishes such as a fragrant biryani or a traditional thali. Our total cycling distance today is approximately 55 kilometres / 34 miles (total 370 metres or 1214 feet accumulated ascent and descent).

We leave Chettinad this morning and will be making our way to Madurai via a couple of interesting stops. We'll cycle past granite quarries and mason workshops who are responsible for carving temple pillars for over 2,500 years. Our ride will take us past local villages until we reach Karrupur, where we'll have lunch. Our final stretch of today's journey will be in our vehicle and we'll stop at Melur en route to Madurai. Melur is known for its hundreds of red clay horses that surround village shrines dedicated to Ayyanar, the guardian deity who is believed to protect village boundaries. This afternoon will be spent exploring the old city of Madurai and Sri Meenakshi- Sundareshwara temple, arguably one of the most beautiful and atmospheric temples in Southern India. The Hindu temple is one of the biggest temple structures in India and is an iconic sight in Tamil Nadu. Thousands of huge stone pillars line the hallways, each adorned with different deities, and are said to represent the 3,333,333 gods of the Hindu cosmos. As with all the temple visits over these days, it is a great opportunity to strike up conversations with the many local pilgrims. For those interested, there is the option to return to the temple in the evening to witness the Bed Ceremony, a daily procession in which the statue of Lord Shiva is carried from his shrine to join his beloved Parvati in hers within the Meenakshi Temple. If time allows, there is an optional rickshaw ride through the narrow streets of Madurai to visit the spice and vegetable markets. Please see the budgeting section for this optional activity. Our total cycling distance today is approximately 65 kilometres / 40 miles (total 315 metres / 1033 feet accumulated ascent and descent).

We are up early this morning to visit the flower market in Madurai before breakfast. Early morning is the busiest but best time to visit this bustling market. The market is a colourful feast for the eyes (and nose!) where you'll see piles of jasmine, lotuses, marigolds and roses, to name a few, being bought and sold for weddings, celebrations, and worship. After breakfast, we leave behind the hustle and bustle of Madurai and drive towards the Cardamom Hills. Our bus journey of around two hours takes us through changing landscapes, from fertile plains into rolling fields of sugarcane and coconut palms. From our lunch stop in Theni, we begin our ride passing by banana groves before we begin our slow but steady ascent up to the Western Ghats. Our time in Tamil Nadu comes to an end today as we cross into Kerala. Our total cycling distance today is approximately 35 kilometres / 22 miles (total 605 metres / 1985 feet accumulated ascent and descent).

We'll head out on a guided walk in Periyar National Park bright and early today. Led by a trained forest department tribal guide, the trek will take us approximately 3 miles/5 kilometres through a dense forest of teak, rosewood, sandalwood and mango, where we will keep our eyes peeled for birds, butterflies and wildlife. Returning to the hotel in time for a late breakfast, the rest of the day is free for you to relax at the hotel or, for those who want to keep busy, to do an optional boat safari in the park. The boat safari is a great opportunity to spot guar, deer, monkeys, and, from March to May, herds of elephants. In the late afternoon, we'll drive over to a family-run spice plantation. Here we'll take a guided walk through the family's private spice plantation and learn about spices such as peppercorn and nutmeg, which are typically grown in this region. These spices will form the base of the meals we'll prepare with the family and are typical of Kerala, such as Malabar fish curry or spiced curry. No cycling today.

Today we continue our journey through the Cardamom Hills with a short transfer before reuniting with our bikes. We'll pause for a welcome tea stop at a local factory, learning about the tea-making process and the history of the industry in India. From here, we continue our ride, ascending towards Vagamon, an area of outstanding natural beauty. The road winds through pine forests, rolling meadows, and misty hills, offering some of the most scenic cycling of the journey before we begin our descent. Tonight, we stay at Planters Homestay, a 55-year-old two-storey family mansion set in a rural village. All rooms are bright and airy with en-suite facilities, and some (but not all) have air conditioning. The house is surrounded by lush gardens with tropical fruit trees, tall teaks, and lots of bird life. We have included dinner at the homestay. Our total cycling distance today is approximately 45 kilometres/28 miles (total 690 metres/2,264 feet accumulated ascent and descent).

Our ride today takes us through spice plantations, rubber estates and tea gardens as we slowly make our way towards the coast. This part of Kerala is best known for its Syrian Christian heritage, evident in the many churches that grace the region. We stop in Palai to visit St. Thomas Church, established in 1922, which beautifully blends European and Keralan influences. Its sloping tiled roof and wide verandas were built to withstand the heavy monsoon rains, while the high altar and side chapels are reminiscent of Catholic churches in Europe. Our cycle will become a more leisurely pace as we approach the more flatter sections of the coastal road. Our total cycling distance today is approximately 40 kilometres / 25 miles (total 520 metres / 1706 feet accumulated ascent and descent).

This morning, we have a leisurely start to the day. For those who want to stay active, there is the option to explore the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, home to cormorants, egrets, herons and more. We'll board our houseboat around midday for an exotic journey, lazily chugging along the waterways used by villagers to connect each of the communities. We'll dock before dusk and watch the sun go down on the horizon. The Kerala Backwaters are a remarkable 900km network of lagoons, canals and lakes, formed where the flow of rivers from the Western Ghats meets the Malabar Coast and Arabian Sea. The houseboat is perfect for observing locals who rely on it for transportation, fishing and farming going about their daily lives, as well as switching off and enjoying serenity and natural beauty. The houseboats we use are simple yet comfortable, converted rice barges which have en-suite rooms and an area to relax and watch riverside life as we go by. Whilst the engine is running, there will be some power supply to charge cameras, but the air conditioning will be limited to nighttime only. Houseboat sizes range from two to five-bed barges; therefore, larger groups will likely be split over several boats. Our total optional cycling distance today is approximately 35 kilometres/22 miles (total 65 metres/213 feet accumulated ascent and descent).

Disembarking at Alleppey after breakfast, we'll travel by bus on the coast road north to Marari Beach, where we'll catch our first glimpse of the Arabian Sea. We'll continue to Andhakaranazhi, where the backwaters flow into the Arabian Sea, forming a strip of land called the "Azhi". From here, we'll ride the final stretch, concluding our epic ride from Tamil Nadu to Kerala. We will be staying in a two-hundred-year-old heritage property located in the heart of Fort Kochi. The hotel is a great jumping point to explore Kochi, but for those who want to relax, the property has a rooftop pool to unwind in. The rest of the afternoon is yours at leisure to relax and celebrate the conclusion of a memorable ride. Our total cycling distance today is approximately 40 kilometres/25 miles (total 73 metres/240 feet accumulated ascent and descent).

Today is completely free to explore Fort Kochi at our own pace. Our tour leader can arrange an orientation walk of the city for those who are interested. Kochi was founded on trade, originally with the arrival of the Chinese, Arabs and Phoenicians in the 2 millennium BC. Its links to Europe strengthened in the 16th century, with the arrival of the Portuguese, closely followed by the Dutch and the English. This has produced an eclectic mix of styles and influences. You can find both the oldest European church and the oldest synagogue in India amongst its winding streets, and elsewhere, Chinese fishing nets vie for space alongside Portuguese houses and Dutch palaces. Otherwise, there is the opportunity to visit the rural village of Chedamangalam to gain insight into what daily life is like in rural Kerala. The women of the village are supported by the Kudumbashree project, an initiative set up by the Keralan Government to eradicate poverty by creating livelihoods for the women. The visit will involve a cooking demonstration with a traditional sadya lunch served on banana leaves, followed by the opportunity to explore the village and farm. Please see the budgeting section for information on this optional activity.

Our tour of Kerala ends at our hotel in Kochi. There are no activities planned today, so you're free to depart at any time. If your flight leaves later in the day, luggage storage facilities are available at our hotel.\revised \revised0 If you'd like a hotel transfer, you'll need to depart from Cochin International Airport (COK), which is roughly an hour and a half from the hotel.