The Sacred Paddy Hedge Sojourn - Tirunelveli
Mank ind has inhab i t ed the banks o f r i v ers for centur i e s . R ivers have nur tured grea t
c i v i l i za t ions across the wor ld . One o f Tami l Nadu ' s most anc i ent s e t t l ements , s ince a t l eas t
500 BC , ex i s t ed here next to the sw i f t l y f l ow ing waters o f th e Tambraparn i R iver that i s
exc lus ive to Tami l Nadu .
Loca ted on the banks o f th i s r i v er -‐ the Vatraa Aaru -‐ T i rune lve l i o r Ne l la i i s the on ly
Pancha Bhoomi d i s t r i c t in Tami l Nadu to have a l l f i v e e co log ica l zones as descr ibed in anc ient
Tami l l i t e ra ture ; Kurun j i (h i l l s ) , Mul la i (Fores t s ) , Marutham (Pas tora l l ands) , Ne i tha l
( s eashores ) and Pa la i ( deser t s ) . The r i v er has nour i shed the ar t s , s cho larsh ip and l i v ing l i f e
w i se ly and w i th thr i f t .
The ru lers o f th i s l and , have used th i s a s a spr ing board for the i r in ternat iona l forays a t
d i f f e rent per iods o f t ime . The ear ly Pandyas whose march ing armies gave the i r l i f e f o r Tami l ,
Ra ja Ra ja and the imper ia l Cho las who s t re t ched the i r empire f rom here to Sr i Lanka and
beyond , T i rune lve l i Seemai o f the Madura i Nayaks w i tnessed the cons t ruc t ion o f a rch i t ec tura l
gems in s tone dur ing the 16 th and 17 th century , T inneve l l y d i s t r i c t o f the Br i t i sh Eas t Ind ia
Company and the Br i t i sh admin is t ra t ion has l e f t many remnants tha t j o s t l e s ide by s ide w i th
ear l i e r Pa leo l i th i c s i t e s and T i rune lve l i o f t oday ’ s independent Ind ia . Ne l la i i s r i ch in anc ient
h i s tor i ca l t r easures tha t are ye t to be exp lored and excavated .
T i rune lve l i , mean ing the sacred paddy hedge , i s ment ioned in the T i rugnanasambandar ' s
Thevaram o f the 7 th century . I t ' s d ivers i t y w i th re f e rence to ru lers , r e l ig ion , cu i s ine ,
geography e t c are fasc inat ing . I t i s an in teres t ing amalgamat ion o f h i s tory and cu l ture , Ne l la i
cont inues to be a par t the t rave l e rs to Tami l Nadu surpr i s ing ly miss .
Embassy Trave l s , a long w i th author and h i s tor ian Sr i Pradeep Chakravarthy , who
ha i l s f rom these par t s and has ex tens ive ly toured and wr i t t en about th i s r eg ion , have
encapsu la ted the r i chness o f th i s l and in to a two day exper i ence .
Th i s weekend break seeks to showcase a smal l por t ion o f th i s d i s t r i c t ' s p i c turesque but
forgot t en her i tage . You w i l l ge t a tas t e o f what th i s r eg ion can o f f e r w i th re f erence to ar t ,
cu l ture , mus ic , r e l ig ion , a rch i t ec ture and cu i s ine . We are conf ident tha t th i s exper i ence w i l l
l eave you w i th memor ie s and a c rav ing to d i scover more !
February 19 Thursday :
20 10 -‐ Leave by Ne l la i Express f rom Madras Egmore s ta t ion . Packed vege tar ian Dinner w i l l be
p rov ided
February 20 Fr iday :
0800 -‐ Reach T i rune lve l i s ta t ion and l eave for ho te l
0900 -‐ Breakfas t a t ho te l
1000 -‐ Leave for Ne l la iyappar ko i l and an or i enta t ion to the t emple and h i s tory o f the Pandya
country
1 300 -‐ Lunch
1 500 -‐ Leave for exp lor ing the ear ly Pandya cave t emples a t T i rumalapuram, Darukapuram.
P rasadam at the t emple and t ea a t the anc i ent Pa lace o f the e r s twhi l e Tha lavankot ta i
Zamindar
2000 -‐ Reach T i rune lve l i -‐ D inner and Res t
February 2 1 Saturday :
0730 -‐ Breakfas t a t ho te l
0830 -‐ Leave to Cheranmadev i f rom T irune lve l i t o exp lore the Ramasamy t emple
1000 -‐ Leave to T i rukurungudi
1045 -‐ Nambirayar t emple in T i rukurungudi -‐ Marve l a t the outs tand ing scu lp tures , many
tha t are un ique to th i s t emple and l earn to r ec i t e a 9 th century verse on the t emple
1 245 -‐ Lunch -‐ S imple t emple o f f e r ings (prasadam) o f Pu l i yodara i , Ponga l and Thay i r sadam–
a l l popular o f f e r ings in t emples
1 345 -‐ Re turn to T i rune lve l i
1445 -‐ Learn ing t rad i t iona l r ec ipes f rom the Brahmin and Sa iva P i l lamar communi t i e s o f th i s
r eg ion . The cu i s ine o f th i s r eg ion i s a de l ec tab le mix o f Tami l and Kera la s ty l e s . D i shes
we w i l l l earn to make and ea t ! Wi l l inc lude Arachuv i t ta Kozhambu, and Pu l i yodara i
and Sodhi and In j i Thogaya l -‐ (Pr in ted rec ipes w i l l be prov ided so don ' t take notes and
f o cus on the mak ing and ea t ing ! )
1900 -‐ Depar t by Ne l la i Express for Madras . Packed vege tar ian d inner w i l l be prov ided
February 22 Sunday :
07 10 -‐ Arr i ve in Madras
Essent ia l pre -‐reads :
Severa l p laces we w i l l be v i s i t ing are p laces o f worsh ip and there fore we reques t your spec ia l
a t t ent ion to the Fo l low ing :
-‐ A t t i r e -‐ Men -‐ fu l l t rousers or dhot i s , some t emples may ins i s t on the upper garment to be
r emoved , come prepared w i th an angavas t ram/ large towe l
-‐ A t t i r e -‐ Women -‐ saree , sa lwar kameez or Kur th i s . A dupat ta or shawl w i l l be much
apprec ia t ed .
-‐ Comfor tab le shoes or s l ippers s ince monuments are foo twear f r ee zones
-‐ Even though i t i s February , you might s t i l l cons ider carry ing sun b lock , sung lasses and cap
-‐ Bas i c med ica t ion/ f i r s t a id w i l l be ava i lab le . P l ease carry your spec i f i c med ica t ion i f any
-‐ Camera -‐ there may be a charge in cer ta in p laces for the camera rang ing be tween Rs . 10 to
Rs . 50 . Photography may not be permi t t ed in cer ta in p laces
-‐ due to unforeseen c i r cumstances , in case we need to make cer ta in changes in the i t enarary ,
we r eques t you pat i ence and unders tanding . We assure you that the a l t e rnat i ve opt ion
prov ided w i l l be jus t a s exc i t ing
Inc luded in the package :
-‐ Tra in t rave l by s econd c lass AC coach
-‐ Road t rave l by AC coach
-‐ Accommodat ion in e i ther ho te l s o r her i tage proper t i e s and AC rooms accommodat ion upto
2 adu l t s . Ch i ldren w i l l be accommodated depending on the age and hote l po l i cy
-‐ A l l mea l s ment ioned w i l l be vege tar ian -‐ 2 break fas t , 2 lunches and 3 d inners per person
-‐ 2 bo t t l e s o f water per person w i l l be prov ided on the coach every day
-‐ Regu lar entry t i cke t s as app l i cab le
-‐ Darshan a t t emples w i l l be inc luded i f t ime permi t s
-‐ Serv i ces o f accompany ing tour exper t and tour head
Not inc luded :
-‐ Any expenses o f a persona l nature
-‐ Any o ther a t t rac t ion/ temple not ment ioned in the i t inerary
-‐ Room serv i ce
Package cos t : Rs . 9 ,750 on tw in shar ing bas i s per person and RS . 10 ,750 for s ing le
occupancy -‐ a l l inc lus i ve ( un less there are changes in taxes )
Conf i rmat ion and payment : Be fore 20 th January 20 15
Payment Deta i l s :
• Cheque to be drawn in favor o f : Embassy Trave l and Tours Pv t L td
• Bank Trans fer : IC IC Bank A/C Number : 000105022429 ; IFSC Code IC IC0000001 ;
• SWIFT Code IC ICINBBCTS ; Bank Address : No . 1 , Cenetoph Road , Teynampet , Chenna i –
600 0 18
Contact Deta i l s :
• pr i ya@embassy -‐ t rave l s . com
• ra j i@embassy -‐ t rave l s . com
• +91 9840078888
