The Best of Tamil Nadu (Group Trip – 6D/5N – Ooty Coimbatore Madurai Rameshwaram Kanyakumari)

• Start from Bangalore around 10 PM by picking up people from multiple pints in the city.
• Overnight journey to Ooty.

• Early morning drive through Bandipur & Madhumalai reserve forests.
• Check into the Ooty stay round 9 AM.
• Have Breakfast.
• Visit Ooty Tea/Chocolate factory, taste different kinds of chai, shop for your favorite Nilgiris Tea.
• Next in line is the highest mountain in the Nilgiris – Doddabetta, offering stunning panoramic views of Ooty’s rolling hills and misty green valleys from a popular telescope house.
• Have a quick lunch at a local restaurant.
• Head to extremely picturesque Pykara Lake, go on boating if interested. Pykara is a fresh water lake with panoramic view of lush green Nilgiris forest.
• Have pit stops at Wenlock Downs 9th Mile Shooting Point – a photographer’s delight, usually covered with mist or clouds.
• Head back to the stay, social gathering with hot Dinner.
• Rest for the night on your cozy beds.

• Check out of the Ooty stay after Breakfast.
• Visit the most famous tourist attraction of Coonoor – Sim’s park, take loads of pictures at this colorful location.
• Stop by at Dolphin’s Nose, enjoy the thrilling view with huge mountain gorges overlooking Kotagiri valley.
• Lunch at a local restaurant.
• Visit Indian Army’s – The Madras Regiment Museum that displays rich history of the regiment like weapons, armory and other artefacts. Their souvenir shop is a great place to buy miniature models of fighter planes, warships, etc.
• Go on a journey of 2 hours to Coimbatore.
• Visit most famous Isha Yoga center which is home to the 112-foot-tall statue of Adi Yogi Lord Shiva. It is recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world’s largest of its kind, and is situated against the backdrop of Velliangiri Mountains.
• The evening light show of Adi Yogi – a 14-minute 3D laser light and sound show projected onto the statue every evening at 7:00 PM is icing on the cake.
• Check into the stay in Coimbatore, have Dinner, take rest.

• Check out of Coimbatore stay after breakfast.
• Today we will take long journey towards Madurai. 
• Visit Sri Meenakshi Amman Temple, explore the grand gopurams (towers), the 1,000-Pillar Hall, and the central shrine. (Note: Dress code applies – no shorts or sleeveless tops. Mobile phones are restricted inside the main temple premises).
• Have Lunch, resume our journey to Kanyakumari.
• Arrive in time to witness the sunset over the confluence of the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean.
• Check in to your hotel in Kanyakumari. Stroll around the beach promenade, optional visit the Kumari Amman Temple if time permits (open until 8:30 PM).
• Non vegetarians can taste Kanyakumari special seafood for Dinner.
• Take rest.

• Watch the sunrise from Kanyakumari Beach.
• Quickly freshen up, & have Breakfast.
• Catch the early morning ferry to the Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Thiruvalluvar Statue island. Visit the meditation hall and enjoy views of the ocean.
• Return to the stay, pack your bags, check out.
• Drive from Kanyakumari to Rameshwaram via ECR (East Coast Road).
• Witness the iconic Pamban Bridge connecting mainland India to Rameshwaram Island. Stop briefly at the dedicated viewing bays for photos.
• Drive straight to Dhanushkodi tip, the southernmost point of Rameswaram island where the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal meet. Explore the ruins of the old town destroyed in the 1964 cyclone.
• Do some last minute shopping, finish Dinner.
• Take rest.

• Check out of the stay early, have Breakfast.
• Walk through the outer corridor of Ramanathaswamy Temple, famous for having the longest temple corridor in the world with 1,212 carved stone pillars.
• It is home to one of the 12 sacred Jyotirlinga shrines, with a deep connection to the epic Ramayana where Lord Rama worshipped Lord Shiva.
• End the exploration with a quick visit to the Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam museum and memorial dedicated to the former President of India.
• Start the long journey back Bengaluru. Take food & tea breaks enroute.
• Arrive Bangalore around mid-night so that we can have good sleep at home after 6 days long holiday trip.
• Share the stories of your beautiful Tamil Nadu trip with friends and family.

• Toiletries, moisturizer, light towel, lip balm, wet wipes, toothbrush, toothpaste etc.
• A lightweight large Backpack for the entire trip (50-60 liters). Strictly no trolleys. Remember this is a Backpacking trip.
• A small backpack for basic items (to carry valuables, water bottle, snacks, etc. for outdoor activities).
• Photo identity proof with address (Aadhar/Passport/Voter ID).
• Thermal inners and warm clothes (cold climate).
• A rainproof jacket with a hood (to protect from cold winds, sudden rain).
• Thick socks, track pants, full sleeve t-shirts (to keep your body warm).
• Cap/Hat/Sunglasses (to protect from harmful sun rays).
• Sunscreen (SPF 50 or more).
• Power bank, charger, camera, binoculars (if you wish to).
• Hand sanitizer and liquid hand wash for outdoors.
• Proper water bottle for your trip. You may fill at our stays.
• Disposable garbage covers (to separate used/unused clothes).
• Water-resistant good grip shoes for travel, extra slippers to use at stays.
• Personal medications that you may feel necessary (remember ghat roads, cold climate), basic first aid kit.
• No need to carry snacks/chocolates. You may buy at local shops.

• Organizers will get in touch with you, or vice versa.
• Once minimum number of people book this trip (at least 4 members), Organizing team will give a green signal to book your flights.
• A Whatsapp group will be created for all the registered folks 5 days before the event.

• The itinerary is fixed. No special requests to change itinerary/schedule shall be entertained. Travellers are not allowed to advice/instruct the Organizers (Driver or Trip Leader or Operations Manager) to change the itinerary.
• Cooperate with the Organizers in following the schedule set for the day (especially getting up and getting ready in the morning). This will ensure travellers won’t miss out on the real fun part that is traveling and visiting all places in itinerary.
• Every traveler is responsible for his/her for your own safety. Do not indulge in any illegal or silly activity that causes harm to self or fellow travelers.
• Do not wander into the forest away from the designated trail for treks. There may be snakes, scorpions, and dangerous animals.
• Unexpected situations: In rare scenarios, we might not be able to cover all the places mentioned in the itinerary because of unpredictable reasons like bad weather, landslides, wild animal presence, abrupt blocking of sites by the police/forest/local authorities, delay in travel because of an issue with our group itself, traffic conditions, etc. In most cases, if the time permits, the Organizers will take travelers to an alternative place. But in some cases, we may have to skip places altogether.
• Note: In case of flight delays, cancellations, or reschedules, Muddie Trails will not be responsible for missed connections to the trip starting point. Travelers are requested to make their own arrangements to reach the destination, as per the itinerary. We recommend booking flights with sufficient buffer time to avoid any last-minute issues.
• No alcohol & smoking during travel, treks, and other outdoor activities. There would be a separate window and space (usually at night) to have these at the stays for interested people.
• This is a budget, backpacking group trip. The facilities are shared between all group members. By default, all the stays and vehicles are Non-AC. No special preference shall be given to anyone.
• Travelers are expected to respect each other and help one another. Avoid discussing sensitive matters like sex, politics, and religion/caste/race.
• Using foul or abusive language, eve-teasing, arguing with fellow travelers/Organizers, and/or involving in the physical assault will not be accepted and will stand a chance of being deserted by the group then and there.
• Every traveler is expected to digitally fill & submit a liability/waiver form given by the Organizers before the trip. This liability form will discharge Muddie Trails of any unexpected incident like injury/death/theft etc.

Cancellation by Traveler

• 80% refund if a cancellation request is sent 30 days before the trip start date.
• 50% refund if a cancellation request is sent between 30 to 15 days before the trip start date.
• An email has to be sent to bookings@muddietrails.com to raise a cancellation request.
• No refund within 15 days of the event start time whatever is the reason (Health, COVID, Accident, Family crisis, Office issue, or anything else).
• No refund during/after the event.
• No refund on the partial payment (advance) done to block your seat for the trip.

Cancellation by Muddie Trails

Muddie Trails may decide to cancel the event if there are less than 8 travelers signed up for the trip/trek.

What if we don’t get the minimum number of people for the trip?
We have 2 options in this case:
Option 1: Complete refund.
Option 2: Switch to any other long trip of the same dates or future dates. The difference amount will be collected from you or paid back according to the new trip cost.

Note: We do not recommend to book flight tickets until the trip is confirmed with atleast 3 travelers signed up.

Cancellation due to external factors

Muddie Trails may have to cancel the event in case of external factors that are beyond our control like Natural Disasters, Extreme Weather Conditions, Red Alerts, Political Disturbances, Bandh/Curfews, Local Issues, Road Blocks, Train cancellations, Covid-19 or any other disease outbreaks etc.

In these scenarios:

• No Refund is allowed.
• 100% trip amount can be used for any other new trip of the same weekend or future weekends. The difference amount will be collected from you or paid back according to the new trip cost.
• Once you confirm your participation on the new trip, all the above Cancellation policies will apply for the same.