October 31, Tuesday

We depart from London Heathrow for the epic Mystic India trip!

November 1, Wednesday

We arrive at Mangalore and head over to our beach resort near Udupi (Travel time approx. 1 hour 12 minutes). We’ll most likely be staying at the Paradise Isle beach resort (TBC, see pictures). We’ll spend the day recuperating, maybe doing a little yoga in the evening, and have our welcome orientation gathering with important information to stay healthy, setting the right intention to make the most of the trip and grow spiritually and maybe even go to the beach for a swim!

November 2, Thursday

We’ll visit the famous Udupi Krishna temple. This temple was founded by Madhvacharya in the 13th century who found the Krishna deity in a ball of mud used as ballast on a ship. This deity is known to be one of the most beautiful and famous Krishna deity in India. It is said that his devotee by the name ‘Kanak’ wasn’t allowed to come in because of his position in society so the Krishna deity turned around so Kanak could see him through the small window at the back. This tradition still stands and the deity is only visible from the back window. The temple is known for feeding more than 5000 – 30,000 people everyday. The ancient traditions from several centuries ago are still seen here.

November 3, Friday

We visit a couple more traditional temples and take a trip to Malpe beach and/or Kodi beach, which are famous for their coconut palms and sandy beaches.

November 4, Saturday

We set off from a historical Udupi to a beautiful Coorg (known in the local language as Kodagu) which is situated in the mountains and famous as the ‘Scotland of India’. It’s one of the most beautiful places to be in India with nature at it’s best and a pleasant atmosphere. We’ll most likely be staying at the Woodstock resort (TBC). Coorg is famous for it’s coffee plantations which it exports all over the world, and we’ll visit one of the coffee plantations and learn about how it’s made (a bit of an educational tour with an experience). And you might get to try some too!

November 5, Sunday

We’ll have a relaxed day and go on walks in the forest, practice some yoga and meditation, and just take a breather to be in nature.

November 6, Monday

The fun doesn’t stop there. We’ll do some yoga in the morning and then head off to the Dubare elephant reserve. There are quite a few protected elephants here by the forest department of India, and you get the opportunity to feed them and see them quite up close – maybe even bathe them! The camp itself is situated on the banks of the Kaveri river and the forest it’s situated in is home to many animals like the spotted deer, sambhar, tigers, leopards, wild dogs and gaur. We might stop off at some fun places on the way

November 7, Tuesday

We’ll head off to see the birthplace of the river Kaveri in the mountains and of course, stop off for some wild adventures along the way

November 8, Wednesday

After our relaxing time in Coorg, we head over to Mysore, stopping at the Tibetan Settlement of Bylakuppe on the way (It’s a mini Tibet inside India!). The journey is about 2-3 hours. On arrival, we’ll check into ‘Sandesh the prince’ hotel, where we’ll spend the next few days.

November 9, Thursday

Our adventure in the historic city of Mysore beings! A city of kings, palaces, history and yoga, we’ll be spending quite a bit of time here. Our visit starts with climbing Chamundi hill, atop which lies the temple of the Goddess Chamundi who killed a demon called Mahisasura (after whom the city of Mysore is named). It’s a walk up which takes about 2 hours, but no dangerous climbing here. It’s a good workout though, but if you’d prefer to skip it, you can take the bus to the top. The temple is traditional South Indian architecture with big gates called ‘Gopurams’.

In the evening, we’ll take a stroll through the colourful Devaraja Market, and an opportunity to get some traditional gifts.

November 10, Friday

There are a few temples we could visit here. There is the ‘Yoga Narasimha’ temple up another hill, famous for the half-man half-lion form of Vishnu. Or we could go to the mystical land of Talakadu where the temples because of a curse get covered in sand for many months of the year, or we could visit Somnathpur temples where ancient architecture shines at its best.

November 11, Saturday

We visit Vrindavan gardens for a relaxed day which features a giant reservoir with irrigation systems and gardens built from the water channels. Srirangapatna which is a nearby town has an ancient temple of Ranganath Swami, a form of Vishnu – maintainer of the universe, lying across the floor.

November 12, Sunday

It’s the day of Diwali, so we’ll stay in Mysore and join in with the celebrations at Mysore Palace. Decorated elephants and a regal procession to the palace is what awaits you in Mysore for the most royal Diwali you’ll ever celebrate. And if you want to have a go with fireworks, that’s an option too! Don’t forget, there’s yoga and kirtan most of these mornings and evenings.

November 13, Monday

We head off to Bangalore where we do our final bits of shopping and packing all the stuff we can carry back to the UK! We finish our trip with a visit to the ISKCON temple in Bangalore.

November 14, Tuesday

Our trip comes to an end after 2 amazing weeks, but for now, we head back to the UK so we can get ready for the next one coming up in 2024. Most likely to the Himalayas and Nepal!