Chennai in 3 days

Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram) day trip (the most important UNESCO World Heritage site in Tamil Nadu and the most important Pallava dynasty architectural complex in South Asia — 60km south of Chennai on the Coromandel Coast): the Mahabalipuram Group of Monuments (UNESCO World Heritage 1984 — the most important single inscription of Tamil monuments in the UNESCO World Heritage List): the monuments of the Pallava dynasty (the most powerful dynasty of South India from the 3rd to 9th centuries CE — the dynasty that ruled from Kanchipuram (60km west of Chennai — the "City of a Thousand Temples" (the most important temple city in Tamil Nadu)) and left the most important architectural legacy in South India). The Shore Temple (the most romantic and the most beautifully positioned temple in South Asia: the 8th-century (c. 700–728 CE) Pallava granite temple built on the rocky shoreline of the Bay of Bengal — the most dramatically situated Hindu temple in India: the twin towers of the Shore Temple rising from the granite rocks with the Bay of Bengal waves breaking at the temple base is the most iconic image in Tamil Nadu tourism and one of the most internationally reproduced photographs of Indian temples). The Pancha Rathas (the "Five Chariots" — the most important monolithic rock-cut temple complex in India: the five "rathas" (the "chariot-shaped" temples — "ratha" means "chariot" in Sanskrit) cut from five individual granite boulders, each representing a different architectural style in the Pallava temple-building tradition (the most important architectural taxonomy experiment in the history of Indian temple architecture: the five rathas demonstrate the five most important Pallava architectural forms within a single confined site)).

Madras Crocodile Bank Trust (the most important crocodile conservation centre in Asia — 37km south of Chennai on the East Coast Road): the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust (MCBT — founded 1976 by Romulus Whitaker (born 1943 — the most important American-born herpetologist in Indian wildlife conservation: Whitaker has done the most for crocodilian conservation in Asia of any individual in the 20th century) and Zai Whitaker): the Crocodile Bank (the most important ex situ (captive) conservation facility for crocodilians in Asia): the most diverse crocodilian collection in South Asia: the Saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus — the most dangerous and the most massive crocodilian in the world: adults reach 6–7m in length and weigh up to 1,000kg (the most massive reptile in the world): the Saltwater crocodile has the most powerful bite force of any animal in the world (3,700 PSI — the most forceful jaw strength in the animal kingdom)), the Mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris — the most widely distributed crocodilian in South Asia: the "mugger" (from the Hindi "magar" — the marsh crocodile) is the most commonly encountered crocodilian in India)), the Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus — the most critically endangered crocodilian in the world: the population declined from approximately 10,000 in the 1940s to fewer than 200 adults today (the most dramatic population collapse of any large reptile in the 20th century)).

Dakshinachitra (the most important living heritage museum in South India — 27km south of Chennai on the East Coast Road): the "Dakshinachitra" (from the Sanskrit "Dakshina" (south) + "Chitra" (image/picture) — the most descriptively accurate museum name in India: "the image of the South"): the open-air living heritage museum dedicated to preserving the most endangered traditional arts, crafts and domestic architecture of the four South Indian states (Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh): the museum comprises over 18 fully reconstructed traditional houses (the most complete collection of relocated vernacular South Indian domestic architecture in the world: each house is an authentic original structure dismantled from its original village location and reconstructed at Dakshinachitra (the most architecturally responsible heritage preservation approach in India: the houses are not replicas but the actual original structures (the most important conservation principle at Dakshinachitra))). The craft demonstrations (the most important educational program at Dakshinachitra: the live demonstrations of the most endangered South Indian craft traditions: the bronze casting ("lost-wax" casting — the most ancient and the most technically demanding metalworking tradition in South India: the Chola dynasty Nataraja bronze (the dancing Shiva) is the most important single sculpture in the history of Indian metalwork), the silk weaving, the Tanjore painting (the most elaborate classical painting tradition in Tamil Nadu) and the kolam drawing (the most important daily ritual art in Tamil Nadu: the geometric rice flour patterns drawn on the doorstep every morning by Tamil women — the most widespread traditional art practice in South India)).

Chettinad dinner (the most celebrated regional cuisine in Tamil Nadu and one of the most internationally recognized South Indian regional cuisines): the Chettinad cuisine (the cuisine of the Nattukotai Chettiar community — the "Nagarathar" (the merchants of the Chettinad region (the semi-arid southeastern Tamil Nadu region: the 73 villages of the Chettinad area — the most culturally distinct microregion in Tamil Nadu): the Nattukotai Chettiars were the most important banking and trading community in medieval South India and Southeast Asia (the most extensive mercantile network of any Tamil community: the Chettiars operated the most important money-lending and banking systems in Burma (Myanmar), Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Malaysia and Singapore in the 19th–early 20th centuries — the most internationally active South Indian merchant community in history))). The Chettinad spice blend (the most complex and the most aromatic spice combination in South Indian cooking): the "kalpasi" (the Parmotrema perlatum lichen — the "stone flower": the most unusual spice in South Indian cooking: the dried grey-green lichen that grows on the most ancient rock surfaces in the Chettinad region, used as the most important flavour base in the Chettinad spice mix), the "marathi mokku" (the dried calyx of Randia dumetorum — the most distinctively bitter spice in the Chettinad arsenal), the "kalpasi" and the "star anise" (the most important Chinese spice to enter the South Indian culinary tradition through the most ancient maritime trade routes between Tamil Nadu and China).

Kanchipuram (the most important temple city in South India — 75km southwest of Chennai): the "Kanchi" (the ancient Tamil name — the most ancient and the most sacred single-city name in Tamil Nadu: Kanchipuram has been continuously inhabited for over 2,000 years (the most continuously settled single-site urban center in Tamil Nadu) and was the capital of the Pallava dynasty (the most powerful dynasty of South India from the 3rd to 9th centuries CE) — the "Golden Kanchipuram" (the most historically celebrated single Tamil city in classical Tamil literature: Kanchipuram is described as one of the seven most sacred cities in Hinduism (the "Sapta Moksha Puri" — the seven cities that grant "moksha" (liberation from the cycle of rebirth — the most important goal in Hindu soteriology): Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridwar, Varanasi, Kashi, Kanchipuram and Dwaraka)). The Kailasanathar Temple (725–728 CE — the most important and the most beautifully preserved early Pallava temple in India): built by the Pallava king Rajasimha (Narasimhavarman II — the most culturally significant Pallava ruler: the king who patronized the most important architectural projects of the Pallava dynasty): the Kailasanathar Temple is the oldest stone-built temple in Tamil Nadu and the most important surviving example of early Dravidian temple architecture in South Asia.

Kanchipuram silk shopping (the most important silk weaving city in India — and the most important destination for purchasing the most celebrated silk textile in South Asia): the Kanjivaram silk saree (the most important traditional textile in Tamil Nadu and the most internationally recognized Indian woven textile after the Banarasi silk (from Varanasi — the most important North Indian silk weaving city)): the Kanjivaram silk (the "Kanchipuram pattu" — the most important Tamil silk designation: "pattu" meaning "silk" in Tamil): the heavyweight pure mulberry silk saree (the most technically demanding silk saree to weave in India: the Kanjivaram silk uses the most pure and the most densely woven mulberry silk threads (the silk of the Bombyx mori silkworm fed exclusively on mulberry leaves — the most important silk variety in India) with the most elaborate "zari" (gold and silver thread) work (the "zari" — from the Persian "zar" meaning gold — the most important metallic thread in Indian textile art: the real "zari" uses 100% pure gold and silver wire twisted around the most fine silk thread core)). The three most important elements of the Kanjivaram saree: the body weave (the pure mulberry silk in the most rich single colour), the border ("kurai") weave (the contrasting colour border with the most elaborate zari pattern) and the "pallu" (the decorated end of the saree — the most important element: the most elaborate and the most technically demanding section of the Kanjivaram saree weaving, with the most intricate temple motifs, peacock designs and the most important Pallava architectural patterns).

Return to Chennai and the Carnatic music concert (the most important classical music tradition in South India and one of the most technically demanding classical music systems in the world): the Carnatic music (the classical music of South India — from the Sanskrit "Karnataka" (the most important medieval South Indian kingdom) via the Tamil "Karnatakam" (the classical musical system): the most technically demanding and the most theoretically elaborate classical music system in Asia south of China): the "ragas" (the melodic frameworks — the most important structural concept in Carnatic music: the Carnatic tradition has 72 principal "melakartha" ragas (the most systematic raga classification in any classical music tradition: the 72-raga "Melakartha" (or "Melakarta") system devised by Venkatamakhi (the 17th-century music theorist — the most important theorist in Carnatic music history) organizes all possible 7-note scales (the most mathematically complete cataloguing of scales in any classical music tradition in the world) in the most logical geometric progression). The Trinity of Carnatic music (the most important three composers in the Carnatic tradition): Tyagaraja (1767–1847 — the most celebrated Carnatic composer: the composer of over 700 krithis (the most prolific single composer in Carnatic history) in Telugu and Sanskrit), Syama Sastri (1762–1827 — the most intimate Carnatic composer: the composer of the most moving "swarajati" compositions) and Muthuswami Dikshitar (1775–1835 — the most cosmopolitan Carnatic composer: the composer who incorporated the most Western musical elements into the Carnatic tradition (the most important musical bridge between the European and the Carnatic traditions)).

Farewell Chennai dinner (the most important Tamil Nadu dinner for the final evening): the "South Indian Meals" (the Tamil Nadu thali served on a fresh banana leaf — the most important and the most nutritionally complete traditional meal in South India): the banana leaf (the most important serving vessel in Tamil Nadu cuisine: the "vazhaila" (the banana leaf — from the Tamil "vazhai" (banana tree): the most eco-friendly and the most traditionally significant food serving surface in South India (the banana leaf is biodegradable, naturally antiseptic (the banana leaf contains polyphenols and tannins that inhibit bacterial growth on the leaf surface — the most important food safety function of the banana leaf in pre-refrigeration South India), and imparts the most subtle "green" flavour to the food served on it (the chlorophyll compounds in the banana leaf transfer a mild vegetable flavour to the hot food — the most important unintentional seasoning in South Indian food service))). The components: the rice (the most important staple: the short-grain parboiled rice of Tamil Nadu (the "boiled rice" or "steamed rice" — the most commonly served rice in Tamil Nadu restaurants)), the sambar (the most important South Indian lentil soup: the toor dal (pigeon pea lentils) slow-cooked with the tamarind (the most important souring agent in South Indian cooking), the tomato, the drumstick (Moringa oleifera — the most nutritious vegetable in Tamil Nadu cuisine), the shallots and the "sambar powder" (the most important spice blend in Tamil Nadu cooking)).