Karnataka, in southern India, is renowned for its rich cultural heritage that spans over two millennia. From ancient temples and majestic palaces to vibrant textile traditions and art forms, the heritage of Karnataka is a reflection of its diverse history and cultural influences.

We’ll traverse a part of this huge state that encompasses the extraordinary boulder strewn landscapes of North Karnataka, with the historic and awe inspiring  monuments to a heroic past in Hampi and Badami, and placid paddy fields with rural agricultural villages lost in time.

As a complete contrast, the glittering nouveau IT hub of India, Bangalore, dominates the south, with its regal and ancient neighbour, Royal Mysore to the west.

Exploring some of these diverse regions on our Karnataka Textiles & Heritage tour, our textile meanderings will take in unique traditional types of weaving, embroidery and quilting that are not to be found anywhere else in India.

We’ll experiment with block printing and natural dyeing workshops and immerse ourselves in the creative crafts of Karnataka, land of silk, spices, sandalwood, and world class heritage.

• You have an adventurous spirit 

• You love textiles. 

• You want to learn to weave by hand

• You would like to support the skilled, local artisans make a living from these traditional crafts by joining this retreat.

• You’re happy to go off the regular tourist trails and spend time with local people. 

• You’re happy to eat simple traditional Indian food. with dinner in the evening, although a beer is often possible! 

• You have good mobility, can climb uneven steps and are happy to walk on unpaved roads, paths and tracks at times. 

• You are happy being part of a small group and travelling in an air-conditione vehicle with two journeys of 3 - 4 hours, with breaks of course! 

• You love shopping for fabrics!

  
  
  

• Breakfast throughout the tour:

• Lunch included on all days except Day 1 and Day 18 the final travel day.

• Dinner included on all days except Day 18 and the final travel day.

FLYING TIME

Outward journey:

London - Bengalaru - London - British Airways/Virgen (Direct) approx 11 hours flying time.

Bengalaru - London via Gulf Hub - 11 hours flying time.

INTERNAL TRAVEL

COACH: Air conditioned 26 or 29 seater coach,

depending on group size. Longest journey

time in bus 3-4 hours

TRAIN: Two overnight trains:

Bengalaru to Hospet - 8 hours

Badami to Mysore - 14 hours

Our hotels are all three star and above. We aim to book character, Indian hotels where possible or to provide a comfortable well located hotel where this isn't an option.

Welcome on arrival at Bengaluru International Airport and transfer to your hotel for a four night stay in bustling Bengaluru or Bangalore as we know it, the capital of Karnataka . Situated 3000ft above sea level on the Deccan Plateau, with a population of well over 9 million, Bangaluru has become the IT capitals of India, filled with modern skyscrapers and a labyrinthine road network. At its heart it's still a fascinating old city full of small lanes and ancient trading streets, parks and gardens. Once you have settled into your hotel, you'll find a good selection of cafes and shops only a few minutes walk away. After an introduction to your tour enjoy an inclusive welcome dinner.

The first of our hands on workshops takes us on a full day block printing workshop at

Tharangini creative printing studios in a beautifully green district of Bangalore. Our hostess will start the day by explaining the background to the history of the studios and its collection of of over 4,000 historic and modern wood blocks.

We'll learn about the creative processes involved in block printing, with and without the discharge process. This is followed by a technical demonstration and then it's over to you to experiment with your choice from the huge library of blocks available. You'll have two beautiful block printed pieces to take home with you, one printed using the discharge method and one using Tharangini's own developed organic, non toxic printing inks.

This morning's inclusive walking tour of Bangalore's old city takes in the Krishna

Rajendra Market in full flow-er. This fabulous flower & veg market is situated inside the old city of Bangalore with its 'petes', or old bazaar streets still in use.

We'll also visit Tipu Sultan's palace, Bangalore Fort and other landmarks that illustrate how Bangalore was built out of the old city and finally discover the remaining vestiges of silk weaving left in Bengaluru.

Includes a stop in the silk and garment 'pete' of Chickpet for a spot of fabric indulgence!

Our two day Siddi quilting workshop starts with a talk by Anitha Reddy, who has been working with the womens of the Siddi community of North Kerala, in their remote forest villages for 10 years. She spotted a quilt one day drying on a fence, on

her way to a friend's wedding. That one chance encounter led to her delving deep into the lives of the Siddi women, and with them, helping to revive the old traditions of 'Kaudi' quilting in their community.

Most of the day will be given over to a hands on workshop, alongside some of the women from the Siddi community, learning the technique of Kaudi quilting that they have adapted and developed to illustrate their lives in fabric. All materials will be

provided.

In the evening we board the overnight Hampi Express to enjoy the unforgettable experience of an Indian sleeper train. Our luggage will go ahead of us!

Arriving early morning into Hospet station , we take a 20 minute drive in our tour bus

to our hotel in the heart of the Unesco World Heritage Site of Hampi.

On our first day in Hampi we'll discover the archeological delights of the the Krishna

temple complex, and the Queens Bath House. Enjoy a traditional south Indian lunch unch at the famed Mango Tree restaurant before driving to nearby Anegundi to visit the women's banana fiber weaving and basket making initiative at Kishkinda Trust and the queens palace before wending our way back to our heritage resort hotel for an inclusive dinner.

Today we'll walk the main site of Hampi with our knowlegeable Hampi guide

to learn about the vast panorama of temples and bazaars scattered along a

valley of giant boulders stretching to the river Tungabhadhra.

We'll walk along the river to the Vitala temple complex to see the famous musical pillars and stone chariot before a delicious lunch at Mango Tree.

In the afternoon we'll visit the Lotus Mahal, elephant stables and stepwell before relaxing at our hotel until dinner.

A free day to discover parts of Hampi that we haven't covered in our two day explorations. Meander through Hampi village to the ghats on the river Tungabhadra to watch the coracles plying across the river, or take an auto rickshaw to the bottom of the 500 steps up to the Hanuman Temple. Extraordinary views across Hampi and the river greet you at the top as well as the tiny temple perched on the mountain top.

Alternatively, spend the day by the pool or finishing your Siddi quilting sample.

The Lambani or Banjara nomadic tribe from Rajasthan create the most

stunningly decorated clothes, with elaborate colourful embroidery, including mirrorwork and shells. They are now to be found inhabiting the area around Hampi, and especially in Sandur where they participate in a Gandhian Centre for khadi weaving and for sales of their dazzling, intricately embroidered items.

We will join the Lambani embroiders for a full day's embroidery workshop A rare chance to buy directly from the women artisans who are being empowered to make a living from their traditional art and embroidery by this Centre in Sandur.

Our tour bus heads north again today to Badami, to explore the extraordinary cave temple complex there that dates from the 6th century.

Our alternative destination is Ilkal where the whole town is engaged in weaving the iconic Ilkal saree, cotton and silk blended into a stunning colourful feast.

Another hour brings us to our boldly designed new hotel on the outskirts of Badami with a welcome swimming pool .

For the culture vultures, we are including a morning trip of 40 mins drive to the nearby archeological sites of Pattadakal and Aihole, both UNESCO World Heritage

Sites. Experimental, intricately carved Hindu, Jain and Buddhist temple architecture from the 5th to the 10th Centuries stands in abundant profusion at both these sites and are a unique record of the earliest stone built temples in India.

Enjoy an inclusive dinner this evening at our nearby hotel.

Exploring local North Karnataka weaves takes us to Khana Weaves at nearby Guledgudda today to meet the weavers who weave the famous and unique Ilkal saree and Khana blouse pieces.

A beautiful brightly coloured sari that is very complex in construction with a cotton warp in the body, and silk warp for the borders and the Pallu, the decorative end piece that drapes over the shoulder. It takes a week to weave one sari. The pure silk Khana blouse brocades are also complex weaves and unique to Guledgudda

village.

Today we'll explore the Badami cave temple complex with our local guide, overlooking a stunning man made lake Buddhist, Jain and Hindu temples are scattered across a cliff face, connected by stone steps leading from one to the other. Beautifully detailed statues and pillars carved into the solid rock face....a marvel of sublime rock carving, mainly belonging to the Chalukya dynasty who

ruled Badami from 600- 800 CE.

All aboard the overnight train again this evening to our

next majestic destination - Royal Mysore.

We arrive in Mysore mid morning. After brunch at a local restaurant, enjoy an optional two hour cookery session with a professional cookery teacher in her home, learning to cook 3 traditional Karnataka dishes from 2 to 4pm

Before dinner we'll visit the Maharajah of Mysore's royal palace grounds to witness the weekly lighting of the 100,000 lightbulbs that illuminate the palace for 20 magnificent minutes!

Enjoy an inclusive meal at our hotel this evening.

Enjoy a full day natural dyeing workshop with Color Ashram. Namrata and her team will take you through the natural dyeing process, using madder and an overdye of indigo, if wanted, to dye a scarf or bag or tee shirt to take home with you.

Color Ashram also sell their own patented pre-mordanted natural inks and dyes in subtle shades, which can be used for block printing and fabric painting. A delicious traditional Karnataka lunch on a banana leaf is included. Enjoy an inclusive dinner at

our hotel.

This morning we'll visit the government silk factory, famous for weaving the lustrous Mysore silk saris then have a chance to shop for silks and gifts before a tour of the interior of the Maharajah's Palace after an inclusive lunch. Alternatively, you can take an auto rickshaw or walk to the ancient and vibrant Devaraja Market to browse among aromatic spices and scented oils, temple flowers and all manner of veg

and other fascinating household and temple wares.

A fascinating day in the company of a knowlegeable local guide on a visit to a pivotal location in British and Indian history. Srirangapatna is an island in one of India's most sacred rivers, the Cauveri. In the 18thC when Haider Ali and his son Tipu Sultan ruled the whole of the south of India, Srirangapatna was their fortified captal city. The British East India Company were determined to rule South India and dominate its trade. After two inconclusive wars against Tipu, the two sides met for a final battle in 1799. The British managed to storm the fortress from the river and Tipu was killed in battle and the British took control of South India from that day. The rest is History as they say! Tipu's palace was untouched and became the new governers residence.

We'll visit this and other haunting reminders of that fateful day on our Srirangapatna day trip.

Today journey from Mysore back to Bangalore and stop for a visit after lunch to the Janapada Loka Parishat, an extraordinary open air folk museum covering 15 acres.

The vision of one civil servant who wished to preserve what he

could of the rural traditional life of Karnataka.

Among the 5000 exhibits are reconstructions of traditional houses and village scenes, lifesize figures representing the folk arts and crafts of Karnataka.

Enjoy an inclusive dinner at your hotel in Bangalore this evening.

The end of our Karnataka Textiles & Heritage Tour. We hope you enjoyed your textile

journey with us. We are so happy that you chose to travel with us and allowed us the

privilege of introducing you to the quiet joys of textiles in South India. Thank you for your contribution to raising the value of hand made fabrics in India by joining us on our adventures.

An inclusive transfer to Bengaluru International Airport is available for those

who are returning home today. We look forward to welcoming you back soon for

another exciting Textile Travels experience.

Namaskar!