Itinerary
With this brand-new itinerary, PONANT invites you to discover the wonders of India and Sri Lanka, during a 13-day cruise around the Indian peninsula. From Chennai to Mumbai, fall under the spell of these eastern lands marked by Buddhist and Hindu traditions. You will board LeBellot in Chennai, formerly Madras. Your ship will first head south to Sri Lanka. From Trincomalee, visit the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of historic city of Polonnaruwa, a fortified city from the 11th century, and the splendid golden Temple of Dambulla. During your port of call in Galle, admire the fortifications of this old town, testimony to its Portuguese and Dutch heritage and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Le Bellot will then arrive in Kerala, on Malabar Coast, in south-western India. and set sail for Cochin. A former royal town where the air is rich with the aroma of cardamom and cloves, this port of call will also be the opportunity to discover, aboard traditional boats, the fishing villages settled along the banks of the "backwaters", a network of lakes and canals that criss-cross the lush landscapes. You will then discover Goa, a former colony of the Portuguese Indies, prized for its beaches and its rich cultural heritage, in particular a collection of late 16th-century churches and convents, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Finally, Le Bellot will call at Mumbai, India' cultural and economic capital. Make sure you visit the Elephanta Caves, a Hindu sanctuary on an island off the coast, and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station (formerly known as Victoria Terminus), a remarkable example of Victorian neo-gothic architecture: both sites are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
