POETRY IN STONE TOUR

Poetry in stone with Praveen and Hidden Gems was an experience out of the ordinary. An intense day, worth every step and second - whether a local wanting to learn more of your heritage or a tourist on a tight schedule wanting to get unforgettable images of India . You'll see sights that will leave you in awe, smells of insence and nature that leaves a print of India in your DNA, tastes of South Indian specialities that will have your taste buds jumping of joy, and a total feeling of fulfillment provided by Praveens philosophy to go the extra mile to make the tour extraordinary. Thank you.

We have an amazing day of visiting historic sites, tasting local food and learning the history from Praveen. I was so happy I was able to book the tour with him and two other guests.

An amazing experience!!! A wonderful day visiting incredible heritage sites and experiencing the beautiful South Indian countryside and hospitality. Each site is unique and extraordinary! Hidden Gens and Praveen were very knowledgeable and showed us things that only the locals know. I highly recommend this incredible tour!

Praveen is a great guide. Fluent in English and very flexible. He is knowledge of history and legends and love for his country. The temples are spectacular and the craftsmanship if beyond belief. It is difficult to imagine that almost 1,000 years ago the buildings and statues of this quality we re made. More so that they are standing almost untouched. If you have a change you have to see these amazing temples and colossal statue. Thank God UNESCO finally accepted this as a heritage site. Long past due.

I chose this one-day tour as it was a good fit for my tight schedule and it is reasonably priced. It turned out to be one of the most enjoyable and educational experiences I have ever had! My tour guide, Deenanath (Deena), was incredibly knowledgeable and very fun to chat with. I am a huge Indian history/culture/religions buff and as a South-Indian American myself, I know a fair bit about this region. But as we drove to the sites (and in between them), in our chats Deena shared about so many fascinating historical events, dynasties and wars, evolution of temple architecture styles, interesting agricultural practices, and social aspects of life in this part of Karnataka. He also shared many fun anecdotes about his decades-long experience guiding tourists of all sorts across South India. The driver was also timely and courteous. They picked good places for breakfast, lunch, and evening coffee. The sites themselves are simply spectacular! I have seen many major temples across both South India and North India. The Hoysala architectural style in these two temples is truly unique, with unparalleled sophistication and intricacy in the stone sculptures. I am surprised these have not been made a bigger part of Indian tourism's ad campaigns! The multiple levels of carvings overflow from top to bottom with so much imagination, creativity, and ingenuity of craft that one can spend even a whole day admiring them. The diversity of depictions is massive, ranging from numerous deities to episodes from the great epics to buxom dancing girls and musicians to semi-erotic scenes to activities of ordinary daily life back then. Deena narrated numerous interesting facts about the sculptures, including the hilarious social commentary present in some of them. It is funny how many things about humanity stay timeless! The hike up the hill in Shravanabelagola was also worth it for the impressive giant statue and sculptures up there, as well as for the beautiful vistas.

This is the second tour we booked with Praveen during our time in Bangalore. Great for history, cultural and architecture enthusiasts, the tour unveiled the magnificent beauty of South India's ancient monuments - a must-not-miss experience! Each site boasts a unique style of architecture, and exquisite sculpture is expertly brought to life by Praveen's warm and understandable narration. The tour includes breakfast, lunch and transport. We have experienced several tours like this worldwide, and this is amongst the best.

They picked us up in our hotel and the tour guide was very knowledgable and enthusiastic. Breakfast and lunch were served. Nothing else to worrt about and you just need to enjoy

A group of co-workers and I went on a variation of the Poetry in Stone tour. Hidden Gems modified the itinerary to suite our needs and added an overnight stay at the Hoysala Village Resort to make it so that we could do extended visits to Shravanabelagola, the Chennakeshava temple at Belur, and the Hoysaleshwara temple at Halebeedu. The temples were amazing – your rational mind marvels at the amazing level of artistry in each carved stone, executed at a scale that boggles the mind when you think that each temple was built over time by generations of carvers and architects, and your soul feels inspired by the emotions of those visiting and by the temples themselves to think about deeper things. Praveen and his daughter were both awesome, knowledgeable guides and were constantly attentive to the needs of everyone in the party. I felt safe and looked after every moment of the tour. They arranged for delicious meals at destination restaurants en route. They also made sure that there was a local expert who joined the tour at each historical site to tell stories and provide historical context. The stay at the resort included a lovely walk into a local village with opportunities to take pictures and interact with locals in the village, as well as great meals and a morning birdwatching walk. Accommodations at the resort were comfortable, and the resort itself was beautiful with a relaxing, spiritual atmosphere. Highly recommend! One of the best tours I’ve ever taken!

Pradeep took our group of 8 on an unforgettable 2 day adventure! He was extremely insightful as well as warm and caring. Our trip was completely customized to our teams needs and we all loved every minute of it!

Are you looking for a tour that is different from mass tourism trips and that will let you dive deep into the Indian culture and history? Well, search no longer, here it is. I did the tour with Pradeep, whose knowledge about history, art work and culture is well above all I've experienced elsewhere. He is not just giving you facts, he is weaving all his knowledge in stories and tales of the places you are going to visit and makes you feel like you are on a time travel. Regardless how many engravings are on a temple wall, Pradeep will be able to tell you the story and details of every single one. Truly unique! Besides the historical sides, he is the man for introducing you into Indian culture and will make sure you are looked after with awesome treats like a fantastic local dish or a fresh coconut drink after the long walk up to the temple hill.