South India Holiday Tourism

The Southern India offers tourists an array of spectacular spots and destinations. Whether it is beaches, temples, festivals, food, shopping, architectural extravaganzas, historical sites and ruins or cultural carnivals – visitors would have everything in abundance to quench their queries and know more about India and its past glories. Here are some selective glimpses of South India in a capsule form.

Kerala
Kerala - India’s most tranquil state, gifted munificently by nature, is an enigmatic ecstasy of beaches; palm fringed backwaters, and murky hills, lush green forests and inimitable wildlife. Kerala also boasts of a prosperous edifying legacy and ethnic performing arts.

It is a tapered, charismatic piece of land in the south-west corner of India. Amidst all foliage and innumerable coconut palms, the pepper creepers rock alluringly in the gentle breeze; this thrived, all through ages to bring sea merchants to this feted landscape. Kerala has been divided into three geographical regions by the nature – the Lowlands, the Midlands and the Highlands. The forest covered Highlands embrace the dense foliage, deep, echoing chasms with a rare range of flora and fauna. The Midland encompasses valleys speckled with secluded hills. This region presents a panorama of picturesque beauty and extensive plantations of rubber, tea and coffee. The Lowlands flanking the sea are covered with the backwaters, connected by artificial canals. One can enjoy the lush greenery on either sides with paddy fields, shrubs and trees, rejuvenates one’s mind while on a cruise in the houseboat (kettuvallam). The Kerala house boats (kettuvallams) are also made in the traditional Kerala style architecture and a houseboat journey is going to remain etched in mind forever. The extraordinary cuisine of Kerala highlights the culinary proficiency of the people of Kerala. The state is considered to be the source of some of the world’s most famous and flavoursome dishes on earth. Thus Kerala is one of the most preferred destinations of the tourists in Asia.

Chennai
The name of the city, Chennai, earlier known as Madras, is supposed to be derived from Chennapattinam or Chennapattanam. It was actually the name of the town that cropped up near Fort St George put up by the British.. The place is situated Coromondol Coast of the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu in South India. Chennai is famous being an industrial based city, a naval base, its dance (Bharatnatyam) and music and the film industry - Kollywood. It is the fourth largest metropolitan city in India. The rivers like Adyar and Cooum (Kovam) are supposed to be the lifelines of the city. Chennai is also renowned all over India and the world for its famous Marina Beach.

Hyderabad
Hyderabad is the capital of the state of Andhra Pradesh in South India. The place is situated on the Deccan Plateau. The city is also entitled with names like City of Pearls or City of Nizams. The city has boomed in information technology in the recent years. It is considered as the second silicon city, after Bangalore. Hyderabad is famous being an industrial based city (which includes software and information technology, pharmaceuticals, BPOs etc.), its architecture, culture and rich history. It is the fourth largest metropolitan city in India. The chief attractions of the place are the Mecca Masjid and the Charminar. The river Musi is supposed to be the lifeline of the city. Chennai is also renowned all over India and the world for its famous Marina Beach. Hyderabadi cuisine is very popular all over India, which is a fusion of Persian and Mughal cuisine. The Hyderabadi Biryani, a lip smacking rice dish, is worth having during one’s visit to Hyderabad. Other dishes like Haleem and Paya, Irani chai and samosa are equally popular; so are the sweet dishes like phirni, sewai, dilkhush, badaam ki jaali etc.

Hampi
The name of the place, Hampi, the anglicized version of the name Hampe in Kannada, is supposed to be derived from the name Pampa, referring to the old name of the river Tungabhadra. Hampi is a small village in the northern part of the state of Karnataka in South India. Hampi is famous for its religious significance, palatial ruins and temples. The village carries the marks of the Vijayanagara Empire. It also hosts the Virupaksha Temple, which was the patron god of the Vijayanagara rulers. The place takes pride in hosting innumerable number of nationwide and global tourists throughout every year.

Mysore
The name of the city, Mysore, is supposed to be derived from the name Mahisha, meaning Mahishasura or a demon in Hindu mythology. Mysore is the capital of the state of Karnataka in South India. The place is situated on the south-west part of Bangalore.

Mysore is famous for its palaces, festivals – especially the Dassara festival, art and paint work, rosewood inlay work, saris and a special sweet dish called the Mysore Pak. It is the second largest computer software exporter, very much next to Bangalore, in the state of Karnataka. As mentioned, Mysore is well known for the number of palaces the city hosts. The Amba Vilas or most commonly named Mysore Palace; Rajendra Vilas located on the Chamundi Hills, also known as the summer palace; the Jagmohan Palace turned into an art gallery; Lalitha Mahal, converted into a hotel and the Jayalakshmi Vilas, now a part of the University of Mysore are all examples of the historical palaces.

Odisha
Odisha is a major coastline-state of eastern India, upholding the grandeur and legacy of ancient and modern art and architecture. It runs along the 482 km stretch shoreline of Bay of Bengal. The state is a treasure house of exquisite beaches, torrent waterfalls, meandering rivers, dense foliaged mountain ranges of the Eastern Ghats with a varied wild life. Thus, in Odisha there is a fusion of amazing landscape and seashores, temples, excruciating work of art and architecture and the rare tribal communities.