Best Places to Visit in South India

In this article we tell you the Best Places to Visit in South India, a region characterized by its mystical sensuality, overwhelming natural beauty and proud culture itself. Most travelers choose the north of the country as a destination for a first trip to India, as the topic says that southern India is for repeat offenders. However, there is no problem that the southern states welcome the traveler in their first contact with the country.

Best Places to Visit in South India

Blackwaters 

This Anglicism refers to a network of 9000 km² of inland channels, lakes and lagoons that run parallel to the coast of the state of Kerala and which make up an amphibious world of singular beauty, a natural garden of marshes, coconut palms, rice fields and plantations of cashew nuts are the Best Places to Visit in South India. Navigating the region in a kayak or in the traditional kettuvalam allows you to surprise the daily life of its inhabitants and enjoy the rural charm of its small villages with their own customs and customs. Authentic slow travel at 10 kms per hour to enjoy the amphibious world of this labyrinthine river network.

Kathakali 

Kathakali is the most authentic cultural manifestation in South India. It is a dramatic play with recitation and dance, with themes always linked to the great epic cycles of Ramayana and Mahabbarata (the foundational text of Hinduism) Best Places to Visit in South India. The prodigious gestural movements, rich clothing and colorful make-up of the actors make up a spectacle so unusual as to bewitch the eyes of the Western traveler. Cochin, is the city indicated to attend a performance.

Heritage

South India has two jewels that stand out above its varied and rich historical and artistic heritage. These are the monumental sets of Mahabalipuram and the Great Living Chola Temples, both in the state of Tamil Nadu. Admiring the bas-relief carved on a single monolithic rock of Arjuna’s Penance (or “Ganges Descent”) in Mahabalipuram is a thoroughly joyful experience for any art lover Best Places to Visit in South India.

Madurai

Best Places to Visit in South India, If the traveler could only visit a temple in southern India, it should be the temple of Meenakshi in the venerable Madurai, for it is the essence of Indian architecture and sculpture. Nearly 2500 years of Madurai history have allowed him to accumulate Tamil Nadu’s greatest treasure of sacred art. The Minakshi temple with its twelve towers and polychrome statues of gods from the tumultuous Hindu pantheon exemplifies the essence of Indian architecture and sculpture: exuberance, saturation, vitality, accumulation …

The Periyar National Park

Best Places to Visit in South India, The Periyar National Park (also known as Thekkady), Kerala state nature reserve, is the most visited in South India. It occupies almost 1000 km² and houses specimens of some of the country’s most emblematic species, such as the Bengal tiger and the elephant, as well as other monkeys, bears, wild boar, antelopes … It also stands out for hosting several species of endangered animals and a splendid birdlife that congregates around a huge artificial lake of English-dominated times, where safaris are made, whether in standard boats or in bamboo rafts.

Kanchipuram

Best Places to Visit in South India, Kanchipuram, just over 60 kilometers from Chennai (formerly Madras) in Tamil Nadu, is considered one of India’s seven holy cities. It houses more than a hundred temples and was capital of the Chola and Pallava dynasties. To visit it means for the faithful the salvation.

Belur and Halebidu

Best Places to Visit in South India, The splendor of the Hoysala dynasty in Karnataka bequeathed us these two artistic gems and their historical capitals. Contemplating the buildings of Belur and Halebidu gives an idea of the prodigious dominion of sculpture and architecture in the 11th and 12th centuries in this region and the enormous influence they had in other parts of Southeast Asia.

Now that you know the Best Places to Visit in South India, it’s time to continue exploring the world. Tell me what you think about this post and if you would like to add another option. Do not forget to share this post with your friends.

If you are also traveling in India please read these blogs also Travel to India in August,  Travel Checklist for India, Common Tourist Scams in India, also read our Spanish blog Viaje a India Blog, and Italian Blog Agenzia Viaggio India