Best destinations in South India

South India has the best destinations India has to offer. If you visit South India, here are the top destinations you should not miss.

Destination Karnataka

"South India"
Bangalore Palace was built to look like a smaller replica of the Windsor Castle. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Karnataka has the second highest number of protected historical monuments and is ranked as fifth best tourist’s destination in India.

Bangalore (Bengaluru) is the capital city of Karnataka also known as Silicon Valley of India. The tourist attractions list is exhaustive and the major ones include Bangalore Palace, Vidhana Soudha,  ISKON temple, Tipu Sultan’s Summer Palace, Lal-Bagh a botanical garden, Cuban Park, the large Shiva Idol/statue, Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, St. Mary’s Basilica and Infant Jesus Church, UB city to hang-out, Wonderla amusement park, huge sophisticated malls and various other temples and more.

Bijapur in South India is famous for Gol-Gumbaz and other historical monuments, Hampi is the ruins of Vijayanagar Empire and is famous for Virupaksha temple, Murudeshwara is famous for the world’s second largest Shiva-statue and has a beautiful beach, in and around Mysore for bird sanctuaries, wild-life sanctuaries and many more temples, Udupi Krishna temple, and Mangalore Malpe beach.

"Gol Gumbaz"
The Gol-Gumbaz of Bijapur in South India

Destination Kerala

Kerala, the most southern part of India, is famous for its backwaters, house boats, beaches and its scenic beauty. It is also nicknamed as one of the ’10 Paradises of the world’ and ‘God’s own country’.

Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) is the capital city of Kerala. A few major things to look for in Trivandrum are – Kowdiar Palace which was the official residence of the Travancore Royal Family, Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, Shankumugham Beach which has a giant mermaid statue in a shell, Kovalam beach with light house and Ponmudi which is a beautiful resort located 912m above sea level.

Kochi is the major tourist destination of South India in kerala; fort kochi (fishing nets, churches, beach), Mattancherry, Dutch palace, Bolghatty Palace on bolghatty Isalnd, Hill Palace, Palliport fort, Parikshith Thampuran Museum,  Veega land amusement park, Marine drive and Willington Island. Wayanad is famous for elevated Picturesque Mountains, Munnar one of the top tourists’ destinations is a hill station and is also one of the world’s highest tea growing estates, Periyar Wild life Sanctuary is also the India’s southern most tiger reserve, Kumarakom is famous for ayurvedic massage, Alapuzza (Alleppy) is also known as ‘The Venice of East’ is famous for backwaters, boat races and houseboats, Athirappilly waterfalls and Trissur is the cultural mirror of Kerala famous for temples and religious significance.

Destination Tamilnadu

Tamilnadu is famous for its rich historical significance and the history is traced back to 5000 years back.

Chennai (Madras) is the capital city of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Kapaleeshwar temple, Kalikambal temple, San Thome church, crocodile bank, Cholamandal Artists’ Village, Little Mount Shrine, Mylapore, Marine beach, Queens land and Guindy Snake Park are the prominent places to look for amoung the others.

Ooty botanical garden. Source: Wikimedia Creative Commons

Ooty and Kodaikanal are the two south Indian famous hill stations and are the heaven for honeymooners, Mamallapuram is famous for beach resort, Kanchipuram is a God’s place (!) and is the land of 1000 temples also famous for Kanchivaram sarees, Kanyakumari located at the tip of the southern peninsula where the waters of Bay of Bengal, Inadian ocean and Arabian sea meets; kanyakumari is famous for Vivekanada rock of memorial, Rameswaram is a small island in the Gulf of mannar and is a major pilgrim centre, Thanjavur is a treasure house of art and is known as ‘Rice bowl of Tamilnadu’, Tiruchirappalli is well known tourist spot famous for ‘Rock Fort’, Madhurai which is also known as ‘Athens of East’ is known for Meenakshi temple, Hogenakkal falls in Dharmapuri, Coimbatore known as Manchester of South India, Vellore, Nagapattinam and more.

Destination Andra Pradesh

Andra Pradesh was part of the kingdom of Emperor Ashoka and has major Buddhist attractions. Major tourists’ attractions in Andra Pradesh are centred around Buddhist relics and remains of traces of Buddhism.

Hyderabad is the capital city of Andra Pradesh. It was established by a Mughal emperor and has Islamic influence. Charminar is a landmark monument of Hyderabad; Golconda Fort, Mecca Masjid, Qutub Shahi Tombs, Spanish Mosque, Chowmahalla Palace, Falaknuma Palace, Birla Mandir, Salar Jung Museum, Husain sagar lake and the famous Buddha statue in it, NTR Gardens and Ramoji Film city are the most visited spots in Hydrebad. Secunderabad and Hyderabad are called twin cities.

"Golconda Fort South India"

Buddist heritage sites and cities are major attractions in the state; Nagarjunakhonda, Anupa, Amaravati, Thotlakhonda, Bavikonda, Sankaram, Jagayyapeta, Bhattiprolu, Ananda Buddha Vihara, Dhantapuram, Salihundam, Dhulikatta and Gopalapatnam are the sites to visit for people interested in Buddhism.

Visakhapatanam is a beach city and has the biggest ship building yard in India, the five temples located in East Godavari, West Godavari and Guntur are known for Pancharama Dharshan concept i.e. visiting all the five temples in one day. Tirupati, not only has one of the richest Gods in the world but also known for the number of devotees visit every year. Warangal, Basar and Nellor are other major cities to visit. Lawson’s bay beach and Chitrakote Tirathgarh waterfalls are the main attractions for water lovers along with many other beaches.

Enjoy your holiday to South India.

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37 thoughts on “Best destinations in South India”

  2. Pingback: Mylapore india

  4. I would love to visit Banglore.
    Thanks for sharing a more information about south destination of India.

    Additionally, I read your recent and old post. It seems that you like to travel all over the world.

    Many people are aware of how many attractive tourist places in India but you showed here a one view of India.

  14. Hello Shalu,
    Thank you for listing this awesome Places.I was thinking the visit the south India in this vacation and come to your blog. It is nice blog containing real information.
    Good job.

  17. Yeah.. Southeast India is one of the best destination. It is not only cheaper place to visit but nice and great attractions awaits everyone.. But I will always advise everyone to travel Australia. It offers great accommodation and awesome places to see.

  22. Dear Shalu,

    I been to kodaikanal last year during the month of march, I must say the place is really cool in the month of march too. the lakes, hills & other destinations you can’t ignore to go.. I really like kodai the most & trust me the place is really princess of all hill stations.

  27. Hi Shalu thank you very much for posting best places around the India, we don’t even know where to go which place is good an all. By reading your blog we are doing planning.
    Thank you.

  29. I went to ooty recently and i fell in love with this palce and i stayed at Meadows Residency.
    It was a wonderful hotel and i am too happy that i made this trip with my friends.

  30. I visited Chennai India in 2014. This was one of the most beautiful places that I have traveled to in a while. The people was nice, food was good and hotel was great too.

  31. I went to Udupi recently and i fell in love with this place and i stayed at Country Inn. It was a wonderful hotel and i am happy that i made this trip with my family.

  32. Kerala is the most beautiful place in India. Apart from Wayanad u must visit other places in Kerala like different hill station in Kerala, Beaches in Kerala, Resorts in Kerala, Munnar hills, Honeymoon places & the most famous place in Kerala is Backwaters Houseboat , Ayurveda massage. U just love it. Best post !!! Travel blogs is very helpful for travel junkies It Provides the best way to plan your vacation. But being able to search for cheap travel packages gives you an advantage. Have you checked southindiahighlights.com ?? It offers you best travel packages & tour guides.

  33. That is good one. i think this is your best article. Are you travelling personally to these areas? i am also very keen to travel in Southern India. How i can get this chance?

  35. Munnar is a paradise that often sought by the honeymooners; it is picture-perfect in all perfections and mergers luxury with natural surroundings in an astonishing way. Spoiling travellers with its spendthrift comforts and topmost facilities, make your attractive Kerala tour package a comfortable and luxurious one by staying at the premium resorts in Munnar.

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