India Travel

India’s tropical southern tip is a magical place to start, stop or turn around. Go all the way down to Kanyakumari, and you’ll be able to see the sun rise and set over two different seas on the same day.

More relaxed than its eastern counterpart, Southern Rajasthan is no less packed with temples, crumbling forts and spectacularly hued cities and villages. The big tickets on a southern itinerary here are Udaipur and Chittorgarh.

Southern Maharashtra provides the get-away-from-it-all laziness that Goa used to be famous for. Traversing the sleepy fishing villages of the Konkan Coast, one can envisage the culture that gave rise to Mumbai’s humble beginnings. Pune, one of the state’s larger cities, is the hub of the region.

Southern Kerala is where you go to cruise the hydro-highways of Kerala’s backwaters. The most popular place to organise such a trip is in Alappuzha (Alleppey) or the tranquil trading town of Kollam (Quilon). The area also includes the golden-sand resorts of Kovalam and Varkala and the city of Kottayam.

The population of southern Kashmir is mainly Hindu and Sikh, but the region sees regular attacks from Muslim militants who slip across the border from Pakistan. Tourist sights and train stations are favourite targets – investigate the security situation thoroughly before you decide to visit.

This region includes Bengaluru, formerly known as Bangalore, a bustling, buzzing hub of IT, shopping, dining and crazy traffic. If all that gets too much, you can limber up for some Ashtanga yoga at Mysore where a slower pace is dutifully rewarded.

Well travelled during the hippy-trail days of yore, Southeastern Orissa is now a stop mainly for those who need to catch their breath beachside before visiting the sun temple at Karnak.

The star attraction south of Kolkata is the languid, mysterious Sundarbans, home to tigers, mangroves and heat-inspired dreams.

The main sights in South Sikkim are Namchi’s gigantic statues. The region has plenty of other great viewpoints, too, but visitors generally hurry straight through en route to Pelling leaving much of the region comparatively untouristed.

South Goa includes territory from the provincial town of Margao (Madgaon) all the way to the border with the state of Karnataka. This area includes destinations such as Colva and Benaulim down to the popular resort of Palolem.