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
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.
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 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.
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.
