India's Seductive South
The allure of this subcontinent is unique and irresistible. We have designed 16 sensational days to give you a taste of India’s spicy and sensuous southern secrets.
From the cultural riches of Tamil Nadu – with its painted temples and remnant Dravidian civilization to the natural beauty of the Western Ghats where jungle-clad hill country is dotted with rice padis, coconut palms and banana plantations before giving way to coffee and cardamon estates and onto the tranquil backwaters of Kerala, the southern states are one of India’s most intriguing regions. Everywhere throughout this off-the-beaten-track area, the pace is relaxed and the crowds (even at the great cultural sites) almost non-existent.
Our accommodation is in unique, high quality properties including exceptional small boutique hotels, stunning up market homestays, a magnificent plantation retreat and stylish city hotels allowing you an authentic South India experience.
Beginning in Chennai, we head for the beaches of Mamallapuram and its stunning 7th century Shore Temple before travelling along the Bay of Bengal, to the charming French colonial enclave of Pondicherry, with its venerated Sri Aurobindo Ashram and delightful Mediterranean atmosphere. Travelling through lush rice fields, we arrive in Tanjore to see its magnificent World Heritage-listed Brihadishwara Temple and on to the famous temple city of Madurai with its awe-inspiring Sri Meenakshi Temple. We climb into the cool mountains of the Western Ghats and stay on an organic coffee and spice plantation which is in striking distance of the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, where we can see bison, sambar, wild boar, langur, wild elephants and maybe the elusive tigers. We journey back to sea level and take a sumptuous overnight houseboat journey through the Kerala backwaters. Stopping at local villages on the way gives us a unique insight into rural life along these tranquil waterways. At Cochin, the oldest European settlement in India, we watch fishermen set their ancient Chinese fishing nets as the sun sinks into the Arabian Sea. The languid pace here is a fitting finale to this tantalising trip.
