South India Tour

Kerala Travel Guide
With the Arabian Sea in the west, the Western Ghats towering 500-2700 m in the east and networked by forty four rivers, Kerala enjoys unique geographical features that have made it one of the most sought after tourist destinations in Asia.

An equable climate. A long shoreline with serene beaches. Tranquil streches of emerald backwaters. Lush hill stations and exotic wildlife. Waterfalls. Sprawling plantations and paddy fields. Ayurvedic health holidays.

Enchanting art forms. Magical festivals. Historic and cultural monuments. An exotic cuisine... All of which offer you a unique experience. And what's more, every one of these charming destinations is only a two hour drive from the other. A singular advantage no other destination offers.

Kerala, India's most advanced society : A hundred percent literate people. World-class health care systems. India's lowest infant mortality and highest life expectancy rates. The highest physical quality of life in India. Peaceful and pristine, Kerala is also India's cleanest State.

For administrative purpose, the state of Kerala is divided into fourteen districts. Most of these districts offer all the tourism products typical of the State. Sun blanched white seashore. Endless beaches. Incessant blue waves mostly calm but sometimes boisterous clamouring and vanishing among white splashes. Green groves of coconuts just stop short and border the beaches with frills.

Lurking in the backdrop a network of lagoons and backwaters. Boats and country crafts moving along. Quite a lot of rivers and countless rivulets flowing through hills and paddy fields of the midland, emptying themselves into the backwaters. And the far off dark blue mountains. This is what the eyes meet about Kerala. An excellent colour scheme and art work of Nature.

An occasional boatsman rowing and singing with cargo or people. A tiller or a mower and women planting seedlings. Women at work spinning coir. Dense plantations further eastward. Better known as "Gods Own Country", Kerala offers you a host of exciting holiday options. Spread out across the year are specially designed packages that highlight the State's attractions, and prove beyond doubt that the season never ends in this breath takingly beautiful land.

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Chennai Travel Guide
Chennai, the present gateway to the South of india, is, however, only about 350 years old. Chennai is ever growing, changing and pulsating with new activities. The city of today, one of the great metropolitan cities of the world, and the fourth largest city in india, grew from the Fort that Francis Day and his superior Andrew Cogan of East india Company built on a narrow spit of no-man's land that Day's dubash Beri Thimanna negotiated with the local governor of the Vijayangar Empire. The approximately 5-square kilometer sand strip Day was granted has now grown into a city of about 170 sq.kms. with a population of about 6 million.

Chennai was the first British major settlement in india and it was here that many who went on to build the Empire first learnt their trade. As a consequence, the city is replete with much that is of significance in British indian history. But the much older settlements have stories to tell too, and so the city is an amalgam of ancient and more modern history. Everywhere one goes in Chennai, one can find history written in every name.

The particularly charming features of Chennai are its allegiance to ancient traditions, no matter how modernised it has become and its willingness to spread out further rather than develop into a multistorey concrete jungle.The result is a widespread city still open to the skies; a green, airy city with several vestiges of its rural past; a city that adheres to the leisurely tempo of the life of a world of yesterday; a city whose values of the other day still survive amidst the humdrum bustle of today; a city that still retains the charm, culture, hospitality and courtesies of the ages.

in this gracious, spacious city there is much to see. A suggested tour round the city is best completed by following this route: Fort St. George, Pantheon Complex, Valluvar Kottam, St. Thomas Mount, Guindy National Park, the Shrines of Mylapore and Triplicane, Government Estate, the Marina and Anna Salai, Newer attractions are: theme parks such as Kishkinta, MGM Dizzy World and Little Folks, Vandalur Zoo, VGP Golden Beach Resort, Crocodile Bank and Muttukadu Boat House.

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Madurai Travel Guide
Madurai's origin and name emerge from a misty and lovely legend. in a forest near a lotus pond, indra, King of Gods, Worshipped Lord Siva as a Swayambu Lingam. At this hallowed spot, the Pandyan monarch Kulasekhara built a great temple and clearing the forest, he created a lotus- shaped city around the temple.

On the day the city was to be named, Lord Siva appeared at the ceremony. As he blessed the land and its people, divine nectar (Mathuram) was showered on the city from his matted locks. The city was henceforth known as Madhurapuri.

Madhurapuri grew and prospered to become the capital of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is referred to in the Ramayana and Kautily's Arthashastra. Megasthenes (302 BC), pliny (77AD) and Ptolemy (140 AD) wrote of "Madura, the kingdom of the Pandian". Macro polo visited Madurai in 1293 AD and lbn Batuta in 1333 AD.

Madurai lies on the banks of the River Vaigai. The temple and the old city are on the southern bank, while modern Madurai with its textile mills, engineering industries and large university sprawls around.

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Pondicherry Travel Guide
Pondicherry town is a surprise in India. This you'll realise as you pass through well-laid, wide streets carrying French names and kept unpolluted. Clean. A French past is still present. Pondicherry cheers the heart of the romantic. With grand boulevards and quiet promenades.

You'll be greeted with large bouquets of bougainvillea hanging over the ivory-coloured walls of colonial mansions. Pondicherry with its ashram charm, is sought out by the peace-seeker. And with its safe and secluded beaches, by the tan-seeker. Pondicherry is richly cosmopolitan.

A staggering number of 55 languages are spoken here. By an easy, relaxed set of people. Pondicherry is a favourite hunting ground for the shop-hopper. Where wonderful bargains are easy pickings. Pondicherry is a peaceful, easy feeling. That makes you want to put your feet up. And let your hair down.

The French Heritage
Pondicherry has a rich French cultural heritage, having been the capital of the French colonies in India since the 17th century. Pondicherry, Karaikal, Yanam and mahe were transferred to the Indian union in 1954.

This French legacy is visible in the well-Planned town, neatly laid roads, wide and vibrant beaches, beautiful promenades, architecturally imposing churches and public buildings and the statues of joan of ark and joseph Francois colonies in India from 1742-54.

The town also has an alliance Francaise and the French institute. Among the notable French personalities who left their indelible mark on Pondicherry, four names stand out.