Lonely Planet South India & Kerala

Isabella Noble, Michael Benanav, Harding Paul, Kevin Raub, Iain Stewart

Description

Lonely Planet: The world's number one travel guide publisher* Lonely Planet's South India & Kerala is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Float along Kerala's backwaters as the sun sinks behind whispering palms, hit the beach in Goa and watch incense-clouded evening processions around Madurai's joyful Meenakshi Amman Temple - all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of South India & Kerala and begin your journey now! Inside Lonely Planet's South India & Kerala: Full-colour maps and images throughout Highlights and itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interests Insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots Essential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, prices Honest reviews for all budgets - eating, sightseeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks miss Cultural insights provide a richer, more rewarding travel experience - history, art, food, drink, sport, politics Covers: Mumbai, Goa, Bengaluru, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Andaman Islands and more The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet's South India & Kerala is our most comprehensive guide to South India & Kerala, and is perfect for discovering both popular and off-the-beaten-path experiences. Looking for more extensive coverage? Check out Lonely Planet's India for an in-depth guide to the country. About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company and the world's number one travel guidebook brand, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travellers. You'll also find our content online, and in mobile apps, video, 14 languages, nine international magazines, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more. 'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' - New York Times 'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves, it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' - Fairfax Media (Australia) *Source: Nielsen BookScan: Australia, UK, USA, 5/2016-4/2017

Sujets

• South India
• India

Informations

• Publié par: Lonely Planet
• Date de parution: 01 octobre 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 6
• EAN13: 9781788687423
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 22 Mo

Extrait

South India & Kerala

Contents

Plan Your Trip

Welcome to South India & Kerala
South India & Kerala’s Top 12
Need to Know
What’s New
If You Like…
Month by Month
Itineraries
Booking Trains
Yoga, Spas & Spiritual Pursuits
Volunteering
Travel with Children
Regions at a Glance

On The Road

MUMBAI (BOMBAY)
History
Sights
Activities
Courses
Tours
Sleeping
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Shopping
MAHARASHTRA
Northern Maharashtra
Nashik
Around Nashik
Aurangabad
Ellora
Ajanta
Jalgaon
Nagpur
Around Nagpur
Southern Maharashtra
Konkan Coast
Matheran
Lonavla
Pune
Around Pune
Kolhapur
Mahabaleshwar
GOA
Panaji & Central Goa
Panaji
Old Goa
North Goa
Mapusa
Candolim
Calangute & Baga
Anjuna
Assagao
Vagator & Chapora
Morjim
Asvem
Mandrem
Arambol (Harmal)
South Goa
Margao
Colva
Benaulim
Agonda
Palolem
Patnem
Ancient & Historic Sites
KARNATAKA
Bengaluru (Bangalore)
Southern Karnataka
Hesaraghatta
Mysuru (Mysore)
Around Mysuru
Bandipur National Park
Nagarhole National Park
Kodagu (Coorg) Region
Hassan
Belur
Halebid
Sravanabelagola
Karnataka Coast
Mangaluru (Mangalore)
Dharmasthala
Udupi
Malpe
Gokarna
Central Karnataka
Hampi
Anegundi
Hosapete (Hospet)
Hubballi (Hubli)
Northern Karnataka
Badami
Around Badami
Vijapura (Bijapur)
Bidar
TELANGANA & ANDHRA PRADESH
Telangana
Hyderabad
Bhongir
Warangal
Palampet
Andhra Pradesh
Vijayawada
Amaravathi
Nagarjunakonda
Visakhapatnam
Around Visakhapatnam
Tirumala & Tirupati
Around Tirumala & Tirupati
KERALA
Southern Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum)
Kovalam
Varkala
Kollam (Quilon)
Around Kollam
Alappuzha (Alleppey)
Marari & Kattoor
Kottayam
Kumarakom
Kerala’s Western Ghats
Periyar Tiger Reserve
Munnar
Around Munnar
Central Kerala
Kochi (Cochin)
Around Kochi
Thrissur (Trichur)
Around Thrissur
Northern Kerala
Kozhikode (Calicut)
Wayanad Region
Kannur & Around
Bekal & Around
Lakshadweep
Kerala Feature
TAMIL NADU
Chennai (Madras)
Northern Tamil Nadu
East Coast Road
Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram)
Kanchipuram
Tiruvannamalai
Puducherry (Pondicherry)
Auroville
Central Tamil Nadu
Chidambaram
Tharangambadi (Tranquebar)
Kumbakonam
Thanjavur (Tanjore)
Trichy (Tiruchirappalli)
Southern Tamil Nadu
Chettinadu
Madurai
Rameswaram
Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin)
The Western Ghats
Kodaikanal (Kodai)
Coimbatore
Coonoor
Kotagiri
Ooty (Udhagamandalam)
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve
Anamalai Tiger Reserve (Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary & National Park)
ANDAMAN ISLANDS
Port Blair
Around Port Blair
Havelock Island (Swaraj Dweep)
Neil Island (Shaheed Dweep)
Middle & North Andaman
Little Andaman

Understand

South India Today
History
The Way Of Life
Spiritual India
Delicious India
The Great Indian Bazaar
The Arts
Architectural Splendour
Wildlife & Landscape

Survive Guide

Scams
Women & Solo Travellers
Directory A-Z
Accessible Travel
Accommodation
Customs Regulations
Electricity
Embassies & Consulates
Food
Insurance
Internet Access
Legal Matters
LGBT+ Travellers
Maps
Money
Opening Hours
Photography
Post
Public Holidays
Safe Travel
Telephone
Time
Toilets
Tourist Information
Visas
Transport
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
Health
Language
Behind the Scenes
Our Writers
Welcome to South India & Kerala

Like a giant wedge plunging into the ocean, South India is the subcontinent’s steamy heartland – a lush contrast to the peaks and plains up north.

A Fabulous Heritage
Wherever you go in the south you’ll uncover splendid relics of the many civilisations that have inhabited this land over two millennia. The spectacular rock-cut shrines carved out by Buddhists, Hindus and Jains at Ajanta and Ellora; the palaces, tombs, forts and mosques of Muslim dynasties on the Deccan plateau; Tamil Nadu’s inspired Pallava sculptures and towering Chola temples; the magical ruins of the Vijayanagar capital at Hampi…and so much more that you’d need a multitude of incarnations to see it all. It’s a diverse cultural treasure trove with few parallels, in the land that also gave birth to yoga.

Luscious Landscapes
Thousands of kilometres of cascading coastline frame fertile plains, glinting backwaters and rolling hills in South India – a constantly changing landscape kept glisteningly green by the double-barrelled monsoon. The palm-strung strands and inland waterways of the west give way to spice gardens, emerald tea plantations, tropical forests and cool hill-station retreats in the Western Ghats. The drier Deccan ‘plateau’ is far from flat, criss-crossed by numerous craggy ranges and often spattered with dramatic, fort-topped outcrops. Across the region, protected wild forests shelter a world of wildlife, from elephants and tigers to monkeys, deer and sloth bears.

Culinary Delights
South India’s glorious culinary variety and melange of dining options are an adventure in their own right. Some of India’s most famous and traditional staples hail from here: large papery dosas (savoury crêpes) and fluffy idlis (fermented rice cakes) are the backbone of South Indian cooking. Mouth-watering Mumbai is India’s top destination for gastronomic indulgence, be it hole-in-the-wall street food or haute-cuisine wizardry. Goa’s spicy, Portuguese-influenced cuisine is fiery inventive fusion at its finest; Kerala’s coconut-infused seafood is the stuff of legend; and, everywhere you travel, the humble South Indian kaapi (filter coffee) keeps things ticking over.

Sophisticated Cities
The south’s vibrant cities are the pulse of a country that is fast-forwarding through the 21st century while also at times remaining staunchly traditional. From in-yer-face Mumbai and increasingly sophisticated Chennai to historic Hyderabad, IT capital Bengaluru (Bangalore) and charming, colonial-era Kochi (Cochin) and Puducherry (Pondicherry), southern cities are great for browsing teeming markets, soaking up local history and indulging in India’s more fashionable side – from arty coffee houses and chic boutiques to an explosion of hipsterised microbreweries and cocktail bars.

Tea plantations near Munnar , Kerala | DMITRY RUKHLENKO / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Why I Love South India & Kerala
By Isabella Noble, Writer
My first taste of South India was a masala dosa at Shimla’s Indian Coffee House, and I knew then that the south was calling. Whether it’s Kerala’s fiery sunsets, Tamil Nadu’s incense-cloaked temples, the forested Western Ghats or the glint of a sparkly sari in a heaving bazaar, the many, multifaceted charms of the south unravel subtly, like the intricate spices of its cuisines. I’ll always have a soft spot for palm-studded, backwater-laced Kerala; the Andamans’ turquoise shallows; and architecturally fascinating Chettinadu. South India may be hot and often hectic, but it never fails to surprise and broaden the mind – and, inevitably, lure you back.
For more see, our writers
South India & Kerala’s Top 12

Kerala’s Beautiful Backwaters
Around 900km of interconnected rivers, twinkling lakes and glassy lagoons lined with lush tropical flora converge in Kerala’s sublime backwaters. And there’s no more serene and intimate way to experience them than aboard a teak-and-palm-thatch houseboat, a silently roaming kayak or a punt-powered canoe from Alappuzha ( Alleppey ). Float along the water as the sun sinks behind whispering palms, feast on gloriously fresh seafood, pop into tiny water-ringed villages, witness the sun rising above rippling waves – and forget about life on land for a while.

DMITRY RUKHLENKO / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
Golden Goa
Silken sand, gently crashing waves, rich coconut groves, flaming-pink sunsets – if there’s one place in India that effortlessly fulfils every beach paradise cliché, it’s Goa. With few exceptions Goa’s beaches, from mellow Mandrem to charming Palolem , are a riot of activity, with a constant cavalcade of roaming sarong vendors, stacks of ramshackle beachside eateries and oiled bodies slowly baking on row after row of sun lounges. Goa is also loved for its inland spice plantations, flavour-filled seafood-fired cuisine and fine heritage buildings, most notably handsome Portuguese-era cathedrals.

Vagator Beach | SAIKO3P / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
Enigmatic Hampi
Today’s surreal boulderscape of Hampi was once glorious Vijayanagar, capital of a powerful Hindu empire. Still glorious in ruin, its temples and royal structures combine with the terrain in mystical ways: giant rocks balance on skinny pedestals near an ancient elephant garage; temples tuck into crevices between boulders; and round coracle boats float by rice paddies, palm groves and bathing buffalo, near a gargantuan bathtub for a queen. As the sunset casts a rosy glow over this extraordinary landscape, you might just forget what planet you’re on.

PIKOSO.KZ / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
Maharashtra’s Astounding Ancient Caves
The 2nd-century-BC Buddhist monks who created the Ajanta caves had an eye for the dramatic, as the rock-cut shrines and monasteries punctuating a horseshoe-shaped cliff attest. Centuries later, monks added exquisite carvings and paintings. Along an escarpment at Ellora , less than 150km to the southwest, Hindus, Jains and Buddhists spent five centuries carving out another 34 elaborate shrines and monasteries, plus Kailasa Temple, the world’s biggest monolithic structure.

CASPER1774 STUDIO / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
Out in the Wild
Disappearing into the wild jungles, bush and hills of South India, where dozens of parks and protected spaces await, is always a thrill. Maharashtra’s Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve has some of India’s best tiger-spotting chances, while Mudumalai Tiger