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Region in India
Photo: Nikhilb239, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Southern India comprises five major states in peninsular India and two island groups – Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea off the west coast of India and Andaman and Nicobar in the Bay of Bengal off the east coast.
Coastal state with fiery food.
Known for its cultural heritage under the Nizam of Hyderabad.
"God's own country", famous for spices, backwaters, Ayurveda and the Malabar coast.
India's southern tip, famous for its temples, hills and its megacity Chennai.
Kannada homeland, with India's IT capital Bengaluru and numerous off-beat destinations.
By car
Southern India is well connected by the national and state highways connecting the state capitals as well as other important cities. The newer national highways and state highways are tolled.
By bus
The state-owned bus operators in all the southern states provide excellent interstate and intrastate connections, and some service providers connect with Maharashtra and Goa as well.
By train
There are various trains connecting the South to the North, and all three fastest trains (Vande Bharat, Shatabdi, Rajdhani) serve the north-south corridors.
Choose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
Bengaluru · International · BLR
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Bengaluru (Kannada: ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು Bengaḷūru), formerly Bangalore, is the largest city in southern India and the capital of the state of Karnataka. A cosmopolitan city, Bengaluru was developed around what was once a mud fort of a feudal lord.
Chennai (Tamil: சென்னை), formerly Madras (மெட்ராஸ் Meḍrās), is the largest coastal city in southern India and the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu. It is on the east coast of peninsular India.
Coimbatore (Tamil: கோயம்புத்தூர் Kōyambuttur), also known as Kovai (கோவை Kōvai), is an industrial city of 2 million people (2020) in Tamil Nadu, often likened to being the Manchester or Detroit of Southern India. It's famous for the manufacture of motor-pump sets and varied engineering goods.
Hyderabad, (Telugu: హైదరాబాద్ Haidarābād, Urdu: حیدر آباد Haidar Ābād), the "Pearl City", is the capital of the state of Telangana. Founded in the late 16th century on the hot and dry Deccan Plateau, Hyderabad is a city replete with history and traditions, as well as the wonderful palaces, mosques, bazaars, lakes and other heritage sites in the city.
Kochi (Malayalam: കൊച്ചി Kōcci), formerly Cochin, is a cosmopolitan city in Kerala (Keralam) with a bustling commercial port. Kochi is the financial and commercial capital of Kerala and, with a population of more than 2.1 million (2011), the biggest conurbation in the state.
Madurai (Tamil: மதுரை), formerly Madura, is the third-largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is on the banks of the river Vaigai and has been a major settlement for two millennia.
Mysore or Mysuru (ಮೈಸೂರು Maisūru) is the second-largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka after Bengaluru. It was the capital of the Wodeyar dynasty and is considered to be the cultural capital of Karnataka.
Pondicherry (Tamil: புதுச்சேரி Putucceri, French: Pondichéry), also known as Puducherry or Pondy, is a city in Southern India. There is a strong French influence on the architecture of the city, especially in the old quarters, with rues and boulevards lined with Mediterranean-style houses and bakeries, although the city remains very much Indian.
Near the southern tip of mainland India, Thiruvananthapuram (Malayalam: തിരുവനന്തപുരം Tiruvanantapuraṁ), formerly and often still known as Trivandrum, is the capital city of Kerala in Southern India. It is the headquarters of the district with the same name, which is one of the 14 districts of Kerala.
Hampi, in the state of Karnataka, India, is the site of the once-magnificent capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. The ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Tirupati (Telugu: తిరుపతి Tirupati, Tamil: திருபதி Tirupati) is the spiritual capital of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is most famous for its Sri Venkateswara Temple dedicated to Vishnu, also known as Balaji in Northern India and Govinda in Southern India.
Thanjavur (Tamil: தஞ்சாவூர் Tanjāvūr), also known as Thanjai or Tanjore, is a historic Chola-era city in Tamil Nadu, 342 km (213 mi) from Chennai. It is also considered the granary and 'rice bowl' of Tamil Nadu.
Kodaikanal is a hill station in the Palani Hill Range. It offers beautiful surrounding nature and considerably lower temperatures than other places in Tamil Nadu.
The Backwaters of Kerala, officially Keralam, is a network of 1,500 km (930 mi) of canals, both manmade and natural, 38 rivers and 5 big lakes extending from one end of the state to the other. The Backwaters is one of the major tourism product of Kerala, being unique to the state.
Havelock Island (Hindi: हैवलॉक द्वीप, Malayalam: ഹെയ്വ്ലോക് ദ്വീപുകള്), known officially as Swaraj Dweep (Island of Freedom), is the most visited of the Andaman Islands. It's becoming popular for its beaches, laid back atmosphere and great scuba diving.
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