South India

South India spans the Deccan Plateau, the green slopes of the Western Ghats and the shores of the Bay of Bengal. Hyderabad draws visitors with the arches and minarets of the Charminar, Golconda Fort, pearls and its celebrated biryani (spiced rice with meat). Chennai, on the coast, is a city of classical music and Bharatanatyam dance, with the UNESCO-listed shore temples of Mamallapuram nearby.

At Hampi the ruins of a great 14th–16th-century capital, a UNESCO-listed site, lie among giant boulders and banana groves by the Tungabhadra River. Coorg (Kodagu) is a land of misty hills, coffee estates and waterfalls, while on the Kabini River, at the edge of Nagarhole National Park, naturalists lead jeep and boat safaris in search of leopards and tigers. The best time is roughly October to March.