It seems like the kind of place where nothing ever happens, but Kumbakonam’s apparent timelessness belies a deep and multilayered history.

Kumbakonam has been occupied continuously for over two millennia, conquered by Cholas, Pallavas, Pandyas, then Cholas again, each civilisation leaving behind its monuments and its stories. Today, 1,500 temples and monasteries lie scattered through fields, lanes and coconut groves — including two World Heritage Sites and a temple devoted to the kama sutra. Today, it’s one of the most important pilgrimage sites in South India, but if you’re not Hindu yourself you might not have heard of it before now.

A sprinkling of culturally focussed and community-based hotels have recently made Kumbakonam much easier to visit – which is fantastic news, because this is exactly the kind of place we love to bring people. It’s laid-back, utterly beautiful, rich with history and barely touched by international tourism. Even if you’re not that into temples, it has so much laid-back, rural character it’s difficult not to fall in love with it.

A real contrast to Tamil Nadu’s fast-paced cities or its bigger temple towns, Kumbakonam is one of our favourite places to round out your experience of southern India.