IndiaKumbakonamIn the Kaveri River Delta, Kumbakonam is a landscape of paddy fields, betel plantations and farming villages. Here, bullocks still pull carts along dirt roads lined with palm trees, shuttles click-clack back and forth at silk-weaving workshops, and ramshackle buildings are shored up with brightly painted corrugated sheets. Overview Trip ideas Experiences Regions Best time to visit Accommodation Back to all places in Kerala & Tamil Nadu 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 civilization 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 focused 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 favorite places to round out your experience of southern India. Other destinations in this region India CalicutA cultural crossroads, seaside Calicut is refreshingly un-touristy – despite having plenty to see and do, from medieval mosques to martial arts. India ChennaiYoung, vibrant and always in the throes of change, Chennai is one of India’s most exciting and creative cities — with some of the best street-food anywhere. India ChettinadA land of ghostly, abandoned mansions, like the ruins of a fairytale kingdom, Chettinad is one of the most spectacularly unexpected destinations in India. India Kannur & TellicherryThis charming, low-key corner of Kerala wouldn’t get much press if it weren’t for Theyyam: a Hindu festival unlike anything you’ve ever experienced. India Kerala backwatersKerala’s pride and joy, the backwaters offer mile upon mile of jungle-fringed paradise, where life is slow, water is king, and everything happens by boat. India KochiIndia’s coolest and most progressive state capital, Kochi feels like a European city transplanted to the palm-fringed Keralan coast. India Madurai‘The Soul of Tamil Nadu’, ‘The Athens of the East’, ‘The city that never sleeps’ – Madurai is one of the oldest cities in India, and it has collected its fair share of epithets over the years. India MahabalipuramWorld Heritage temples combine with sand, surf and backpacker vibes to make Mahabalipuram a beach break with a difference. India MarariArguably the best beach destination in Kerala, with golden sands, glittering seas, and plenty of laid-back south Indian charm. India MunnarEnjoy old-world luxury in a plantation bungalow, surrounded by the emerald-green tea fields and mist-cloaked mountains of Munnar. India MuvattupuzhaExperience life in the Keralan countryside, surrounded by lazy waterways and fields of pineapple, banana, coconut and black pepper. India NeeleshwarTucked away in the north, Neeleshwar is a proper tropical paradise, with some of the best beaches and backwaters in Kerala. Load More