SOUTH INDIA EXPLORED

South India is a region of great charm, offering varied delights to the traveller, including beautiful cities, colourful temples, a relaxed lifestyle, attractive scenery and some of the best food in India. The major cities of the south were once princely capitals of the Maharajas, with their magnificent remains of powerful Hindu Kingdoms which contrast dramatically with the cool, mist-shrouded hillstations of the British Raj. The natural scenery is also immensely rewarding: in the west, forest-clad hills slope down through to a shoreline of shady lagoons, wooded islands and ancient spice ports. In the east granite hills break up fertile plains and the coast has some of the world's longest beaches.