Tour Itinerary

Southern India is mostly located on the Deccan Plateau, bordered on each side by two mountain ranges, the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and coastal plains. The Western Ghats is one of the “hottest hotspots” of biological diversity in the world and has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

As you enter South India, you’ll immediately notice that there are significant differences between the South and the rest of the country, and it almost feels as if you’re coming into a completely foreign country. The South is culturally Dravidian and is home to virtually all Dravidian ethnic groups. The origins of the Dravidians remain unclear and continue to be hotly debated. Some theorise that the Dravidians are native to the Indian subcontinent, while others suggest that they have their roots in Western Asia.

The South wasn’t as deeply affected by the partition, and there was a great degree of tolerance towards other religions, cultures, and castes. South Indians are commonly stereotyped as “smart” and “intelligent”. To an extent, this is in some ways true; South India has high literacy rates and it has a high level of human development.

South India has a glorious history of more than 3,000 years. With the advent of Aryan civilization in the early centuries BCE, much of the Dravidian civilizations (said to be even a base for Indus Valley civilization) were confined to Southern India, which soon became a major Dravidian bastion. Though Hinduism remained as the invisible thread that connected North and South, much of the culture and outlook remained entirely different in the two parts of the country, with the Vindhya mountains preventing Northern cultural dominance in Southern India until the Medieval period.

The ancient history of South India owes a lot to large empires like the Hoysalas, Chalukyas, Gangas, Kadambas, Pallavas, Cholas, Pandyas and Cheras, all hailing from similar roots. The Cholas are famous for their cultural monuments and navy, which brought much of South-East Asia under its domination. The Cheras ruled much of Kongu Nadu (western Tamil Nadu) and Kerala, and had extensive trading relations with the West, particularly the Greeks and the Roman Empire, as well as with Egyptians. The Pandiyas were renowned for their cultural achievements, concentrated in much of Southern Tamil Nadu. Several other Hindu dynasties including the Chalukyas and Pallavas also contributed to the cultural heritage of the region.

After Indian independence in 1947, South India remained one of the major economic powerhouses for the new nation. South Indian cities are known for industrial growth and overall development. The growth of IT in cities like Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad, textiles in Coimbatore, auto manufacturing in Chennai, and tourism in Kerala made South Indian states race ahead of North India in terms of economic prosperity, urbanization, human resources, education and overall social development.