{"id":7945,"date":"2016-03-18T16:37:54","date_gmt":"2016-03-18T16:37:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/?p=7945"},"modified":"2020-12-22T17:27:04","modified_gmt":"2020-12-22T17:27:04","slug":"nicks-top-5-southern-indian-experiences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/nicks-top-5-southern-indian-experiences\/","title":{"rendered":"Nick’s Top 10 Southern Indian Experiences: Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

After returning from his trip to South India, travel specialist Nick shares part 1 of his\u00a0top 10 experiences in this\u00a0relaxed and stunning region of the world.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>\"houseboats_in_kottayam_2_438\"<\/p>\n

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1. Lotus Hermitage Houseboat<\/strong><\/p>\n

The lotus hermitage<\/a> is a great antidote to the more popular and therefore busy backwaters of southern Kerala. It’s a\u00a0beautiful converted rice barge providing a very stylish, authentic and comfortable way of exploring Northern Kerala. It has two bedrooms so can cater for a family or couples. The eating area is stunning; whilst you’re sampling delicious local food, small temples, villages, markets and paddy fields drift by. There are bicycles available so you can always stop off and explore further on land to see a little more of this intriguing region. With untouched rural scenes and not many tourists around, it makes for an unforgettable experience.<\/p>\n

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2. Beach at Nileshwar<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is not to love? With wide expanses of empty golden\u00a0sand, it gives you a desert island experience with fantastic swimming opportunities, picture perfect palm trees and stunning sunsets. The fish found in\u00a0this region of the coast is particularly good and there are two lovely hotels: Neeleshwar Hermitage<\/a> and Kanan Beach Resort<\/a>, in fantastic locations right next to the beach.<\/p>\n

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3. The city of Mysore<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brimful of history, art, and culture, Mysore<\/a> is a wonderful city in Karnataka state. The old palace is an intriguing building\u00a0to explore, with wall paintings telling the stories of the old royal families as well as stunning carvings, paintings, and stained glass windows. It’s particularly famous for its elaborate lighting every Sunday and some public holidays between 7-8pm\u2013 it gives the Oxford Street Christmas lights a run for their money.<\/p>\n

There were historic battles between the French backed Muslims and British backed Hindus in old murals of the garden palace of Seringapatam. The markets of Mysore<\/a> are full of hustle and bustle with the characteristic colours and smells you’d expect on a visit to India.<\/p>\n

Train enthusiasts will also be interested in the Mysore Train Museum. You can see old steam locomotives, have a ride on a toy train and learn about the history of India’s railways here.<\/p>\n

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4. Nagarhole Safari<\/strong><\/p>\n

Perfect for those wanting to be submerged in their own David Attenborough nature journey, Nagarhole National Park<\/a> is just over an hour from Mysore and a few hours from Wayanad. The park is home to beautiful birds such as ospreys, eagles and kingfishers \u2013 even tigers and leopards thought they’re more difficult to spot.\u00a0There are also large herds of elephants throughout the park, as well as crocodiles and otters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lots\u00a0of deer\u00a0call the park their home\u00a0and if you arrive for rutting season (autumn time) you can see the most spectacular fights between antlered males. I saw a large herd of deer galloping away from something. That something turned out to be\u00a0a pack of wild dogs \u2013 luckily for the deer they were unsuccessful. We then followed them as they stalked a large Sambar deer and her calf. Four dogs then surrounded the pair, who were on the edge of the water. The mother appeared to be fighting a losing battle to protect her calf, before two other Sambar deer came to their rescue. Four deer were too many for the dogs, who then scarpered.<\/p>\n

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5. Wayanard<\/strong><\/p>\n

Widely regarded as one of the most picturesque areas of Kerala, Wayanard<\/a> is home to a series of beautiful coffee and tea plantations. There are a large selection of boutique hotels, homestays and farmstays. The bird life is exquisite and there are lots of walks, treks, cycling and plantation tours for those who want to be active. It’s also an idyllic place to just kick back, relax and read a book.<\/p>\n

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Read part 2 here<\/a>…<\/em><\/p>\n

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Coming to the end of my first 5 experiences of my top 10 list, I should say there are plenty more brilliant things to do\u00a0in Southern India. These suggested itineraries\u00a0give you an idea of what else is on offer:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Undiscovered Northern Kerala<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Relaxing and Rejuvenating Holiday in Kerala<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Kerala in Style<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Call on 020 3627 6970\u00a0<\/span>for a chat on further ideas about\u00a0your India holiday. Alternatively you contact me in writing here<\/a>. There are no obligations and you don’t have to pay a penny until you feel like you have the perfect holiday.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After returning from his trip to South India, travel specialist Nick shares part 1 of his top 10 experiences in this relaxed and stunning region of the world. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":7946,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[71],"coauthors":[927],"class_list":["post-7945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-india","tag-tips-and-tricks"],"aioseo_notices":[],"views":2656,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7945\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7945"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=7945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}