Kodaikanal is a stunningly situated and easy-going hill station on the southern crest of the Palani knolls, some 120km northwest of Madurai. It’s surrounded by wooded slopes, waterfalls and precipitous rocky outcrops and the winding route up and down is breathtaking.
Tag: international
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Bangkok Thailand Travel
Same same, but different. It’s Thailish T-shirt philosophy that neatly sums up Bangkok, a city combining the tastes of many places into a unique and oftenspicy dish that is never, ever boring.
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Karnataka India Travel
If you’re looking for variety in your Indian travel experience, Karnataka fits the bill nicely. The state’s capital and international entry point is the IT powerhouse of Bengaluru (Bangalore), a modern, energetic city best savoured for its restaurants and shops. Ancient architectural gems are abundant, including the World Heritage–listed monuments of Hampi and Pattadakal. Practically untouched beaches and devout temple towns dot Karnataka’s quiet tropical coast, while in the cool highlands of Kodagu (Coog) you can trek between lush coffee and spice plantations along paths trampled by migrating elephants.
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Kannur Cannanore Kerala India Travel
Under the Kolathiri rajas, Kannur was a major port bristling with international trade – explorer Marco Polo christened it a ‘great emporia of spice trade’. Since then, the usual colonial suspects, including the Portuguese, Dutch and British, have had a go at shaping Kannur. Today it’s an agreeable, though unexciting, town known mostly for its weaving industry and cashew trade, with an excellent beach at Costa Malabari and incredible theyyam possession performances.
Buddhist pilgrims from around the world are drawn to Bodhgaya. It was here, 26 centuries ago, that Prince Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment beneath a bodhi tree and so became the Buddha. A beautifully serene temple marks the spot and a descendent of that original Bodhi Tree remains, its roots happily clutching the same soil as its celebrated ancestor.
The birthplace of Buddhism in India, Bihar occupies an important place in India’s cultural and spiritual history. Siddhartha Gautama – the Buddha – spent much of his life here and attained enlightenment beneath a bodhi tree at Bodhgaya – making it the most significant Buddhist pilgrimage site in the world. Little more than a rural village, Bodhgaya is peppered with international monasteries and attracts devotees from around the world to meditate and soak up the powerful ambience. Following a trail of ancient and modern Buddhist sites, you can visit the extensive ruins of Nalanda, one of the ancient world’s first universities, the many shrines and temples at nearby Rajgir, and the great Ashokan pillar at Vaishali.
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Auroville Tamil Nadu India Travel
Just over the border from Puducherry is the international community of Auroville – a project in ‘human unity’ that has ballooned to encompass more than 80 rural settlements spread over 20km, and about 1800 residents. Two-thirds of these are foreigners, representing around 38 different nationalities.
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Andhra Pradesh India Travel
Aside from tens of millions of pilgrims, not many people make the trip to Andhra Pradesh. But Andhra’s a place with subtle charms, quiet traditions and a long history of spiritual scholarship and religious harmony. The state is 95% Hindu, but you wouldn’t know it in the capital’s Old City, where Islamic monuments and the call of the muezzin are more ubiquitous than the garlanded, twinkling tableaux of Ganesh. The city’s rich Islamic history announces itself in Hyderabad’s huge, lavish mosques, its opulent palaces and the stately Qutb Shahi tombs – but also, more softly, in a tiny spiral staircase in the Charminar and in the sounds of Urdu floating through the air.
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Ahmedabad Amdavad Gujarat India Travel
Ahmedabad (also called Amdavad) is Gujarat’s major city, and a startling mini-metropolis. Straddling the Sabarmati River, it’s one half old-world charm, and the other half new-world noise. Yet it’s also remarkably cosmopolitan, with a rich Muslim history, a tangled, beautifully restored old city, stunning museums, fine restaurants and fabulous night markets. Many travellers stop off briefly on route to Rajasthan or Mumbai, sneaking in a visit to Sabarmati Ashram (Gandhi’s former headquarters). However, those able to swallow the smog will discover a pulsating Indian city, with a media that preaches tolerance. Ahmedabad is a sky-scraping step-off point to the rest of Gujarat.