Dear Friends
India is a Land of Destinations
It gives me immense pleasure to write about India’s Destinations. This post is just a very small point on the tip of a iceberg. This country is the topmost example for UNITY IN DIVERSITY. Right from North to South, East to West India’s richest Natural beauty and Cultural Heritage gives a wide scope for its touristy Destinations. Here I am going to give about some tourist places in a nutshell. Though this is going to be a big post, I promise you will find it interesting through the facts and photographs, which are a feast for the eyes.
At the outset I sincerely thank @TravellerG Sir for his Introduction post about us the Local Guides Community who are a part of the Spotlight series.
This post is a member of #IndiaCommunitySpotlight2025 (by @curatorofmemory ) a week-long celebration by #TeamIndia.This is also a part of the Community Spotlight 2025, an celebration initiative by @AdrianLunsong for celebrating 10 years of Local Guides.
India is a place where we have many, many options to explore, both natural and cultural. Rivers, waterfalls, mountain ranges, beaches, hill stations, places of worship, museums, architectural wonders, engineering marvels, resorts, malls, pubs, gyms, medical and health retreats… … the long list goes on. Still we Indians too, are yet to explore our country fully. India is not just a country, but a sub-continent. Every state can be compared to country.
The above is a screenshot from Google MAPS. (POIs marked are discussed below)
India has a very rich historical past and beautiful geographical locations makes India a land of Destinations. Here are a few places of interest which India offers to tourists.
I am a Local Guide from Chennai hence will start from south and travel towards west. Then tour from North to East.
The southernmost tip of our country is Kanyakumari, Tamilnadu. This is one place where we can see the 3 seas meet. They are the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and Arabian sea. Different shades of the water is visible at the meeting point of the 3 seas. Boating to Vivekananda Rock and the big statue of the famous Tamil poet Thiruvallur are to be visited for sure.
Dhanuskodi in Rameshwaram is the nearest point to Srilanka.
Kanyakumari is a very unique destination, with beautiful places to explore. A walk through Chitharal Malai Kovil by @Rahul001 is an amazing post of one of the beautiful hidden gems and one must surely visit.
Photo courtesy @Rahul001
Tamilnadu has a long coastline with beautiful shores which cradles world renowned UNESCO places like Mahabalipuram.
Photo courtesy @TravellerG and he has written around 46 posts Mega series about Mahabalipuram with wonderful photography.
The Marina Beach in Chennai is the 2nd longest Beach. The East Coast Road from Chennai to Pondicherry has many beautiful and wonderful Beach resorts, which attracts more tourists.
The picture above is long and beautiful Marina Beach. Picture taken by me at different times. The picture given below is the Vivekananda Illam (Vivekananda memorial) located on the Beach Road
Vivekananda Illam picture by me.
Pondicherry on the East Coast of Tamilnadu, also offers Museums, the French colonies, Aurobindo Ashram, Auroville where the world famous medidation centre Mithri Mandir is located here, the Temples and botanical gardens etc.
Photos of the beautiful places taken by me during my visit with Local Guide Arati Sindhe.
Kanchipuram a Temple town is also amous for authentic handwoven silk sarees. Kanchipuram Sarees are one of the best silk sarees and come under Protected Geographical Indication.
Tamilnadu is famous for beautiful architectural Temples. Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Kumbakonam, Thanjavur have around 3000 ancient Temples.
Inside the Big Temple-Greatest of Grandeurs post by me on Connect shows the architectural marvels of Thanjavur Big Temple.
The world famous big Temple of Thanjavur, Shrine of Our Lady Velankanni and the famous Mosque Nagoor Dharga attracts huge crowds irrespective of religion, throughout the year.
The mesmerizing beauty of Kanthaloor Kerala. Photo courtesy @MathanVibranarayan and his post on Finding Paradise in the wild is an example why Kerala is known as GOD’S OWN COUNTRY.
The adjacent state to Tamilnadu is Kerala. Nature is at its utmost beauty. The world’s famous and richest Temple Thiruvananthapuram where @Rahul001 meetup is going to happen during this Spotlight series.
Photo Courtesy @Roopesh Kasaragod Temple.
The Temples of Kerala are maintained spic and clean. @Roopesh post on The Timeless Charm of Madhur Ganapati Temple Kasaragod is an example of cleanliness.
College of pictures of Wyenaud and Munnar during my visit.
The tea estates of Wyenaud and Munnar offer stunning natural resorts. Cochin and Ernakulam are important places of the Arabian Sea
Bird’s eye view of Vizhinjam, Arabian Sea, Photo courtesy Rahul001.
While Tamilnadu’s coastline is Bay of Bengal, Kerala’s coastline is the Arabian Sea. There are many harbors which assist the imports and exports of our country. Rahul001 Exploring Vizhinjam Harbour
The next adjacent state with Arabian sea as the coastline is Karnataka. Bengaluru is the capital city. We had recently visited Nandi Hills and Adiyogi near Bengaluru for meetups conducted by @NareshDarji and @Sagarkanherkar
The scenic Nandi Hills and Adiyogi
Mysuru palace, Coorg coffee plantations and beautiful beaches are some amazing places in Karnataka.
Photo courtesy @Kumaarsantosh a mesmerizing waterfalls of Madikeri and his post about this place Wonder of waterfalls-Abbey waterfalls a hidden gem is a place to be visited for sure.
Hampi is the famous iconic places of Vijayanagara empire, in Karnataka. This place offers beautiful architectural marvels. A must to visit place. I have visited many times.
Photo of Raathi Ratham means Stone Chariot. Photo courtesy my photographer friend. The wheels of the Chariot rotate.
The neighbouring state is Andhra Pradesh. The another world’s richest and famous Temple is Thirumala, Thirupathi is located on Seven Hills in this state.
Photo of the illuminated Temple taken by me
Andhra Pradesh has the longest coastline in the Bay of Bengal. Visakapatinam is the famous harbour. The beautiful beaches with parks and the hilly slopes offers a treat to the visitor. My Visit to the Iconic Dargah by @PrasadVR about a peaceful Gurudwara is an example of prayer places.
Another important place is Ahobilam in Andhra Pradesh is .a place of 9 Cave Temples and we have to undertake a thrilling trek a long way to visit all the 9 Temples.
Collage of photos taken during my trek 4 years before. It was a thrilling experience and I felt a sense of achievement.
Hyderabad is the capital of Telengana State and it is a must visit destination. Here we get the famous pearls and bangles. Golkonda Fort, Lumbini Park, Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, Salarjung Museum etc., are touristy destinations here. Charminar is the icon of Hyderabad.
Photo Courtesy @palmad1 here is the recent photo of the Charminar from their ScavengerHunt meet-up.
Thanks to the Local Guides of all communities who have provided generously their photographs and links of their Connect posts.
We have just steered through the SOUTHERN STATES Tamilnadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telengana. We will continue to travel towards the WESTERN STATES of India in the next post which includes Destinations of Goa, Maharashtra, Pune, Gujrat and Rajasthan.
I have taken utmost care and added some hidden gems and less travelled places too. HOPE YOU LOVE THE TRAVEL WITH ME. The Journey continues… … …
To know more about the #IndiaCommunitySpotlight series read the Post about India Community Spotlight 2025 by @curatorofmemory here
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