Exploring the Western Ghats

Coonoor is considerably less commercialized than Ooty, and retains plenty of old-world, British-style atmosphere. Surrounded by tea terraces, its bustling central bazaar resounds to the whistle of the steam locomotives chugging at regular intervals up the mountain. The leafy outskirts also holds some particularly lovely hotels.

Leisurely guided walks in the woods and to nearby viewpoints occupy the day in Coonoor. Visits to local tea factories and the town’s excellent botanical garden are also on the menu if you can tear yourself away from the hotel pool!

The ‘Nilgiri Blue Mountain Railway’, to give the line its official title, is deservedly one of South India’s great attractions – more for the nostalgia value than its speed and comfort, it has to be said! And no journey through the region is complete without at least a short ride. Only the first section, from the start of the line outside Coimbatore to Coonoor, is these days covered by steam engines, which are replaced by diesel trains for the second, and highly scenic, leg to Ooty.

Encircled by seven mountains, Wayanad, in northern Kerala, boasts some of southern India’s most superb upland scenery, and a climate that’s ideal for the cultivation of tea, coffee and spices. Plantation stays in the outlying forests provide the perfect springboard for safaris to the region’s pair of wildlife sanctuaries – Muthanga and Tholpetty – where encounters with herds of wild elephant and Indian bison are virtually assured.

Nagarhole is the best place to spot wildlife in southern India. Created from the private hunting reserve of the Maharajas of Mysore, the sanctuary encompasses a tract of jungle-clad hills and the banks of a reservoir fed by the Kabini River. When water levels are low, elephants are enticed out of the trees to drink, along with herds of deer and antelope, and the predators that prey on them: striped hyena, dhole (wild dog), and tiger! Birdlife is also prolific, with 270 species recorded, among them the endangered Oriental white-backed vulture, Greater-spotted eagle and three kinds of hornbill.

Kodagu ranks among the greenest, most peaceful and lovely corners of upland India. People generally travel here simply to relax and soak up the atmosphere of the forest and coffee estates. Your hotel will be a beautiful haven surrounded by nature, and with a luxurious pool to relax in. For the more active traveller, plantation visits, guided bird watching walks, coracle rides on the river and trips to nearby jungle villages are also on offer.

A recommended excursion while you’re in Kodagu is the day trip to the Bylakuppe Tibetan settlement, where thousands of refugees settled after the Chinese invasion of their homeland in the 1960s. Now the second largest Tibetan town outside the Tibet itself, the township has a population of 30,000. With its 30-feet-tall, gilded statues and exuberant décor, Namdroling monastery is the highlight of the visit. A resident Tibetan guide will be on hand to escort you around.

Mysore, or ‘Mysuru’ as it was recently re-dubbed, is popularly known as the south’s ‘city of culture’ thanks to its profusion of palaces, and arts and crafts workshops – a legacy of its status as capital of the Wadiyar dynasty, who ruled the region until 1956. Aside from several extravagant royal palaces and temples, the city holds a particularly atmospheric market, and hilltop temple complex. It’s also a great place to sample traditional South Indian cuisine.

Mysore is dominated by its grandiloquent Maharaja’s palace, a building designed in a surreal combination of architectural styles. Beneath its gilded domes, a lavishly decorated interior holds two durbar halls, dozens of royal apartments and temples. On Sundays, the exterior is festooned with thousands of light bulbs – a great photo opportunity. Photographers will also enjoy the city’s open-air market, where sandalwood incense and kunkum powder, piled into vibrant cones, are local specialities.

On an island in the Kaveri River, Srirangapatna was the site of the region’s capital for more than seven centuries, until the defeat of Tipu Sultan by the British in 1799. Tipu’s summer palace, Daria Daulat Bagh, and the dynastic tomb complex, Gumbaz, hold some of the loveliest buildings in south India.

The coastal town of Mamallapuram (formerly known as ‘Mahabalipuram’) boasts a unique assemblage of ancient remains, the majority of them carved from granite boulders in the time of the Pallava Dynasty (5th–9th centuries), when the site was a major port. The most iconic of them is the Shore Temple, whose eroded sanctuary tower rises imperiously above the beach. Temple chariots (rathas), cave sanctuaries (mandapas) and giant open-air reliefs are also dotted around the village, which is a great place to unwind. Local beach shacks do a brisk trade in fresh lobster, tiger prawns and other fresh seafood.