I will be there in July/August of this year and I want to see some chill countryside. Any suggestions or tips or recommodations? I've been in India before so I know how to get around.
Cheers,
Stefani
Reply to this Around Bangalore - Mysore is a nice city/town. Laid back , uncongested and some Great palaces and gardens and a dam as well which is worth a visit especially after the rainy season.. Between Chennai , Bangalore and Mysore you wil find some nice hill stations such as Ooty , Kodaikanal.. And also Forest reserves such as Bandipur And Nagarhole. There is a bird sanctury called Ranganatittu.. All these places are Clustered Between Bangalore and Chennai in a 300 Km Radius.
If You have time to travel in the opposite direction {for About 300 Kilometers } U will get into western Ghats which is Beautiful region in the west of karnataka with many hill stations and stuff. Eg : Agumbe , Kudremukha and also beaches etc. And then there is Kerala full of Hill stations and Backwaters....
FOOD RECOMMENDATION : - On the highway from Bangalore going towards Mysore , U wil find a Hotel called KAMAT JANAPADA LOKA.. If U reach there evening 7.30 , U wil get a Meals named " JOLADA ROTI OOTA " . If U eat this,it is so delicious U may even decide to settle down in a town close to the hotel..
Cheers..
Reply to this Hallo hallo, and thanks a lot for this detailed list!!!!! Really appreciate it... can´t wait to leave, I have been in the north 1,5 years ago and in Goa and Poona, am looking fw to see some of the south now!!
thanks again, and namaste-
Reply to this Hi Stefi! You have most details on being around B'lore. As for Chennai, some places that are beautiful and worth a visit are KanniyaKumari - the southmost tip of India, you can actually see water from Indian Ocean,Bay of Bengal and Arabian sea merging here.
You can visit other cities in Tamil Nadu such as Coimbatore, Erode, Mamallapuram, Salem, Vellore and Tiruvarur.
If you are fond of seeing temples in India then a must visit is Madurai which has the famous Madurai Meenakshi Temple and Thiruvannamalai which is a major piligirmiage place in India.
Chennai has a lot of beaches such as Marina Beach and Elliot Beach. However these are crowded. The Kovalam Beach and Mamallapuram beaches are further away but nicer quiter places to be in.
However the nicest place is Pondicherry - a former French colony in India. Its a 2 - 2.5 hours drive from Chennai but its worth a visit.
Reply to this Hi Tanya, thanks for the tips!! An Indian aquaintance mentioned Mamallapauram as well and Thiruvannamalai, too. We will have to decide for either one as we are restricted in time I´m afraid...
cheers,
Stefani
Reply to this wauw,, I h´just googled Thiruvannamalai it looks gorgeous!!
Reply to this Definately Sadhana Forest, google it and you'll find lots of blogs. You do just 5 hours of work, free food and accomodation and there's normally up to 100 volunteers there all living together. I'm leaving tomorrow for my flight to Chennai and I'll be going straight there! x
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