Hyderabad is effectively two cities in one, though the new city of Secunderabad (to the north) is of minimal tourist interest. All the sights, the hotels, the action and the bazaars are concentrated in the Abids area of Hyderabad town, ...

Capital of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad is a beautiful city surrounded by lakes of great charm and tranquillity, and is itself sometimes known as ‘The Lake’. It was founded in the late-16th century by the Qutb Shahi  dynasty, a line of ...

Luxury (over US$35/Rsl000 per room night) The two top hotels are on Willingdon Island near to the airport. The Taj Malabar Hotel (tel 340010, tax 885-6767 TAJN IN, fax 0484-340297) has an excellent location on the north-western promontory of the ...

Fort Cochin and Mattancherry have the historical sites; modern Ernakulam has the bus and rail stations, the hotels, shops and restaurants; Willingdon Island is the site of the airport, the two top  hotels, and the tourist office;  Boighatty has its ...

Cochin is one of Kerala’s most beautiful places. A lagoon of islands and peninsulas separated by the backwaters of the Arabian Sea, connected by bridges and ferries. It comprises the mainland town of Ernakul am, the southern peninsula of Fort ...

Mid-range (US$10-35/Rs250-1000 per room night) The Government Rest House in the forest has three rooms from Rs200 single to Rs300 double. Check availability with the tourist office in Kurnily . The plush Lake Palace (tel Kumily 24) is an island ...

The Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary (Tiger Reserve) at Thekkady is one of the main sanctuaries of southern India and one of the largest in India. Comprising 777 sq km (300 sq miles) of lush, tropical forest, with a vast artificial lake ...

Of principal interest as a jump-off point to nearby Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kottayam is a prosperous commercial town, famous for its cash crops of rubber, tea, pepper and cardamom. In the old days it was developed as an educational centre ...

Another small market town, Alleppey’s curious maze of bridges and canals has earned it the title ‘Venice of the East’. The centre of Kerala’s famous coir products: mainly yarn, mats and rope, it is otherwise unremarkable. It comes to life ...

The gateway to Kerala’s beautiful backwaters, Kollam is situated on the edge of the Ashtamudi Lake, ‘lake of eight creeks’, amid luxuriant coconut groves and cashew plantations. It is an ancient commercial centre, used by the Phoenicians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, ...