Madurai is the third largest city and is located on the banks of River Vaigai. It has been a major settlement for two millennia and is one of the oldest incessantly inhabited cities in the world. Madurai is closely associated with the Tamil language as all the 3 primary congregations of Tamil scholars were held in the city. The recorded history of the city goes back to the 3rd century BC as city is believed to be of significant antiquity and has been ruled, at different times, by the Early Pandyas, Medieval Cholas, Later Cholas, Madurai Sultanate, and the British.
Rameswaram in the Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu is located on Pamban Island separated from mainland India by the Pamban channel. Together with Varanasi, it is considered to be one of the holiest places in India to Hindus. It is situated in the Gulf of Mannar, at the very tip of the Indian peninsula and is connected to mainland India by the Pamban Bridge. According to legend, this is the place from where the Hindu god Rama built a bridge, across the sea to Lanka to rescue his wife Sita from Ravana. The Ramanathaswamy Temple is located at the centre of the town and is closely associated with life of Rama.
Kanyakumari, also referred to as Cape Comorin earlieris located at the southernmost tip of India. It is the geographical end of the mainland. The closest major cities are Nagercoil and Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, which makes it a popular tourist place in India. Kanyakumari takes its name from the Hindu Goddess Kanyakumari whose temple is situated in the town of it’s, on the sea-shore, and is very confluence of the three water-bodies – the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. Kanyakumari has been a great centre for art and religion for centuries and was an area of great trade and commerce during rule of Cholas, the Cheras, the Pandyas and the Nayaks.
Kovalam is a beach town in Thiruvananthapuram city, by the Arabian Sea, located around 16 km from the city center. Kovalam first received attention when the Regent Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi of Travancore constructed her beach resort here in 1920s. The place was brought to the public eye by her nephew the Maharaja of Travancore. Kovalam shot into limelight again in the early seventies with arrivals of the hippies on their way to Ceylon in the Hippie Trail. This exodus started the transformation of a casual fishing village of Kerala into the most important tourist destinations in the nation.
Alleppey is the administrative headquarters of Alappuzha District. This town is considered to be the oldest planned town in this region and the lighthouse built on the coast of the town. Alleppey is the sixth largest city in Kerala and is situated 62 kilometres to the south of Kochi and 155 kilometres north of Trivandrum. A town with picturesque canals, backwaters, beaches, and lagoons, is one of the places known as "Venice of the East" by Lord Curzon. Alleppey is an important tourist destination in India as it connects Kumarakom and Cochin towards north and Quilon to the South.
Munnar is a hill station on the Western Ghats, a range of mountains situated in the Idukki, Kerala. The name Munnar is believed to mean "three rivers", referring to the town's strategic location at the confluence of the Madhurapuzha and Kundaly rivers. The nearest major railway stations to the place are at Ernakulam and Aluva while the nearest airport is Cochin International Airport, 105 kilometres away. Most of the native flora and fauna of Munnar continue to survive and thrive in several protected areas nearby, including the new Kurinjimala Sanctuary to the east. These protected areas are known for several threatened and endemic species such as Nilgiri Thar, the Grizzled Giant Squirrel and the Neelakurinji.
Cochin, also known as Kochi is a major port city on the west coast by the Arabian Sea and is part of the district of Ernakulam. Kochi is often called by the name Ernakulam, which refers to the eastern part of the mainland Kochi and the statutory bodies that oversee its development are the Greater Cochin Development Authority. The city of Kochi is the most densely populated city in the Kerala, and is part of an extended metropolitan region. Kochi city is also a part of Greater Cochin and ranks first in the total number of international and domestic tourists in Kerala. Kochi has been ranked the sixth best tourist destination in India according to a survey conducted by the Outlook Traveller magazine.
Kerala
Kerala, a state on India's tropical Malabar Coast, has nearly 600km of Arabian Sea shoreline. It's known for its palm-lined beaches and backwaters, a network of canals.
