Temples, tradition and culture

— Thousand-year-old temples, still in use for daily worship and rituals

— Small seaside villages, with locally caught seafood served fresh in beachfront restaurants

— Distinct regional cities, former capitals of vast south Indian empires

— Madurai, the famous ‘fish-eyed goddess’ Sri Meenakshi temple, the largest in India

— Kanyakumari, the southern tip of the sub-continent where three oceans meet

—    The French colonial town of Pondicherry, with its luxurious heritage hotels and fantastic hassle-free shopping.