Photos India south

In February 2016 my girlfriend Heleen and I travelled 3,5 weeks through south India. We began our a journey with birdwatching and a houseboat tour on the tropical backwaters of Kerala. Afterwards we went to the Western Ghats mountains with beautiful and rolling tea plantations and the 'hill stations' of Munnar, Valparai and Ooty. We spotted the endangered and rare lion-tailed macaque monkeys and the cute giant squirrel. During birdwatching tours we saw around 120 species of birds, including hornbills, bee-eaters, kingfishers, owls, eagles, sunbirds, bulbuls ... We also went three days on safari in the Kabini region of Nagarhole national park and we saw lots of monkeys, deer, elephants, gaurs, wild boars, crocodiles, flying foxes, serpent eagles, rollers and woodpeckers. Finally we also saw a tigress coming down to a waterhole. A fantastic moment to see this majestic but endangered animal in the wild! We could also spot 4 sloth bears in Doroji, a small national park in the state of Karnataka.

Then we had a week of culture with a visit of the megalomaniac palace of the Maharaja in Mysore, the largest monolic statue in the world in Shravanabelagola and the beautifully refined temples of the Hoysala dynasty in Halebidu en Belur. We also visited the wonderful site of Hampi, once the capital of the mighty Vijayanagara empire. There you can explore many old Hindu temples and palaces with large sculptures and exquisite carvings. All located in a landscape with hills, impressive boulders and palm trees.

In Dandeli national park we spotted many hornbills and we ended our trip at the beach in Goa at the Indian Ocean. Of course we also met a lot of colorful and friendly people and we got to know the varied but 'spicy' Indian cuisine.

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