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.
White-throated kingfishers
Purple heron
Great egret
Brahminy kite
Houseboat
Houseboat
Chestnut-headed bee-eater
Streak-throated woodpecker
Malabar grey hornbill
Indian giant squirrel
Indian giant squirrel
Sri Lanka frogmouth
White-cheeked barbet
Red-whiskered bulbul
Nilgiri palm squirrel
Tea fields
Temple
Monkey Falls - Bonnet macaque
Tea fields - Pickers
Tea fields - Picker
Tea fields
Sunrise tea fields
Sunrise tea fields
Great Indian hornbill
Great Indian hornbill
Great Indian hornbill
Lion-tailed macaque
Lion-tailed macaque
Lion-tailed macaque
Lion-tailed macaque
Lion-tailed macaque with baby
Lion-tailed macaque
Gaur
Nilgiri tahr
Toda temple
Toda temple
Toda
Indian palm squirrel
Indian roller
Gray langur
Gray langur with baby
Spotted deer
Spotted deers
Juvenile spotted deer
Indian flying fox
Indian flying fox
Crocodile
Crocodile
Gaurs
Gaur
Sambar deer
Crested serpent eagle
Indian boar
Elephant
Elephant
Crested serpent eagle
Mist
Black-rumped flameback
White-bellied woodpecker
Streak-throated woodpecker
Fighting Jungle mynas
Mating Indian Rollers
Tigress
'Tiger tank female'
Bonnet macaque baby
Bonnet macaque baby
Palace
Chumanudi hill - Chamundeshwari temple
Chumanudi hill - Nandi
Devaraja market
Devaraja market
Shravanabelagola
Bahubali
Halebidu
Halebidu
Halebidu
Halebidu
Belur
Belur
Hemakuda hill - Virupaksha temple
Hemakuda hill - Hanuman shrine
Virupaksha temple
Virupaksha temple
Virupaksha temple
Lakshmi Narasimha
Ganesha temple
Zana enclosure - Lotus Mahal
Royal palace
Royal enclosure - Stepped tank
Vittala temple
Vittala tempel - Stefan
Vittala watertank
Gejjala Mantapa
Malyavanta hill
Malyavanta temple
Malyavanta hill - Hanuman
Sadhu
Sadhu
Sadhu
Sadhu
Rose-ringed parakeet
Sloth bears
Sloth bear
Banjara woman
Banjara woman with child
Banjara woman
Brown wood owl
Indian giant squirrel
Malabar pied hornbill
Flying Malabar pied hornbill
White-throated kingfisher
Green bee-eater
