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the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of area. South India lies in the peninsular Deccan Plateau and is bounded by the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal in the west, south and east respectively. The geography of the region is diverse, encompassing two mountain ranges — the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats and a plateau heartland. Godavari, Krishna, Tungabhadra and Kaveri rivers are important non-perennial sources of water. Inhabitants of South India are referred to as South Indians. A majority of South Indians speak one of the five Dravidian languages — Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Tulu. During its history, a number of dynastic kingdoms ruled over parts of South India whose invasions across southern and southeastern Asia impacted the history and cultures of modern nation-states such as Sri Lanka, Philippines,Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. The region was colonised by Britain and gradually incorporated into the British Empire.

After experiencing fluctuations in the decades immediately after Indian independence, the economies of South Indian states have registered higher than national average decadal growth over the past three decades. While South Indian states have improved in some socio-economic metrices,economic disparity, illiteracy and poverty continue to affect the region much like the rest of the country. Agriculture is the single largest contributor to the regional net domestic product, while Information technology (IT) is a rapidly growing industry. Literary and architectural styles, evolved over two thousand years, differ from other parts of the country. Politics in South India is dominated by smaller regional political parties rather than by national political parties.

South India ranks the highest in terms of social and economic development in areas such as fertility rate and infrastructure; the fertility rate of South India is 1.9, the lowest of all regions in India.

 

Geography

South India is a peninsula in the shape of a vast inverted triangle, bounded on the west by the Arabian Sea, on the east by the Bay of Bengal and on the north by the Vindhya and Satpura ranges. The Narmada flows westwards in the depression between the Vindhya and Satpura ranges. The Satpura ranges define the northern spur of the  Deccan plateau. The Western Ghats, along the western coast, mark another boundary of the plateau. The narrow strip of verdant land between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea is the Konkan region. The Western Ghats continue south, forming the Malenadu (Canara) region along the Karnataka coast, and terminate at the Nilgiri mountains, an inward (easterly) extension of the Western Ghats. The Nilgiris run in a crescent approximately along the borders of Tamil Nadu with northern Kerala and Karnataka, encompassing the Palakkad and Wayanad hills, and the Satyamangalam ranges, and extending on to the relatively low-lying hills of the Eastern Ghats, on the western portion of the Tamil Nadu - Andhra Pradesh border. The Tirupati and Annamalai hills form part of this range. The low lying coral islands of Lakshadweep are off the south-western coast of India. Sri Lanka lies off the south-eastern coast, separated from India by the Palk Strait and the chain of low sandbars and islands known as Adam's Bridge or Ram Setu and was built by Lord Rama while he was crossing over to Sri Lanka to rescue his wife Sita^{[citation needed]}. The Andaman and Nicobar islands lie far off the eastern coast of India, near the Tenasserim coast of Burma. The southernmost tip of mainland India is at Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin) on the Indian Ocean.

The Deccan plateau is the vast elevated region bound by the C-shape defined by all these mountain ranges. No major elevations border the plateau to the east, and it slopes gently from the Eastern Ghats to the eastern coast. The plateau is watered by the east flowing Godavari and Krishna rivers. The other major rivers of the Deccan plateau are the Pennar and the Tungabhadra, a major tributary of the Krishna. The three major river deltas of South India, the Kaveri, the Godavari and the Krishna, are located along the Bay of Bengal. These areas constitute the rice bowls of South India.

The region has a very tropical climate with the monsoons playing a major role. The South - West Monsoon accounts for most of the rainfall in the region and much of it falls from about June to October. The south-west monsoon starts from Kerala during June and moves up towards the northern parts of India. Tamil Nadu and southeast Andhra Pradesh receive rains from the North - East Monsoon from about November to February.

Much of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka has a distinct dry season from about October - May when there is not much rainfall. This region also experiences cooler nights from October to March while the days are pleasantly warm. In the northern parts of the region temperatures can fall below 10 degrees Celsius on occasions at night during this time. Days are very hot from March to June when temps can go over 40 degrees. The southern coastal region has an average minimum temperature of 20 degrees and maximum of 35 degrees.

 

Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks - South India

Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary (Kerala)
Large artifical lake; elephant, gaur, wild dog, black langur, otters, tortoises, rich bird life including hornbill and fishing owl. Viewing by boat. Airports: Madurai 160km, Cochin 208km, Trivandrum 258km. Railheads: Madurai, Kottayam 110kms, Bodinayakanur 67kms. Accommodation: Choice of several nearby hotels.

Vedanthangal Water Birds Sanctuary (Tamil Nadu)
One of the most spectacular breeding grounds in India. Cormorants, herons, storks, pelicans, grebes and many others.The Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary has been protected by the local people for well over 250 years. The sanctuary gets its name from a nearby village and is only 75 Km from Chennai. The bird life (resident & visitors) includes Cormorants, Darters, Herons, Egrets, Open billed Stork, Spoonbill and White Ibis, Little Grebe, Indian Moorhen, Black Winged Stilts, a few migratory ducks and occasionally Grey Pelicans. November to February is the ideal season to visit the sanctuary. The nearest railhead is Chengalpet, 30 Kms away. Buses are available from Chennai, Chengalpet and Mamallapuram. Accommodation is available at Vedanthangal Forest Rest House. For reservations Chief Wildlife Warden, 4th Floor, DMS Compound, Teynampet, Chennai. Tel: 00 91 44 24321471.

The entry fee is as follows: Adults Rs 5/-, Child Rs 2/-, Photography Rs 10/-, Video Camera Rs 150/-.

Airport: Chennai 85km. Railhead: Chingleput 28km. Season: October-March. Accommodation: Forest Resthouse.

Point Calimere Bird Sanctuary (Tamil Nadu)
Particularly noted for its flamingos, also for herons, teals, curlews and plovers and black buck and wild pig. Airport: Tiruchchirapalli 200km. Railhead: Point Calimere 0.5km. Season: November-January. Accommodation: Forest Resthouse.

Pulicat Bird Sanctuary (Andhra Pradesh)
Flamingos, grey pelicans, herons, terns. Airport A Railhead: Chennai (Madras) 60km. Accommodation: Available at Nellore.

Dandeli National Park (Karnataka)
Park with bison, panther, tiger and sambar. Easily accessible from Goa. Airport: Belgaum 142km. Railhead: Alnaver 20km. Accommodation: Resthouse at Kulgi Forest and Mandurli, and River View Bungalow at Dandeli.

Jawahar National Park
This includes Bandipur and Nagarhole National Parks (Karnataka), and the Wildlife Sanctuaries of Mudumalai (Tamil Nadu) and Wayanad (Kerala). Extensive mixed forest; largest elephant population in India, leopard, gaur, sambar, muntjac, giant squirrel. Birds include racquet-tailed drongo, trogon & barbet.

Bandipur (Karnataka)
Airport: Bangalore 190km. Railhead: Mysore 65km. Approachable from Coimbatore and Ootacamund. Accommodation: Within the Park.

Mudumalai (Tamil Nadu)
Location: Airport: Coimbatore 16km. Railhead: Ootacamund 68km.

Nagarhole (Karnataka)
Airport: Bangalore, Railhead: Mysore. Accommodation: 2 Traveller Bungalows.

 
Wayanad (Kerala)
Airport: Cochin 300km. Railhead: Calicut 111 km. Accommodation: Forest Rest House.

Thank more article in : www.india-tourism.com , www.wikipedia.org