South India welcomes you with temples, tea gardens, and calm backwaters. This 10-day Kerala Tour takes you across Tamil Nadu and Kerala in nine nights. You will visit Chennai, Kanchipuram, Mahabalipuram, Tanjore, Trichy, Madurai, Munnar, Periyar, Alleppey, and Cochin.
This itinerary caters to those who are looking for a trip that encompasses heritage, wildlife, and peace within the same travel plan. Travellers will come across temples carved out of stone, travel through lush green hills, and float over serene waters while on houseboats.
Whether you call it a 10 Days South India Holiday or a South India 10 Day Itinerary, this trip covers the best of two states in one smooth journey. Every day brings something fresh, from old temples to green tea estates and slow-moving canals.
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10 Days
Only your group will participate
Hotel / Airport pickup in Delhi, Noida & Gurgaon
Your journey begins the moment you land in Chennai. A tour representative will greet you at the airport or railway station and take you to your hotel.
After some rest, you will go on a short city tour. You will see the old British-built Government House, the Basilica of San Thome, the Chennai lighthouse, and Marina Beach. Overnight stay in Chennai.
On the first day, the group will travel to Kanchipuram to visit Ekambaranathar and Kailasanathar temples, which are famous for their magnificent stone carving and long history.
From there, continue to Mahabalipuram, a coastal town famous for its rock-cut monuments. Check into your hotel and rest for the evening. Overnight stay in Mahabalipuram.
Spend the morning exploring Mahabalipuram further. Visit the Mahishasura Mardini Cave, the Shore Temple, and Krishna Mandapam, all built by ancient Tamil rulers.
Later, drive to Tanjore and visit the Brihadeeswarar Temple, a Chola-era structure recognised by UNESCO. You can learn more about it on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Overnight stay in Tanjore.
The group will then travel towards Madurai with a stop in Trichy. Travellers here can visit the Rock Fort and the largest temple complex in India, Srirangam Temple.
Once you reach Madurai, check into your hotel and visit the Meenakshi Sundareshwar Temple. The rest of the evening is free for you to explore local markets. Overnight stay in Madurai.
After breakfast, visit Tirumalai Nayak Palace and return to the Meenakshi Amman Temple complex for a closer look at its towers and halls.
Spend the day exploring the city at your own pace. In the evening, return to the temple to watch the traditional closing rituals. Overnight stay in Madurai.
Drive your way to Kerala and reach Munnar, a serene hill station enveloped in tea plantations. Check into your hotel and later stroll around the tea estates and visit the Tea Museum, which remains closed on Mondays. Thereafter, head to a working tea factory to witness the process of drying, rolling, and packing of tea leaves. Stay overnight in Munnar Hotel.
Drive towards Periyar with a halt at Idukki Dam. When you reach, enjoy a boat cruise on Lake Periyar.
Keep watch for elephants, sambar deer, wild boar, and, if you are lucky, a tiger or leopard. This is one of the best wildlife stops on any South India Tour Package 10 Days. Overnight stay in Periyar.
Drive to Alleppey for the most awaited part of the trip, a Kerala houseboat South India tour experience. Board a traditional houseboat and cruise from Kumarakom to Alleppey.
Watch village life unfold along the banks as you pass coconut groves, paddy fields, and small canals.
This Kerala backwater and South India tour segment moves at its own gentle pace. Overnight stay in Alleppey.
After breakfast, drive to Cochin, a coastal city shaped by Dutch, Portuguese, and British influence. Check into your hotel and rest for a while.
In the evening, watch a live Kathakali dance show, a classical art form from Kerala known for its bold makeup and expressive storytelling. Overnight stay in Cochin.
On your last day, take a short tour of Cochin. Visit the Jewish Synagogue, walk through Jew Town, which stays closed on Saturdays, and browse the local spice market.
Afterwards, you will be transferred to the airport for your departure flight. This brings your South India culture and backwaters tour to a gentle close.
Temperatures in Kerala and Tamil Nadu follow different patterns, so the time matters. India’s monsoon season reaches Kerala from June to September, while Tamil Nadu remains sunny and dry for most of the year but has its northeast monsoon starting from October until December.
The window between October and March works best for this trip. Days stay warm but not harsh, and evenings in Munnar turn pleasantly cool. Temple visits in Madurai and Tanjore are also more comfortable without the midday heat of summer.
If backwaters are your main interest, November through February gives calm water and clear skies, ideal for houseboat photography. You can check live forecasts through the India Meteorological Department before you travel, and confirm regional details on the official Kerala Tourism and Tamil Nadu Tourism portals.
Summer months, from April to June, bring strong heat in Tamil Nadu, often crossing 38 degrees Celsius. Munnar stays cooler due to its altitude, so it remains a good escape even during warmer months if your travel dates are fixed.
The houseboats used on this tour are called kettuvallams. These were once used to carry rice and spices along Kerala's waterways, long before tourism arrived. Boat builders still tie the wooden planks together using coir rope instead of nails, a method passed down through generations.
Today, kettuvallams are fitted with bedrooms, kitchens, and open decks for viewing the water. A crew manages the boat while you relax and watch the shoreline pass by. Meals are cooked fresh on board, often using fish caught that same day locally.
This is the heart of any Kerala backwater and South India tour experience. The backwaters themselves form a network of lakes, canals, and rivers running parallel to the Arabian Sea coast, supporting fishing communities and farmland for centuries.
The Alleppey and Kumarakom stretch is one of the most scenic parts of this network. You will pass small villages, coconut groves, and paddy fields that sit below sea level, held back by narrow mud walls built over generations.
Temples on this route are active places of worship, not just monuments. Visitors are expected to dress modestly, covering shoulders and knees. Footwear must be removed before entering most temple grounds, so comfortable slip-on shoes help.
Photography rules vary by site. Some temples, including parts of the Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, restrict cameras inside the main shrine area. Your guide will point out where photos are allowed and where they are not.
The Brihadeeswarar Temple in Tanjore holds special heritage value, since it forms part of the Great Living Chola Temples recognised by UNESCO. You can read more about its history through the Archaeological Survey of India, which maintains and protects the site.
Early morning and evening visits often coincide with prayer rituals. Standing quietly to the side during these moments is appreciated. Small donations are welcome but never required, and loud conversation inside shrine halls is generally avoided.
Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary sits within a protected tiger reserve, part of India's Project Tiger conservation effort. This program, run under the National Tiger Conservation Authority, helps protect tiger populations across several Indian states, including this stretch of Kerala.
The lake at the centre of the sanctuary was formed after a dam was built in 1895. Today, boat cruises on this same lake let visitors watch elephants, deer, and birds gather near the water, especially in the early morning and late afternoon.
Munnar tells a different environmental story. British planters introduced tea cultivation here in the nineteenth century, transforming the hills into the rolling green estates seen today. The region now falls under Kerala's forest and plantation management, with the Tea Museum offering a clear look at how the industry grew.
Together, Periyar and Munnar show two sides of South India's natural landscape, one built around wildlife protection and the other shaped by generations of agriculture.
Your South India Kerala itinerary deserves a team that knows the route inside out. Pioneer Holidays has planned this journey through Tamil Nadu and Kerala with careful attention to comfort, timing, and local detail.
From temple towns to tea gardens and calm backwaters, every stop on this trip is chosen to give you a real feel of South India, not just a checklist of places.
Ready to see it for yourself? Reach out to Pioneer Holidays today, share your travel dates, and let the team build a 10 Days South India Tour Package that fits exactly what you are looking for. Your backwaters and temples are waiting.