South India Temple Trails
Tirupati Balaji, Guruvayur, Padmanabhaswamy, Udupi and Gokarna, plus Madurai and Rameswaram.
South India Temple Trails at a glance
- Itineraries7
- In India7 itineraries
- Destinations13 places
- Trip lengths3 to 5 days
- Trip stylePrivate, customisable
- Best suited toFamilies from Chennai and the south
- Also suitsTemple architecture lovers
South India's great temples are living places of worship, with daily rituals that have continued for more than a thousand years. Many are an easy drive or overnight train from Chennai.
We plan around special darshan tickets at Tirumala, the dress codes of Kerala temples and the long distances of the Navagraha circuit, and choose hotels within walking distance of the main shrine where possible.
South India Temple Trails: 7 itineraries
3D / 2NTirupatiTirupati Balaji Darshan Tour
Two nights for darshan at Tirumala, the Padmavathi temple at Tiruchanur and Sri Kalahasti, with darshan slots booked as soon as they open.
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5D / 4NChennai · Kanchipuram · TirupatiTirupati & Chennai Temple Tour
Kapaleeshwarar in Chennai, the temples of Kanchipuram and then Tirumala, ideal for families travelling with elders.
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4D / 3NGuruvayur · Kochi · ThiruvananthapuramGuruvayur & Kerala Temple Trail
Darshan at the Guruvayur Sri Krishna Temple, a night in Kochi, then the Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, with dress-code guidance for each.
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3D / 2NSabarimalaSabarimala Ayyappa Darshan
Two nights for the Sabarimala pilgrimage: Virtual-Q booking, the drive to Nilakkal, a dip in the Pamba, the climb to the Sannidhanam and darshan up the eighteen holy steps, with vehicles arranged for whole groups.
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5D / 4NMadurai · Rameswaram · KanyakumariMadurai, Rameswaram & Kanyakumari Pilgrimage
A southern pilgrimage circuit linking Meenakshi Amman, the 22 sacred wells of Rameswaram with a drive to Dhanushkodi, and sunrise at India's southern tip.
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5D / 4NThiruvananthapuram · Kanyakumari · KovalamKanyakumari & Thiruvananthapuram Tip-of-India Tour
Fly into Trivandrum for its temple and palaces, watch sunrise and sunset at Kanyakumari's three-sea confluence and end on Kovalam's beaches.
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4D / 3NUdupi · GokarnaKarnataka Coastal Trail: Gokarna & Udupi
Udupi's Krishna temple and famous food, St Mary's Island, then Gokarna's temple town and its chain of coves linked by a beach trek.
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Planned with reverence
Darshan and prayer timings
We plan each day around opening hours, aarti, Mass or prayer times, and book darshan, puja or VIP entry where the temple allows it.
Paced for elders
Fewer hotel changes, ground-floor or lift rooms on request, wheelchairs, ponies, palkis or helicopters where available.
Food that respects your faith
Pure vegetarian, Jain, satvik or halal meals arranged where possible, and we tell you honestly where options are limited.
Registrations and permits
Char Dham and Amarnath registration, Inner Line and Tibet permits, and medical certificates where they are required.
Places on these journeys
Andhra PradeshTirupati
Tirupati is the town at the foot of Tirumala hill, home to the Sri Venkateswara Temple, one of the most visited religious sites in the world.
Tamil NaduChennai
Chennai is Tamil Nadu's capital and the gateway to the south: a coastal city of Dravidian temples, colonial-era landmarks and Marina Beach, with a serious Carnatic music and dance scene every December.
Tamil NaduKanchipuram
Kanchipuram, the city of a thousand temples, was the Pallava capital and remains one of Hinduism's seven sacred cities.
KeralaGuruvayur
Guruvayur is home to the Sri Krishna Temple, one of the most important Hindu pilgrimage centres in Kerala, where thousands of weddings and first-rice ceremonies take place every year.
KeralaKochi
Kochi grew on centuries of spice trade, and Fort Kochi still shows layers of Portuguese, Dutch, British and Jewish heritage.
KeralaThiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Kerala's capital, is a green, hilly city built around the Padmanabhaswamy Temple.
KeralaSabarimala
Sabarimala is the forest hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa in the Western Ghats of Pathanamthitta district, inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve.
Tamil NaduMadurai
Madurai is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in India and grew around the Meenakshi Amman Temple, whose fourteen gopurams are covered in thousands of painted figures.
Tamil NaduRameswaram
Rameswaram is an island town linked to the mainland by the Pamban bridges and is one of the Char Dham pilgrimages.
Tamil NaduKanyakumari
Kanyakumari sits at the southern tip of mainland India, where the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean meet.
KeralaKovalam
Kovalam is a string of crescent beaches south of Thiruvananthapuram, with a red-and-white lighthouse on the headland.
KarnatakaUdupi
Udupi is famous for its Krishna Matha temple and for the vegetarian cuisine it gave the world.
South India Temple Trails: common questions
Can you book Tirumala special darshan?
What should I wear in Kerala temples?
Other faith journeys
- Tamil Nadu Temples & Shrines13 itineraries
- Tirupati Balaji (Tirumala)3 itineraries
- Shirdi Sai Baba4 itineraries
- Sabarimala Ayyappa3 itineraries
- Kashi Yatra (Varanasi)10 itineraries
- Char Dham, Amarnath & Himalayan Yatras11 itineraries
- Jyotirlinga Darshan9 itineraries
- Krishna, Rama & Sacred Rivers11 itineraries
- Devi & Shakti Temples6 itineraries
- Sikh Gurdwara Yatras6 itineraries
- Jain Tirth Yatras3 itineraries
- Sufi Shrines & Islamic Heritage8 itineraries
- Churches & Christian Pilgrimages12 itineraries
- Buddhist Pilgrimages9 itineraries
- Umrah & Ziyarat7 itineraries
- Kailash & Nepal Yatras4 itineraries
- Hindu Temples Abroad6 itineraries
Plan your south india temple trails
Tell us the shrines, dates and who is travelling, and we send a day-by-day plan with a price.
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