Known For : Abbey Falls Raja's Seat Mandalpatti
Located amidst imposing mountains in Karnataka with a perpetually misty landscape, Coorg is the place to be for all nature lovers. This popular coffee producing hill station in South India, it is also renowned for its beautiful green hills and the streams cutting right through them. It also stands as a popular destination because of its culture and people. The Kodavas, a local clan specialising in martial arts, are especially notable for their keen hospitality.
Best Time: October to March
Known For : Nilgiri Mountain Railway Ooty Lake Emerald Lake, Ooty
The Blue Mountains have always been shrouded in mysticism, and Ooty is no exception to that. For every mountain lover, the very idea of travelling to the city known as the Queen of the Hills holds an allure like no other. Once regarded as the summer headquarters of the East India Company (and for a very good reason), Ooty, also known as Udagamandalam, is a hill station in South India which serves as a very popular tourist destination for anyone looking for a picturesque place to relax and unwind. Ooty is nestled amidst the Nilgiri hills at an altitude of 2,240 meters above sea level and enjoys a favourable climate all year round.
Best Time: Throughout the year
Known For : Echo Point, Munnar Atukkad Waterfalls Munnar Tea Plantations
An idyllic hill station in South India, Munnar is famous for its tea estates, exotic lush greenery and craggy peaks. Munnar is located in the Western Ghats, in the state of Kerala. It serves as the commercial centre for some of the world’s largest tea estates. In addition, Munnar has many protected areas which are home to endemic and highly endangered species like the Nilgiri Thar and the Neelakurinji.
Best Time: September to May
Known For : Banasura Sagar Dam Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary Chembra Peak
Replete with enchanting waterfalls, historical caves, comfortable resorts and homestays, Wayanad is a popular hill station in South India famous for its spice plantations and wildlife. Walking through the sprawling spice plantations, taking that trek into the pre-historic caves and experiencing a resort holiday is one of the many things you can do to get a taste of Wayanad. A great place to spot wild elephants, cool breeze, beautiful scenery, Wayanad is guaranteed to please your travel senses. Overall, a perfect weekend idea away from the cities of South India.
Best Time: Throughout the year
Known For : Green Valley View (Suicide Point) Kodaikanal Lake Bear Shola Falls
Located in the state of Tamil Nadu, Kodaikanal is a very famous honeymoon destination since it is one of the most developed hill stations in South India. When you think of Kodaikanal, you think of a wonderful climate, cliffs covered in mist, cloud-capped mountains and beautiful lakes and valleys, and once you visit this hill station, you will find that every bit of what you have imagined it to be is true. Nestled amidst the rolling slopes of the Palani Hills in Tamil Nadu, Kodaikanal stands at an altitude of 7200 feet above sea level and has a cool, pleasant climate all year round. Kodaikanal means the gift of the forests.
Best Time: September to May
Known For : Baba Budangiri Mullayanagiri Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary
If you love the aroma of freshly brewed coffee in the mornings, you are going to love Chikmagalur, which has a perpetual fragrance of coffee lingering in the air. Very famously known as the ‘Coffee Land of Karnataka’, Chikmagalur is situated in the foothills of the Mullayangiri Range in Karnataka and stands at an altitude of 3400 feet. Famous for its tall mountains, lush green forests and its tranquil environment (apart from its coffee production), Chikmagalur is a very popular hill station in South India and is a quaint getaway from the busy life of the city.
Best Time: Throughout the year
Known For : Sim's Park Dolphin's Nose Ketti Valley
One of the most beautiful and serene hill stations in South India, Coonoor is the second largest hill station in the wonderful Nilgiri Hills of the Western Ghats. It is situated at an altitude of 1930 meters and just 19 km from Ooty.
Best Time: October to March
Known For : Emerald Lake, Yercaud Pagoda Point Botanical Garden, Yercaud
Nestled in the Eastern Ghats, Yercaud is a hill station called common man's Ooty with abundant forests, vast coffee plantations and some unique species of flora and fauna resulting in gorgeous views.
Best Time: October to June
Known For : Kudremukh Trek Kudremukh National Park Hanuman Gundi Falls
With the promise of a picturesque view of a mountain in the shape of a horse face, Kudremukh is famous for its biodiversity and is one of the most scenic hill stations in South India.
Best Time: October to May
Known For : Devi Lake Pallivasal Falls Thoovanam Falls
A lake with a legend of its own, greenest sceneries, waterfalls and tea plantations are what offer its charm to Devikulam, a hill station in Kerala.
Best Time: November to May
Known For : Hebbe Falls Kalahatti Falls Z Point
A hill-station of widespread views and scents of beautiful gardens, Kemmanagundi or KR hills, homes the tallest peak of Karnataka, Mullayanagiri.
Best Time: September to May
Known For : Ulipooni Wildlife Sanctuary Kurisumala Vagamon Falls
1100 meters above sea, far way from the loud city culture, lush greenery and serenity to gift every visitor, Vagamon could be your quiet offbeat hill station in South India away from maddening tourist crowds.
Best Time: October - March
Known For : Punganur Lake Nature Park Jalagamparai Falls
A quaint little hill station located in Vellore, Yelagiri is just three hours away from Bangalore, making it the perfect spot for a quick weekend getaway. Spread a little over 30 square kilometres, and at a height of over 1100 metres above sea level, Yelagiri offers its tourists some beautiful places like the Jalagamparai falls, sweeping orchards and rose garden, among others. The ideal destination for nature lovers, Yelagiri is a town that is completely off the beaten tourist trail, lending it a quieter and much more peaceful vibe compared to other more famous hill stations nearby. Originally belonging to the Zamindar family of Yelagiri, the hill station began to gain popularity since the colonial rule, when it was used by the British as a summer getaway. Ever since then, it has been one of the hidden gems of South India, replete with rocky hills and natural scenic beauty, making it the perfect place to take a break from the fast-paced city life.
Best Time: November to February
One of the most popular hill stations in Andhra Pradesh and located close to Vizag is the Araku Valley. This place has naturally been bestowed upon with beautiful streams, enchanting waterfalls and lovely weather. Araku valley is placed at a height of 3100 feet in the effluent hills of Anatagiri.
Known For : Papi Kondalu Hills Gandi Pochamma Temple Perantapalli Village
Papikondalu mountain range runs along the River Godavari (Western Godavari) and is located in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh. Papikondalu is a sheer fest to the eyes in terms of its scenic beauty. As the hills become closer and closer to the visitor, the width of the mighty Godavari becomes narrower. In accordance with this view resembling the middle partition of a woman's hair, it was initially named as 'Papidi' Kondalu- Paidi in Telugu means the middle partition of a woman’s hair. Later, it came to be known as Papikondalu in the local language. The river narrowing, its twists and turns along with the Papi Hills form a breathtaking visual experience and a must-visit hill station in South India.
Best Time: October to March
Known For : Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary Golden Valley Mini Zoo, Ponmudi
Ponmudi is nestled in the laps of rolling hills of the Western Ghats, filled with tea-plantations, lush green hills and valleys, waterfalls and streams. This quaint little town draws connoisseurs of mountain life.
Best Time: November to May
Known For : BRT Wildlife Sanctuary Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Adventure Activities
The Biligiriranga hills, or the BR Hill as they are better known, are a bit of heaven between the Western and the Eastern Ghats, with a wonderful floral diversity and a vast variety of fauna as well. The places which you must visit while you are here are the Dodda Sampide Mara which means big Champak tree and is a spiritual site which holds a thousand-year-old tree, Biligiri Rangaswamy temple, a coffee estate and BRT wildlife sanctuary.
Best Time: April to October
Known For : Butterfly Safari Adventure zone Trekking
Snuggled in between dense woods of Western Ghats, Thenmala is an ecotourism destination located in Kollam district of Kerala. A fetching fusion of pristine nature and fabricated design, it offers quietude unlike any place else. Dotted with winding roads and rubber and tea plantations, Thenmala boasts of being the first planned ecotourism site in India. Spread over acres of dense timber trees, the name 'Thenmala' translates to Honey Hill suggesting the supply of high-quality honey from the region. This honey has medicinal properties because of the surrounding floral varieties and is exported in large amounts.
Best Time: December to February
Bellikkal is one of those places where you can completely relax, without having to worry about a 'to-do' list for your vacations and yet experience mountains that will steal your breath away. Instead of having a hundred places to offer, it will take you by its beauty, calmness and serenity.
Best Time: Throughout the year
Kodachadri Hills serve as a stunning backdrop of evergreen forests to the town of Maravanthe. Located in the Western Ghats at a height of 4411 feet above the sea level, they also proves to be one of the good trekking trails, beginning at the South Kanara Forest.
Known For : Elk Falls Longwood Shola Trekking
Kotagiri is a smallest and oldest hill station, nestled in the lap of Nilgiri Hills bounded by surroundings that exhibits peace and tranquility. A hill town that was first noticed by the British as their summer home away from the heat of plains, today, it is again gaining popularity among tourists.
Best Time: December to May
Known For : Nelliyampathy Hills Nenmara Vallanghy Vela Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary
If you see the mist floating in the air and a pleasant aroma of coffee teasing your nostrils, a chain of majestic mountains peaking from all around and wonderful weather relaxing your nerves, then you are not dreaming, you are in a small beautiful hill station of South India known as Nelliyampathy.
Best Time: October to March
Anthargange is situated in the Kolar district of Karnataka in the Shathashrunga range, about 70 km from Bangalore. The mountains at an altitude of 1712 meters from sea level with rocky boulders, small caves and dense plantations are one of the best getaways for trekking, rock climbing and cave exploration enthusiasts.
Best Time: October to March
Known For : Grampi Thrissanku Hills Peeru Hills
Blessed with lots of green cover, beautiful rolling hills, wandering streams and gurgling waterfalls; Peermede is a small bewitching hill station of Kerala, pure and pristine. Perched at an altitude of 915 m above the sea level, the town has many hidden treasure troves waiting to be uncovered.
Best Time: April to June, September to November
Known For : The Borra Hills and Caves Araku Tribal Museum Musi River
Set amid the Eastern Ghats, Ananthagiri is a beautiful retreat where majestic hills in the backdrop flirt with clouds all the time.
Best Time: October to March
The hill stations of South India are the perfect vacation destinations throughout the year due to their amazing climate, coffee plantations and natural diversity.