South India’s Top Slow-Travel Escapes: From Puducherry’s Promenades to Hampi’s

Five southern destinations guide where unhurried itineraries trump checklist tourism. Puducherry leads with French-colonial boulevards, seaside cafés and cycle-only lanes that reward dawdling. In Tamil Nadu’s Chettinad, travellers savour grand 19th-century mansions and spice-rich local cuisine at a languid pace. Hill lovers can linger in Munnar, Kerala, strolling through mist-wrapped tea estates and cloud-watching from quiet homestays. Gokarna offers Goa’s beaches without the bustle—think hammock naps, yoga shalas and seafood shacks reached on foot. Finally, UNESCO-listed Hampi invites days of temple-hopping, boulder treks and sunset coracle rides along the Tungabhadra, best appreciated without a stopwatch. Together, the five locales form a slow-travel circuit that swaps speed for immersion, letting visitors connect deeply with landscape, heritage and local life.
*This news has been published on Times of India on 11th June 2025