The best museums India

Local families often go for a walk on Sundays... Several animals can be found on the site: felines, monkeys, hippos, snakes, birds... The cages are small and the show is rather difficult to see. Small museums don't offer much either

The sculpture museum exhibits more than 3,000 sculptures made by local craftsmen, in wood, metal, brass and cement. However, it is better to admire the sculptures of the historical monuments of Mamallapuram as a priority.

This museum of the University of the Sacred Heart (a theological seminary), near Shembaganur, is worth a visit. Founded in 1895, it is dedicated to the archaeological remains and the fauna and flora of the region. A Spanish father named Ugarthe helped to enrich the museum's main collections. It should be noted that this museum contains one of the largest orchidoriums in the country, with more than 300 species of orchids. The museum has a collection of pinned butterflies, many stuffed mammals and python or cobra skins over 3 m long. To get there, you have to go down 3 km from Bazaar Road. It's a pleasant excursion. On the other hand, the return, while uphill, is more difficult. You can catch a taxi or bus on the main road back to Kodaikanal.

This exciting museum retraces the early years of Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna's disciple who participated in the rebirth of Hinduism and tried to reconcile aspirations for social justice with spirituality. He travelled through India as a sanyasin (a stray monk, begging for his food) and came to meditate in Kanyakumari in 1892. Several times a year, the centre organizes yoga classes and spiritual retreats, lasting one or two weeks.

Created by the Kerala Forestry Research Institute, this museum proposes to discover the history of teak through several themes.

It is the responsibility of the Indian Institute of Research in Numismatic Studies. To know everything about the history of Indian currency through the ages, the museum is the best in the business. It displays about 150,000 coins and coins from Indian antiquity to the later medieval era. This numismatic museum is the only one of its kind in Asia.