Congratulations, Tamil Nadu! Only Indian destination to make it to NYT’s list of 52 places to visit in 2016

The past few months have wreaked havoc on Tamil Nadu: what with the floods and the Jallikattu controversy being the biggest news to come from the state. Now the state’s residents have one good reason to feel proud. Tamil Nadu has made it to The New York Times’ list of 52 places to go to in 2016. Not only that, but it is also the only Indian place to make it to the list. Not Rajasthan, not Maharashtra, but Tamil Nadu. And it’s not very low on the list either. It is ranked 24, above Washington, D.C. (rank 26), Barcelona (rank 29), Phnom Penh (rank 45) and Sydney (rank 51). Way to go! [caption id=“attachment_2584380” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Meenakshi temple in Madurai. AFP[/caption] The publication describes TN as the place to go to for its “temple cultural complexes” including Madurai Meenakshi, 18th century mansions in Chettinad and its spicy and aromatic cuisine. Tamil Nadu, like the other destinations on the list, was chosen because the publication’s travel editors believe they “expect (it) to be particularly compelling” in 2016. While no Indian region made it to the list in 2015, Chennai did make it to the list in 2014 (rank 26 out of 52), New Delhi (rank 9 out of 46) in 2013, Kerala (rank 21 out of 45) in 2012 and Mysore (rank 4 out of 31) in 2010.