Kerala Backwaters & Beaches

Kerala: God's Own Country, Slowed Down

Kerala is India's gentlest state — a 600-km stretch of palm-fringed coast, network of inland waterways, tea-quilted hills, and a 2,000-year-old culture that absorbed Roman, Arab, Chinese and Portuguese traders without losing its own soul. This 6-day journey covers the three Keralas: backwaters, beaches, and hill country.

The houseboat night

The centrepiece is a private kettuvallam — a traditional Kerala rice barge converted into a luxury houseboat with two cabins, sundeck, and your own chef. You'll cruise Vembanad Lake, anchor at sunset, eat fresh karimeen-pollichathu (pearl spot fish wrapped in banana leaf), and wake to mist on the water. No Wi-Fi, no traffic — just village life drifting by.

Munnar tea country

Munnar sits at 1,600 metres in the Western Ghats — rolling tea estates, eucalyptus forests, and crisp mountain air. We stay at a working plantation bungalow, walk the Kolukkumalai estate at dawn (the world's highest organic tea garden at 2,300 m), and tour a cardamom plantation. Mornings are for nature walks, evenings for plantation cuisine on the verandah.

Marari Beach

Marari is what Kerala beaches were before Goa got famous — long stretches of golden sand, fishing boats at dawn, and zero clubs. We stay at a boutique beach resort built in traditional Kerala vernacular architecture with kerala-cuisine dining and ayurvedic massage at sunset.

Cultural touches

Sunset Kathakali performance in Fort Kochi (with a 30-min make-up demonstration before), a private cooking class with a local family in Alleppey, and an Ayurvedic consultation with a 4th-generation vaidya in Kumarakom.

When to go

October to March for dry, warm coastal weather. June-September is monsoon — beautiful in its own way (peak Ayurveda season) but rain is constant. April-May is hot and humid.