Kerala & Tamil Nadu · 7 Days
Kerala & Tamil Nadu Honeymoon
The romantic route — Kochi, two nights in the Munnar tea hills, and a temple-city close at Madurai.
Day by Day
7 Days, In Full
South India's coast-to-temple route, slowed down for two. A night in Fort Kochi's old colonial streets. Two nights above Munnar among the tea estates, with time for slow mornings on the terrace. A night in Thekkady before the drive over the Ghats. And two nights in Madurai, for the Meenakshi temple's evening ceremony and the old town's markets. The hotels throughout are chosen for view and quiet as much as comfort.
Kochi
Arrival in Kochi — Fort Kochi & the Spice Quarter
Your driver meets you at Cochin airport. The road runs out to Fort Kochi, where four centuries of trade left their mark on one small peninsula. Walk the lanes on foot. St Francis Church, the Dutch Cemetery, the godowns of Jew Town still stacked with ginger and pepper. Evening is free for a Kathakali performance if you want one.
Kochi → Munnar
Kochi to Munnar — Into the Western Ghats
The drive up to Munnar takes about four hours and climbs the whole way. Rubber gives way to cardamom, then to tea. Stop at Cheeyappara and Valara waterfalls when the monsoon has been kind. By the time you arrive the air is fifteen degrees cooler than Kochi.
Munnar
Munnar — Tea Estates & the Old Plantation Machinery
Munnar is tea, and has been since the 1880s. Spend the morning walking a working estate with a planter who can explain what you are looking at. The Tata Tea Museum houses the original rollers and a functioning miniature factory. Afternoon at Mattupetty Dam and Echo Point.
Munnar → Thekkady
Munnar to Thekkady — Along the Cardamom Hills
Three and a half hours south through the Cardamom Hills. The road is good and the views are constant. You can smell the plantations before you see them. Thekkady sits on the edge of Periyar Tiger Reserve, so the last stretch runs through genuine forest.
Thekkady → Madurai
Thekkady to Madurai — Over the Western Ghats
A drive of about four hours, leaving Kerala's hills for the Tamil Nadu plains. The road climbs out of Thekkady past the Periyar reserve, crosses the Western Ghats near Kumily, and drops through Cumbum and Theni into drier, flatter country. The landscape changes fast: rainforest and spice gardens give way to palm and dry scrub within an hour of the crossing. You reach Madurai, one of Tamil Nadu's oldest cities, by the afternoon, with the temple towers visible well before the old town itself.
Madurai
Madurai — the Meenakshi Temple and the Nayak City
A full day in the old city. The Meenakshi Amman Temple in the cool of the morning: the fourteen painted towers, the twin shrines to the goddess and to Shiva, the hall of a thousand carved pillars, and the golden-lotus tank. Then the Thirumalai Nayak Palace and the Gandhi Memorial Museum, housed in a Nayak queen's palace. The afternoon is the flower and produce market and the tailors' hall by the east tower, and, if there is time, the drive out to the Tiruparankundram rock temple.
Madurai
Madurai — Departure
A free morning, depending on the flight. Madurai has its own airport with connections to Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai, and a direct link or two to the Gulf. A last look at the temple, quieter after the dawn worship, or an unhurried South Indian breakfast, before the short drive to the airport. For travellers going on to Kerala, the road west over the Western Ghats to Periyar or Madurai's rail links are the usual routes.
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