Kerala · 8 Days
Kerala Hills & Spice — Grand
Adds a Kolukkumalai jeep sunrise at 7,900 feet and a second Fort Kochi morning.
Day by Day
8 Days, In Full
The Ghats without compromise. Kochi opens with two days, so Fort Kochi is walked properly rather than glimpsed. Munnar then gets three nights, which is what makes the Kolukkumalai run possible — a jeep in the dark up to 7,900 feet, the world's highest tea estate, and the sun coming up over the Tamil Nadu plains with cloud still below you. Thekkady keeps its plantation walk and its dawn boat. Eight days here is not padding. It is the difference between seeing the high ranges and spending time in them.
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
Kochi — Chinese Fishing Nets & Mattancherry
Start early at the Chinese fishing nets on Vasco da Gama Square. The frames are cantilevered. Four men work each one by hand. Chinese traders brought the design here centuries ago. The method has not changed since. Later, Mattancherry Palace and its Ramayana murals. The afternoon is yours — Fort Kochi rewards aimless walking.
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
Munnar — Kolukkumalai Sunrise & Top Station
A jeep collects you in the dark. Kolukkumalai sits at 7,900 feet and grows the highest tea in the world. You watch the sun come up over the Tamil Nadu plains with the cloud still below you. Top Station on the way back, then a long breakfast.
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
Thekkady — A Working Spice Plantation
Thekkady grows cardamom, pepper, clove, nutmeg and vanilla, often on the same hillside. A guided walk through a working plantation shows you how each one actually grows, which is rarely what people expect. Buy directly from the estate if you want the good stuff at the real price.
Thekkady
Thekkady — Periyar Lake at Dawn, then Onward
The first boat onto Periyar Lake leaves at half past seven. Dead trees still stand in the water, drowned when the dam went up in 1895, and elephant and sambar come down to drink along the shoreline. Bring a long lens. Afterwards you continue on or head for the airport.
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luxury · 7 Nights
Kerala Hills & Spice — Grand — Luxury
per person, twin sharing — enquire for current pricing
premium · 7 Nights
Kerala Hills & Spice — Grand — Premium
per person, twin sharing — enquire for current pricing
luxury · 7 Nights
Kerala Tea & Spice Trail — Luxury
per person, twin sharing — enquire for current pricing
premium · 7 Nights
Kerala Tea & Spice Trail — Premium
per person, twin sharing — enquire for current pricing
Kashmir to Kanyakumari
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