Drift through India's most serene waterways. Tea plantations, houseboats, and Ayurvedic bliss.
Kerala is India's most seductive secret — a slender coast where the Arabian Sea meets coconut groves, tea-draped hills rise into mist, and ancient waterways thread through villages unchanged for centuries. This is not a tour. It is a surrender to a gentler rhythm.
Ten days from the colonial spice port of Cochin to the silent backwaters of Alleppey, through hill stations where tea pickers move like brush strokes across emerald slopes, and wildlife reserves where elephants bathe at dawn. Every hotel hand-picked, every experience private, every meal a revelation.
Interactive Route Map
Colonial spice port, Chinese fishing nets, Kathakali, and the Jewish quarter
Tea gardens above the clouds, plantation walks, and mountain air
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Periyar Wildlife Reserve — elephants, spice gardens, and forest trails
Overnight on a private luxury houseboat through palm-fringed canals
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Untouched Arabian Sea coast, Ayurveda, and barefoot luxury
The Spice Port
Private airport transfer to Brunton Boatyard in Fort Cochin. Evening walk along the harbour as fishermen haul the Chinese fishing nets at sunset — a scene unchanged since traders from the court of Kublai Khan introduced them six centuries ago.
Kathakali, Spices & the Jewish Quarter
Morning Kathakali performance — Kerala's ancient dance-drama of painted faces and mythological storytelling. Walk through the Jewish quarter and Mattancherry Palace. Afternoon cooking class with a local family — you learn to crack coconuts, grind spices, and prepare a traditional sadya feast on a banana leaf.
Into the Tea Gardens
The drive from Cochin climbs through cardamom and pepper plantations into the Western Ghats. Munnar appears at 1,600 metres — endless tea gardens rolling over hillsides like green velvet. Check in to Windermere Estate, a restored planter's bungalow where the air smells of eucalyptus and the only sound is birdsong.
Sunrise Pick & Mountain Trails
Before dawn, you join the tea pickers on the slopes — the only visitors allowed — as mist rolls through the valleys and the first light turns the leaves to gold. Visit the Tea Museum. Afternoon trek to Eravikulam National Park, home to the endangered Nilgiri Tahr mountain goat.
Into the Spice Country
Descend from the tea hills into the spice country of Thekkady on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. Your guide walks you through a working spice plantation — pepper vines climbing teak trees, cardamom pods splitting open, vanilla orchids coiling around wooden stakes. Check in to Spice Village, an eco-resort of thatched cottages hidden in a spice garden.
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Periyar at Dawn
Dawn boat safari on Periyar Lake — the stillest, most beautiful wildlife experience in South India. Wild elephants come to bathe at the water's edge. Bison, sambar deer, and if you are very fortunate, a tiger's pugmark in the mud. Afternoon at leisure in the forest, or an optional bamboo rafting excursion deeper into the reserve.
The Backwater Houseboat
Drive to Alleppey and board your private kettuvallam — a luxury houseboat with personal chef, crew, and an air-conditioned suite. Drift through palm-fringed canals as village life unfolds on the banks — women washing clothes, children diving from coconut palms, fishermen casting nets. Lunch of freshly caught karimeen fish curry, cooked on board. Sleep under the stars.
Barefoot Luxury
Disembark at dawn. A short drive brings you to Marari Beach — not Kovalam's tourist crowds, but a pristine fishing village where your boutique resort hides behind coconut groves. Check in to Marari Beach Resort. Afternoon on the beach — golden sand, warm Arabian Sea, and not another tourist in sight.
Ayurveda & Farewell
A full day for the soul. Morning Ayurvedic consultation followed by personalised treatments — Abhyanga massage, Shirodhara, herbal steam bath. Afternoon catamaran fishing with local fishermen who have fished these waters for generations. Farewell dinner on the beach — fresh seafood, candles in the sand, the sound of waves.
Until Next Time
Morning at leisure. Private transfer to Cochin International Airport. Kerala does not rush its goodbyes.
Nine nights across five hand-picked luxury properties — every room the best in the house.
A colonial waterfront hotel built where the first European ships docked in India. Portuguese, Dutch, and British architectural elements, harbour views, and authentic Kerala cuisine at the History restaurant.
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A restored colonial planter's bungalow at 1,600 metres, surrounded by tea gardens and cardamom plantations. Just five rooms, mountain views, farm-to-table dining, and the kind of silence that cities cannot offer.
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An award-winning eco-resort of thatched tribal-style cottages set in a working spice garden on the edge of Periyar Wildlife Reserve. CGH Earth's most beloved property.
EnquireA kettuvallam — a converted rice barge — with air-conditioned suite, personal chef, and private crew. One night drifting through Kerala's enchanted backwater canals.
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A barefoot luxury retreat hidden behind coconut groves on an unspoilt fishing beach. Thatched villas, Ayurvedic spa, organic garden, and the Arabian Sea at your doorstep.
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