South India Tours
Kerala — God's Own Country
Kerala — long marketed as "God's Own Country" — is South India at its most languid and green, and this 8-day journey threads together every side of it: the Portuguese-Dutch harbour town of Kochi, the tea-carpeted hills of Munnar, the spice forests and elephants of Thekkady, an overnight houseboat on the Alleppey backwaters, and the palm-lined Arabian Sea beaches of Kovalam. It is the definitive first trip to the deep south, unhurried and endlessly photogenic.
Tour overview
The route runs the natural gradient of Kerala — from sea level at Kochi up into the Western Ghats at Munnar and Thekkady, then back down through the backwaters to the coast at Kovalam and the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram. That descent gives the trip a lovely rhythm: cool tea-country mornings and misty hill drives give way to slow water and warm sand, so you feel the landscape change under you rather than simply ticking off cities.
Era Tours has run South India privately since 1997, and we operate this itinerary as a fully chauffeur-driven, tailor-made journey with hand-picked hotels in every category. The day-by-day plan below is our recommended flow, but everything — the houseboat category, the number of nights in the hills, whether you add an Ayurvedic spa stay or a Kathakali performance — is shaped around you. Nothing is shared and nothing is fixed.
A night on the backwaters
You board a traditional Kettuvallam houseboat at Alleppey and drift through a maze of canals, lagoons and paddy fields — the single most memorable night of most Kerala trips.
Tea country and high peaks
Munnar sits around 1,600m in the Western Ghats, ringed by the country's highest tea estates and overlooked by Anamudi, South India's tallest peak at 2,695m.
Spice forests and Kalaripayattu
At Thekkady you cruise Periyar Lake inside a tiger and elephant reserve, and watch Kalaripayattu, one of the oldest martial arts in the world, followed by classical Kathakali.
Day-by-day itinerary
8 daysOn arrival at Cochin International Airport you are met and transferred to your hotel. After some rest we explore Fort Kochi, an atmospheric quarter where Dutch, Portuguese and British architecture layers together in a town that traded spices with Arabia and China for centuries. You visit the Mattancherry (Dutch) Palace with its famous murals of the rajas of Cochin, watch the cantilevered Chinese fishing nets dip along the shore, and take the Marina drive by Vembanad Lake. Overnight in Kochi.
- Fort Kochi
- — Old harbour town blending Dutch, Portuguese and British architecture.
- Mattancherry Palace
- — The "Dutch Palace", famed for its Kerala-mural depictions of the Cochin kings.
- Chinese fishing nets
- — Shore-operated cantilever nets, a signature Kochi silhouette.
After breakfast we climb into the Western Ghats to Munnar, a hill town set around 1,600m among the highest tea plantations in India. After lunch you visit Mattupetty Dam, a hydro reservoir set among tea estates and the Kundala Lake area where you can take a boat ride, and look out towards Anamudi peak, which rises to 2,695m inside Eravikulam National Park. Overnight in Munnar.
- Mattupetty Dam
- — Reservoir ringed by tea gardens with boating and cool hill air.
- Anamudi peak
- — At 2,695m the highest peak in South India, in Eravikulam National Park.
A full day in tea country. In the morning you visit Echo Point, on the banks of a lake where a call returns across the water, and walk among the endless tea plantations that give Munnar its rolling green corduroy hills. After lunch we visit the Tea Museum, opened by Tata Tea to trace the story of planting in these hills, and Pothamedu, about 6 km out, celebrated for its sweeping views over tea, coffee and cardamom estates. Overnight in Munnar.
- Tea Museum
- — Tata Tea museum on the history of Munnar plantations.
- Pothamedu viewpoint
- — Panoramas over tea, coffee and cardamom estates.
We descend to Thekkady, gateway to the Periyar Tiger Reserve. After settling in and resting, the afternoon is given to the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary — a protected forest of cardamom hills and high plateaus, its lake formed by the 1895 Mullaperiyar dam and home to elephants, bison and, if you are fortunate, tiger. You can take a boat cruise on Periyar Lake, then in the evening watch Kalaripayattu, the ancient Kerala martial art, followed by a Kathakali performance. Overnight in Thekkady.
- Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary
- — Tiger and elephant reserve set in the Cardamom Hills.
- Periyar Lake cruise
- — Boat ride on the lake created by the 1895 Mullaperiyar dam.
- Kalaripayattu & Kathakali
- — Ancient martial art (6–7pm) and classical dance-drama (7–8pm).
After breakfast we drive down to Alleppey (Alappuzha) and board your private houseboat — the highlight of the whole tour. Often called the "Venice of the East", Alleppey is a lattice of canals, lagoons and backwaters, and your Kettuvallam drifts through serpentine waterways past paddy fields and village life, with meals cooked fresh on board. Overnight on the houseboat.
- Alleppey backwaters
- — A network of canals and lagoons, the "Venice of the East".
- Kettuvallam houseboat
- — Private converted rice barge with on-board cook and sundeck.
After breakfast and disembarking we drive south along the coast to Kovalam, one of Kerala's best-loved beach towns on the Arabian Sea, about 16 km from Thiruvananthapuram. After some rest the afternoon takes in Poovar, a pretty coastal village with a boat ride through its lake and estuary, Kovalam beach itself, and the crescent of Lighthouse Beach with its landmark red-and-white tower. Overnight in Kovalam.
- Poovar
- — Coastal village with a backwater-and-estuary boat ride.
- Lighthouse Beach
- — Kovalam's famous swimmable crescent below a striped lighthouse.
After breakfast we make a full-day excursion into Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), the state capital near the southern tip of the mainland. You visit the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, unusually built in Dravidian rather than Kerala style, the Napier Museum of art and natural history, and the Thiruvananthapuram Zoo, set across 55 acres of woodland and lakes and among the oldest in Asia. In the evening we return to Kovalam. Overnight in Kovalam.
- Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple
- — Landmark Dravidian-style Vishnu temple in the capital.
- Napier Museum
- — 19th-century art and natural-history museum.
After breakfast you are transferred to Trivandrum International Airport for your onward flight, or you can extend your journey with us — south to Kanyakumari, across to the temple towns of Tamil Nadu, or to a longer Ayurvedic stay. Tour ends.
This itinerary is a suggested flow and is fully customisable — hotels, pace and sightseeing are tailored to you. Ask us to adjust it →
Places on this tour
What's included
- Accommodation on twin-sharing basis in your chosen hotel category
- One night on a private Alleppey houseboat with meals
- Daily breakfast (meal plan as per itinerary)
- Private air-conditioned car with an experienced driver throughout
- All arrival and departure transfers
- All applicable taxes on the services quoted
Not included
- Monument, sanctuary and boat-ride entry fees
- Camera and video-camera charges
- Lunches, dinners, drinks and beverages unless specified
- Any airfare, visa or travel insurance
- Guide service, tips and personal expenses
- Single-room supplement for single occupancy
- Anything not mentioned under inclusions
Ideal for: Honeymooners, families and first-time visitors to South India who want nature, backwaters and beaches.
FAQ
Kerala — God's Own Country — your questions answered
Seven to eight days is ideal for a first Kerala trip. That is enough to combine Kochi, the Munnar tea hills, Thekkady wildlife, an overnight Alleppey houseboat and the Kovalam beaches without rushing, with comfortable driving days of two to four hours between each stop.
Yes — the houseboat night is the highlight of most Kerala tours. You have a private converted rice barge to yourselves, drifting through the backwater canals past paddy fields and villages, with a cook preparing fresh Kerala meals on board. We can arrange anything from a comfortable one-bedroom boat to a luxury multi-room vessel.
The best time is September to March, when the monsoon has passed and the state is green, dry and comfortably warm. June to August brings heavy rain, though many travellers come specifically for monsoon-season Ayurveda treatments, which are traditionally considered most effective then.
Thekkady sits inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve, so sightings are possible but never guaranteed. On the Periyar Lake cruise, herds of elephants, wild boar, sambar deer and abundant birdlife are commonly seen along the shoreline; tigers are present but rarely spotted. The forest setting and lake itself are rewarding regardless.
Era Tours runs this Kerala itinerary as a fully private, tailor-made tour. You have your own car and driver throughout, and the hotels, houseboat category, pace and add-ons such as Ayurveda or a Kathakali show are all arranged around you — it is not a fixed-departure group coach tour.
