Western Ghats Grand Circuit: Karnataka, Goa & Kerala

Route: Kempegowda International Airport (BLR) to Taj West End, about 40 km

Your driver meets you at Bengaluru airport and takes you to Taj West End. The hotel began in 1887 as a small boarding house, and now stands among about 20 acres of old trees and gardens in the middle of the city.

Bengaluru sits on a plateau about 900 metres above the sea, so the air is milder than on the coast. The rest of the day is free. Walk the

gardens, or rest after the flight.

Experience of the Day

• Airport welcome and check-in

• Garden walk at the hotel

Food

Recommended: Dinner at the hotel.

Must-Try: South Indian filter coffee and a dosa breakfast the next morning.

Activities to Do

• Rest after the flight

• Short walk in the hotel gardens

Route: Bengaluru – Mysuru – Bylakuppe – Kushalnagar – Kabbinakad, about 260 km

Leave Bengaluru early on the expressway towards Mysuru. After Mysuru, the road runs west to Bylakuppe, where Tibetan refugees settled in the 1960s. The Namdroling Monastery has a golden-roofed prayer hall and rows of red-robed monks. Visit in the morning, when the hall is in use.

Cross the Cauvery river and enter Kodagu, as Coorg is also known. Rice fields and coffee plantations replace the open plain. Evolve Back Coorg lies at Kabbinakad, near Siddapura, about 50 km from Madikeri town. It stands on a coffee and pepper estate, with its cottages spread among the plantation.

You arrive in the late afternoon. Walk the estate before dinner.

Experience of the Day

• Bylakuppe and Namdroling Monastery

• Drive into Coorg

• Evening estate walk

Food

Recommended: Dinner at the resort, with Kodava dishes.

Must-Try: Kodava pandi curry (a spiced pork dish) with kadambuttu rice dumplings, or a vegetable curry with the same dumplings.

Shopping

Coorg honey, pepper, vanilla and cardamom from the resort shop.

Activities to Do

• Rest by the pool

• Walk among the coffee and pepper

Route: Kabbinakad – coffee estate – Madikeri – Talacauvery – Bhagamandala – Kabbinakad, about 90 km

Start with a walk through the resort's coffee estate. Coffee here grows in the shade of tall trees, with pepper vines on their trunks. Your guide shows you the stages, from the white blossom to the picked berry, the drying yard and the roast. The visit ends with a tasting.

In the afternoon, drive to Madikeri and the viewing garden at Raja's Seat, then on to Talacauvery, about 45 km from Madikeri. This is the traditional source of the Cauvery river, a small temple tank at the foot of the Brahmagiri hills. Nearby is Bhagamandala, where three rivers meet at a temple.

Return to the resort by dusk. The hills are cooler than the plain, and evening mist is common.

Experience of the Day

• Coffee estate walk and tasting

• Talacauvery and Bhagamandala

• Raja's Seat viewpoint

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a Kodava restaurant or at the estate.

Must-Try: Noolputtu (steamed rice noodles) with a Coorg curry, and a cup of fresh filter coffee.

Shopping

Estate-roasted coffee, honey and spices.

Activities to Do

• Optional Abbey Falls visit near Madikeri

• Optional evening at the resort spa

Route: Kabbinakad – Madikeri – Sampaje Ghat – Mangaluru – Udupi – Murudeshwar – Gokarna, about 370 km

This is the longest day of the tour. Leave early and drive down the Sampaje Ghat, a winding forest road from the Coorg hills to the coastal plain. The air turns warm and humid at the foot. You reach Mangaluru, a port city, and continue north along the coast.

Stop at Udupi to see the Krishna temple, where the main image is viewed through a small window. Then pass Murudeshwar, where a Shiva statue about 123 feet tall stands facing the sea on a hill. The coast road runs between sea and paddy.

You reach Gokarna in the evening. SwaSwara sits above Om Beach, and you arrive in time for a quiet dinner.

Note on the Ghat road: The Sampaje Ghat can have landslides or closures in the monsoon, from June to September. In that case, your driver uses another route, and the day may be longer. We check the road before you leave.

Experience of the Day

• Descent of the Sampaje Ghat

• Udupi Krishna temple

• Murudeshwar Shiva statue

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a restaurant in Udupi.

Must-Try: Udupi's masala dosa and a coastal fish thali.

Activities to Do

• Early dinner

• Rest after the drive

Route: Gokarna – Karwar – Canacona – Goa, about 160 km.

After breakfast, take a short guided walk along the cliff path from Om Beach, or visit the Mahabaleshwar temple in Gokarna's old town.

Legend says the demon king Ravana carried Shiva's sacred linga here, and it could not be lifted again.

Leave at about 11 am and drive north to Goa, past Karwar and the state border. Alila Diwa lies at Majorda in South Goa, among paddy fields and about 10 minutes from the beach.

Note on the sea: Gokarna's beaches have strong currents and few lifeguards. Swim only where your guide says it is safe. From June to September the sea is rough and swimming is not advised.

Experience of the Day

• Om Beach morning walk

• Coastal drive across the state border

• Arrival in South Goa

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a beach cafe at Gokarna, or on the road.

Must-Try: Fresh grilled fish and coconut rice.

Activities to Do

• Evening walk in the paddy fields near the hotel

• Rest

Route: Majorda – Old Goa – Fontainhas (Panjim) – spice garden – Majorda, about 100 km.

After breakfast, drive to Old Goa, the Portuguese capital until the 18th century. The churches and convents here have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986. The Basilica of Bom Jesus holds the remains of St Francis Xavier. The Se Cathedral is one of the largest churches in Asia.

Walk through Fontainhas, Panjim's old Latin Quarter, with its painted houses and tiled name plates. Goa stayed Portuguese until 1961, which is why its food, churches and festivals differ from the rest of the region.

In the afternoon, visit a spice garden near Ponda, where pepper, cardamom, vanilla and cashew grow. The evening is free for the beach or the pool.

Note on churches: Old Goa's churches are active places of worship. Cover shoulders and knees. Photography rules vary inside. Opening hours change on Sundays and feast days.

Experience of the Day

• Basilica of Bom Jesus and Se Cathedral

• Fontainhas walk

• Spice garden near Ponda

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a Panjim restaurant serving Goan Catholic food.

Must-Try: Pork vindaloo, and bebinca, a layered coconut pudding.

Shopping

Cashew nuts, spices and local pottery from Panjim's market.

Activities to Do

• Evening on Majorda beach

• Optional sunset cruise on the Mandovi river (paid separately)

Route: Majorda – Goa airport (GOI) – Kochi airport (COK) – Fort Kochi

The two coasts are 765 km apart by road, about 17 hours, so you fly. The direct flight to Kochi leaves Goa in the evening, so the day before it is yours. Take a late checkout, swim, or walk on the beach.

Your driver takes you to the airport. In Kochi, a second driver meets you and takes you to Fort Kochi. You arrive late, and dinner is served at the hotel.

Note on the flight: The nonstop Goa to Kochi service is operated by one airline, and times can change. We book the best available flight and confirm timings a few days before. If no nonstop flight suits your date, a one-stop flight through Bengaluru or Mumbai is the alternative.

Experience of the Day

• Late checkout and a slow morning

• Short evening flight

• Late arrival at Fort Kochi

Food

Recommended: Late dinner at the hotel.

Must-Try: Kochi-style fish moilee, fish cooked gently in coconut milk.

Activities to Do

• Rest after the journey

Route: Fort Kochi – Mattancherry – Kothamangalam – Adimali – Munnar, about 140 km

After breakfast, walk through Fort Kochi to the Chinese fishing nets. Then visit Mattancherry, where the Paradesi Synagogue of 1568 and the spice warehouses of Jew Town stand.

Drive east into the hills after lunch. The coast gives way to rubber, then cardamom and pepper country past Adimali. The Cheeyappara waterfall sits beside the road and makes a good stop.

Windermere Estate stands on a cardamom plantation at Pothamedu, near Munnar. You arrive in the late afternoon, in time for a walk among the estate's cardamom, pepper and coffee.

Note on opening days: The Paradesi Synagogue is closed on Fridays, Saturdays and Jewish holidays, and Mattancherry Palace is closed on Fridays. Photography is not allowed inside either.

Experience of the Day

• Chinese fishing nets

• Mattancherry and Jew Town

• Cheeyappara waterfall stop

Food

Recommended: Dinner at the hotel, with Kerala dishes.

Must-Try: Kerala-style beef or vegetable roast with parotta.

Shopping

Spices and tea from Jew Town and Munnar's shops.

Activities to Do

• Plantation walk

• Evening by the fire if the air is cool

Route: Munnar – Eravikulam National Park – Tea Museum – Munnar

Start early at Eravikulam National Park, set up in 1978. Anamudi, the highest peak in South India at 2,695 metres, stands inside it. The park is home to the Nilgiri tahr, a mountain goat found only in the Western Ghats. Forest-department buses take you from Rajamala to the viewing area, because private cars cannot go up.

The grassland on the slopes is where the neelakurinji flower grows. It blooms once every 12 years and turns the hills blue. The last

mass bloom was in 2018 and the next is due around 2030.

After lunch, visit the Tea Museum at Nallathanni Estate, opened in 2004. The rest of the afternoon is yours.

Note on Eravikulam: The park closes for about 45 to 60 days from 1 February, while the tahr calve. On those dates we swap it for Top Station and Mattupetty Dam. Foreign visitors pay a higher entry ticket.

Experience of the Day

• Eravikulam National Park and Nilgiri tahr

• Tea Museum and tasting

• Free afternoon

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a plantation restaurant in Munnar town.

Must-Try: Sadya-style Kerala vegetarian meal on a banana leaf.

Shopping

Fresh tea, spices and cardamom from the Munnar market.

Activities to Do

• Optional sunrise jeep trip to Kolukkumalai (paid separately)

• Walk around Munnar town's tea shops

Route: Munnar – Kuttikanam – Peermade – Kumily – Thekkady, about 105 km

After breakfast, drive south through tea and cardamom country. The road climbs past waterfalls and vegetable terraces, then drops towards Kumily, the town at the edge of Periyar Tiger Reserve.

Spice Village is a cluster of thatched cottages in a garden near the reserve, so birdsong starts early. After lunch, walk through a working spice garden, where pepper vines climb tree trunks and cardamom grows in the shade.

Periyar Tiger Reserve has tigers, but they are shy and rarely seen. We plan for elephants, deer and birds, and say so now so you are not waiting for a tiger.

Note on forest activities: Boat trips, nature walks and other forest activities run under the Kerala Forest Department. Places are limited, timings change and some activities pause in heavy rain. Foreign visitors pay a higher ticket. We book what is open on your dates.

Experience of the Day

• Cardamom-hill drive

• Spice garden walk

• Evening in the hotel garden

Food

Recommended: Dinner at the hotel, using spices from its own garden.

Must-Try: Appam with vegetable stew.

Shopping

Spices, tea and cardamom from Kumily.

Activities to Do

• Optional Kalaripayattu show in Kumily (paid separately)

• Rest by the pool

Route: Thekkady – Periyar Lake – Kottayam – Kochi airport (COK), about 170 km

Begin early with the first boat trip on Periyar Lake, made in 1895 when a dam was built across the river. Wild elephants often come down to the shore to drink, especially in the dry months. Gaur, sambar deer, wild boar and many birds are also seen from the water.

After breakfast, your driver takes you to Kochi airport by road, through Kottayam and the plain. Choose a flight that leaves after about 6 pm. If your flight is earlier, we skip the boat trip and leave at dawn, or add a night in Kochi.

Experience of the Day

• Periyar Lake cruise at dawn

• Drive to Kochi airport