Kerala, Tamil Nadu & Puducherry

Route: Cochin International Airport (COK) to Fort Kochi, about 40 km

Your driver meets you at Cochin International Airport and takes you across the harbour islands to Fort Kochi. Forte Kochi is a hotel in a set of restored 19th-century buildings, close to the water and to the old churches.

In the late afternoon, walk to St Francis Church, one of the oldest European-built churches in India. Vasco da Gama died in Kochi in 1524 and was first buried here, and his remains were moved to Lisbon some years later. Then walk along the harbour to see the fishing nets come down as the sun sets.

Experience of the Day

• Airport welcome and check-in

• St Francis Church

• Harbour walk at sunset

Food

Recommended: Dinner at the hotel, with Kerala and Portuguese-influenced dishes.

Must-Try: Kerala fish curry cooked in a clay pot, with appam.

Activities to Do

• Rest after the flight

• Evening walk through Fort Kochi's lanes

Route: Fort Kochi – Mattancherry – Jew Town – Dutch Palace – Santa Cruz Basilica – Fort Kochi

After breakfast, a local guide takes you to Mattancherry. The Paradesi Synagogue, built in 1568, has a floor of hand-painted blue tiles from Canton. The lanes of Jew Town around it are full of spice warehouses and antique shops, with the smell of ginger, cardamom and pepper in the air. The Mattancherry Palace, called the Dutch Palace, holds murals of Hindu epics.

Back in Fort Kochi, visit the Santa Cruz Basilica and the Indo-Portuguese Museum. The afternoon is free for the old streets, galleries and cafes.

In the evening, go to a Kathakali show. The make-up starts around 5 pm. Watching the green faces, red beards and headdresses take shape is half the point of the visit.

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. If Day 2 falls on one of these days, we swap the walk and the free afternoon.

Experience of the Day

• Mattancherry and Jew Town walk

• Dutch Palace murals

• Kathakali make-up and show

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a Fort Kochi cafe serving Kerala fish curry meals.

Must-Try: Appam with vegetable stew; Kerala prawn curry.

Shopping

Spices, tea and cardamom from Jew Town's warehouses. Your guide tells you which antiques can be exported.

Activities to Do

• Optional backwater canoe ride at Kumbalangi village (paid separately)

• Optional cooking class in Fort Kochi (paid separately)

Route: Fort Kochi – Alleppey (Alappuzha) jetty – Vembanad Lake – village canals, about 60 km by road

After a late breakfast, drive south to the houseboat jetty in Alleppey. Houseboats usually board at about noon, so you arrive in time for a welcome drink.

Your boat is a modern version of the kettuvallam, the traditional rice barge. Old barges were built of planks tied with coir and sealed with cashew-nut oil. You have a captain, a cook and a private bedroom.

The boat cruises on Vembanad Lake and into the narrow canals of Kuttanad, where people farm rice below sea level. You pass villages where people wash, fish and travel by boat. In the evening, the boat moors for the night and the cook serves dinner on deck.

Note on the houseboat: Houseboat rules and cruising hours are set by the district authorities and the operator. Boats usually moor before dusk and do not cruise at night. Check-in is around noon and check-out around 9 am. Cabins are small, and the air conditioning runs only when the boat is moored or on a generator. In heavy rain or high winds, the captain may shorten the route.

Experience of the Day

• Houseboat lunch and cruise

• Kuttanad canals and rice fields

• Dinner on deck

Food

Recommended: Lunch and dinner on the houseboat, cooked on board.

Must-Try: Kerala fish curry with red rice, and karimeen fry.

Activities to Do

• Watch village life from the deck

• Early night to the sound of the water

Route: Alleppey – Kottayam – Kumily – Theni – Madurai, about 270 km

Disembark at about 9 am, have breakfast on board if the crew allows, and set off east. The road climbs from the backwater plain through rubber and spice country to Kumily, the gateway to Periyar. Stop for lunch and a short walk through a spice garden, where pepper vines climb tree trunks and cardamom grows in the shade.

From Kumily the road crosses the Western Ghats by a series of hairpin bends and drops to the Tamil plain at Theni. The air turns hot and dry, and the green of Kerala gives way to open farmland. You cross from Kerala into Tamil Nadu on the way. The road is winding and the timing depends on traffic and weather.

You reach Madurai in the late afternoon. After a rest, enter the Meenakshi Amman temple at dusk with your guide. The gateways rise in painted stages, and the lamp-lit halls fill with worshippers.

Note on Meenakshi Temple: Cover shoulders and knees, and remove shoes. Bags, phones and cameras are not allowed inside, and lockers are available at the gates. The two inner shrines are limited to Hindus. The rest of the complex is open to all visitors.

Experience of the Day

• Spice garden at Kumily

• Descent from the Ghats to the Tamil plain

• Meenakshi temple at dusk

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a restaurant in Kumily.

Must-Try: Appam with vegetable stew, then Madurai's kari dosa at dinner.

Shopping

Spices from Kumily; flower garlands and brass lamps near the temple's east gate.

Activities to Do

• Evening visit to Meenakshi temple

• Dinner at the hotel's garden restaurant

Route: Heritage Madurai – Meenakshi temple – Thirumalai Nayak Palace – old city – Heritage Madurai

The temple opens at 5 am, and the early hour is the quietest. Your guide takes you back for the Hall of Thousand Pillars, with its 985 pillars, and the Golden Lotus Tank.

After breakfast, visit the Thirumalai Nayak Palace, completed around 1636. About a quarter of it survives, and the courtyard measures about 75 by 50 metres. Take a cycle-rickshaw ride through the old streets, past the flower and banana markets.

The afternoon is free. In the evening, return for the night ceremony, when metal footprints standing for Shiva are carried in a palanquin to the goddess Meenakshi's chamber at about 9 pm.

Experience of the Day

• Early temple visit

• Thirumalai Nayak Palace

• Cycle-rickshaw ride

• Night ceremony

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a local Madurai restaurant with banana-leaf meals.

Must-Try: Jigarthanda, Madurai's cold milk-and-almond-gum drink.

Shopping

Cotton saris and hand-woven sungudi fabric from the shops near the temple.

Activities to Do

• Garden walk at the hotel

• Optional day trip to Chettinad (quoted separately)

Route: Madurai – Tiruchirappalli (Srirangam) – Thanjavur, about 190 km

Leave Madurai after breakfast and drive north-east to Tiruchirappalli. The Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam stands on an island in the Kaveri. It is one of the largest working temple complexes in India, with seven walled enclosures and a gateway about 73 metres high.

After lunch, continue to Thanjavur, about 55 km east. Svatma is a restored heritage house in the old town, a short walk from the Brihadisvara temple. In the evening, walk to the temple when the light turns gold and the great tower turns dark against the sky.

Experience of the Day

• Srirangam temple

• Evening walk to the Brihadisvara temple

Food

Recommended: Dinner at the hotel, with Thanjavur dishes.

Must-Try: Thanjavur's pepper chicken, or a vegetable meal on a banana leaf.

Activities to Do

• Evening walk in the old town

• Rest at the hotel

Route: Brihadisvara temple – Thanjavur Palace – Swamimalai or Kumbakonam – Darasuram – Thanjavur, about 90 km

Begin at the Brihadisvara temple, built around 1010 CE by Rajaraja I. The tower above the sanctum rises about 66 metres, and a single block caps it. The temple was listed by UNESCO in 1987. Walk the courtyard, see the giant Nandi bull and look at the Chola frescoes in the passage around the sanctum.

After lunch, visit the Thanjavur Maratha Palace and its gallery of Chola bronzes. The bronzes are cast by the lost-wax method, and families in the nearby village of Swamimalai still make them that way.

In the late afternoon, drive to Darasuram and see the Airavatesvara temple of the 12th century. It is smaller than the Brihadisvara, but its carving is among the finest of the Chola era. Return to Thanjavur for the evening.

Experience of the Day

• Brihadisvara temple

• Palace and Chola bronzes

• Darasuram's Airavatesvara temple

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a Thanjavur restaurant.

Must-Try: Filter coffee from Kumbakonam, with idli and sambar.

Shopping

Thanjavur paintings with gold leaf, bronze figures and the local dolls with nodding heads.

Activities to Do

• Optional visit to a bronze workshop in Swamimalai

• Evening walk to see the temple lit up

Route: Thanjavur – Kumbakonam – Gangaikonda Cholapuram – Chidambaram – Puducherry, about 190 km

Drive north-east to Gangaikonda Cholapuram, the capital that Rajendra I built around 1035 CE. Its great temple is quieter and finer than the one at Thanjavur, and it too is part of the UNESCO listing.

Continue to Chidambaram and the Nataraja temple, where Shiva is worshipped as the cosmic dancer. The gateways are carved with the poses of classical Tamil dance. Many Tamil temples close from late morning to the late afternoon, so we time the visit for the open hours.

Drive on to Puducherry, arriving in the evening. Palais de Mahe is a restored heritage hotel in the old quarter, with rooms built around courtyards.

Note on temple hours: Many Tamil temples close from about 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm. Your guide confirms the timing and the dress rules on the day. Covering for shoulders and knees is expected.

Experience of the Day

• Gangaikonda Cholapuram

• Nataraja temple at Chidambaram

• Arrival in French Puducherry

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a restaurant in Kumbakonam or Chidambaram.

Must-Try: Idli and sambar, with a cup of Kumbakonam filter coffee.

Activities to Do

• Walk to the seafront promenade

• Dinner at a French bistro

Route: White Town – Tamil quarter – Auroville – Puducherry, about 25 km

Start early with a guided walk through the White Town. The French laid it out on a grid, with a canal on one side that once divided it from the Tamil town. The old villas are painted yellow and ochre. Visit the Immaculate Conception Cathedral and the seafront.

Cross the old canal line into the Tamil quarter, with its raised front verandas and small shrines. Visit the Manakula Vinayagar temple. Puducherry was a French colony from 1674. The handover to India came de facto in 1954, and the treaty followed in 1962.

In the afternoon, drive about 10 km north to Auroville, an experimental township founded in 1968, and its golden Matrimandir. The end of the day is free for the promenade.

Note on Auroville: Matrimandir access is by pass and time slot, and it is closed on some days. The viewing point is open to all visitors with a pass. We book the pass before you arrive.

Experience of the Day

• White Town walk

• Tamil quarter and Manakula Vinayagar temple

• Auroville and the Matrimandir viewing point

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a French bistro in White Town.

Must-Try: Fresh baguette, cheese and a local fish dish.

Shopping

Hand-made paper, incense and crafts from the Auroville workshops, and French bakery goods.

Activities to Do

• Optional cycle-rickshaw ride through the lanes

• Optional French cooking class (paid separately)

Route: Puducherry – Mamallapuram – Chennai airport (MAA), about 150 km

Leave Puducherry after breakfast and drive north along the coast. Stop at Mamallapuram, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984, to see the Shore Temple, a Pallava temple of the 8th century that stands beside the sea. Then continue to Chennai airport.

Plan to reach the airport about four hours before an international flight. Choose a flight that leaves after about 7 pm. For an earlier flight, we skip Mamallapuram, and leave Puducherry earlier.

Experience of the Day

• Shore Temple at Mamallapuram

• East Coast Road drive

• Airport transfer