Best of Kerala: 8 Days — Cochin, Munnar, Thekkady, Kumarakom & Alleppey

Tour Overview

Itinerary Highlights

Day 1: Arrival in Cochin — The Historic Port City

Land at Cochin International Airport and transfer to your hotel. Kochi (Cochin) is one of India’s oldest port cities, a crucible of cultures where Arab, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, and British influences have layered over 600 years. After checking in, explore the Fort Kochi area at your own pace. In the evening, attend a traditional Kathakali dance performance — this classical art form combines elaborate makeup, stunning costumes, expressive eye movements, and mudras (symbolic hand gestures) to enact stories from the Mahabharata and Ramayana. The artists spend hours applying their intricate makeup before each performance. Overnight in Cochin.

Day 2: Cochin Heritage Tour

Full day exploring Cochin’s rich heritage. Begin at the Chinese Fishing Nets at Fort Kochi Beach — these iconic cantilevered nets were introduced by traders from the court of Kublai Khan in the 14th century and are still lowered and raised by teams of fishermen using stone counterweights. Visit St. Francis Church, the oldest European church in India (built 1503), where Vasco da Gama was buried for 14 years before his remains were returned to Portugal. Explore the Dutch Palace (Mattancherry Palace) with its exquisite Murals of Ramayana covering entire walls. Walk through Jew Town’s narrow, spice-scented streets to the 450-year-old Paradesi Synagogue, still active with its hand-painted Chinese floor tiles. Visit the spice warehouses where pepper, cardamom, ginger, and turmeric have been traded for millennia. Evening: optional sunset harbor cruise. Overnight in Cochin.

Day 3: Cochin to Munnar — Ascending the Western Ghats

Morning drive to Munnar (approximately 4 hours). The road climbs from sea level to 1,600 meters, passing through rubber plantations, then cardamom forests, and finally the manicured tea gardens that define Munnar. This region was developed by British planters in the late 19th century and still produces some of the world’s finest Orthodox teas. En route, stop at the Cheeyappara and Valara waterfalls. Check into your hotel surrounded by tea estates. Afternoon: guided walk through the tea plantations — learn about the different plucking standards (two leaves and a bud for the finest teas) and the processing methods that create the distinctive Nilgiri tea character. Tea tasting at the estate. Overnight in Munnar.

Day 4: Munnar — Eravikulam National Park & Tea Museum

Morning visit to Eravikulam National Park, home to the endangered Nilgiri Tahr — an endemic mountain goat found only in these high-altitude grasslands. The park’s rolling shola-grassland landscape, at 2,000 meters, offers panoramic views stretching to the Tamil Nadu plains. Visit the Tea Museum to understand Munnar’s colonial tea heritage, with exhibits of original machinery, photographs, and tea-making demonstrations. Afternoon: visit Mattupetty Dam and its serene reservoir, Kundala Lake for optional pedal boating, and Echo Point where your voice reverberates across the valley. Evening: explore Munnar town’s market for spices, homemade chocolates, and local handicrafts. Overnight in Munnar.

Day 5: Munnar to Thekkady — Periyar Tiger Reserve

Drive to Thekkady (approximately 3-4 hours), the gateway to Periyar Tiger Reserve. This 925 sq km sanctuary, declared in 1978 as a Tiger Reserve under Project Tiger, is one of India’s 27 tiger reserves and is renowned for its innovative eco-tourism programs. Afternoon: spice plantation tour — walk through aromatic gardens of cardamom (Kerala produces 70% of India’s supply), pepper (the “black gold” that drove global exploration), cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and vanilla. Learn how each spice is grown, harvested, and processed. Evening: optional Kalaripayattu performance — Kerala’s ancient martial art, dating back 3,000 years and considered the forerunner of all Asian martial arts. Overnight in Thekkady.

Day 6: Thekkady — Wildlife Encounter

Morning: nature walk through Periyar’s moist deciduous forest with trained tribal guides from the Mannan community, who have lived in these forests for generations. They interpret pugmarks, alarm calls, and forest signs invisible to the untrained eye. The forest hosts elephants (900+), tigers (40+), leopards, gaur (Indian bison), sambar deer, wild boar, and the rare lion-tailed macaque. Afternoon: boat safari on Periyar Lake — the water-based safari provides the best wildlife viewing opportunities as animals approach the lake to drink. The 26 sq km artificial lake, created by the British in 1895 with the Mullaperiyar Dam, is the reserve’s centerpiece. Evening: visit a spice auction center in Kumily where cardamom from hundreds of plantations is graded and traded. Overnight in Thekkady.

Day 7: Thekkady to Kumarakom to Alleppey — Houseboat Dream

Morning drive to Kumarakom on Vembanad Lake. Visit the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary — 14 acres of mangrove forest on the lake shore. November to March, the sanctuary hosts thousands of migratory birds from Siberia and the Himalayas. Walk the trails with a naturalist, spotting cormorants, herons, egrets, and if lucky, the Siberian crane. Lunch at a lakeside restaurant. Then transfer to Alleppey to board your private houseboat. As the kettuvallam glides through the palm-fringed canals of the Kuttanad region — where rice is cultivated 2 meters below sea level in an ancient system of dykes and sluice gates — you witness a way of life unchanged for centuries. The chef prepares dinner using fresh local ingredients. Anchor in a quiet backwater. Overnight on the houseboat.

Day 8: Alleppey to Cochin — Farewell to Kerala

Wake to a misty morning on the backwaters. Enjoy a traditional Kerala breakfast of appam (rice pancakes) with vegetable stew aboard. Cruise back to the Alleppey jetty as village life stirs around you — children going to school by canoe, fishermen heading out for the day’s catch, temple bells echoing across the water. Disembark and drive to Cochin Airport for your departure flight. Take with you the essence of God’s Own Country: the scent of spices, the taste of fresh coconut, the image of emerald tea gardens, and the memory of drifting through the backwaters under a canopy of stars.

What’s Included

• 7 nights accommodation (3-star hotels + deluxe houseboat)
• Daily breakfast + all meals on houseboat
• Private AC vehicle with English-speaking driver throughout
• Kathakali dance performance in Cochin
• Eravikulam National Park entry and guided visit
• Tea Museum visit and tea tasting
• Mattupetty Dam and Echo Point visits
• Periyar Tiger Reserve (2-day access with nature walk)
• Periyar Lake boat safari
• Spice plantation guided tour
• Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary with naturalist
• Overnight houseboat cruise with full board
• All airport transfers
• Professional English-speaking tour guide

What’s Not Included

• International/domestic flights
• Travel insurance
• Kalaripayattu martial arts show (optional, ~$10)
• Personal expenses, tips, laundry, drinks
• Monument and camera fees
• Anything not mentioned in inclusions