Kerala
Kerala trades forts for backwaters — palm-lined canals, spice-scented hill air, and a houseboat cruise that turns travel itself into the quietest part of the trip.
Plan My Kerala TripWhere To Go
Kerala
Kerala moves at water speed. Fort Kochi's Chinese fishing nets and colonial-era streets give way, a short drive south, to the Alleppey backwaters — a network of canals and paddy fields best explored from a private houseboat, where the itinerary for the day is simply to drift. It's a deliberate contrast to Rajasthan's forts and palaces, and pairs well as a second leg on a longer India journey, or stands on its own as a slower, water-led escape.
Alleppey
The heart of the backwaters — a network of canals and paddy fields, and the starting point for Kerala's private houseboat cruises.
Kochi
Fort Kochi — Chinese fishing nets, spice warehouses, and colonial-era streets that layer Portuguese, Dutch, and British history in a few square kilometres.
Kovalam
Three crescent beaches on the Arabian Sea, anchored by a working red-and-white lighthouse above the water.
Munnar
Kerala's tea country — rolling plantations across the Western Ghats, with Eravikulam's Nilgiri tahr and Anamudi peak nearby.
Thekkady
Periyar Tiger Reserve's forests and lake, ringed by spice plantations that have grown cardamom and pepper for generations.
What To See
What A Private Guide Actually Shows You
Kerala's highlights trade forts for water and trade — a working fishery older than European contact with India, and a spice district that's run on the same trade for centuries.
Vembanad Lake
India's longest lake, and the water every Alleppey backwater canal drains into.
Alappuzha Beach
A wide town beach with a 150-year-old pier running out into the Arabian Sea.
Overnight Houseboat
A converted rice barge with a crew of three, moored overnight in the canals.
Kuttanad Toddy Shop Food Trail
Eat where the boatmen eat — canal-side toddy shops serving Kuttanad's hottest cooking.
Chinese Fishing Nets, Fort Kochi
Cantilevered shore nets on Fort Kochi's waterfront, worked by hand for centuries.
Mattancherry Palace
A Portuguese-built palace holding Kerala's finest surviving murals.
Kathakali Performance
Kerala's classical dance-drama, with the make-up applied in front of you first.
Spice Market Cooking Class
Shop the Mattancherry spice lanes, then cook what you bought in a home kitchen.
Lighthouse Beach, Kovalam
Kovalam's main crescent, under the red-and-white striped Vizhinjam lighthouse.
Vizhinjam Rock Cut Cave Temple
An 8th-century shrine cut straight into a granite boulder, just inland from Kovalam.
Ayurvedic Spa Ritual
A proper oil treatment — abhyanga or shirodhara — at a licensed Kovalam centre.
Eravikulam National Park
High grassland above Munnar, home to the largest surviving population of Nilgiri tahr.
Mattupetty Dam
A reservoir ringed by tea slopes and shola forest, ten kilometres above Munnar.
Tea Estate Walk and Tasting
Walk the rows with a picker, then taste the grades side by side at the factory.
Periyar Tiger Reserve
Western Ghats forest wrapped around a flooded lake full of drowned tree stumps.
Kumily Spice Market
The trading town at Periyar's gate, where the Cardamom Hills sell what they grow.
Periyar Boat Safari
A slow launch across Periyar's lake, past drowned trees and animals on the bank.
How To Travel
Journeys Through Kerala
Every journey here comes with a private guide and driver for each day on the road — full pricing lives on each journey's own page.
Grand Kerala — Complete — Luxury
Arrival in Kochi — Fort Kochi & the Spice Quarter — Kochi to Munnar — Into the Western Ghats
Grand Kerala — Complete — Premium
Arrival in Kochi — Fort Kochi & the Spice Quarter — Kochi to Munnar — Into the Western Ghats
Kerala Backwaters & Beaches — Grand — Luxury
Arrival in Kochi — Fort Kochi & the Spice Quarter — Kochi — Chinese Fishing Nets & Mattancherry
Kerala Backwaters & Beaches — Grand — Premium
Arrival in Kochi — Fort Kochi & the Spice Quarter — Kochi — Chinese Fishing Nets & Mattancherry
Grand Kerala — Extended — Luxury
Arrival in Kochi — Fort Kochi & the Spice Quarter — Kochi to Munnar — Into the Western Ghats
Grand Kerala — Extended — Premium
Arrival in Kochi — Fort Kochi & the Spice Quarter — Kochi to Munnar — Into the Western Ghats
Kerala Backwaters & Beaches — Extended — Luxury
Arrival in Kochi — Fort Kochi & the Spice Quarter — Kochi — Chinese Fishing Nets & Mattancherry
Kerala Backwaters & Beaches — Extended — Premium
Arrival in Kochi — Fort Kochi & the Spice Quarter — Kochi — Chinese Fishing Nets & Mattancherry
Grand Kerala — Luxury
Arrival in Kochi — Fort Kochi & the Spice Quarter — Kochi to Munnar — Into the Western Ghats
Grand Kerala — Premium
Arrival in Kochi — Fort Kochi & the Spice Quarter — Kochi to Munnar — Into the Western Ghats
Kerala Backwaters & Beaches — Luxury
Arrival in Kochi — Fort Kochi & the Spice Quarter — Kochi to Alleppey — Boarding the Houseboat
Kerala Backwaters & Beaches — Premium
Arrival in Kochi — Fort Kochi & the Spice Quarter — Kochi to Alleppey — Boarding the Houseboat
Where To Stay
Real Stays, Chosen City By City
A private itinerary through Kerala is anchored by real, handpicked stays — heritage palaces and boutique properties chosen city by city, not a single hotel chain repeated everywhere.
Punnamada Resort
Punnamada Resort sits on the edge of Punnamada Lake, which is the stretch of water the Nehru Trophy Boat Race is rowed on every August. For most of the year it is quiet. Fishing canoes cross it in the morning and houseboats drift out in the afternoon. The resort is laid out low and wide across the waterfront. Accommodation is in Kerala-style blocks and cottages with tiled roofs and wooden detail, set among coconut palms and lawns that run down to the water. Rooms face either the lake or the gardens. The lake-facing ones are worth asking for. Interiors keep to local materials — wood, stone, woven cane — without tipping into theme. There is a pool, an ayurvedic treatment centre and a restaurant that leans on Kerala backwater cooking: karimeen from the lake, coconut, curry leaf, kokum. The practical advantage is the jetty. Houseboat cruises leave from the water in front of the resort, so a backwater day does not begin with a transfer. Alleppey town, the beach and the canal network are all close by.
Taj Malabar Resort & Spa, Cochin
Taj Malabar sits at the tip of Willingdon Island, right where the Kochi backwaters meet the Arabian Sea. The original wing opened in 1935. It was designed for passengers arriving by ship, and the building still faces the water as though expecting them. The location is the reason to stay. Cargo ships and Chinese fishing nets pass in the same frame. Fort Kochi is a short ferry ride across the harbour. Ernakulam and the mainland city are about the same distance in the other direction. Heritage rooms occupy the 1935 wing and keep their teak floors and colonial proportions. The newer tower rooms trade that character for wider harbour views and larger bathrooms. Both look at water from almost every angle. Rice Boat is the signature restaurant, built to resemble a Kerala houseboat, and it serves seafood chosen from the day's catch. There is also an all-day dining room and a bar on the waterfront lawn. Sunset from that lawn is the property's best hour. Jiva Spa runs Ayurvedic treatments with resident therapists, and the pool sits at the water's edge. Staff arrange harbour cruises, Kathakali performances and guided walks through the spice markets of Mattancherry.
Eighth Bastion
Eighth Bastion takes its name from the old Portuguese fort that once ringed this shoreline. Fort Immanuel had bastions along its wall, and the eighth of them stood near this spot. The hotel is built on that history rather than around it. The property belongs to CGH Earth, a Kerala group that has spent decades running small, place-specific hotels instead of large ones. It shows in the scale here. This is a compact hotel on a Fort Kochi street, not a resort behind a gate. The architecture reads Dutch and Portuguese from outside — tiled roofs, deep verandas, shuttered windows. Inside, the rooms are calm and contemporary, with dark wood against white walls. The two periods are allowed to sit next to each other. There is a pool in the courtyard and a restaurant that cooks Kerala coastal food, including the day's catch from the harbour a few streets away. Fort Kochi is a walking neighbourhood, and that is the real reason to stay here. The Chinese fishing nets, St Francis Church, the Dutch Cemetery, Jew Town and the Mattancherry spice godowns are all reachable on foot or by a short auto ride.
Taj Green Cove Resort & Spa, Kovalam
Taj Green Cove Resort & Spa sits above Samudra Beach in Kovalam, a short walk from the town's famous lighthouse. The resort takes its design cues from Bali. Wooden furniture, heritage motifs, and French windows appear throughout the property. Fifty-nine rooms and suites are set among tropical gardens that slope toward the Arabian Sea. Some suites open onto a private plunge pool. Wellness sits at the heart of a stay here. The resort runs an Ayurveda and wellness centre, led by a naturopathy doctor. Guests can book personalised spa therapies or simply unwind by the infinity pool. A fully equipped fitness centre and daily yoga sessions round out the health offering. Three restaurants serve local Keralan dishes alongside international menus, with 24-hour in-room dining also available. Families are well looked after too, with a supervised kids' club and outdoor play areas. For couples and families exploring Kovalam's beaches, Taj Green Cove Resort & Spa offers a genuinely restful base. The garden, library, and hair salon add quiet comfort between excursions. It remains one of Kovalam's most established luxury addresses, prized for its Balinese-style architecture and sea-facing gardens.
Scenic, Munnar - IHCL SeleQtions
Scenic sits above Chithirapuram, on a slope of the Munnar tea country. It belongs to IHCL's SeleQtions collection, which is the Taj group's label for hotels with a distinct character of their own. Here that character comes almost entirely from the landscape. The hotel is built in tiers down the hillside. Nearly every room opens onto a balcony, and nearly every balcony looks over tea gardens falling away towards the valley. Cloud moves through at this altitude, so the same view changes several times before breakfast. Room categories climb from Superior through Deluxe and Premium, and the top villas add private plunge pools. Interiors keep to warm wood and clean lines rather than competing with what is outside the window. The Pawcations rooms are set aside for guests travelling with a dog. Food leans on the region. Cardamom, pepper and local produce come from the plantations nearby, and the kitchen will also cook a straightforward Kerala meal on request. Meals can be served on the terrace when the weather holds. Munnar's tea museum, Eravikulam National Park and the Mattupetty and Kundala lakes are all within easy reach. The hotel arranges plantation walks, and staff know which viewpoints are worth the early start.
Windermere Estate
Windermere Estate is a family-run resort set on a working cardamom and coffee plantation in Pallivasal, just outside Munnar. Just eighteen rooms are spread across plantation villas, cottages, and garden rooms. Red cedar accents and simple, tasteful furnishings run through every category. Many rooms open onto private sit-outs facing the estate's terraced hills. Daily life here follows the rhythm of the plantation. A guided walk each afternoon takes guests through the cardamom fields and up to caves on the property. From Windermere's viewpoint, the 360-degree outlook takes in tea gardens, misty hills, and the estate below. Food is served across a handful of characterful spaces. Pine Top handles everyday meals, The Barn hosts fine dining, and Boulder Garden is reserved for outdoor barbecues. The Hut offers snacks and tea through the day. Fire pits and hammocks are dotted through the gardens for quieter evenings. For travellers who want Munnar's tea-estate scenery without a large hotel footprint, Windermere Estate delivers exactly that. Its plantation setting, family ownership, and genuinely local rhythm make it one of the hill station's most distinctive stays.
Spice Village – A CGH Earth Experience
Spice Village is a CGH Earth resort built as a recreation of a Kerala spice-growing village, on the edge of Periyar Tiger Reserve in Thekkady. Fifty-two cottages sit among real spice gardens, built from coir matting, thatch, and other natural materials. Each cottage keeps a separate sitting area and en-suite bathroom, with organic toiletries in keeping with the resort's sustainability focus. The resort's own paper-making centre shows guests how it turns plantation waste into handmade paper. Two restaurants serve Keralan and international dishes, largely using produce grown on site. An outdoor pool, a children's pool, and a spa tub sit within the gardens, alongside massage and Ayurveda treatment rooms. Thekkady itself is best known for wildlife. Spice Village puts guests within easy reach of Periyar's boat safaris and forest walks, as well as working spice and cardamom plantations nearby. An indoor tennis court and business centre round out the facilities for longer or working stays. Spice Village suits travellers who want Thekkady's forest and plantation setting matched by a resort that takes sustainability seriously. Its village-style layout and spice-garden grounds set it apart from a standard hotel stay.
Why Travel With Us
Sixteen Years, One Philosophy
Thirteen years in, my job is knowing which side gate skips the queue at every fort on the route. That's the whole job — being the person who already knows.
Brijesh Sharma · Bespoke Itinerary ExpertContinue Your Journey
Rajasthan
Rajasthan pairs hilltop forts and mirror-work palaces with candlelit courtyards, making it the most cinematic route for a first luxury journey through India.
Delhi
Delhi layers seven historic cities into one — Mughal forts and tombs standing a few streets from colonial-era avenues and Old Delhi's working bazaars.
Uttar Pradesh
Home to the Taj Mahal — Agra's Mughal monuments make Uttar Pradesh the essential third stop on a private Golden Triangle route from Delhi and Jaipur.
Golden Triangle
India's classic first route — Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur in one private circuit, covering the Red Fort, the Taj Mahal, and Amber Fort in a single journey.
Goa
Goa pairs sunlit beaches with Portuguese-era churches and villas, so a private guide can carry you from a quiet cove to a UNESCO basilica in the same afternoon.
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh climbs from British-era hill stations to Tibetan monastery towns, so a private guide can trade a colonial mall road for a Himalayan valley in a single morning drive.
Meghalaya
Misty hills, living root bridges, and the wettest slopes on Earth. We explore Meghalaya's hill country with a private guide.
Uttarakhand
Yoga on the Ganges, old hill towns, and wide Himalayan views. We explore Uttarakhand's hills with a private guide.
Karnataka
Royal palaces, coffee hills, and a lost imperial city. We explore Karnataka with a private guide.
Madhya Pradesh
Temple carvings and tiger reserves, linked by a private driver through India's central highlands.
Punjab
Sikh heritage and fertile plains, covered by a private driver from temple courtyard to open countryside.
Maharashtra
Mumbai's Victorian Gothic skyline paired with the rock-cut cave temples of Ajanta and Ellora.
West Bengal
Colonial Kolkata and Himalayan tea country, joined by a private guide across two very different Bengals.
Tamil Nadu
Dravidian temple towns and colonial hill stations, toured at a private, unhurried pace.
Kashmir
Houseboats on Dal Lake, Mughal gardens, and alpine meadows, toured at a considered pace.
Ladakh
A high-altitude desert of monasteries, palaces, and sand dunes, toured at a careful pace.
Gujarat
Private luxury tours through Gujarat's white salt desert, UNESCO heritage city, and centuries-old craft villages.
Sikkim
Private luxury tours through Sikkim's Himalayan monasteries, Kanchenjunga viewpoints, and hill-station capital.
Andaman & Nicobar
Private luxury tours through the Andaman Islands' coral reefs, colonial history, and beach coastline.
Frequently Asked
Planning Kerala
How many days should we plan for Kerala?
Most private Kerala itineraries run 5–7 days — enough for Fort Kochi's old town, an overnight houseboat cruise through the Alleppey backwaters, and a slower day either side of the water.
Is the houseboat cruise private, or shared with other guests?
Private, always — your own kettuvallam and crew, not a shared day-boat. The onboard crew cooks meals as you drift and moors away from the day-tour traffic overnight.
When's the best time to visit Kerala?
October through March, same as most of India — outside the June–September monsoon, when the backwaters run fullest but travel is far less comfortable.
Can Kerala be combined with Rajasthan on the same trip?
Yes — Kerala pairs naturally with Rajasthan as a second leg, trading forts and palaces for a slower, water-led backwaters finish.
Kashmir to Kanyakumari
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