Kerala (Munnar Thekkady Alleppey) Tour Package from Coimbatore (6 Days)

Our driver picks you up from your hotel or home in Coimbatore in the morning. Drive from Coimbatore to Munnar (about 153 km, 3 hrs 15 min). Check in at your hotel in Munnar. The road up from the plains winds through rubber and then tea estates, with the Cheeyappara and Valara waterfalls right beside the highway; stop for photos and a cup of tea at a roadside stall. Reach Munnar by afternoon and check in. Take an easy evening walk around the town market, where you can buy fresh tea, homemade chocolate and spices. Nights in Munnar are cool for most of the year, so keep a light jacket handy. Overnight stay in Munnar.

1. 1

   Cheeyappara and Valara waterfalls

   Two cascades on the Kochi–Munnar road, at their fullest from June to November. They are an easy stop, right beside the road.

2. 2

   Munnar town market

   A small, busy market for tea, cardamom, pepper and Munnar's homemade chocolate.

Start at 8 am for Eravikulam National Park, before the queue for the park bus builds up; the park is usually closed for a few weeks in February–March for the Nilgiri tahr calving season. In the afternoon, see how tea is made at the Tea Museum and then drive out to Mattupetty Dam and Echo Point among the tea gardens. Kundala Lake, further along the same road, is good for a short pedal-boat ride before you head back to town. Overnight stay in Munnar.

1. 1

   Eravikulam National Park

   Rolling grasslands below Anamudi, the highest peak in South India, and the home of the endangered Nilgiri tahr. A park bus takes visitors up from the gate; allow about three hours.

2. 2

   Tea Museum

   Run by Tata Tea, it shows the history of tea in Munnar and has a working section where the leaf is processed. Allow about an hour.

3. 3

   Mattupetty Dam

   A reservoir set among tea estates, with speed boats and pedal boats. Wild elephants are sometimes seen on the far bank.

4. 4

   Echo Point and Kundala Lake

   A lake shore known for its echo, and a quieter lake further on with pedal boats and shikaras.

Today's travel: from Munnar to Thekkady (about 87 km, 1 hr 45 min). Leave Munnar after breakfast and drive south through cardamom hills to Thekkady, about three and a half hours away. After lunch, join a guided walk through a spice plantation to see how cardamom, pepper, cloves and vanilla are grown. In the evening, watch a Kathakali or Kalaripayattu show at one of the cultural centres in Kumily; shows usually start around 5 pm and 6 pm. Overnight stay in Thekkady.

1. 1

   Spice plantation walk

   A one-hour guided walk through cardamom, pepper, nutmeg and coffee, with spices for sale at the end.

2. 2

   Kathakali or Kalaripayattu show

   Kerala's classical dance-drama with its painted faces, or the martial art said to be the oldest in India.

3. 3

   Kumily spice market

   The town on the edge of the reserve, lined with shops selling spices, tea and handicrafts.

Today's travel: from Thekkady to Alappuzha (about 142 km, 2 hrs 45 min). Start early for a boat ride on Periyar Lake inside the tiger reserve, where elephants, gaur and birds come down to the water in the morning; the first trips leave around 7:30 am and tickets sell out, so the earlier the better. Then drive down to Alleppey, about four hours away. In the afternoon, go out on a shikara through the narrow canals of the backwaters, past paddy fields and village homes. Spend the night at a lakeside hotel (an overnight houseboat can be arranged at extra cost). Overnight stay in Alappuzha.

1. 1

   Periyar Lake boat ride

   A 90-minute ride on the lake inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve, the best way to see elephants and birds at the water's edge.

2. 2

   Alleppey backwaters by shikara

   A covered country boat through narrow canals where the big houseboats cannot go, past paddy fields, churches and toddy shops.

3. 3

   Alappuzha Beach

   A wide beach with an old pier and lighthouse, pleasant at sunset.

Today's travel: from Alappuzha to Kochi (about 55 km, 1 hr). Drive to Kochi, about an hour and a half away, and spend the afternoon in Fort Kochi and Mattancherry, the old port quarter where Chinese, Arab, Portuguese, Dutch and British traders all left their mark. Most of the sights are close together and easy to cover on foot. End the day at the Chinese fishing nets on the sea front at sunset. The Jew Town shops and the Paradesi Synagogue are closed on Fridays and Saturdays, so plan around that. Overnight stay in Kochi.

1. 1

   Chinese fishing nets

   Huge cantilevered nets on the Fort Kochi shore, still worked by hand. Fishermen often let visitors help haul them in.

2. 2

   St Francis Church

   The oldest European church in India, where Vasco da Gama was first buried.

3. 3

   Mattancherry Palace

   The "Dutch Palace", with some of the finest Ramayana murals in Kerala.

4. 4

   Jew Town and Paradesi Synagogue

   A lane of antique and spice shops leading to the 16th-century synagogue with its Chinese floor tiles.

Spend a relaxed morning in Kochi: walk along Marine Drive, or shop for spices, tea and Kerala handloom on MG Road and at Lulu Mall. Check out by noon and start back. Drive from Kochi to Coimbatore (about 192 km, 3 hrs 45 min), and drop at your hotel, home or the railway station in Coimbatore. The tour ends here.

1. 1

   Marine Drive

   The promenade along the backwater, with boat jetties and views of the harbour.

2. 2

   Leave for Coimbatore.