Green Earth Trails · Kerala & South India
16 days through Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka
Program Overview
Most South India tours pick one thread — temples, or backwaters, or hills — and follow it. This one follows several. Sixteen days is what it takes to move properly through three states: to sit with a Tamil farming family at Sethumadai, to wake up in a planter’s bungalow in Valparai with tea estates rolling away in every direction, to watch a Theyyam performer transform into a deity in a village temple in Malabar, to walk through Kalamandalam on an afternoon when classical dance students are mid-rehearsal, and to end sixteen days later among the 12th-century stone carvings at Belur and Halebidu. This is a private tour with one car, one driver, and English-speaking local guides at every significant stop. It is designed for travellers who have either been to India before and want a deeper cut, or who are coming for the first time and want to skip the predictable circuit. The tour begins in Fort Kochi and ends in Bangalore, moving west to east across the Western Ghats.
Day by Day
Transfer · 1.5 hours · Backwater Cruise
Our driver meets you at Cochin International Airport and transfers you to Fort Kochi, a ninety-minute drive along the coast. Fort Kochi is the old colonial harbour quarter, compact and walkable, separated from the modern city of Ernakulam by a small ferry crossing. Check in and settle in. If you arrive on an overnight flight, the afternoon is yours to recover. In the early evening, a short motor boat cruise through the backwaters and harbour channels — the same waterways that made Kochi a natural port for Portuguese, Dutch and British traders for five centuries.
Heritage Walk · Jew Town · Kathakali
An English-speaking guide meets you after breakfast for a walking tour of Fort Kochi and Mattancherry. The route takes in the Chinese fishing nets on the harbour front, St. Francis Church (built by the Portuguese in 1503, the oldest European church in India), the Dutch Palace at Mattancherry with its remarkable Kerala mural paintings, and the Paradesi Synagogue, the oldest active synagogue in the Commonwealth. The tour runs for two and a half to three hours. The afternoon is free — Fort Kochi’s streets, cafés and small galleries repay slow exploration on foot. In the evening, a Kathakali performance at a local theatre, beginning with the full backstage makeup preparation before the performance itself.
Transfer · 2.5 hours · Private Houseboat · Village Canoe
After breakfast, drive south to Alleppey, the centre of Kerala’s backwater country. On arrival, board your private houseboat — a traditional kettuvallam rice barge converted with a bedroom, bathroom, dining area and open deck. Lunch is served on board as you cruise through the main canals. In the late afternoon, a country canoe takes you into narrower channels where the houseboat cannot reach, through working fishing villages and past paddy fields. Dinner and overnight on the boat, moored in a quiet backwater away from the main traffic.
Transfer · 4 hours · Spice Garden
The houseboat disembarks after breakfast and you begin the four-hour drive up into the cardamom country of the Western Ghats. The road climbs steadily from the coastal lowlands into dense shade forest where pepper vines, cinnamon trees and the unmistakable green pods of cardamom line the roadside. On arrival at Thekkady, visit a working spice garden where a guide walks you through the plants behind the spices in your kitchen at various stages — raw, harvested, processed and dried. Check in at the resort for two nights.
Forest Trail · Boat Safari · Kalaripayattu
An early morning forest trail inside Periyar Tiger Reserve, led by a trained tribal guide from the forest communities whose knowledge of these ecosystems stretches back generations. Groups are limited to six, which means genuine quiet and genuine wildlife possibility. The trail runs for four to five kilometres through evergreen forest and grassland on the edge of Periyar lake, taking two and a half to three hours. In the afternoon, a group boat safari on the Periyar reservoir — elephant, sambar deer, Indian gaur and otter are regularly seen from the water. In the evening, a Kalaripayattu performance at a local theatre: Kerala’s ancient martial art, the world’s oldest codified fighting system, and the precursor of most Asian martial traditions.
Transfer · 3.5 hours · Meenakshi Temple
Leave the cardamom hills and descend into the Tamil plains, a three-and-a-half-hour drive. Madurai is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in India, with a history stretching back more than two thousand years, and it served as the capital of the Pandya kingdom for centuries. On arrival, your local guide takes you to the Meenakshi Amman Temple complex — the heart of the old city, dedicated to the goddess Meenakshi and her consort Sundareswarar, with towering gateway gopurams covered in thousands of painted sculptures. In the evening, return for the nightly closing ceremony, and travel back to the hotel by tuk-tuk through the old streets.
Transfer · 3 hours · Farm Tour · Rural Tamil Nadu
Drive east toward Sethumadai, a farming village in the foothills of the Western Ghats on the eastern side — not a tourist destination, but a working agrarian community that grows coconuts intercropped with cocoa, pepper, nutmeg and vanilla. On arrival, check in at your accommodation and later in the afternoon proceed for a guided farm tour. This is the part of Tamil Nadu most tours skip entirely — a part of the economy, not a heritage display. You will see how the crops are grown, harvested and processed, and meet the families who have farmed this land for generations. The pace here is deliberately slow.
Transfer · 2 hours · Planter’s Bungalow · Tea Factory
A two-hour drive brings you up to Valparai, a hill town in the Anaimalai range at around 1,000 metres above sea level. Valparai is a high-altitude plantation country most tourists never hear about, and its tea estates stretch across the ridges in every direction. You check in at a colonial-era plantation bungalow — nineteenth-century architecture, mountain silence, often elephant tracks around the property at night. In the late afternoon, visit a working tea factory within the estate where orthodox tea is still produced. Valparai is also one of the best places in South India for wildlife: leopard, Lion-tailed Macaque and elephant are regular residents.
Transfer · 3.5 hours · Rainforest Drive · Waterfall Walk
After breakfast, begin the descent from Valparai through one of the most dramatic forest drives in South India. The road winds down through tea estates into dense evergreen rainforest, passing through a protected biodiversity corridor where Great Indian Hornbills, Lion-tailed Macaques, giant squirrels and occasionally elephants can be sighted from the car. A local guide accompanies you to interpret what you are seeing. By afternoon you arrive at Athirapally, home to one of Kerala’s last intact shola rainforests and the Athirapally waterfalls. A guided walk along the Chalakudy river takes you to the base of the falls. Overnight at Thrissur, an hour away.
Kalamandalam Masters · Train Journey · Arrive Kannur
Drive to Cheruthuruthy for the "Day with the Masters" program at Kalamandalam, India’s most respected institution for classical Indian performing arts. You visit the training rooms for Kathakali (acting, makeup, vocal music and choreography), Mohiniyattam, Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Koodiyattam and the percussion instruments of Kerala. This is a working school, not a performance — students are mid-practice, and you sit in on the training that produces the country’s classical dance masters. After lunch, board a train north along the Malabar coast toward Kannur. The train journey is the point: coconut groves, paddy fields, small fishing villages and river estuaries pass by at ground level. Check in at Kannur.
Drive-in Beach · Handloom · St. Angelo Fort · Theyyam (Nov-May)
A day in the Malabar, the part of Kerala most tourists never reach. Visit St. John’s Church on the Arabian Sea, and then the drive-in beach at Muzhapilangad where cars are actually permitted on the sand. In Kannur itself, visit a local handloom unit and a beedi-making unit — two occupations that define the local economy. St. Angelo Fort, built by the Portuguese in 1505, was one of the first European forts on India’s west coast. The evening is reserved for Theyyam, subject to season and the local temple calendar. Theyyam is a ritual performance in which the performer is believed to embody the deity — an ancient practice, pre-Hindu in origin, still living, performed in temple courtyards with drums, fire and hours of preparation. November to May only.
Transfer · 3 hours · Coffee Plantation
Leave Kerala and cross into Karnataka, a three-hour drive through shifting landscape and dialect. Coorg — officially Kodagu — is India’s coffee capital, a high plateau in the Western Ghats where the air changes noticeably and the soil produces some of the best coffee in the country. Check in at a coffee plantation retreat surrounded by working estates, waterfalls and shola forest. The afternoon and evening are deliberately unscheduled: in-house plantation activities, a short walk through the estate, or simply the silence of coffee country. The resort can arrange a coffee-tasting session if you would like one.
Transfer · 3 hours · Tibetan Monastery
An unexpected interlude on the drive from Coorg to Hassan: Bylakuppe, the largest Tibetan settlement outside Tibet, established in 1961 for Tibetan refugees who fled the Chinese occupation. The settlement is home to the Namdroling Monastery, a vast complex of Tibetan Buddhist architecture, gilded prayer halls and hundreds of resident monks. You can wander the monastery grounds and watch the rhythms of monastic life. Continue on to Hassan and check in at the resort. The rest of the day is at leisure, with in-house activities available at the property.
Transfer · 4 hours · Belur · Halebidu
After breakfast, visit the 12th-century Hoysala temples at Belur and Halebidu, listed together as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. What makes these temples remarkable is the sheer density and finesse of the stone carving — every surface of every wall, pillar and ceiling is sculpted, some figures no larger than a fingernail and still astonishingly detailed. A guide walks you through the iconography and the history of the Hoysala dynasty, whose artistic legacy is considered the equal of anything in India. In the afternoon, drive to Mysore — the cultural capital of Karnataka and the old seat of the Wodeyar kings. Check in and settle in; the next day is dedicated to Mysore itself.
Mysore Palace · Silk Factory · Chamundi Hills
A full day in Mysore. Start at the Mysore Palace, the magnificent Wodeyar seat, whose Indo-Saracenic architecture and intricate interior takes two to three hours to explore properly. Move to the government silk weaving unit, where Mysore’s famous silk sarees are still woven by hand on traditional looms. Return to the hotel for rest during the hottest part of the afternoon. In the evening, drive up to Chamundi Hills for panoramic views over Mysore and a visit to the ancient Chamundeshwari Temple at the summit — the patron deity of the Wodeyars. The Mahishasura statue and the Nandi bull are both worth the short walks off the main temple path.
Transfer · 3 hours · Airport
After breakfast, begin the drive to Bangalore. Transfer to Kempegowda International Airport for your onward departure in the evening or the following morning, according to your flight.
What's covered
Included
Not included
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is this tour actually designed for?
This tour is for travellers who have either been to India before and want a deeper cut than the standard circuit, or who are coming for the first time and specifically want to avoid the predictable temple-and-backwater route. If your priority is depth over breadth — spending proper time with a farming family, watching a Theyyam performance start to finish, walking through Kalamandalam’s training rooms rather than attending a staged performance — this tour is built for you. If you are looking for a fast highlights tour, the 7-day or 12-day Kerala programs may suit you better.
When can I see Theyyam? Is it guaranteed?
Theyyam performances take place between November and May in village temples across the Malabar region. Dates and locations vary by temple calendar and cannot be predicted more than a few weeks in advance. If you travel within the season, we coordinate with local contacts to identify a performance happening during your Kannur nights. Outside the season, Theyyam cannot be seen live — but we can arrange a visit to a Theyyam artist’s home to see the costumes, makeup preparation and discussion of the tradition. We are transparent about this at the quoting stage.
How physically demanding is the tour?
Moderate overall. The two most demanding activities are the Periyar forest trail (4-5 km, 2.5 hours, gentle terrain) and the Athirapally waterfall walk (roughly 1 km, some steps). Everything else is easy walking. Guests with limited mobility can substitute the Periyar trail with a lake boat cruise and we can simplify the Athirapally visit. Driving days are moderate in length — the longest is Thekkady to Madurai at 3.5 hours. Most transfers are 2-4 hours with scenic stops.
What is the best time of year for this tour?
October to March is the ideal window across the whole route. Theyyam is only available November to May, so if Theyyam is a priority, November through March is the sweet spot that combines good weather with available ritual dates. April and May bring heat in the Tamil plains but are still workable, particularly in the hill sections (Valparai, Coorg, Munnar). June to September is monsoon across Kerala — the landscape is extraordinary, the Athirapally waterfalls are at their most powerful, and hotel rates are lower, but several activities including the forest trails may be affected.
Is Sethumadai worth a full day?
Yes, if you understand what it is. Sethumadai is not a tourist destination — it is a working agricultural village in a part of Tamil Nadu that visitors rarely reach. What you experience there is ordinary rural South India: how coconut, cocoa, pepper and nutmeg are grown in the same fields, how a farming family’s day is structured, the taste of a meal cooked on a wood fire from that day’s produce. The day has no dramatic monument, no heritage set-piece. If that is what you’re looking for, skip this tour. If you want to understand rural Tamil Nadu at pace, a day at Sethumadai is worth more than three temple visits.
What kind of accommodation is included?
Three tiers are offered: Midrange, Premium and Classic. The itinerary is identical across tiers; only the accommodation changes. We prioritise character properties over large chain hotels — plantation bungalows at Valparai and Coorg, heritage hotels at Madurai and Mysore, CGH Earth and similar at Thekkady and Kannur, private houseboats at Alleppey. Accommodation at Sethumadai is the most basic stop on the tour as there are no luxury options there; this is deliberate, and is part of what the day is about.
Can the itinerary be customised?
Yes. This is a framework, not a fixed itinerary. Common adjustments include extending the Kerala segment with Munnar or Alleppey, adding Wayanad or Bandipur for more wildlife time, replacing Mysore’s silk unit with a Mysuru cooking class, or swapping Hassan’s Hoysala temples for a longer Mysore stay. We are happy to shape the program around your specific interests, travel dates and pace.
How do I book this tour?
Send an enquiry through the website or WhatsApp us on +91 94009 46800. We reply personally within 24 hours with a detailed proposal, accommodation options and pricing for your chosen tier. Once confirmed, a 60% advance secures the bookings at each property and the balance is due on arrival in Kochi.
Also available · Small group tour
If you are travelling solo or as a couple and want the convenience of a ready-made program with fixed dates and transparent pricing, our small group fixed departure is designed for you.
From ₹24,000 per person · Single supplement available
Get in touch
Tell us your travel dates, group size and any specific requirements. We will come back to you within 24 hours with a detailed proposal.
We respond within 24 hours · hello@greenearthtrails.com · +91 94009 46800 (WhatsApp)
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