Green Earth Trails · Kerala & South India
Fort Kochi · Munnar · Thekkady · Kumarakom · Alleppey · Mararikulam
Program Overview
Twelve days is the right amount of time to travel Kerala without rushing. This program moves through the full range of the state, the colonial harbour town of Fort Kochi, the tea and forest country of the Western Ghats, the backwater villages of Kumarakom, a night aboard a private houseboat on the Alleppey canals, and three nights at Mararikulam on the Arabian Sea coast. The itinerary is built around experiences that require time to settle into, a guided heritage walk through Jew Town and Fort Kochi, a morning trek through a working tea estate, a three-hour forest trail inside Periyar Tiger Reserve, a Syrian Christian lunch cooked at a family home, a village tour by country canoe through the Kumarakom backwaters. At Mararikulam you have three unhurried nights at a beach property with no fixed programme, after eleven days of movement.
Day by Day
Transfer · 1.5 hours
Our driver meets you at Cochin International Airport and transfers you to Fort Kochi, a 1.5 hour drive along the coast. Fort Kochi is an 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 have arrived on an overnight flight from Europe or the UK, the afternoon is yours to recover at your own pace. In the early evening, we have arranged a short motor boat cruise through the backwaters and harbour channels of Kochi, the same waterways that made this a natural port for Portuguese, Dutch and British traders for five centuries. Return to the hotel for dinner.
Heritage Walk · Jew Town · Kathakali
An English-speaking local 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, still operated by local fishermen families each morning, St. Francis Church, the oldest European church in India built by the Portuguese in 1503, the Dutch Palace at Mattancherry with its extraordinary Kerala mural paintings, and the Paradeshi Synagogue, the oldest active synagogue in the Commonwealth, in the heart of Jew Town. The tour runs for two and a half to three hours. The afternoon is free, Fort Kochi's streets, cafes and small galleries repay slow exploration on foot. In the evening, a Kathakali performance at a local theatre. Kathakali is Kerala's classical dance drama, watch the full preparation sequence, where artists paint elaborate facial colours by hand, before the performance itself.
Transfer · 4 hours · Tea Estate Walk
After breakfast, drive up into the Western Ghats to Munnar, a four-hour ascent through rubber estates, small towns and increasingly dramatic mountain road. Munnar sits at around 1,600 metres above sea level and is surrounded by some of the largest contiguous tea plantations in South India, established by European planters in the second half of the nineteenth century across thirteen million acres leased from the Poonjar royal family. Check in at the resort. In the late afternoon, a plantation walk through the working estate surrounding the property, an English-speaking guide explains the cultivation, the picking cycle, the difference between orthodox and CTC processing, and the economics of a tea estate today. Temperature in Munnar is noticeably cooler than the lowlands.
Eravikulam · Lockhart Tea Factory · Town Market
A full day in and around Munnar with a local English-speaking guide. The morning begins at Eravikulam National Park, which wraps around the Anamudi peak, at 2,695 metres, the highest point in South India. The park is the primary habitat of the Nilgiri Tahr, an endangered mountain goat found only in the Western Ghats, and the population here is one of the most accessible in the world. From the park, drive through Munnar town past the vegetable market, a good stop to see local produce and the daily rhythm of a hill town, to the Lockhart Tea Factory. This is an orthodox processing factory, smaller and older than the large CTC estates, where tea leaves go through withering, rolling, oxidation and firing by hand and traditional machine. The difference between orthodox and the industrial crush-tear-curl method is immediately visible. Return to the resort for lunch. The afternoon is yours, walk the estate, use the pool, or simply sit with the view.
Transfer · 3 hours · Spice Garden
Check out after breakfast and drive three hours south into the cardamom country. The road from Munnar to Thekkady crosses a distinct ecological transition, the open tea uplands give way to denser woodland, the temperature rises slightly, and from about halfway the roadsides are lined with cardamom plantations growing in the shade of the forest canopy. The Erstwhile Travancore kingdom encouraged cardamom cultivation here precisely because the existing woodland provided natural shade cover. On arrival at Thekkady, visit a working spice garden. A guide walks you through cardamom, pepper, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and vanilla at various stages, raw plant, harvested, processed and dried. Check in at the resort for two nights.
Periyar Forest Trail · Kalaripayattu
An early morning forest trail inside Periyar Tiger Reserve, one of the most important wildlife corridors in South India and a designated Tiger Reserve since 1978. The trail runs for four to five kilometres through evergreen forest, moist deciduous woodland and marshy grassland on the edge of the Periyar lake, and takes two and a half to three hours. A Forest Department guide accompanies the group throughout. The walk is not a guaranteed wildlife sighting, it is a forest immersion, and the chance of seeing elephant, sambar deer, wild boar, giant squirrel, hornbills and numerous other species is real but dependent on the morning. In the evening, a Kalaripayattu performance at a local theatre. Kalaripayattu is Kerala's ancient martial art, the world's oldest codified fighting system, the precursor of most Asian martial arts traditions. The performance demonstrates weapons work with swords, daggers, the flexible Urumi blade and long staves, alongside the extraordinary physical flexibility that the training produces.
Transfer · 3 hours · Syrian Christian Lunch · Sunset Cruise
Check out after breakfast and drive three hours west and down into the lowland backwater country. En route, stop at a Syrian Christian home for lunch, a meal cooked by the family and served in the house, not a restaurant. Syrian Christian cuisine is one of Kerala's most distinctive food cultures: duck roast, fish molee, appam, stew, rice puttu, beef fry, cooked with techniques that trace back fifteen centuries to the arrival of St. Thomas the Apostle on the Malabar coast. Kumarakom is a village on the eastern shore of Vembanad lake, Kerala's largest lake and the central artery of the backwater system. Check in at the lakeside resort. The afternoon is for the lake, houseboats move slowly past, fishing boats work the shallows, egrets and kingfishers work the reed edges. A sunset backwater cruise is arranged from the resort jetty in the evening.
Village Tour · Country Canoe · Houseboat
After breakfast, check out and spend one and a half to two hours on a backwater village tour of Kumarakom before driving to Alleppey. The village tour is partly by country canoe through narrow channels and partly on foot through the village lanes, mat weaving, toddy tapping, paddy cultivation, traditional fishing by hand net. This is the working backwater economy, not a curated heritage display. Drive one hour to Alleppey to board your private houseboat, a traditional kettuvallam built with coir, bamboo and timber and fitted with a bedroom, bathroom, dining area and viewing deck. A crew of three manages the vessel. The houseboat moves through the main canals and smaller lateral channels through the afternoon, stopping at a quieter mooring by early evening. Lunch, high tea, dinner and next morning's breakfast are all served on board with a Kerala backwater menu.
Disembark · Transfer 45 min · Beach Arrival
The houseboat restarts after breakfast and cruises through the morning backwaters before you disembark and drive forty-five minutes to Mararikulam on the Arabian Sea coast. Mararikulam is a working fisherman's village with a long, quiet beach, the fishing boats go out before dawn and return mid-morning, and the beach itself is clean and largely uncommercialised compared to Kovalam or Varkala further south. Check in at your beach resort for three nights. The rest of the day and the following two days are entirely at your own pace, use the pool, walk the beach, watch the fishing boats come in, arrange an ayurvedic massage at the resort, or do nothing at all. This is the deliberate end to the itinerary after eleven days of movement.
At Leisure · Beach · Optional Ayurveda
A full free day at Mararikulam. The beach resorts here have their own programmes, cooking demonstrations, village walks, cycle hire, fishing excursions, available on request. The beach is best in the early morning and late afternoon when the light is lower and the fishermen are active. An ayurvedic treatment is a natural fit for the end of a long journey, the resorts here have in-house Ayurveda centres and will arrange a consultation and treatment.
Free Day · Village Walk · Cooking Class
Final full day at Mararikulam. A gentle morning on the beach or at the resort. If you have not yet done the village walk or a local cooking class, today is the day. The village behind the resort is a large fishing community, the boat yard where traditional wooden boats are built and repaired, the fish landing area in the morning, the small temples and churches that mark the neighbourhood boundaries. A two-hour walk with a local guide covers all of this and returns you to the resort by late morning.
Departure Transfer · 2 hours
Check out and transfer to Cochin International Airport, approximately two hours from Mararikulam. Allow three hours before departure for international flights, two hours for domestic. Our driver will time the pickup accordingly based on your flight.
Accommodation & Pricing
| Destination | Midrange | Premium | Classic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Kochi - 2 nights | Dutch Bungalow | Fragrant Nature | Brunton Boatyard |
| Munnar - 2 nights | Tall Trees | The Valle | Le Montfort |
| Thekkady - 2 nights | Greenwoods | HIlls & Hues | Spice Village |
| Kumarakom - 1 night | Rythmn Kumarakom | CGH Earth Coconut Lagoon | Kumarakom Lake Resort |
| Alleppey - 1 night | Premium Houseboat (Private) | Luxury Houseboat (Private) | Luxury Houseboat (Private) |
| Marari Beach - 3 nights | Marari Beach Bungalow | Xandari Pearl Marari | Marari Beach Resort |
| Rates upto 31st May 2027 | ₹ 100,00 per person | ₹ 150,000 per person | ₹ 195,000 per person |
| The above rates are per person prices based on two adults traveling together | |||
| Kindly get in touch if you are traveling with more than 2 adults or require any further customisations for the program. | |||
What's covered
Included
Not included
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best time of year for this tour?
September to March is the best window. October to February is peak season, the weather is dry, wildlife sightings in Periyar are more frequent and the beach at Mararikulam is at its best. April and May are hot but manageable. June to August is monsoon season, the Western Ghats receive very heavy rainfall and some activities may be affected, though the landscape is extraordinary and prices are lower.
Is this tour suitable for older travellers or those with limited mobility?
Yes, with some adaptation. The forest trail in Periyar (Day 6) is the most physically demanding element, around 4-5 km on uneven forest terrain. This can be substituted with a Periyar lake boat cruise, which offers good wildlife viewing from the water without the walking. Everything else in the program is accessible. Please tell us in advance and we will plan accordingly.
Can the itinerary be modified?
Yes. Twelve days is a framework, not a fixed schedule. Common modifications include adding Wayanad between Munnar and Thekkady for a second wildlife experience, replacing the Mararikulam beach stay with Kovalam or Varkala for travellers who prefer a livelier beach town, or adding a Kerala cooking class in Kochi or Kumarakom. Tell us what you are looking for and we will adjust.
How many people travel together on this tour?
This is a fully private tour, the vehicle, guide and all arrangements are exclusively for your group. The price is per person based on a minimum of two adults. There is no maximum, though groups larger than six will require a second vehicle.
What are the accommodation options and price differences?
Three accommodation tiers are available. Type 1 uses well-regarded guesthouses and mid-range resorts, comfortable, character-filled properties at each destination. Type 2 steps up to boutique resorts and heritage properties. Type 3 uses the finest properties at each stop, including CGH Earth and IHCL SeleQtions hotels. The day-by-day itinerary and all included experiences are identical across all three tiers, only the accommodation changes.
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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