Day 1: Mumbai

Following your arrival in Mumbai, transfer to your hotel.

Day 2 : Mumbai

The morning at leisure. In the afternoon a tour of Mumbai will introduce some of the great sights of this commercial centre. Some of the earliest inhabitants of the piece of land, which is now Mumbai were deep-sea fishermen called Kolis, whose stone goddess, Mumbadevi, gave her name to the modern metropolis .

Day 3 : Kochi (Cochin)

Take the early morning flight to Cochin, arriving at your hotel there in mid-morning and spending the afternoon sightseeing. The Chinese cantilevered fishing nets, Jewish synagogues, Portuguese churches, Hindu temples and Dutch fort all make the point that this is a very cosmopolitan city.

Day 4 : Kochi - Munnar

This morning you drive to Munnar, some 4 hours away and a breath of fresh air at a height of 1600 m. in the Western Ghats. Once the summer resort of the British Raj in the south, leafy Munnar has lakes, streams, tea estates and views of Anamudi, south India's highest peak. Munnar is located at the confluence of the mountain streams Muthirappuzha, Chanduvarai and Kundala. It is surrounded by wild jungles and is wet and cold for most of the year.

Day 5 : Periyar

The morning's drive takes you south along the Ghats, past the tea plantations of Devikulam to Lake Periyar and its renowned wildlife sanctuary. The sanctuary surrounds picturesque 26 km² Periyar lake, formed by the building of Mullaperiyar dam in 1895. This reservoir and the Periyar river meander around the contours of the wooded hills, providing a permanent source of water for the local wildlife. In the afternoon you will take to the water (aboard a motor launch) for game viewing.

Day 6 : Kumarakom

In the morning you drive down through tea and then rubber plantations, interspersed with small cardamom, coffee, ginger and pepper-growing estates to tranquil Kumarakom, adjacent to the bird sanctuary on Lake Vembanad. The afternoon is at leisure.

Day 7 : Houseboat cruise

You leave the jetty at Kumarakom aboard a comfortable Kettuvallam houseboat for a 2-night cruise. These simply furnished but comfortable houseboats are equipped with a living room and bedroom (en suite bathroom) and are powered by local oarsmen. Traditionally designed, their plaited palm roofs open out to allow uninterrupted views of fascinating backwater village life along the lagoons and riverbanks that lie at the green heart of Kerala.

Day 8 : Houseboat cruise

Aboard your cruise-boat.

Day 9 : Varkala

After disembarking at Quilon in the morning you drive the short distance (35 km) south to the delightful seaside town of Varkala. Varkala is the only place in southern Kerala where one can find cliffs just adjacent to the Arabian sea. These sedimentary and laterite cliffs are a unique geological feature in the otherwise flat Kerala coast, and is known among geologists as Varkala Formation . Varkala is also famous for its 2,000 years old Janardanaswamy temple. Afternoon at leisure.

Day 10 : Varkala

At leisure. British merchant venturers were here long before tourism was invented; the old abandoned fort at Anjengo a few miles south was an East India Co trading post from about 1680 and provides a fascinating excursion.

Day 11 : Varkala - Kovalam

At leisure, perhaps visiting the beach at Kovalam or the palace at Padmanabhapuram.

Day 12 : Trivandrum - Mumbai

Afternoon drive to Trivandrum for the flight to Mumbai, arriving late afternoon and transferring to the international airport for your late-night flight home.