Exploring Kerala (India): A Journey Through Backwaters, Forests, and Culture
Kerala, on India’s southwest coast, attracts travelers from around the world with its green tea plantations, diverse seafood, peaceful backwater houseboats, biodiverse forests, wellness retreats, and lively arts and cultural traditions.
Often called “God’s Own Country,” Kerala is especially appealing during the monsoon, when the landscape turns even greener and the air feels refreshed. Along the Malabar Coast, you’ll find a blend of ecological diversity and cultural depth, giving travelers plenty of ways to shape their own experience.
Excited to visit the land of elephants, temples, heritage homes and palaces, and fragrant spices?
Trip Planning
Itinerary and Hotels
Fort Kochi
Munnar
Thekkady
Alappuzha
Tips from Travelers
Other References
Travel eSIM for India
Trip Planning
Lonely Planet South India & Kerala and Fodor’s Essential India are two of the best resources for learning about Kerala and planning a trip there. Reddit’s Kerala Tourism Guide offers great first-hand advice to travelers.
Our recommendations for planning a Kerala tour are as follows:
- If you are comparing options, try searching for “private tours Kerala” online to get a sense of what’s available. While group tours are usually more budget‑friendly, they often come with fixed schedules and limited flexibility. Private tours, on the other hand, give you the freedom to customize your day and explore at your own pace - ideal for travelers who value a more personalized experience.
- Book your tour through a trusted tour operator. If a tour operator in your home country does not offer Kerala as a destination, we recommend finding one through Travel Local India. Keralatourism.org and TourRadar are additional resources for planning a tour on your own and finding accredited tour operators, tour guides, transportation, and ecolodges and hotels. Colleagues and business contacts in India or of Indian origin are also good resources for finding well-known Kerala tour operators.
- While TripAdvisor offers a multitude of tours to Kerala’s main attractions, we recommend checking with your tour operator for better deals and trusted guides. Alternatively, if you plan to stay at a resort, ask the front desk about local tours. Booking tours to attractions in advance is highly recommended during the peak season.
- The best time to visit Kerala is generally October to February, offering cool, pleasant weather ideal for beaches, backwaters, and sightseeing, though it is peak season with more crowds. For lush landscapes and fewer people, visit just after the monsoon (September/October). While the monsoon (June-August) brings heavy rains and humidity, it is an ideal time for boat races, yoga retreats, Ayurvedic spa treatments, waterfall visits, and enjoying lush scenery at lower prices.
- Make sure your tour includes a vehicle and drivers. Driving in India is unlike anywhere in the West. Backpackers looking for cheaper means of transport may want to consider trains and buses for travel.
Itinerary and Hotels
In this blog post, we will focus on the classic Kochi-Munnar-Thekkady-Alappuzha-Kochi itinerary. Narrow roads through hilly areas and traffic will very likely slow down travel. We therefore recommend setting aside at least seven days for touring the main attractions instead of the oft-recommended five.
A typical Kerala itinerary could be planned as follows:
- Fly into Kochi (COK) and drive to Fort Kochi, a historic neighborhood, where several large and small heritage homes are available for stays. Spend two nights here.
- Drive to Munnar, which offers several beautiful resorts with mountain views and spas. Spend two nights here.
- Drive to Thekkady, which offers resorts and hotels in the midst of lush greenery and spice gardens. KTDC Lake Palace (also available on booking.com and other travel sites), located in the midst of a jungle, is a heritage home formerly owned by the Maharaja of Travancore and an interesting place to stay. Spend two nights here.
- Drive to Alappuzha (also called Alleppey) or Kumarakom, which are next to Vembanad Lake or the backwaters. Resorts line the edge of the lake, giving travelers an easy way to step onto houseboats for a backwater cruise with a night stay. Spend one night here.
- Drive back to Kochi airport.
This itinerary lets you tour the main attractions at a relaxed pace. There is much to see and experience in Kerala, so if you have the luxury of time, we recommend booking longer stays.
Interested in visiting a coffee farm? Travel up north from Kochi to Wayanad and stay on a coffee farm.
Looking to add a beach stop to your trip? Head south from Kochi toward Kovalam Beach, one of Kerala’s most popular coastal spots. It’s even easier to reach if you’re starting from the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram, which sits just a short drive away. Thiruvanathapuram has recently gained prominence as a top tourist destination for foreigners (ref: FirstPost).
Fort Kochi
About an hourlong drive from Kochi airport, Fort Kochi is a historic port, where centuries of global trade, colonial influence, and local culture blend into a walkable, seaside town. It offers an exciting mix of small cafes, restaurants, shops, coconut vendors, historic homes, churches, and art venues.
Start your day by visiting Fort Kochi’s main sites such as St. Francis Church, Santa Cruz Basilica, Vasco Da Gama’s heritage home, and the beach (visit only, no swimming). Spend the afternoon at Mattancherry Palace and Jew Town, which are a short drive from Fort Kochi. A day is plenty of time to cover these highlights, and it’s worth ending your itinerary with a Kathakali performance at the Kerala Kathakali Centre. The show includes English narration, making it easy for visitors to follow the story and appreciate this traditional art form.
For more ideas, check out this Conde Nast Traveler article: 16 places to visit in Kochi that are not tourist traps. You can book taxis or autorickshaws through Uber, or simply ask your driver to take you to different sights for an additional fee.
Café and restaurant recommendations: Kashi Art Café (Fort Kochi), Ginger House (Mattancherry). Kashi Art Café is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Munnar
Two key outdoor activities in Munnar are visits to tea plantations and the Government Botanical Garden. You may add an optional visit to a tea production plant. These activities could be accomplished within a day.
Spend the next day on a safari in the Eravikulam National Park, which is known for the Nilgiri Tahr, a species closely related to sheep. Alternatively, relax at one of many resorts this area has to offer. Each resort has its own pool, spa, restaurants, and gardens. Enjoy beautiful views of the mountains from your room or a restaurant.
Thekkady
Thekkady is a major town near the Periyar Lake and the Periyar National Park.
We recommend the following activities:
- Tour the Periyar National Park: There are two ways to take a guided tour of the national park: wildlife boat safari and road trip. Boat safaris last a couple of hours while road trips and hikes take longer. Start your day early so that the tour is done by early afternoon. Spot diverse fauna such as tigers, elephants, deer, reptiles, and birds.
- Experience an Elephant Ride: Elephant‑ride experiences are popular among visitors exploring the Periyar region, and several local operators offer structured, tourist‑friendly programs. If you are interested in something more than a short ride, the operators offer longer sessions that include elephant feeding, bathing, and basic demonstrations of commands used by mahouts.
- Watch a Kalaripayattu Show: Kalarippayattu shows in Thekkady are one of the most exciting cultural experiences you can add to your itinerary. They offer a close‑up look at Kerala’s ancient martial art, performed with skill, speed, and precision. These shows are held mainly at Kadathanadan Kalari Centre and similar cultural venues in Kumily, near Thekkady. If you missed watching a Kathakali dance performance in Kochi, the Kalari center is the place to catch a show.
- Visit a Spice Farm: Book a guided tour of a spice farm near Thekkady to get a closer look at the region’s famous plantations. With English‑speaking guides leading the way, you’ll learn how different spices grow and hear how they’re used in local cooking, global cuisines, and traditional Ayurveda. You will also have a chance to buy spices and fragrances from the farm’s shop.
- Visit a Waterfall: While optional, we definitely want to recommend a visit to one of the several waterfalls near Thekkady if you have extra time. You will find a list of the waterfalls in a blog post here.
Alappuzha
Step onto a houseboat and drift through Kerala’s backwaters at an easy, unhurried pace. If you’d like, your captain can arrange for an additional fee a scenic detour to a nearby village, where homes line both sides of a narrow canal, giving you a peaceful glimpse of daily life on the water.
Each houseboat comes with its own chef, so you’ll be treated to freshly prepared meals tailored to your tastes. Many cruises even let you stop at a local market to pick out seafood that will be cooked on board.
Spend the night on the boat, where the quiet evenings are perfect for reading, playing cards, or simply watching the water slip by. When you return to your resort the next day, most places allow houseboat guests to use the same amenities available to those staying on land.
Cuisine
Kerala has its own unique cuisine featuring coconut, curry leaves, and spices. Rice, rice-based dishes such as idiyappam (thin rice noodles), and parotta (fluffy flatbread) accompany coconut-based curries.
Kerala cuisine is vegetarian and non-vegetarian friendly. Some restaurants may serve red meat or pork depending on their religious affiliation or location.
Being a coastal state, Kerala offers several varieties of seafood. Meen Pullichathu (fish cooked in spices and wrapped in banana leaf) and Meen Molee (mildly spiced fish and vegetables cooked in coconut milk, mustard seeds, and curry leaves) are especially recommended.
Tips from Travelers
- Drinking hot water infused with Pathimugam (Sappan) wood extract is pretty common in Kerala. Most travelers purchase distilled water bottles while on tours.
- Eat fully cooked food and avoid raw vegetables. Avoid eating food from street vendors until your stomach gets used to the local environment.
- English is widely spoken in most tourist areas, so there is no need to learn the local language.
- Pack walking or hiking shoes, rain jackets/ponchos (if visiting in the monsoon season), water bottles, sunscreen, and binoculars.
- Tour operators are accustomed to communicating with international travelers on WhatsApp. Having a travel eSIM installed on your phone will certainly help.
- Cash and credit cards are accepted by most establishments. Consider getting an international debit card such as those offered by Wise or Revolut. Transfer cash quickly and easily to them and use your phone's wallet to pay everywhere.
- Tipping in restaurants is optional. Do tip your drivers and tour guides.
- Avoid aggressive taxi and autorickshaw drivers. Licensed taxis and autorickshaws are generally safe, but some drivers may overcharge or take longer routes. To avoid scams, consider pre-booking through Uber or services recommended by the hotel concierge.
Other references
Wikivoyage - Kerala Backwaters
TripAdvisor - Kerala Travel Forum
Image Sources
All images belong to the author