Alleppey Houseboat, Thekkady & Munnar Tour Package – 5 Days

Your Kerala holiday begins on the backwaters, the experience most travellers dream of before they arrive. Your driver meets you at Kochi airport or Ernakulam railway station and drives you south to Alleppey, now officially called Alappuzha, about two hours away. As the car leaves the city behind, Kerala's green, watery world opens up: coconut palms crowd the roadside, canals and rivers glint between the trees, and the road passes churches, temples and mosques, often within sight of one another, a reminder of how many faiths have lived peacefully side by side here for centuries.

Around noon you board your private houseboat and leave the roads behind. Your kettuvallam is a traditional Kerala rice barge transformed into a floating home, with a curved roof of woven bamboo and palm leaves, polished wooden floors, a comfortable bedroom with an attached bathroom, a sitting area and an open deck at the front with chairs and a dining table. The crew, usually a captain, a cook and a deckhand, welcomes you on board with a cool drink and shows you around, and then the boat slips away from the jetty into the backwaters.

Through the afternoon you cruise along palm-lined canals and across wide lakes, passing paddy fields, village churches and fishermen in small canoes, while the crew cooks a Kerala lunch on board. The backwaters are a world where water is the main road. Children travel to school by ferry, the postman delivers letters by boat, and village shops sell their goods from the water's edge. You'll see women washing clothes on stone steps, men casting circular nets from narrow canoes, and flocks of ducks herded along the canals by farmers with long poles. In the open lakes, the water stretches wide and silver to a far green shore, and the breeze is fresh and cool.

Lunch is a feast of home-style Kerala cooking: steaming red rice, a fish curry made with coconut milk and kudampuli, the smoky sour fruit that gives Kerala fish curry its distinctive flavour, crisp fried fish, vegetable thoran, sambar, pappadam and pickles. In the late afternoon, enjoy tea and banana fritters on deck as the boat glides on.

This part of Kerala, known as Kuttanad, is one of the most remarkable farming landscapes in the world. Much of it lies one to two metres below sea level, and farmers have grown rice here for generations in fields reclaimed from Vembanad Lake, protected by earthen dykes and drained by pumps. The United Nations has recognised it as a globally important agricultural heritage system. Depending on the season, you'll see the paddy fields flooded and newly planted, bright green with young rice, or golden and ready for harvest.

The boat moors for the night at about 5:30 PM, as local rules require, and dinner is served on deck. As the sun sets over the paddy fields, the sky turns orange, pink and violet, and the palms stand in silhouette against it, their reflections shimmering in the still water. After dark, the backwaters grow quiet and peaceful, with only the chorus of frogs and crickets and the occasional splash of a fish. Sit out on deck and look up at the stars, bright and clear far from the lights of the city.

Houseboats have become one of the most famous symbols of Kerala, and there's a good reason why. Nowhere else in India can you spend a night drifting through such a peaceful, green, watery world, with your own crew to cook and care for you, and nothing to do but watch the scenery and relax. Many travellers say it's the most restful night of their whole holiday.

The backwaters are also wonderful for birdwatching. Look out for several kinds of kingfisher, from the tiny, brilliant blue common kingfisher to the large stork-billed kingfisher, as well as darters with their long snake-like necks, purple herons standing perfectly still in the reeds, little cormorants drying their wings, and Brahminy kites circling overhead, their chestnut-and-white plumage shining in the sun. In the evening, flocks of egrets fly in to roost in the trees, filling the sky with white.

If you'd like, your crew can stop at a village so you can stretch your legs along the narrow paths between the paddy fields, or buy fresh fish, prawns or crab from local fishermen to cook for your dinner, at a small extra cost.

Wake early tomorrow if you can: dawn on the backwaters, with mist on the water and the villages slowly coming to life, is one of the most beautiful moments of the whole trip.

Included today: pick-up at Kochi airport or railway station, private car to Alleppey, private houseboat with lunch and dinner on board.

Good to know: drive about 2 hours. Bedrooms are air-conditioned at night. See our Alleppey houseboat packages to compare boats.

Start the day on deck, watching the backwaters wake up in the soft morning light, with mist drifting over the water and birds calling from the palms. After a short morning cruise and breakfast on board, leave the boat by 9 AM and drive about four hours east into the hills to Thekkady.

The drive takes you from the flat green lowlands of the coast up into the Western Ghats. You pass through busy market towns and then into the rubber country around Kottayam, one of Kerala's oldest centres of trade, education and printing, often called the land of letters. Then the road climbs into the Cardamom Hills, through pepper and cardamom plantations shaded by tall trees, tea gardens on the higher slopes, and patches of thick forest, with views opening out over deep, green valleys. The air becomes cooler and fragrant with spices, and small villages cling to the hillsides.

Thekkady sits on the border of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, on the edge of the Periyar Tiger Reserve, one of the best-known wildlife reserves in India. In the afternoon, take the boat ride on Periyar Lake inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve, watching for elephants, gaur and sambar deer at the water's edge. The lake was created in 1895, when the Mullaperiyar Dam was built across the Periyar River, and the trunks of the trees drowned by the rising water still stand in the lake, bare and silvery, more than a century later. Cormorants and darters perch on them to dry their wings. As the boat glides along, the forest rises steeply on both sides, and grassy clearings along the shore draw animals down to drink. Herds of elephants are often seen wading and bathing in the shallows, the calves sticking close to their mothers, and gaur, the massive wild cattle of India, graze on the slopes.

In the evening, choose a Kathakali or Kalaripayattu show, or a guided walk through a cardamom and pepper plantation. Kathakali, Kerala's spectacular classical dance-drama, tells stories from the great epics through expressive faces and hands, with performers in elaborate costumes and vivid green, red and white make-up. Kalaripayattu, an ancient martial art said to be one of the oldest in the world, is a thrilling display of leaps, kicks, sword fights and flexibility, performed in a sunken arena by the light of oil lamps. A plantation walk shows you how cardamom, the queen of spices, grows in clumps beneath the trees, how pepper vines climb up their supports, and how cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and vanilla are grown and harvested.

The town of Kumily, next to Thekkady, is the best place in Kerala to buy spices, with dozens of shops selling fresh cardamom, pepper, cloves, vanilla, tea and coffee from the surrounding hills. It's lively and friendly in the evening and a good place to stroll before dinner.

Thekkady is also a good place to learn about Ayurveda, India's ancient system of natural medicine, which has been practised in Kerala for centuries. Many hotels and centres offer traditional massages with warm herbal oils, and after a day of travelling, an hour of Ayurvedic massage is the perfect way to relax. Kerala's cool, humid climate is said to be especially good for these treatments, which is why the state is so famous for them.

The Periyar Tiger Reserve is also famous for its community conservation programmes. Local people, including members of tribal communities who once depended on the forest for firewood and hunting, now work as guides, boatmen and protectors of the reserve, and they lead guided nature walks, bamboo rafting trips and treks through the forest. These need to be booked in advance through the forest department, so let us know if you'd like to try one.

As night falls, the forest comes alive with the sounds of insects and frogs, and the air is cool and scented with spices. Enjoy a relaxed dinner at your hotel, and if you're lucky, you may hear the distant trumpet of an elephant from the forest.

The forests of Periyar are also home to more than 300 species of birds, including the great hornbill, with its huge yellow casque, the Malabar grey hornbill, the brilliant Malabar trogon and the racket-tailed drongo, which can mimic the calls of other birds. Butterflies are everywhere too, including the southern birdwing, the largest butterfly in India. Even a short walk around your hotel garden in the early morning can be rewarding.

Tomorrow you continue north to Munnar, so enjoy a peaceful night in the spice hills.

Included today: morning cruise and breakfast on the houseboat, private car from Alleppey to Thekkady, hotel in Thekkady.

Good to know: drive about 4 hours. The Periyar boat ride, cultural shows and plantation walks are optional and paid locally. More ideas in our guide to Thekkady tourist places.

After breakfast, a scenic three-to-four-hour drive north takes you through cardamom plantations and small hill towns to Munnar. This is one of the most beautiful drives in Kerala, winding along mountain roads with the Western Ghats rolling away on every side. The Idukki district you're travelling through produces most of India's cardamom, and you'll see the low, leafy plants growing in the shade of tall trees, with farmers spreading the green pods out to dry on mats outside their homes. Higher up, the cardamom gives way to tea, and the hills are covered with neat green rows as far as the eye can see.

Along the way, your driver can stop at viewpoints over the valleys, at small spice estates, or at roadside tea shops for a glass of sweet milky tea and a plate of hot snacks. The road passes through the little hill towns of Nedumkandam and Pooppara, and on clear days the views stretch far across the ranges.

Arrive by early afternoon and spend the rest of the day at a viewpoint over the tea estates, or simply relax at your hotel in the cool mountain air. Munnar sits at about 1,600 metres above sea level, where three mountain streams meet, and it's been a hill station since the late 19th century, when British planters began growing tea here. The climate is cool and refreshing all year, with mild days and chilly evenings, especially in winter. The estates around the town cover tens of thousands of acres, and the view of the tea gardens rolling over the hills, with mist drifting through the valleys, is unforgettable.

If you'd like to go out, Pothamedu viewpoint, a short drive from town, looks out over tea, coffee and cardamom plantations, and it's beautiful in the late afternoon light. Or visit the Blossom Park or Botanical Garden for a gentle stroll among flowers. Munnar town has a small, busy market, with shops selling tea, spices, homemade chocolates and warm shawls, and simple restaurants serving Kerala and North Indian food.

In the evening, relax with a cup of fresh tea on your balcony as the light fades and the mist rolls into the valleys, and enjoy a quiet dinner. Munnar's evenings are peaceful and cool, and there's no better place to unwind after the drive.

The tea estates of Munnar have a fascinating history. In the 1870s, a British planter named John Daniel Munro leased the hills from the local ruler, the Poonjar Raja, and began clearing the forest for coffee and cardamom. Tea was planted soon after, and by the early 20th century, the High Range, as the British called it, had become one of the most important tea-growing areas in India. A narrow-gauge railway and a ropeway were even built to carry tea down the hills, until a great flood in 1924 swept them away. Today, the estates are run by a company in which many of the workers themselves are shareholders.

The people of the estates are a fascinating mix of cultures. Many families came from Tamil Nadu generations ago to work in the tea gardens, and they still speak Tamil at home, so in Munnar you'll hear Tamil and Malayalam spoken side by side, and see Hindu temples, churches and mosques in the little town. On the estates, you'll see their neat rows of houses, small temples decorated with marigolds, and children playing on the estate roads after school.

The hills around Munnar are also rich in wildlife. Besides the Nilgiri tahr, which you'll see tomorrow at Eravikulam, the forests are home to elephants, gaur, sambar deer and leopards, and the birdlife is wonderful, with hornbills, laughing thrushes, barbets and colourful sunbirds. At dusk, keep an eye out for elephants crossing the roads between the estates; drivers here know to slow down.

Munnar is also famous for its homemade chocolates, sold in small shops all over town, in flavours ranging from classic milk and dark chocolate to cardamom, pepper, coffee and fruit. They make lovely gifts, as long as you keep them cool.

If you arrive in time, ask your driver to stop at one of the viewpoints on the way into town, where the estates spread out below you in every direction, and the tea pickers move slowly along the rows with their baskets. Tomorrow is a full day of sightseeing, so rest well tonight in the cool mountain air.

Munnar's mornings are especially beautiful, so if you can, wake early tomorrow and step onto your balcony to watch the mist lifting slowly off the valleys as the sun rises over the hills.

Welcome to the tea hills.

Included today: private car from Thekkady to Munnar, hotel in Munnar, breakfast.

Good to know: drive 3–4 hours. Evenings in Munnar can be cold from November to February, so pack a warm layer.

Arrive at Eravikulam National Park when it opens at 9 AM and ride the park bus up to the grasslands, where the Nilgiri tahr, a mountain goat found only in these hills, grazes near the path. The park protects the high plateau around Anamudi, the highest peak in South India, and its mix of rolling grassland and small, dense shola forests is found almost nowhere else in the world. The tahr, sturdy and short-horned, with thick brown coats, were once close to extinction, but they've recovered well under protection, and today they graze calmly beside the walking path. The views across the valleys from the path are breathtaking, with ridge after ridge of green hills fading into the distance.

Then visit the Tea Museum to see how tea is processed, and taste a fresh cup. Set in an old factory, the museum tells the story of Munnar's tea, from the early planters who cleared the forests in the 1880s to the modern estates, through old photographs, documents and machines. You can watch fresh green leaves being withered, rolled, oxidised, dried and sorted, and then taste the result. The museum shop is the best place to buy fresh tea to take home.

In the afternoon, drive along the Mattupetty road to Mattupetty Dam, Echo Point and Kundala Lake. The road winds through some of Munnar's loveliest scenery, with tea estates on both sides. Mattupetty Dam holds back a long, calm lake surrounded by hills and grassland, and wild elephants sometimes come down to its shores. At Echo Point, call across the water and hear your voice come back from the hills. Kundala Lake, surrounded by eucalyptus and tea, is perfect for a pedal-boat or bamboo-raft ride, with the hills reflected in its still water.

As the light softens in the late afternoon, stop at a viewpoint over the tea estates, where the low sun turns the hills gold and the shadows of the silver oak trees stretch across the slopes. It's the best time of day for photographs.

If you have time and energy, Munnar has many more places to explore. Top Station, about an hour's drive away on the border with Tamil Nadu, is the highest point on the road and offers dramatic views down to the plains far below, often over a sea of clouds in the early morning. Pothamedu viewpoint and the Blossom Park are pleasant spots nearer town, and the Attukal waterfall is lovely after the monsoon.

Munnar is also famous for the Neelakurinji, a shrub that grows on the hills around Eravikulam and flowers only once every twelve years, turning entire hillsides a soft blue-purple. The last mass flowering was in 2018, and the next is expected around 2030, when visitors will come from all over India to see it.

Munnar's weather can change quickly, from bright sunshine to drifting mist within an hour, and light rain is common, especially after the monsoon. Carry a light jacket and an umbrella, and wear comfortable shoes for the walk at Eravikulam. The mist often makes for the most beautiful photographs of all, as the tea gardens fade softly into the clouds.

For dinner, many of Munnar's hotels serve Kerala dishes alongside North Indian and Continental food. Try Malabar parotta with a spicy curry, kappa, boiled tapioca, with fish curry, or appam with vegetable stew, and finish with a cup of strong, sweet Kerala tea by the fire on a cool evening. It's your last night in the hills, so enjoy the peace and the fresh mountain air.

Kundala Lake is also known for its cherry blossom trees, which flower pink along the banks in spring, and for the Kundala Dam, said to be one of the first arch dams in Asia. Nearby, the Kundala Valley once had a narrow-gauge railway that carried tea from the estates, until it was destroyed in the great flood of 1924; a few traces of the old line can still be seen.

The Tea Museum also has a few unusual exhibits worth looking out for, including a sundial carved from stone and old tea rollers and dryers used in the early factories. A short film tells the story of the estates and the people who built them, and the tasting at the end lets you compare different grades of Munnar tea.

Then return to your hotel for a relaxed final evening in the hills, and pack for tomorrow's drive to Kochi.

Keep a little cash handy for entry tickets, boating and small purchases, as some places don't accept cards.

Included today: Munnar sightseeing by private car, breakfast.

Good to know: Eravikulam usually closes for a few weeks early in the year for the tahr's calving season; entry tickets are paid locally. The Tea Museum is closed on Mondays. Find more to do on our Munnar tour packages page.

After breakfast, drive down from the hills to Kochi, about four hours, stopping at the Cheeyappara and Valara waterfalls on the way. The road winds down through the tea, cardamom and rubber plantations, and the air grows warmer as you descend. The waterfalls tumble right beside the highway, white water foaming over dark rock between the green forest, and they're a lovely place for a final photograph of the hills.

With an evening flight, there's time for Fort Kochi: the Chinese fishing nets, St Francis Church and the spice shops of Jew Town. Fort Kochi was one of the great spice ports of the world, where Arab, Chinese, Jewish, Portuguese, Dutch and British traders all left their mark. The Chinese fishing nets, huge frames of wood and rope raised and lowered by teams of fishermen, are the city's most famous sight, especially at sunset. St Francis Church, built in the early 16th century, is one of the oldest European churches in India, where Vasco da Gama was first buried. And in the spice shops of Jew Town, the air is filled with the scent of pepper, ginger and cardamom.

Your driver drops you at Kochi airport or the railway station, with five days of Kerala memories: a night on the backwaters, elephants at Periyar, the spice hills of Thekkady and the tea gardens of Munnar.

Fort Kochi is a lovely place to end a Kerala trip. Its quiet streets are lined with old Portuguese and Dutch houses with tiled roofs and wooden shutters, many of them now boutique hotels, art galleries and cafés, and the walls are bright with street art. The Santa Cruz Basilica, with its twin white spires and richly painted interior, is one of the most beautiful churches in India, and Mattancherry Palace, also known as the Dutch Palace, has superb traditional murals of scenes from the Ramayana. A little further on, the Paradesi Synagogue, built in 1568, has a floor of hand-painted blue-and-white Chinese tiles.

Fort Kochi is also the place for a last Kerala meal. Try fish moilee, a mild curry cooked in coconut milk with turmeric and green chillies, or karimeen pollichathu, pearl spot fish wrapped in a banana leaf and cooked with spices, or a simple Kerala thali of rice, sambar, avial and thoran. Finish with a sweet payasam, made with rice or vermicelli, milk and jaggery.

Before you leave, pick up a few souvenirs: fresh spices and tea from Jew Town, a handloom mundu or sari with a golden border, a brass lamp, a small Kathakali mask or a carved wooden elephant. Pack spices and tea safely in your checked luggage, and keep your ID and tickets handy.

As you head to the airport, look back on your journey: the calm of the backwaters, the elephants bathing in Periyar Lake, the scent of cardamom in the spice hills, and the endless green tea gardens of Munnar. Five days is enough to fall in love with Kerala, and many of our travellers come back for more, adding the beaches of Kovalam and Varkala, the waterfalls of Athirapilly or a longer stay on the water.

Thank you for travelling with Dreamland Vacations. Safe travels home, and we hope to welcome you back to God's Own Country soon.

Kochi airport is one of the busiest in South India and is known around the world as the first airport to run entirely on solar power, with fields of panels beside the runway. Allow plenty of time to get there, as traffic in the city can be heavy in the evening, and keep a little cash handy for parking, entry tickets and small purchases along the way.

As your plane climbs away, look out of the window for a last view of Kerala: the green coastline, the shining backwaters and the palm-fringed islands of the harbour, with the hills of the Western Ghats rising in the distance behind them. Finally, remember your driver: a small tip at the end of the trip is customary and much appreciated.

If your flight is early, you can skip Fort Kochi and drive straight to the airport; the waterfalls on the way down still make a lovely last stop. Either way, we hope you leave Kerala rested, happy and already planning your return, perhaps for the beaches of Kovalam or Varkala, or a few more nights on the backwaters.

Remember that tender coconuts and large bottles of coconut oil can't go in your hand luggage, so pack oils in your checked bag and enjoy one last coconut before you leave.

Included today: private car from Munnar to Kochi, Fort Kochi if time allows, drop at Kochi airport or railway station, breakfast.

Good to know: drive about 4 hours. Book a flight that leaves at least 3 hours after you reach the airport. See our Fort Kochi tourist places guide.