Kerala 4 Days Itinerary: Munnar & Alleppey Houseboat

Your Kerala holiday begins the moment you land. Your driver meets you at Kochi airport or Ernakulam railway station, loads your bags into a private air-conditioned car, and you head south towards Alleppey, now officially called Alappuzha, about two hours away. As you leave the city behind, Kerala's green world opens up around you: coconut palms lean over the road, canals glint between the trees, paddy fields stretch away towards the horizon, and every few kilometres there's a temple, a church or a mosque, often all three within sight of one another. Roadside stalls sell bunches of tiny red bananas, tender coconuts and freshly fried banana chips, and the air is warm, humid and scented with the sea.

Around noon you reach the jetty and step aboard your private houseboat, your home for the night. These boats are called kettuvallams, which means "boats tied with knots", because they were traditionally built from planks of jackwood stitched together with coir rope, without a single nail. For centuries they carried rice, spices and coconuts along the waterways to the port of Kochi; today, they've been turned into floating holiday homes, with a curved roof of woven bamboo and palm leaves, a comfortable bedroom with an attached bathroom, and an open deck with chairs and a dining table at the front. Your crew, usually a captain, a cook and a helper, welcomes you on board with a fresh welcome drink, and then the boat slips gently out into the backwaters.

The Kerala backwaters are a vast network of lakes, rivers, canals and lagoons that runs for hundreds of kilometres parallel to the Arabian Sea, and Alleppey sits at its heart. As the boat glides along, the noise of the road fades away and is replaced by the sounds of water: the soft chug of the engine, birds calling from the palms, children shouting and splashing at the water's edge. You pass through the region of Kuttanad, often called the rice bowl of Kerala, where emerald paddy fields lie below the level of the water, protected by narrow earthen banks, a farming system so remarkable that it has been recognised by the United Nations as a globally important agricultural heritage system. Villagers wash clothes on stone steps, women chat as they clean pots, fishermen cast their nets from narrow canoes, and ducks paddle in long lines along the canals.

Lunch is cooked on board by the crew, in a little kitchen at the back of the boat, and served on deck as you cruise: steaming Kerala rice, a fish curry or vegetable curry made with coconut, crisp fried fish, a dry vegetable stir-fry called thoran, pappadam and pickle. It's simple, fresh and delicious, and eating it while the backwaters slide past is one of the great pleasures of Kerala. Let the crew know in advance if you're vegetarian or prefer milder food; they're happy to adjust.

Through the afternoon, the boat drifts on past coconut groves, village churches with white facades, small temples, toddy shops and lakeside homes. You may cross part of Vembanad Lake, the largest lake in Kerala, where the water opens out wide and the far shore is just a thin green line. Kingfishers flash blue along the banks, cormorants dry their wings on posts, and egrets stand motionless in the paddy fields. Sit back on the deck with a cup of tea and banana fritters, a classic Kerala snack, and simply watch the world go by.

At about 5:30 PM, the boat moors for the night, as local rules require, usually beside a quiet village or paddy field. This is the perfect time to watch the sunset from the deck, as the sky turns orange and pink and the palm trees stand dark against it, their reflections shimmering in the still water. If you'd like to stretch your legs, take a short walk along the bank with a crew member and see village life up close. Dinner is served on deck as darkness falls, often with chapatis, a chicken or vegetable curry and rice, and then the backwaters grow quiet, with only the sound of frogs and crickets and the gentle lapping of water against the hull. Few nights anywhere in India are as peaceful.

For more choice of boats, see our Alleppey houseboat packages: houseboats come in different categories, from simple deluxe boats to premium and luxury boats with glass-walled bedrooms and upper decks.

As night falls, look up: away from the lights of the towns, the sky over the backwaters is full of stars.

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. Houseboat check-in is usually around noon. Bedrooms are air-conditioned at night, usually from about 9 PM to 6 AM. Compare boat categories on our Alleppey houseboat packages page.

Wake to a quiet morning on the water. The backwaters are at their most magical just after dawn, when a thin mist hangs over the paddy fields, the water is perfectly still, and the villages are just stirring to life. Fishermen paddle out in their canoes, women draw water from the canal, and children in neat school uniforms wait for the little ferry boats that carry them to school. Your boat sets off on a short morning cruise while breakfast is served on deck, perhaps appam, soft rice pancakes with lacy edges, with a vegetable stew, or puttu, steamed rice and coconut cylinders, with a curry of black chickpeas. You leave the boat by about 9 AM.

Today you travel from sea level to tea level, one of the most dramatic journeys in South India. The drive to Munnar takes about five hours, so settle in and enjoy the changing scenery. First you cross the flat, watery plains of Kuttanad and the busy towns of central Kerala, with their colourful shopfronts, gold jewellery shops and churches. Then the land begins to rise, and you enter the foothills of the Western Ghats, the great mountain range that runs down the western side of India and is one of the most biologically rich places on earth, recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

As the road climbs, you pass through rubber plantations, their tall, straight trees planted in neat rows, with small cups tied to the trunks to collect the white latex. Higher up come the cardamom and pepper plantations, shaded by tall forest trees, and the air becomes noticeably cooler and fresher. Your driver will stop wherever you'd like: for a cup of tea at a roadside stall, for photographs at a viewpoint, or for lunch at a simple restaurant serving Kerala meals on banana leaves. Along the way, you may pass the Cheeyappara and Valara waterfalls, which tumble down the hillside right beside the highway and are at their fullest after the monsoon.

The first tea estates appear as you near Munnar, and they're a sight you'll never forget. Perfectly trimmed tea bushes cover the hills in soft, rounded rows, like a green carpet draped over the slopes, broken only by narrow paths, silver oak trees planted for shade, and the bright colours of the tea pickers moving slowly along the rows with baskets on their backs. The view changes at every bend, as valley after valley opens up below you.

Munnar sits about 1,600 metres above sea level, where three mountain streams, the Mudrapuzha, Nallathanni and Kundala, meet; its name comes from "moonu aar", meaning "three rivers" in Malayalam. In the days of the British Raj, it was a summer retreat for British planters, who began growing tea here in the late 19th century, and the town still has a few old churches and bungalows from that era. Today, it's one of the most popular hill stations in India, loved for its cool climate, rolling tea gardens, waterfalls and wildlife.

You check in at your hotel by late afternoon, ready for a quiet evening in the cool mountain air. After the warmth of the backwaters, you'll notice the difference immediately: evenings here can be chilly, especially from November to February, when temperatures may drop below 10°C at night. Wrap up in a jacket, enjoy a cup of Munnar's own tea, and watch the mist roll into the valleys as the light fades. If you'd like to go out, Munnar town has small shops selling tea, spices, homemade chocolates and handmade soaps, and simple restaurants serving Kerala and North Indian food.

Munnar is also home to a fascinating mix of people. Many of the families who work on the tea estates came from Tamil Nadu generations ago, so you'll hear Tamil spoken alongside Malayalam, and see Hindu temples, churches and mosques side by side in the small town. The estates themselves are now largely owned by a company in which the workers hold shares, an unusual arrangement in India.

The hills around Munnar are also rich in wildlife. Besides the Nilgiri tahr, the forests are home to elephants, gaur, sambar deer, leopards and the rare Nilgiri marten, and the birdlife is wonderful, with hornbills, barbets, laughing thrushes and colourful sunbirds. You probably won't see the larger animals from the road, but keep an eye out at dusk, when elephants sometimes cross between the estates.

Tonight, rest well and let your body adjust to the cooler air.

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

Good to know: drive about 5 hours, with stops. The road to Munnar has many bends, so if you're prone to motion sickness, sit in the front and carry something for it. Lunch is at your own cost.

Today you explore the best of Munnar. After breakfast, head out to Eravikulam National Park, arriving for the 9 AM opening, before the queues build and while the morning light is soft and clear. The park protects about 97 square kilometres of rolling grassland and shola forest high in the hills, and it's the most important home of the Nilgiri tahr, a sturdy mountain goat with curved horns, found only in the Western Ghats and once close to extinction. A park bus takes you up the winding road to the Rajamalai section, and then you walk along a paved path across the slopes, with breathtaking views across the valleys. The tahr are used to visitors and often graze right beside the path, so you can watch them from just a few metres away. Behind them, on clear days, you can see Anamudi, at about 2,695 metres the highest peak in South India.

The park is also famous for the Neelakurinji, a shrub whose blue-purple flowers bloom only once every twelve years, when they turn the whole hillside a soft shade of blue. The last mass flowering was in 2018, and the next is expected around 2030; you might still spot a few early flowers on the slopes.

Next, visit the Tea Museum, set in one of Munnar's oldest tea factories. Here you discover how tea came to these hills, see old photographs of the early planters and the machines they used, and watch how fresh green leaves are withered, rolled, fermented, dried and sorted to become the tea in your cup. At the end, there's a tasting of Munnar's teas, and you can buy fresh packets to take home; they make wonderful gifts.

In the afternoon, drive out along the Mattupetty road, one of the prettiest drives in the hills, winding through tea estates and patches of forest. Mattupetty Dam holds back a long, calm lake of blue-green water, surrounded by hills and grassland, and wild elephants sometimes come down to the shore in the evening. Nearby is the Indo-Swiss dairy farm, set up with Swiss help in the 1960s, where cattle graze on the green slopes. At Echo Point, on the edge of another lake, shout across the water and listen to your voice bounce back from the hills, a moment of fun that everyone enjoys. Continue to Kundala Lake, a peaceful reservoir surrounded by eucalyptus trees and tea gardens, where you can hire a pedal boat or a bamboo raft and drift across the water.

Finish the day at one of Munnar's viewpoints, such as Photo Point or the hillside above the estates, as the light softens over the tea gardens and the shadows lengthen across the slopes. It's the perfect time for photographs, with the green of the tea glowing in the golden light.

In the evening, enjoy dinner at your hotel or in town. Try a Kerala speciality such as Malabar parotta, a flaky, layered flatbread, with a spicy chicken or vegetable curry, or appam with stew, and finish with a cup of strong, sweet Kerala tea.

If you have extra time, there's more to see. Top Station, about 30 kilometres from town on the border with Tamil Nadu, is the highest point on the Munnar road and offers sweeping views down into the plains far below; on clear mornings, the valleys are filled with a sea of clouds. The Blossom Park and the Botanical Garden are pretty places for a stroll among flowers and trees, and the homemade chocolate shops in town are hard to resist, with chocolates flavoured with cardamom, pepper and coffee.

Munnar's weather is part of its charm. Mornings are often clear and bright, while clouds and mist can roll in during the afternoon, turning the tea gardens soft and dreamy. Light rain is common, especially after the monsoon, so carry an umbrella; the mist and drizzle often make for the most atmospheric photographs of all.

The tea you'll taste here is grown on some of the highest estates in India. The cool climate and high altitude make the leaves grow slowly, giving Munnar tea its bright colour and brisk, refreshing flavour. Whether you take it strong and sweet with milk, the Kerala way, or plain and light, a cup of tea on a cool Munnar evening is one of the simple pleasures of the trip.

Then return to your hotel for a relaxed evening and an early night.

Included today: Munnar sightseeing by private car, breakfast.

Good to know: Eravikulam National Park usually closes for a few weeks in the early part of the year for the Nilgiri tahr's calving season, and entry tickets are paid locally. The Tea Museum is closed on Mondays. Carry a light jacket and an umbrella, as the weather in the hills changes quickly. See more ideas on our Munnar tour packages page.

After breakfast, take one last look at the tea hills, perhaps from your balcony as the morning mist lifts off the valleys, and then begin the drive back down to Kochi, about four hours away. The road winds down through the tea estates, cardamom forests and rubber plantations, and you'll stop again at the roadside waterfalls for a final photograph. As you descend, the air grows warmer and more humid, and the green of the hills gives way to the palms and paddy fields of the plains.

If your flight or train leaves in the evening, spend the afternoon in Fort Kochi, one of the most charming and historic corners of Kerala. For centuries, Kochi was one of the great spice ports of the world, and traders from Arabia, China, Portugal, the Netherlands and Britain all came here for pepper, cardamom and cinnamon, each leaving their mark on the town. The result is a peaceful, colourful place of narrow streets, old colonial bungalows, art cafés, antique shops and leafy squares, perfect for a gentle walk.

On the waterfront stand the famous Chinese fishing nets, huge cantilevered nets of wood and rope, said to have been introduced by traders from China centuries ago. Teams of fishermen raise and lower them using heavy stones as counterweights, and the sight of the great nets silhouetted against the sea and the passing ships is one of the classic images of Kerala. Nearby is St Francis Church, built in the early 16th century, one of the oldest European churches in India, where the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama was first buried in 1524 before his remains were taken back to Portugal. A short walk away, the Santa Cruz Basilica, with its twin white spires and richly painted interior, is one of the most beautiful churches in India.

If time allows, continue to Mattancherry and the narrow lane known as Jew Town, lined with spice warehouses, antique shops and boutiques. The air is filled with the scent of ginger, pepper and cardamom, and it's the best place in Kochi to buy spices, tea, handicrafts and souvenirs. Your driver then drops you at Kochi airport or Ernakulam railway station for your journey home, with four days of hills, backwaters and memories behind you.

Four days is a short trip, but it shows you two of the most beautiful sides of Kerala: the calm of the backwaters and the cool green world of the tea hills. Many travellers tell us it left them wanting more, and next time, they come back for Thekkady's spice forests, the beaches of Kovalam and Varkala, or a longer stay on the water.

As you drive down, take a moment to notice how the landscape changes. In just a few hours, you descend from the tea gardens at 1,600 metres, through cardamom forests and rubber plantations, to the coconut palms and canals of the coast. It's a reminder of how much variety Kerala packs into a small area, and why it's one of the most rewarding states in India to explore.

Fort Kochi is also a lovely place for a last meal in Kerala. Its cafés and restaurants serve everything from fresh seafood and Kerala thalis to European-style cakes and coffee, often in old colonial houses with shady courtyards. Try a plate of fried karimeen, the pearl spot fish from the backwaters, or a prawn curry cooked in coconut milk, and finish with a cool lime soda.

If you're in Kochi between December and March in a Biennale year, you may also see the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, India's biggest contemporary art festival, which fills Fort Kochi's old warehouses, galleries and streets with works by artists from around the world.

Before you leave, pick up a few souvenirs to remember Kerala by: fresh spices and tea from Jew Town, a small Kathakali mask, a brass lamp or a handloom mundu with a golden border. Pack spices and tea safely in your checked luggage, and keep your ID and tickets handy for the journey home.

Thank you for travelling with Dreamland Vacations. We hope Kerala's hills and backwaters stay with you long after you're home, and we'd be delighted to help you plan your next journey, whether it's a longer Kerala tour, a houseboat escape or somewhere new.

Safe travels home, and we hope to welcome you back to God's Own Country soon.

Keep a little cash handy for parking, entry tickets and small purchases in Fort Kochi.

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. To see Fort Kochi properly, book a flight or train that leaves in the evening; your flight should leave at least 3 hours after you reach the airport. Plan your stop with our Fort Kochi tourist places guide.