Kerala 5 Days Trip: Houseboat, Munnar & Fort Kochi

This five-day Kerala trip starts on the water. Your driver meets you at Kochi airport or Ernakulam railway station with a warm welcome, and within minutes you're heading south in a private air-conditioned car towards Alleppey, now officially called Alappuzha, about two hours away. The highway runs parallel to the coast, through a green, gently busy landscape of coconut palms, banana groves, churches, temples and small towns, and every so often you cross a canal or a river shining between the trees. Look out for the roadside stalls piled with tender coconuts, pineapples and bunches of small, sweet bananas, and the little tea shops where men sit reading the morning papers.

Around noon you step aboard your private houseboat, a kettuvallam built in the traditional way from wood and coir. For centuries, these long, curved boats were the trucks of Kerala, carrying rice from the paddy fields of Kuttanad and spices from the hills to the port of Kochi. Their hulls were made of planks of anjili, a strong wood from the jackfruit family, stitched together with coir rope made from coconut fibre and sealed with a paste of cashew-nut shell oil, without a single nail. When roads and lorries took over the cargo trade, the boats were given a new life as floating homes for travellers, and today hundreds of them glide through the backwaters around Alleppey. Your boat has a comfortable bedroom with an attached bathroom, a sitting area and an open deck at the front, and a crew of two or three who look after everything, from steering the boat to cooking your meals.

As the boat pulls away from the jetty, the noise of the town fades and the backwaters open up around you. The Kerala backwaters are a vast, interconnected web of lakes, rivers, canals and lagoons that stretches along the coast for hundreds of kilometres, fed by rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats and separated from the Arabian Sea by a narrow strip of land. Alleppey sits at its heart, and the region around it, Kuttanad, is one of the most unusual landscapes in India: much of it lies below sea level, and farmers grow rice in fields reclaimed from the lake, protected by earthen dykes and drained by pumps.

Lunch is cooked on board as you pass rice paddies, coconut groves and villages where life still revolves around the water. Your cook prepares a traditional Kerala meal in the little galley at the back of the boat: rice, a fish curry or vegetable curry made with coconut and tamarind, crisp fried fish, a dry vegetable dish called thoran, pappadam and pickles, served on the deck as the scenery slides by. If you're vegetarian, or prefer milder food, just tell the crew; they're used to cooking for travellers from all over India.

Through the afternoon, the boat drifts along palm-lined canals and across wide stretches of open water. You'll see women washing clothes and pots on stone steps, children jumping into the water, men paddling narrow canoes loaded with coconuts or grass for their cattle, and ducks herded in their hundreds along the canals by farmers in small boats. Kingfishers flash blue along the banks, egrets stand motionless in the paddy fields, and cormorants dry their wings on wooden posts. In the late afternoon, enjoy a cup of tea and hot banana fritters on deck while the light turns golden.

The boat moors for the night at about 5:30 PM, as local rules require, usually beside a quiet village or paddy field. Watch the sunset from the deck as the sky turns orange and pink and the palms stand dark against it, their reflections perfectly mirrored in the still water. If you'd like, take a short walk along the bank with a crew member to see village life up close. Then dinner is served on deck under the stars, and the backwaters fall quiet, with only the sounds of frogs, crickets and the gentle lapping of water against the hull.

Before you sleep, look up: away from the lights of the towns, the sky over the backwaters is full of stars, and on moonless nights you may see the Milky Way. It's the perfect, peaceful first night of your Kerala holiday.

If you're curious, ask your crew about the boat itself. Many of them have worked on the backwaters all their lives, and they'll happily tell you how the boats are built, how the rice is grown and how life on the water changes with the seasons.

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. See our Alleppey houseboat packages to compare boats.

Wake to mist on the water. The early morning is the most magical time on the backwaters: the air is cool and still, a soft haze hangs over the paddy fields, and the villages are just waking up. Fishermen paddle out in their canoes, schoolchildren in neat uniforms wait for the little ferry boats, and the first smoke rises from cooking fires. Enjoy a short morning cruise and breakfast on board, perhaps puttu, steamed cylinders of rice flour and coconut, with a spicy curry of black chickpeas, or soft appams with vegetable stew, before leaving the boat by 9 AM.

The drive to Munnar takes about five hours, climbing from sea level through rubber plantations and cardamom forest to the tea country of the Western Ghats. It's a long day on the road, but a beautiful one, and the changing scenery tells the story of Kerala's geography. First you cross the flat, watery lowlands of Kuttanad, with their endless paddy fields and canals. Then come the towns of central Kerala, with their busy markets, gold jewellery shops, churches with tall white facades and temples with sloping tiled roofs.

As the land rises into the foothills, you pass through rubber plantations, their tall, slender trees planted in long, shady rows. Each tree has a neat spiral cut in its bark, with a small cup tied beneath to collect the milky white latex, which farmers gather each morning and press into sheets. You'll see the sheets drying on racks outside village houses. Kerala produces most of India's natural rubber, and the plantations cover much of the hill country.

Higher still, the rubber gives way to cardamom and pepper, grown in the shade of tall forest trees, and the air turns cool and fresh. The road crosses the Periyar River at Neriamangalam, on an old stone bridge built in the 1930s, and then begins to wind steeply up into the hills. Stop for lunch on the way, at a simple restaurant serving Kerala meals or North Indian food, and at the roadside waterfalls near Munnar. Cheeyappara Falls cascades down a rocky cliff in seven steps, white water foaming between the green forest, and Valara Falls drops into a deep, wooded gorge a little further up the road. Both are at their fullest after the monsoon, and roadside stalls sell hot tea, roasted corn and fresh fruit.

Then the tea begins. Around every bend, the hills are covered with tea bushes, trimmed into soft, rounded rows that follow every curve of the land like a green carpet, with narrow paths winding between them and tall silver oaks giving shade. You may see the tea pickers at work, moving slowly along the rows with baskets on their backs, plucking only the youngest, most tender leaves by hand. The estates were planted by British planters in the late 19th century, and today they are one of the most beautiful working landscapes in India.

You check in at your hotel by late afternoon. Munnar sits at about 1,600 metres above sea level, where three mountain streams meet, and the climate is cool all year round, so you'll notice the difference immediately after the warmth of the coast. Take a cup of fresh Munnar tea on your balcony, wrap up in a jacket as the evening cools, and watch the mist roll into the valleys as the light fades.

Munnar's name comes from the Malayalam words for "three rivers", after the Mudrapuzha, Nallathanni and Kundala streams that meet here. In the days of the British Raj, it was a summer retreat for planters and officials, who built bungalows, churches and a club in the hills, and some of these old buildings still stand in the town. Today, Munnar is one of the most popular hill stations in India, especially with honeymooners and families from across the country.

The estates around Munnar are home to thousands of families, many of them descended from workers who came from Tamil Nadu generations ago. You'll see their neat rows of houses, small temples, schools and playing fields scattered among the tea, and hear Tamil spoken alongside Malayalam in the town.

If you'd like to go out in the evening, Munnar town is a short drive away, with a small market, shops selling tea, spices, homemade chocolates and warm shawls, and simple restaurants. Otherwise, enjoy a quiet dinner at your hotel and an early night, ready for a full day of sightseeing tomorrow.

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

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

Today is all about Munnar's hills, and it starts early. Begin at Eravikulam National Park at 9 AM, before the queues build and while the morning light is clear and soft. The park protects a high, rolling plateau of grassland and shola forest around Anamudi, at about 2,695 metres the highest peak in South India, and it's the main home of the Nilgiri tahr, the shy mountain goat found only in these hills. A park bus takes you up the winding road to the grasslands, and then you walk along a paved path across the hillside, with the valleys falling away below you and the tahr grazing on the slopes, often just a few metres from the path. Once hunted almost to extinction, they're now carefully protected, and the young ones are a delight to watch as they clamber over the rocks.

The views from the path are some of the finest in Kerala: tea estates and forested ridges stretch away into the distance, waterfalls ribbon down the cliffs after the rains, and clouds drift past below you. The park is also famous for the Neelakurinji, a shrub that blooms only once every twelve years, turning the hillsides a soft shade of blue; the next great flowering is expected around 2030.

Next, visit the Tea Museum to see how tea is made and taste a fresh cup. The museum tells the story of Munnar's tea from the 1880s, when the first planters cleared the forests, through old photographs, documents and machines, including early rollers and dryers. You can watch the modern processing line, where green leaves are withered, rolled, oxidised, dried and sorted into grades, and then taste the finished tea. It's the best place in Munnar to buy fresh tea to take home.

After lunch, follow the Mattupetty road to Mattupetty Dam, Echo Point and Kundala Lake, stopping at viewpoints over the endless green estates. The road winds through some of the prettiest scenery in the hills. Mattupetty Dam holds back a long, calm lake ringed by grassland and forest, where wild elephants sometimes come down to drink in the evening, and the Indo-Swiss dairy farm nearby, set up with Swiss help in the 1960s, keeps herds of cattle on the slopes. At Echo Point, shout across the water and hear your voice return from the hills. Kundala Lake, surrounded by eucalyptus and tea, is a lovely place for a pedal-boat ride or a trip on a bamboo raft, with the hills reflected in the still water.

As the afternoon light softens, stop at a viewpoint above the estates, where the low sun picks out every row of tea and the shadows of the silver oaks stretch across the slopes. It's the perfect time for photographs, and many travellers say it's their favourite moment of the day.

In the evening, enjoy dinner at your hotel or in town. Munnar has a few good places to try Kerala food: Malabar parotta with chicken or vegetable curry, kappa with fish curry, or a simple meal of rice, sambar and thoran. Many hotels light a fire on cold evenings, and there's nothing better than a cup of hot tea in front of it after a day in the hills.

If you have more time or energy, Munnar has many more corners to explore. Top Station, about an hour's drive away on the border with Tamil Nadu, is the highest point on the Munnar road and offers sweeping views down to the plains, often over a sea of clouds. Pothamedu viewpoint, just outside town, looks over tea, coffee and cardamom estates, and the Blossom Park and Botanical Garden are pretty places to walk among flowers. For something sweet, Munnar's homemade chocolate shops sell bars and truffles flavoured with cardamom, pepper, coffee and fruit, which make lovely gifts.

Munnar's weather can change quickly, from bright sunshine to drifting mist and back again within an hour, and light showers are common, especially after the monsoon. Carry a light jacket and an umbrella, and don't let a little mist put you off: the clouds drifting through the tea gardens make for some of the most beautiful photographs of the trip.

Munnar's wildlife isn't limited to the tahr. The forests and grasslands around the town are home to elephants, gaur, sambar deer and leopards, as well as many birds, including hornbills, barbets, laughing thrushes and sunbirds. You probably won't see the bigger animals from the road, but keep watch at dusk, when elephants sometimes cross between the estates.

Then return to your hotel for a relaxed evening.

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. More ideas on our Munnar tour packages page.

After breakfast, take a last look at the tea hills, perhaps from your balcony as the morning mist lifts off the valleys, and drive back down to Kochi, about four hours away. As you descend, the air grows warmer, the tea gives way to cardamom, rubber and then coconut palms, and you're back in the green lowlands of central Kerala. Check in to your hotel in Kochi and freshen up.

Spend the afternoon and evening in Fort Kochi, the historic heart of the city and one of the most atmospheric places in South India. For more than two thousand years, the Malabar coast was one of the great spice-trading centres of the world, and after a great flood in 1341 opened up its natural harbour, Kochi became its most important port. Arab, Chinese and Jewish merchants traded here for centuries before the Portuguese arrived in 1500 and built the first European fort in India. The Dutch took the city in 1663 and the British later, and each left their mark, giving Fort Kochi its unique mix of cultures, faiths and architecture.

Walk past St Francis Church and the Santa Cruz Basilica. St Francis Church, built in the early 16th century, is one of the oldest European churches in India, and the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama was buried here in 1524 before his remains were taken home to Portugal; his gravestone can still be seen inside. The Santa Cruz Basilica, a short walk away, is one of the most beautiful churches in Kerala, with twin white spires, pastel walls and a richly painted interior.

Browse the spice and antique shops of Jew Town, in Mattancherry, a narrow street lined with old warehouses where the air is filled with the scent of ginger, pepper, cardamom and cinnamon. The antique shops are full of old carved doors, brass lamps, furniture and curiosities, and there are boutiques selling textiles, jewellery and handicrafts. It's a wonderful place to pick up souvenirs.

Watch the sun set behind the Chinese fishing nets, Fort Kochi's most famous sight. These huge cantilevered nets of teak and bamboo, said to have been introduced by Chinese traders in the 14th century, are raised and lowered by teams of fishermen using heavy stones as counterweights. As the sun goes down over the harbour, the great nets stand silhouetted against an orange sky, and the waterfront fills with families, couples and friends enjoying the evening breeze. Fishmongers sell the day's catch from stalls nearby, and small restaurants will cook your choice of fish for you.

In the evening, see a Kathakali performance, arriving early to watch the dancers put on their elaborate make-up. Kathakali is Kerala's great classical dance-drama, in which performers tell stories from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata through dance, music and highly expressive eye and hand movements. The make-up takes hours to apply, using natural colours of green, red, black and white, and watching the actors transform into gods, heroes and demons is fascinating in itself. Fort Kochi's small cultural centres stage short evening shows, with an introduction to the gestures and stories beforehand.

Fort Kochi is also a lovely place simply to wander. Its quiet streets are lined with old Portuguese and Dutch houses with tiled roofs, wooden shutters and wide verandas, many of them now turned into boutique hotels, art galleries and cafés, and the walls are decorated with colourful street art. Look out for the open green of the Parade Ground, where the colonial armies once drilled, and the old Dutch cemetery near the beach, one of the oldest European cemeteries in India. If you're visiting between December and March in a Biennale year, the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, India's biggest contemporary art festival, fills the town's old warehouses and halls with art from around the world.

For dinner, Fort Kochi has some of the best restaurants in Kerala. Try fish moilee, a mild fish curry cooked in coconut milk with turmeric and green chillies, karimeen pollichathu, pearl spot fish wrapped in a banana leaf, or a seafood platter with fresh prawns, crab and calamari. Vegetarians will enjoy a Kerala thali or appam with vegetable stew, and the cafés serve excellent coffee, cakes and fresh juices.

After a full day, return to your hotel in Kochi for a good night's rest. Kochi is Kerala's largest city and commercial capital, and from your hotel you may see the lights of the harbour, the ships at anchor and the busy waterfront, a lively contrast to the peace of the hills and backwaters.

Fort Kochi is safe and easy to explore on foot, and auto-rickshaws are everywhere if you'd like a ride.

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

Good to know: drive about 4 hours. The Kathakali show and Fort Kochi entry tickets are paid locally. Plan your walk with our Fort Kochi tourist places guide.

After breakfast, your driver takes you to Kochi airport or the railway station. With a later flight, use the morning to see Mattancherry Palace and the Paradesi Synagogue, or take a harbour boat ride.

Mattancherry Palace, also known as the Dutch Palace, was built by the Portuguese in the mid-16th century as a gift to the Raja of Kochi, and later renovated by the Dutch, which is how it got its nickname. From the outside, it looks like a simple Kerala-style building with a courtyard, but inside, its walls are covered with some of the finest traditional murals in India, vivid paintings of scenes from the Ramayana and Hindu mythology in rich reds, ochres, yellows and greens. The palace also displays royal costumes, palanquins, weapons and portraits of the Rajas of Kochi.

A short walk away, the Paradesi Synagogue, built in 1568, is the oldest active synagogue in the Commonwealth. Kochi's Jewish community is one of the oldest in India, and the synagogue is a beautiful, quiet place, with a floor of hand-painted blue-and-white Chinese tiles, no two exactly alike, and Belgian glass chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Only a handful of members of the community remain, but the synagogue and the surrounding street are a moving reminder of the many peoples who made Kochi their home.

Or take a harbour boat ride, a lovely way to see Kochi from the water. Boats cruise around the harbour past the Chinese fishing nets, the naval base, Willingdon Island and Bolgatty Island, with its old Dutch palace, and you'll see ships, ferries and fishing boats coming and going against the backdrop of the city.

As you head to the airport, look back on your journey: a night on a houseboat in the backwaters, the tea hills and waterfalls of Munnar, the Nilgiri tahr of Eravikulam, and an evening among the churches, spice shops and fishing nets of Fort Kochi. Five days is a short trip, but it shows you three of the most beautiful sides of Kerala. 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 the waterfalls of Athirapilly.

Kochi airport is one of the busiest in South India and is famous as the world's first airport to run entirely on solar power. Allow plenty of time to get there, as traffic in the city can be heavy, and keep your ID and tickets handy. Pack spices and tea in your checked luggage, and remember that tender coconuts can't be carried in your hand luggage.

Before you leave, pick up a few last souvenirs. Jew Town and the shops around Fort Kochi are the best places for spices and tea, and you'll also find handloom saris and mundus with golden borders, brass lamps, small Kathakali masks, carved wooden elephants and banana-fibre handicrafts. Many shops will pack spices securely for travel.

Thank you for travelling with Dreamland Vacations. We hope Kerala's backwaters, hills and historic coast 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 or somewhere new. Safe travels home.

Kochi is also a city that rewards a return visit. Across the harbour from Fort Kochi lies Ernakulam, the modern commercial heart of the city, with its shopping streets, Marine Drive promenade and busy markets, while a short drive away are the beaches of Cherai and the backwater island of Kumbalangi, where you can try crab fishing and see village life. On your next trip, you might add a night or two here, or continue south to the beaches of Kovalam and Varkala.

As your plane climbs away from Kochi, 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. It's a fitting farewell to God's Own Country.

Keep a little cash handy for parking, entry tickets and small purchases, and remember your driver: a small tip at the end of the trip is customary and much appreciated.

If you're flying early, simply relax over breakfast and enjoy a final cup of Kerala coffee before heading to the airport. Whatever time you leave, we hope you go home rested, happy and already dreaming of your next visit to Kerala.

Thank you again for choosing us, and see you again soon.

Included today: drop at Kochi airport or railway station, breakfast.

Good to know: hotel check-out is usually at 11 AM. Mattancherry Palace is closed on Fridays, and the synagogue on Fridays, Saturdays and Jewish holidays; entry tickets and boat rides are paid locally. Book a flight that leaves at least 3 hours after you reach the airport.