South18 to 21 daysfrom £1,850
Spice, Temples & Backwaters
Chennai to Pondicherry to Madurai to Munnar to Alleppey to Kochi
Towering Madurai temple spires, sunrise filter coffee, cardamom scented tea estates, and silent backwater houseboats.
Heritage connection
The South trip ends in Kerala, which for a lot of British Malayalis is the first time they've seen where their parents or grandparents actually came from, rather than just heard about it. The backwaters in particular are often more emotional than people expect.
The route deliberately ends in Kerala rather than passing through it. Munnar’s tea estates, the Alleppey backwaters and Fort Kochi’s layered colonial history are the closing chapters, not a detour. For many British Malayalis, the total stillness of a night on the backwaters lands harder than the built-up expectation suggested it would.