India North to South: Delhi, Rajasthan, Varanasi and Kerala

1. Day 1: Arrive in Delhi

   Indira Gandhi International Airport to your hotel in New Delhi

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Delhi
   Day 1 details

   Your trip starts at Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL), where a driver meets you in the arrivals hall for the drive of about 20 km into New Delhi. Many flights from North America land late at night or before dawn, and India is nine and a half to ten and a half hours ahead of eastern Canada, so today asks nothing of you: sleep, shower and let your body catch up. If you land early in the morning, tell us your flight and we can book the room from the night before, because normal check-in is in the afternoon. In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide, who stays with you all the way to Kochi, meets the group in the lobby for a briefing on the eighteen days ahead: the Taj at sunrise, what to wear in mosques and temples, how the three flights work and what to pack for the cool tea hills. Then we sit down together for a welcome dinner of North Indian cooking.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Welcome dinner

   Free time: Free until the early-evening briefing

2. Day 2: The Red Fort, Old Delhi and Humayun's Tomb

   Red Fort, Jama Masjid and Chandni Chowk, then Humayun's Tomb

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Delhi
   Day 2 details

   We are at the Red Fort when it opens, before the school groups arrive. Shah Jahan built this palace citadel from 1639 when he moved the Mughal capital from Agra, and it was listed by UNESCO in 2007: walk in through the Lahori Gate and the covered bazaar to the hall of public audience and the white marble Khas Mahal, his private rooms. Across the road is the Jama Masjid, finished in 1656; visitors are not let in during prayers, so we time it around them. From the mosque steps we take cycle rickshaws down Chandni Chowk to Khari Baoli, the spice market, and lunch is a street food tasting walk with your guide at busy stalls picked for freshness. After a rest at the hotel through the hot middle of the day, we drive to Humayun's Tomb, finished around 1570 and the first great garden tomb in India, a model for the Taj. We arrive late in the afternoon, when the low sun warms the red sandstone.

   Included

   • The Red Fort at opening with your guide
   • Jama Masjid
   • Cycle rickshaw ride through Chandni Chowk to the Khari Baoli spice market
   • Old Delhi street food tasting lunch
   • Humayun's Tomb in the late afternoon

   Easier option: Skip the street food walk: your guide takes you back to the hotel after the rickshaw ride and arranges a sit-down lunch instead.

   Free time: Middle of the day free at the hotel; evening free

   Activity: About 3 to 4 hours on foot in all, in crowded lanes. The Red Fort is closed on Mondays, so this day never falls on one. Shoes come off in the mosque.

   

3. Day 3: Train to Agra, the Taj from across the river

   Morning train from Delhi to Agra, Agra Fort, then Mehtab Bagh at sunset

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Agra
   Day 3 details

   No long highway day to start: after an early breakfast we take a morning express train from Delhi to Agra, about two hours, with your guide, while the bags go ahead by road. First stop is Agra Fort, the red sandstone citadel Akbar rebuilt from 1565, listed by UNESCO in 1983. Shah Jahan later added white marble palaces inside and spent his last years there under guard, looking down the Yamuna River towards the Taj Mahal, and after yesterday's Red Fort his story starts to join up. A licensed local guide joins us for the visit. After lunch on your own, the middle of the day is free at the hotel. Late in the afternoon we cross the river to Mehtab Bagh, a Mughal garden laid out directly opposite the Taj. There are far fewer people than at the Taj itself, the marble turns warm as the sun drops, and it is the calmest first view you can get. Agra is a one-night stop, because the Taj itself waits for tomorrow's sunrise.

   Included

   • Express train from Delhi to Agra, with station transfers
   • Agra Fort with a licensed local guide
   • Mehtab Bagh at sunset, facing the Taj Mahal across the Yamuna

   Free time: Middle of the day free at the hotel

   Activity: About 2 hours on foot at Agra Fort, on ramps and uneven stone.

   

4. Day 4: The Taj at sunrise, Fatehpur Sikri and on to Jaipur

   Taj Mahal at sunrise, then Agra to Jaipur by road via Fatehpur Sikri

   • Drive about 4.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Jaipur
   Day 4 details

   The alarm goes early, and it is worth it. The Taj Mahal opens its gates about half an hour before sunrise, and we are in line before they open, with tickets bought ahead, including the ticket into the main tomb. Walk through the great gateway to the reflecting pool while the white marble turns from grey to pink, then circle the tomb Shah Jahan began in 1632 for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. After a late breakfast at the hotel we head west. Fatehpur Sikri, about an hour away, was Akbar's red sandstone capital from 1571; with a local guide we walk its palace courtyards and the five-storey Panch Mahal, pass under the Buland Darwaza gate and sit down for lunch. The rest of the road to Jaipur, about 200 km, takes around three and a half hours. That makes about four and a half hours of driving today, above our usual four: Fatehpur Sikri and lunch split it into two stretches, and there is no flight or fast train on this route that would save time.

   Included

   • The Taj Mahal at sunrise with a licensed local guide, including the main tomb ticket
   • Fatehpur Sikri with a licensed local guide: the palace courtyards, the Panch Mahal and the Buland Darwaza
   • Sit-down lunch near Fatehpur Sikri
   • Drive to Jaipur with your guide

   Easier option: Skip the walk around Fatehpur Sikri's mosque courtyard and rest at the lunch stop instead.

   Free time: Evening free in Jaipur

   Activity: The Taj Mahal is closed on Fridays, so this day never falls on one. In December and January fog can hide the Taj at sunrise; we wait in the garden for it to lift, and Mehtab Bagh the evening before is your second view. Food, tripods and large bags are not allowed inside.

5. Day 5: Amber Fort at opening, the City Palace and Jantar Mantar

   Amber Fort and Panna Meena ka Kund, then the City Palace and Jantar Mantar

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Jaipur
   Day 5 details

   We leave the hotel early to be at Amber Fort when it opens, at about 8 am, ahead of the tour coaches. Raja Man Singh I began the fort in 1592 on a ridge above Maota Lake, and it is one of the Hill Forts of Rajasthan listed by UNESCO in 2013. We ride up by jeep, never by elephant. Inside, a licensed local guide takes us through the hall of public audience, the painted Ganesh Pol gateway and the Sheesh Mahal, whose walls and ceiling are set with thousands of small mirrors. On the way down we stop at Panna Meena ka Kund, a stepwell with criss-cross stairs on all four sides. Lunch is your choice, then a rest at the hotel. In the mid-afternoon, well before closing time, we visit the City Palace, where Jaipur's royal family still lives in one wing, and next door Jantar Mantar, the giant stone astronomical instruments Sawai Jai Singh II built in the 1720s and 1730s, listed by UNESCO in 2010. The evening is free.

   Included

   • Amber Fort at opening with a licensed local guide, with the jeep ride up
   • Panna Meena ka Kund stepwell
   • The City Palace
   • Jantar Mantar

   Easier option: Rest at the hotel in the afternoon instead of the City Palace and Jantar Mantar.

   Free time: A rest after lunch; evening free

   Activity: About 2 hours on foot at Amber Fort, with ramps and steps; the City Palace and Jantar Mantar are mostly flat.

6. Day 6: The Pink City at first light, fly to Udaipur

   Hawa Mahal and the walled city of Jaipur, then Jaipur to Udaipur by air

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Udaipur
   Day 6 details

   The Hawa Mahal, the Palace of Winds, faces east, so its pink front of small latticed windows is at its best in the first hour of sun. It was built in 1799 so the women of the court could watch the street without being seen, and we look at it from across the road with a cup of chai while the bazaar is still shuttered. Then your guide walks you through the walled city that Sawai Jai Singh II laid out in 1727 on a grid of broad streets, listed by UNESCO in 2019, past temple doorways, sweet shops and textile stalls as they open. There are no stops at commission shops, today or any day. Back at the hotel for a late breakfast and to pack, then a short drive to Jaipur airport and a flight south-west to Udaipur of about an hour, with your guide on the plane. By road the same trip is about 400 km and most of a day. We check in near Lake Pichola in time for a free late afternoon and a sunset walk along the water.

   Included

   • The Hawa Mahal at first light
   • A walk through the walled city with your guide
   • Transfers to Jaipur airport and from Udaipur airport
   • Flight from Jaipur to Udaipur

   Optional experiences

   • Hot-air balloon flight over the countryside near Jaipur at dawn. October to March, weather permitting; it replaces the first-light walk

   Easier option: Sleep in and meet the group at the hotel for the airport transfer.

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free in Udaipur

   Activity: About 1.5 hours on foot in the walled city, on busy streets.

   

7. Day 7: Udaipur, the City Palace and Lake Pichola

   City Palace and Jagdish Temple, a free afternoon, a sunset boat on Lake Pichola

   • By boat
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in Udaipur
   Day 7 details

   Udaipur was founded in 1559 by Maharana Udai Singh II on the shore of Lake Pichola, and the City Palace still runs along the eastern bank, a chain of courtyards, balconies, mirror work and peacock mosaics added over four centuries. We are there when it opens, before the crowds fill the narrow stairways, with a local guide who explains the Mewar rulers who built it. A short walk up the hill, the Jagdish Temple has been in daily worship since 1651; we step in quietly as the morning prayers finish. The rest of the day is yours: wander the old city lanes, sit at a lakeside cafe, or rest at the hotel through the heat. Late in the afternoon a boat takes us out on Lake Pichola past Jag Mandir island and the white Lake Palace, with the City Palace turning gold behind us as the sun goes down. Afterwards a local family welcomes the group into their home to cook together and share dinner.

   Included

   • The City Palace at opening with a local guide
   • Jagdish Temple
   • Sunset boat on Lake Pichola
   • Home cooking evening and dinner with an Udaipur family

   Easier option: See the palace's main courtyards only and return to the hotel by tuk-tuk.

   More active option: In the afternoon, walk with your guide up to the Karni Mata ropeway viewpoint for the view over both lakes, or take the ropeway up and walk down.

   Free time: Late morning and afternoon free

   Activity: The City Palace has many narrow stairs and about 2 hours on foot.

   

8. Day 8: Fly to Varanasi

   Udaipur to Varanasi by air, usually with a connection in Delhi

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in Varanasi
   Day 8 details

   A slow start, then a short drive to Udaipur airport for the flight east to Varanasi. There is rarely a direct service, so we usually connect in Delhi, and the journey takes most of the day; your guide flies with you and handles the connection and the bags. It replaces the overnight sleeper trains many group trips use to reach the Ganges. From Varanasi's airport it is about 25 km and up to an hour by road into the city, and cars cannot reach the river, so the last stretch to our hotel near the ghats may be on foot through narrow lanes, with porters for the bags. Varanasi, also called Kashi and Banaras, is the holiest city of Hinduism and is often named among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. If the flights land in time, your guide walks you down to the ghats at dusk for a first look at the evening aarti from the steps. Then we sit down for dinner together.

   Included

   • Transfers to Udaipur airport and from Varanasi airport
   • Flights from Udaipur to Varanasi
   • Dinner in Varanasi

   Free time: Morning free in Udaipur before the airport transfer

   Activity: A travel day. Pack a small bag for the flights; in December and January, fog can delay morning flights, so this day carries no fixed sightseeing.

9. Day 9: The Ganges at dawn, Sarnath and the aarti

   A boat along the ghats at sunrise, Sarnath, then the Ganga aarti from the river

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Varanasi
   Day 9 details

   The ghats face east across the river, so sunrise is the hour to be on the water. We walk down in the half dark and board our own boat at first light; as the sun comes up over the far bank, the boatman rows slowly past pilgrims bathing, priests under bamboo umbrellas and the first chai stalls opening. We pass Manikarnika, the main cremation ghat, at a respectful distance, and nobody photographs it. After breakfast we drive about 10 km to Sarnath, where the Buddha gave his first sermon. A licensed local guide walks us through the Deer Park and the Dhamek Stupa, about 43 metres high, and the Archaeological Museum with the Lion Capital of Ashoka, India's national emblem; the museum is closed on Fridays, so this day never falls on one. Lunch is in Sarnath, then the early afternoon is free. At sunset we row out in front of Dashashwamedh Ghat for the Ganga aarti, priests swinging brass lamps to bells and conch shells, seen from the water without the crush.

   Included

   • Sunrise boat along the ghats with your guide
   • Sarnath with a licensed local guide: the Deer Park, the Dhamek Stupa and the Archaeological Museum
   • Lunch in Sarnath
   • The Ganga aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat from our own boat

   Easier option: Skip Sarnath and rest at the hotel between the two boat trips.

   More active option: In the late afternoon, walk with your guide through the old city lanes towards the Kashi Vishwanath temple, with hot kachori and lassi on the way, before the aarti.

   Free time: Early afternoon free

   Activity: About 20 to 40 steep stone steps down to the boats, depending on the river level, twice today. Bring a warm layer from December to February; mornings on the river are cold.

   

10. Day 10: North to south: fly to Kochi

    Varanasi to Kochi by air with one connection, then to Fort Kochi

    • Drive about 2.5 h
    • Breakfast
    • Stay in Kochi
    Day 10 details

    Today crosses the length of India, from the Gangetic plain to the Malabar coast, about 2,000 km as the crow flies. After an early breakfast we drive to Varanasi airport for a morning flight, with one connection, usually in Delhi, Mumbai or Bengaluru; door to door it is most of the day, and your guide flies with you all the way, so nobody makes the switch alone. Expect the air to change as you step out at Cochin International Airport (COK): warm, humid and smelling of rain and greenery after the dry north. A driver takes us about 40 km, an hour to an hour and a half, to Fort Kochi, the old harbour quarter at the mouth of the backwaters, rather than the modern city across the water, so the fishing nets, churches and cafes are a short walk from the hotel. If we land by late afternoon, walk the seafront at sunset when the Chinese fishing nets are lowered. The evening is free.

    Included

    • Transfers to Varanasi airport and from Cochin airport to Fort Kochi
    • Flights from Varanasi to Kochi

    Free time: Evening free in Fort Kochi

    Activity: A travel day. Domestic baggage limits apply; we send them with your final itinerary.

11. Day 11: Fort Kochi, Mattancherry and Kathakali

    Fort Kochi on foot, Jew Town and Mattancherry Palace, then a Kathakali performance

    • Drive about 30 min
    • Breakfast and lunch
    • Stay in Kochi
    Day 11 details

    We start early, when the fishermen are working the Chinese fishing nets on the point and the light is soft, and walk Fort Kochi with your guide before the heat. St Francis Church, built by the Portuguese in the early 1500s, is where Vasco da Gama was first buried in 1524 before his remains went home to Portugal. From there we walk past Dutch and British era houses to the Santa Cruz Basilica. A short drive takes us to Jew Town for the Paradesi Synagogue's morning opening; it dates from 1568, is closed on Saturdays, and the lanes around it still smell of ginger and pepper from the old spice warehouses. Next door is Mattancherry Palace, built by the Portuguese for the Raja of Kochi and later rebuilt by the Dutch, with murals of scenes from the Ramayana. Lunch is a Kerala sadhya, a vegetarian feast on a banana leaf. The afternoon is free. In the early evening we go to a Kathakali performance, arriving early to watch the actors paint their faces.

    Included

    • Fort Kochi walk with your guide: the Chinese fishing nets, St Francis Church and the Santa Cruz Basilica
    • The Paradesi Synagogue and Jew Town in the morning opening hours
    • Mattancherry Palace and its murals
    • Kerala sadhya lunch on a banana leaf
    • Kathakali performance, with time to watch the make-up

    Easier option: Take a tuk-tuk between the churches instead of walking.

    Free time: Afternoon free

    Activity: About 2.5 hours on foot on flat streets, in humid heat.

12. Day 12: Up into the tea hills of Munnar

    Fort Kochi to Munnar by road, with a tea estate walk

    • Drive about 4 h
    • Breakfast and lunch
    • Stay in Munnar
    Day 12 details

    We leave Fort Kochi after breakfast and drive about 135 km east into the Western Ghats, roughly four hours with stops, which is the longest drive in Kerala and right at our cap. The first half crosses flat country of rubber and pineapple; after Kothamangalam the road starts to climb through forest, past the Cheeyappara and Valara waterfalls, which run strongest after the rains in October and November. Lunch is a sit-down meal on the way. By early afternoon the forest gives way to tea, clipped into rounded rows across every slope, and we reach Munnar at about 1,600 m, where the air is noticeably cooler. After checking in, a local guide takes us on an easy walk of about an hour and a half along the estate paths in the late-afternoon light, explaining how the leaf is plucked, who picks it and how the estates began under British planters in the late 19th century. The evening is free; bring a warm layer.

    Included

    • Drive from Kochi to Munnar with stops at the Cheeyappara and Valara waterfalls
    • Sit-down lunch on the way
    • Late-afternoon tea estate walk with a local guide

    Easier option: Skip the estate walk and watch the light on the hills from the hotel.

    Free time: Evening free

    Activity: Winding mountain roads for the last two hours; bring motion-sickness tablets if you need them.

13. Day 13: Eravikulam and the Tea Museum

    Eravikulam National Park, then the Tea Museum at Nallathanni

    • Drive about 1 h
    • Breakfast
    • Stay in Munnar
    Day 13 details

    We go up early to Eravikulam National Park, a short drive north of Munnar, aiming for one of the first forest department buses that carry visitors from the gate up to the Rajamalai section, before the crowds of late morning. This is open grassland and shola forest at about 2,000 m, home to the Nilgiri tahr, a mountain goat found only in the Western Ghats, which often grazes beside the path. Anamudi, the highest peak in South India at about 2,695 m, rises inside the park. The park closes each year for the tahr calving season, roughly February and March; on those dates we go instead to the Top Station viewpoint on the Tamil Nadu border for the view down over the plains. After a free lunch in town we visit the Tea Museum at Nallathanni, which tells the story of the estates and shows the old machinery and a working processing line. The rest of the afternoon and the evening are free.

    Included

    • Eravikulam National Park, with the forest department bus up to Rajamalai
    • Top Station viewpoint instead, when Eravikulam is closed for calving (about February and March)
    • The Tea Museum at Nallathanni

    Easier option: Stay near the bus stop at Rajamalai, where the tahr often graze, instead of walking the full path.

    Free time: Afternoon and evening free

    Activity: About 1.5 hours on a paved but sloping path at about 2,000 m.

14. Day 14: Through the cardamom hills to Periyar

    Munnar to Thekkady by road, a spice plantation, a boat on Periyar Lake

    • Drive about 3.5 h
    • Breakfast and lunch
    • Stay in Thekkady
    Day 14 details

    After breakfast we drive about 95 km south through the Cardamom Hills to Thekkady, about three and a half hours on a winding road through tea, then cardamom grown in the shade of forest trees, then pepper vines climbing every trunk. Thekkady, with the market town of Kumily, sits at the edge of the Periyar Tiger Reserve. We go straight to a spice plantation for a walk with the grower among cardamom, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, coffee and vanilla, and lunch there. Mid-afternoon we take the forest department boat, the last departure of the day at about 3:30, out on Periyar Lake, a reservoir made in 1895 when the Mullaperiyar dam flooded the valley, its dead tree stumps still standing in the water. Elephants, gaur, sambar deer and wild boar come down to the shore more often as the day cools, though sightings are never certain. In the early evening we watch a kalaripayattu performance, the martial art of Kerala; dinner is your choice in Kumily.

    Included

    • Spice plantation walk and lunch
    • Forest department boat ride on Periyar Lake, about 1.5 hours
    • Kalaripayattu performance in Thekkady

    Free time: Evening free in Kumily

    Activity: The spice walk is about an hour on uneven plantation paths.

15. Day 15: A forest walk, then a night on the backwaters

    Periyar Tiger Reserve on foot, then Thekkady to Kumarakom by road and onto a houseboat

    • Drive about 3.5 h
    • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
    • Stay in Houseboat on the backwaters
    Day 15 details

    At about 7 am we walk into the Periyar Tiger Reserve with forest guides from the local community, who run the reserve's guided walks, for about three hours through forest and along the lake shore, looking for tracks, langur monkeys, Malabar giant squirrels and hornbills. After a late breakfast and time to pack, we leave at about 11 and drive about 115 km west, roughly three and a half hours with a tea stop, down through rubber estates to Kottayam and on to Kumarakom on Vembanad Lake, the largest lake in Kerala. We board a kettuvallam, a houseboat built on the lines of the old rice barges, in the early afternoon, and a late lunch is served as we set off across the lake into the canals of Kuttanad, where rice is farmed below sea level behind dykes. Houseboats moor for the night at about 5:30 pm. The cook shows you how to wrap karimeen, the local pearl spot fish, in banana leaf for dinner on deck.

    Included

    • Guided nature walk in the Periyar Tiger Reserve, about 3 hours
    • Drive from Thekkady to Kumarakom
    • Overnight houseboat cruise across Vembanad Lake and into Kuttanad, in a bedroom with its own bathroom
    • Lunch and dinner on board, with a cooking demonstration

    Easier option: Skip the forest walk and sleep in; join the group at breakfast before the drive.

    Free time: Late afternoon on deck

    Activity: The forest walk is on uneven, sometimes muddy paths; after rain, ask your guide about leech socks. Houseboat cabins are small.

    

16. Day 16: Dawn canoe, then Marari Beach

    Canals of Kuttanad by canoe, houseboat to Alleppey, then Marari Beach

    • Drive about 30 min
    • Breakfast
    • Stay in Marari Beach
    Day 16 details

    Wake early for the best hour on the backwaters. At about 6:30 am a country canoe collects us from the houseboat and a local boatman paddles into narrow canals too small for the big boats, past houses with steps down to the water, people washing pots, children waiting for the school boat and kingfishers on the wires. Back on board, breakfast is served as the houseboat cruises the last stretch to Alleppey, where we step ashore by about 9:30. From there it is only about 15 km north to Marari, a fishing village with a long, quiet beach of soft sand backed by coconut palms. We stay here two nights, so the rest of the day is yours after sixteen busy days: swim, read in the shade, or book an Ayurvedic massage at the hotel. In the late afternoon, walk the beach as the fishing boats come back in. Dinner tonight is your choice.

    Included

    • Dawn canoe ride through the narrow canals of Kuttanad
    • Breakfast on the houseboat as it cruises to Alleppey
    • Transfer from Alleppey to Marari Beach

    Optional experiences

    • Ayurvedic massage or treatment at the hotel. Booked through your guide

    Easier option: Stay on the houseboat deck and watch the canals wake up instead of the canoe ride.

    Free time: Afternoon and evening free

    Activity: Stepping in and out of a low canoe.

17. Day 17: Marari village morning, a free day by the sea

    Marari village walk, a free day on the beach, farewell dinner

    • Breakfast and dinner
    • Stay in Marari Beach
    Day 17 details

    We start before the heat with a gentle guided walk through Marari village, along sandy lanes between coconut groves, ponds and small houses, with a local guide who lives here. Early is when the fishermen haul in their boats and sort the catch on the sand, and on the way back we stop at a home where coir rope is still spun by hand from coconut husk, one of the old trades of this coast. Back at the hotel by mid-morning for breakfast, and then the day is free. This is the time for a longer Ayurvedic treatment, a swim, or a cycle to the next village along the shore, and your guide can arrange a yoga class or a cooking lesson for anyone who wants one. In the evening we gather for a farewell dinner of Kerala dishes, with seafood from the morning's catch and vegetarian dishes for anyone who prefers them.

    Included

    • Guided early-morning walk through Marari village with a local guide
    • Visit to a coir-spinning home
    • Farewell dinner

    Optional experiences

    • Ayurvedic treatments at the hotel, including longer sessions. Booked through your guide

    Easier option: Skip the village walk and sleep in.

    More active option: Cycle the shore road to the next fishing village with your guide in the late afternoon.

    Free time: Most of the day free

    Activity: The village walk is about 1.5 hours on flat, sandy lanes.

18. Day 18: Depart from Kochi

    Marari Beach to Cochin International Airport (COK)

    • Drive about 2.5 h
    • Breakfast
    Day 18 details

    A last swim or a slow breakfast, then we drive about 90 km north to Cochin International Airport, two to two and a half hours depending on traffic through Kochi. The road runs up the coast past Cherthala and the backwater bridges into the city, and your guide, who has been with you since the arrivals hall in Delhi, sees you to the terminal and checks your flight before saying goodbye. If you are staying on, we can drop you in Fort Kochi instead. Plan on a flight leaving after about 1 pm; for an earlier flight we leave the beach earlier and pack a breakfast for the road. Many flights home from Kochi connect through the Gulf or through Delhi or Mumbai, so book a ticket that flies into Delhi and home from Kochi. If you would like extra nights at the beach or in Fort Kochi, or an Ayurveda stay of several days, ask us when you book and we arrange the hotel and the transfer.

    Included

    • Drop-off at Cochin International Airport (COK), or at your Fort Kochi hotel

    Free time: Free until your airport transfer

    Activity: Book international flights leaving after about 1 pm; allow three hours at the airport for an international departure.

Wildlife and weather: October to March is the dry season in the north: warm in October and March, cool in December and January, when nights in Delhi, Agra and Varanasi are cold and morning fog can hide the Taj or delay a flight, so those travel days carry slack. Kerala stays warm and humid all season; showers are possible in October and November, and Munnar is cool at night. Eravikulam closes for the Nilgiri tahr calving season, about February and March. Elephants and gaur at Periyar are possible, never certain.

• Delhi2 nights
• Agra1 night
• Jaipur2 nights
• Udaipur2 nights
• Varanasi2 nights
• Kochi2 nights
• Munnar2 nights
• Thekkady1 night
• Houseboat on the backwaters1 night
• Marari Beach2 nights