Ayurveda and Beaches: 15 Days of Kerala Ayurveda and South Goa

Arrive and meet your Ayurvedic physician

Fly into Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram) and transfer to your retreat on the cliffs above Kovalam, with gardens running down towards the Arabian Sea.

In the afternoon, meet the resort's Ayurvedic physician for your first consultation. In Ayurveda, India's traditional system of medicine, each person has a unique balance of three doshas, or energies, called vata, pitta and kapha. The doctor asks about your health, sleep, digestion and lifestyle, reads your pulse, and sets a personal plan of treatments, diet, yoga and rest for your stay. Bring a list of any medicines you take and mention allergies, injuries or recent illness, so the plan can be adjusted around them.

Treatments usually begin the next morning, which gives you time to recover from the journey. Settle in, unpack loose, light cotton clothes, and take a slow walk around the grounds as the sun sets over the sea. Dinner on the first evening is simple and vegetarian, often rice, a mild vegetable curry and herbal water, and most guests are ready for an early night.

• ArrivalTransfer from Trivandrum airport to your retreat
• AfternoonConsultation with your Ayurvedic physician
• EveningSunset over the Arabian Sea and a light dinner

OvernightKovalam, 7 nights, at a cliffside Ayurveda retreat overlooking the Arabian Sea.

Treatment begins

Your programme starts this morning. Before breakfast, join a gentle hatha yoga class in the open-air pavilion, where the teacher adapts the postures to your level; complete beginners are welcome.

Most plans begin with abhyanga, a full-body massage with warm herbal oils chosen for your constitution, given by two therapists working in rhythm, followed by a herbal steam bath. The massage usually lasts about 45 minutes to an hour, and the oil is left on for a while afterwards to soak in before you wash it off with a herbal powder. Therapists usually advise avoiding strong sun and cold water for a few hours after treatment.

Meals follow your physician's advice: light, freshly cooked vegetarian food, often with herbal teas and Kerala red rice. The rest of the day is unstructured. Most guests rest, read, swim or sit on the sea-view terraces. Early nights are part of the programme.

• SunriseGentle hatha yoga
• MorningYour first treatments: abhyanga massage and herbal steam
• AfternoonRest
• EveningLight dinner and an early night

OvernightKovalam.

Treatment and rest

Your daily rhythm settles in: yoga at sunrise, treatment in the morning, rest in the afternoon. Your therapists may add treatments such as shirodhara, a steady stream of warm oil poured over the forehead, traditionally used for deep relaxation. You lie on a carved wooden treatment table while the oil flows for around half an hour, and many guests drift into sleep. Afterwards, it is usual to keep the head covered and rest quietly for the remainder of the morning.

In the late afternoon, if you feel like a change of scenery, take an easy walk down to Kovalam's Lighthouse Beach, or join a short session of pranayama, yogic breathing, which uses slow, controlled breaths to calm the mind.

Many guests find the first few days bring tiredness as the body slows down; this is common, and your physician will adjust the plan as you go. Herbal drinks are served through the day, and the kitchen can explain what goes into each dish.

• SunriseYoga
• MorningTreatment, perhaps shirodhara
• Late afternoonOptional walk to Lighthouse Beach or breathing practice

OvernightKovalam.

Treatment and meditation

Continue your daily treatments and yoga. Depending on your plan, you may have podikizhi or elakizhi, warm herbal poultices pressed over the body, or njavarakizhi, made with medicinal rice cooked in milk. Some plans include udvartana, a brisk massage with dry herbal powders, or nasya, in which herbal oil is applied to the nose after a gentle face massage and steam.

A guided meditation is added in the late afternoon, as your body adjusts to the programme's rhythm. Sessions usually begin with simple breathing and a body scan and need no experience. The retreat's library and gardens are good places to spend the quiet hours in between, and the sound of the sea carries up the cliffs.

Dinner is light and early, following your physician's advice. Many retreats serve it on a terrace as the sun goes down, and it is a good time to compare notes with your fellow guests.

• SunriseYoga
• MorningTreatment: herbal poultices or as prescribed
• Late afternoonGuided meditation

OvernightKovalam.

Treatment and rest

Another day of treatment, yoga and rest. Your physician checks in with you to see how you are feeling, how you are sleeping and how your digestion has responded, and adjusts the treatments or diet if needed.

If you would like to learn something to take home, ask for a session with the resort's chef on simple Ayurvedic cooking, such as a spiced lentil and rice kitchari or herbal drinks, or a talk on daily routines, called dinacharya, that support balance in everyday life. Traditional suggestions include rising early, scraping the tongue, swishing oil in the mouth, regular meal times and a short self-massage with oil before bathing.

Spend the afternoon by the pool or on the terraces above the sea. If you feel restless, the retreat can arrange a short walk with a guide through the nearby fishing villages and coconut groves, returning in time for evening yoga or a quiet read before dinner.

• SunriseYoga
• MorningTreatment and a check-in with your physician
• AfternoonOptional cooking or lifestyle session; rest

OvernightKovalam.

Treatment and rest

Continue with your treatments, yoga and meditation. By now most guests feel noticeably more rested and sleep more deeply. The yoga sessions may go a little further now that your body has settled, with longer holds and more attention to breathing, but they stay gentle.

Treatments on the later days of a stay often build on what came before. Depending on your plan, you may continue with oil massage and steam, or move on to treatments such as pizhichil, in which warm medicated oil is poured over the whole body by therapists as they massage, traditionally valued for stiff joints and tired muscles.

In the afternoon, rest, swim or read in the shade. In the evening, walk along the cliffs or down to the beach to watch the fishing boats come in at sunset, when the fishermen pull their nets up the sand and the catch is sorted on the shore. Dinner, as always, is light and early.

• SunriseYoga
• MorningTreatment
• AfternoonRest
• SunsetCliff walk or beach

OvernightKovalam.

Closing consultation

Start with a last yoga session, then your final treatment, followed by a closing consultation with your physician, who reviews how you have responded and gives you dietary and lifestyle recommendations to carry into the second half of your trip and home. Ask for them in writing, along with any simple yoga or breathing routine you would like to keep up.

Physicians often suggest easing back into ordinary life gradually: keeping meals light and regular for a while, adding rich food, alcohol and caffeine back slowly, and not rushing straight into a heavy schedule. If you are continuing your trip, tell the physician where you are going next so the advice fits.

Spend the afternoon enjoying the grounds one last time. Many guests buy the oils and herbal preparations used in their treatments from the resort's dispensary to continue at home. Pack any bottles in your checked luggage, as liquids over 100 ml are not allowed in cabin bags, and check the import rules of your home country for herbal products.

• MorningYoga, final treatment and closing consultation
• AfternoonFree; the dispensary for oils and herbal preparations

OvernightKovalam.

Fly to Goa

After a last breakfast at the retreat, and a short final treatment if your flight leaves in the afternoon, transfer to Trivandrum airport for the flight to Goa. Depending on the day it is nonstop or connects via Mumbai or Bengaluru, so allow most of the day. Your physician's advice on easing back into ordinary food applies from here: keep meals light for a few days and go gently with alcohol, chilli and fried food.

Your driver meets you at Goa airport and takes you south to Palolem, in Canacona, on Goa's quieter southern coast. The road leaves the airport behind for rice fields, whitewashed churches and villages of old Portuguese-style houses with deep verandas, and the traffic thins the further south you go.

Check in to your beachfront resort and walk down to the sand to watch the sun set over the Arabian Sea. Dinner is a good moment for a first Goan meal, perhaps grilled fish with rice or prawns cooked in coconut.

• MorningOptional short final treatment at Kovalam
• DayFlight to Goa and transfer to Palolem
• SunsetOn the beach

OvernightSouth Goa, 7 nights, near Palolem.

Palolem Beach

A first full day to settle into Goa's slower pace. Palolem is a near-perfect crescent of sand, roughly 1.5 km long, lined with coconut palms and framed by wooded headlands at each end. From November to March the sea is usually calm and good for swimming, especially towards the sheltered southern end.

In the morning, you can take an optional boat trip with local fishermen to look for dolphins off the headlands; sightings are common but never guaranteed. Or kayak or take a boat to Butterfly Beach, a small cove to the north reached only by boat or a forest path. Early morning is the calmest and coolest time to be on the water.

Spend the afternoon in the shade with a book. At low tide you can wade across to the small rocky island at the northern end of the beach. In the evening the beach shacks set out tables on the sand; try a Goan fish thali or fried kingfish with a squeeze of lime.

• MorningOptional dolphin-spotting boat trip or kayak to Butterfly Beach
• DayBeach and swimming
• EveningDinner by the sea

OvernightSouth Goa, near Palolem.

Old Goa and Panaji

Drive north to Old Goa, once the capital of Portuguese India and a city said to rival Lisbon. Epidemics emptied it in the 17th and 18th centuries and the capital eventually moved to Panaji, leaving the great churches standing among lawns and trees. They are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. See the Basilica of Bom Jesus, completed in 1605, which holds the remains of St Francis Xavier in a silver casket, and Sé Cathedral across the road, one of the largest churches in Asia, with the Church of St Francis of Assisi beside it. Cover shoulders and knees, and speak quietly; these are working churches.

Stop for lunch on the way into Panaji: Goan fish curry and rice, or pork vindaloo or sorpotel if you eat meat. Then walk through the Fontainhas quarter, with its narrow lanes of pastel-coloured Portuguese-era houses, tiled name plates and small bakeries. Finish with a coffee and bebinca, a layered Goan dessert of coconut milk, egg and jaggery.

• MorningOld Goa: Basilica of Bom Jesus and Sé Cathedral
• LunchGoan fish curry rice in Panaji
• AfternoonFontainhas quarter, Panaji

OvernightSouth Goa, near Palolem.

Agonda Beach

A free day. If you like, drive about 20 minutes north to Agonda Beach, even quieter than Palolem: a long, straight stretch of sand of around 3 km, backed by palms and a single village road, with far fewer boats and beach huts. Olive Ridley sea turtles nest on part of the beach in season, roughly November to February. Nesting areas are protected, so keep a respectful distance and never shine torches near them at night.

The sea at Agonda shelves more steeply than at Palolem and the waves can be stronger, so swim with care and only when it is calm. The rocks at the southern end make a pleasant walk, with small pools at low tide.

Stay for a slow lunch at one of the beach cafés, then head back to Palolem for the evening. If you would rather not move at all, the resort pool and a book are an equally good plan. For gentle exercise, cycle the quiet lanes between the two beaches in the cooler late afternoon.

• DayFree, or a visit to Agonda Beach
• LunchBeach café at Agonda
• Late afternoonOptional cycle ride back towards Palolem

OvernightSouth Goa, near Palolem.

Cabo de Rama and a Goan cooking class

Drive north along the coast road to Cabo de Rama Fort, about 45 minutes from Palolem. Local legend says Rama stayed here during his exile, which gave the headland its name. The fort passed to the Portuguese in the 18th century, and its laterite walls, rusting cannon and small whitewashed chapel now stand above sweeping views of the coast. There is little shade, so go in the morning and bring water and a hat. A steep path leads down to a small, usually empty cove below the walls.

In the afternoon, join a Goan cooking class in a family kitchen. You learn the Portuguese-Indian flavours that define the region: grinding a fresh masala, using coconut, vinegar and kokum, a sour purple fruit, and balancing heat with tang. Typical dishes include fish curry with coconut and kokum, chicken xacuti with roasted spices, and vindaloo, whose name comes from the Portuguese for wine and garlic. Then sit down and eat what you have cooked.

• MorningCabo de Rama Fort and the cove below
• AfternoonGoan cooking class in a family kitchen
• EveningDinner of the dishes you cooked

OvernightSouth Goa, near Palolem.

A free day

An entirely unstructured day. If you would like to keep up the routine from Kovalam, book a morning yoga class or an Ayurvedic massage at one of Palolem's wellness studios; keep the oil on for a while afterwards and rest, as you did in Kerala.

For a change of scene, walk or take a short ride south to Patnem, a smaller beach next to Palolem with a more relaxed feel, or go a little further to Galgibaga, a long, empty beach backed by casuarina trees where turtles also nest in season.

Nature lovers can spend a few hours in the Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary, a short drive inland from Palolem, with forest trails, streams and watchtowers for birdwatching; go early in the morning when birds are most active. Otherwise, swim, read and nap, and save your energy for the sunset. In the evening, many beach restaurants grill the day's catch; ask what came in that morning.

• MorningOptional yoga class or Ayurvedic massage
• DayFree; Patnem, Galgibaga or Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary
• EveningFresh grilled fish on the beach

OvernightSouth Goa, near Palolem.

A last day in Goa

A last relaxed day by the water. If you would like to take Goa home with you, drive to the municipal market in Margao, South Goa's main town, about an hour north. It is a working market of covered lanes selling cashews, spices, kokum, Goan pork sausages, coconut sweets and bebinca, as well as feni, Goa's spirit distilled from cashew fruit or coconut sap. Your driver can help you find good-quality cashews; whole, unbroken nuts cost more and are worth it.

Back at Palolem, spend the afternoon on the beach or by the pool and do your packing early so the evening is free.

End with a final sunset on the sand. It is a good moment to look back at the two halves of the trip and the habits worth keeping: earlier nights, simpler food, a daily walk and a few minutes of quiet each morning.

• MorningOptional shopping at Margao market
• AfternoonBeach or pool; packing
• SunsetA final sunset at Palolem

OvernightSouth Goa, near Palolem.

Fly home from Goa

Transfer to Goa airport for your onward or departing flight. Goa has two airports: Dabolim, about an hour and a half from Palolem, and the newer Manohar International Airport at Mopa in the north of the state, which takes considerably longer to reach from the south. We check which airport your flight uses and time the transfer to suit. Goa has direct flights to the Gulf and to major Indian cities for international connections. If your flight leaves in the evening, ask your resort about a late check-out, subject to availability.

• DepartureTransfer to Goa airport