A Bit of North & A Bit of South
17 Days / 16 Nights
Private Tour
Two Indias, One Trip
The two Indias — the Mughal North and the Dravidian South — are so different in language, food, architecture, and climate that combining them in a single journey is either a mistake or a revelation. We've built an itinerary that makes it the latter.
This journey begins in the imperial North — Delhi's layered millennium of capitals, the Taj Mahal, the Pink City of Jaipur — and moves south through a landscape that changes so completely between Rajasthan and Kerala that the transition feels like crossing a border into a different country. And it is, in almost every sense except the administrative one: the languages share no cognate, the temples operate on a different structural logic, the kitchens use different spicing traditions, and the people have a different relationship to their own history.
The Kerala portion of this itinerary is the counterweight to the north's grandeur: quieter, greener, more domestic in its pleasures. The backwaters of Alleppey are the specific antidote to the marble and sandstone spectacle of the Golden Triangle, and the cooking of the Syrian Christian villages on the backwater shores is the specific antidote to the tandoor-centred cuisine of Rajasthan. India, it turns out, is large enough to contain these contradictions comfortably, and travellers who experience both leave with a more accurate picture of the subcontinent than those who do only one.
Fly into Delhi and transfer to your hotel. The rest of the day is free to recover from the flight.
A full day covering both faces of the capital: Old Delhi's Red Fort, Jama Masjid, and a rickshaw ride through Chandni Chowk, followed by New Delhi's Humayun's Tomb, Qutub Minar, and a drive past India Gate.
Drive roughly four hours to Agra, with a stop en route at the Tomb of Akbar at Sikandra, and check into your hotel for the evening.
Visit the Taj Mahal at sunrise, when the marble takes on its softest light, followed by Agra Fort, the red sandstone fortress that was the main Mughal residence until 1638.
Drive to Jaipur, stopping en route at Fatehpur Sikri, the abandoned red sandstone capital built by Emperor Akbar in the late 16th century.
A full day of Jaipur's highlights: Amber Fort in the morning, then City Palace, Jantar Mantar, and Hawa Mahal, with time in the old city's bazaars.
Drive back to Delhi and take a domestic flight to Kochi, Kerala, marking the transition from North India's deserts and forts to the tropical south. Arrive by evening and transfer to your hotel.
Explore Jew Town and the Paradesi Synagogue, founded in 1568, then Mattancherry Palace, built by the Portuguese and later renovated by the Dutch. In the evening, watch a Kathakali performance.
Drive roughly four hours into the Western Ghats to Munnar, a former hill station wrapped in evergreen tea estates.
A guided walk through Munnar's tea plantations and the Tata Tea Museum, then Eravikulam National Park, home to the endangered Nilgiri tahr, with views from Echo Point and Mattupetty Dam.
Drive roughly three hours to Thekkady, on the edge of Periyar Tiger Reserve, and settle into a forest-set lodge surrounded by spice gardens.
A boat safari on Periyar Lake, where elephants and deer are regularly seen along the shoreline, followed by a guided walk through a working spice plantation.
Drive roughly three hours to Alleppey and board your private kettuvallam houseboat for an overnight cruise through the backwaters, with full board meals prepared on board.
Disembark from the houseboat after breakfast and drive roughly three hours south to Kovalam, a relaxed stretch of coastline, for the final stretch of the trip by the sea.
A free day along Kovalam's coastline, with its crescent-shaped beaches and lighthouse, the perfect unwind after the trip's busier first half.
A final relaxed day at the coast, with the option of an Ayurvedic massage at your hotel's spa before transferring to Trivandrum for departure preparations.
Transfer to Trivandrum International Airport for your onward or departing flight.
| Tier | Accommodation Category | Price Per Person |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | 3-star hotels throughout, standard houseboat | From $3,450 |
| Comfort | 4-star and heritage-style hotels throughout, premium houseboat | From $4,950 |
| Premium | 5-star and palace-category hotels throughout, luxury houseboat | From $8,200 |
Pricing is per person, based on double occupancy, and varies with season and current accommodation rates. October through March offers the most reliably pleasant weather across both regions. All prices are estimates based on current published rates and are confirmed in writing before booking.
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