Kochi

The cantilevered Chinese fishing nets on the tip of Fort Kochi — introduced by traders from the court of Kublai Khan in 1400 AD — are Kerala's most photographed image. Buy the catch directly from the fishermen and have it grilled at an adjacent stall.

An overnight stay on a converted rice barge (kettuvallam) drifting through the Alleppey backwater network — meals cooked on board, kingfishers diving from the banks, and village life visible from the water. The defining Kerala experience.

Kerala's classical dance-drama with elaborate face paint applied over 4 hours — the performance itself lasts 45–90 minutes and tells stories from the Mahabharata and Ramayana. The make-up application is itself a spectacle worth watching.

The Dutch Palace (built by the Portuguese, modified by the Dutch) has the finest Kerala mural paintings in existence — Ramayana scenes in vivid colour. The adjacent Paradesi Synagogue (1568) is one of the oldest active synagogues in the world.

A 4hr drive from Kochi to Munnar — rolling hills carpeted in tea from horizon to horizon at 1,600m altitude, the Eravikulam National Park protecting the endangered Nilgiri tahr, and mist over the Anamalai Hills at dawn. Best as a 2-day trip.

Learn to cook a full Kerala sadya (feast) with a local family — coconut fish curry, avial, thoran, and payasam served on banana leaf. Combine with a visit to a spice garden to see cardamom, pepper, vanilla, and nutmeg growing on the same hillside.