About us
From Karunagappally to the whole of India
A private travel company in Kerala. In tourism since 1997, planning journeys across India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan.
Who we are
A small company, by choice
We are Scenic Escapes India Private Limited, a travel company registered in Kerala.
We plan private journeys for travellers coming from abroad, and for families and groups from India: one itinerary at a time, built around the people who will travel it.
Our home is Karunagappally, in Kollam district, on the Kerala backwaters. From here we plan journeys to the Rajasthan desert, the Himalaya, the Andaman Islands and our neighbours, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan.
Our story
How it began
1990s
The first houseboat
A few minutes from where our office stands today, at Alumkadavu, Mr Babu Varghese of Tourindia turned an old rice barge into the first houseboat. It became the picture the world now has of Kerala.
1997
A first year in tourism
Our founder, Surjith Somasundaram, begins his working life in tourism, alongside Mr Varghese at Tourindia.
After
Learning the road
He spends his whole early career there, learning the work from the ground up: the hotels, the roads, the guides, and what a traveller far from home needs.
2024
Our own company
Scenic Escapes India Private Limited is incorporated on 5 November 2024, with its registered office in Karunagappally.
Today
India and South Asia
Journeys across India and South Asia, with houseboats and Kerala stays offered under our sister name, HORIZONS.
The backwaters are not something we learned to sell. They are where we come from.
The India we plan
One company, many Indias
India changes every few hundred kilometres: the language, the food, the temples, even the way tea is made. We plan the whole of it, and we know the south most closely, because we live there.
- KeralaOur home. Hills, coast, Fort Kochi and the backwaters.
- Konkan and GoaThe west coast, north of Kerala.
- RajasthanForts, havelis and desert camps.
- The citiesDelhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, where most journeys begin and end.
- The northLadakh, Sikkim, Darjeeling, and the Andaman Islands far to the east.
- Sri Lanka, Nepal and BhutanOur neighbours, planned the same way.
What we arrange
Everything between landing and leaving
01
Where you stay
Hotels, heritage houses, palaces and family homestays.
02
How you travel
A private car with an experienced driver, and the flights and trains in between.
03
Who shows you
Local guides, and the permits some places need.
04
Time on the water
Houseboats and backwater cruises in Kerala.
05
What you do
Experiences we choose because they are worth your time, not because they are easy to sell.
Because we have worked with hotels across India for many years, we can often get rates that are not offered to the public, and that saving is passed on to you.
Why small
Why we stay small
A small company can know its guests by name. It can spend days shaping one journey for one family, instead of sending many groups down the same road.
And when something changes on the way, a late flight, a festival worth an extra day, a change of heart, the person who answers the phone already knows your journey and can put it right.
Our hallmark
Welcome a tourist, and send back a friend.
Most of our guests come to us because someone they trust travelled with us first.
The founder
Surjith Somasundaram
Founder and Managing Director
Surjith has worked in tourism and hospitality since 1997. He sees travel as a craft, made fresh for each guest, rather than a list of fixed packages.
After almost three decades on these roads, he knows which hill road is worth the extra hour, which small hotel is worth the detour, and which guide will make a place come alive rather than recite its dates.
That knowledge is what you are booking when you travel with us.
The company on paper
Registered, and easy to check
Scenic Escapes India Private Limited is a private company registered in Kerala. Its numbers are public, and you can check them yourself on the government registers.
- Corporate Identity Number
- U79110KL2024PTC090388
- GSTIN
- 32ABOCS6035R1ZN
- Incorporated
- 5 November 2024
Tell us about your journey
Since 1997
Our team has been in tourism since 1997. Scenic Escapes India Private Limited is a private company registered in Kerala and based in Karunagappally, Kollam. Its registration details are published for anyone to check.
Company details