15 days
Kerala, in other people's houses
Fifteen days in homestays and family houses, ending in the Theyyam country of the north.
All journeys
There are no hotels on this route.
Every night is spent in a house that someone lives in or that has stayed in one family: a homestay among the paddy fields, a working farm above a river, a tea planter's bungalow, an old tharavad on the northern coast. It goes further north than most Kerala journeys, into Malabar, where Theyyam is performed in season as worship rather than as a show.
- How long
- 15 days
- Where
- Kerala & north Malabar
- Kind of journey
- Kerala
The route
9 stops
- Kochi
- Kuttanad
- Thekkady
- Thodupuzha
- Fort Kochi
- Calicut
- Wayanad
- Thalassery
- Nileshwar
Highlights
Along the way
- 01A night on a houseboat, and the rest of the backwaters seen from the bank
- 02A working farm above the Thodupuzha river, with cooking and village life
- 03Kathakali in Fort Kochi and Theyyam in the north, two very different traditions
- 04Wayanad: cardamom, coffee and forest along the ghat road
- 05Thalassery, worth the stop for its food
- 06Nileshwar and the Bekal coast, close to Kerala's northern end
Day by day
The plan
- Days 1–2Arrive in Kochi, and out to the backwaters the same day if your flight allows.
- Day 3A homestay among the paddy fields of Kuttanad, with the day spent on the water.
- Days 4–5Up to Thekkady: Periyar lake early, then the spice plantations.
- Days 6–7Down to a farm above the river at Thodupuzha for cooking, the plantation and the village.
- Days 8–9Back to Fort Kochi for the old town, the warehouses and an evening of Kathakali.
- Day 10North by train to Calicut, the best way to arrive on the Malabar coast.
- Days 11–12Up into Wayanad for the plantations, the edge of the forest and the road itself.
- Day 13Thalassery, and a night in a tharavad on the coast. Theyyam if it is the season.
- Days 14–15Nileshwar, Bekal fort if you would like it, and depart from Calicut.
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