Following the Spice Coast of Kerala

For two thousand years, traders sailed here for pepper, cardamom and cinnamon. Arab dhows, Chinese junks, Portuguese caravels: they all came to the Malabar Coast. Today, the spices are still here, and so is the unhurried rhythm of a coast built around water.

Fort Kochi

Start in Fort Kochi, where Chinese fishing nets — giant cantilevered contraptions of teak and bamboo — rise and fall on the waterfront at dawn. Wander Jew Town's spice warehouses, where the air is thick with ginger and pepper, and catch a Kathakali performance, arriving early to watch the dancers paint their faces.

The backwaters

From Alleppey, board a kettuvallam, a traditional rice barge turned houseboat. You'll drift past paddy fields below the waterline, churches and temples on the banks, and kids waving from canoes on their way to school. Ask for a smaller boat that can navigate the narrow canals; that's where the magic is.

Into the hills

Head up to Munnar or Thekkady for tea estates rolling like green velvet and cardamom plantations under shade trees. Take a guided spice walk and taste fresh peppercorns straight off the vine.

What to eat

• Karimeen pollichathu — pearl spot fish wrapped in a banana leaf with masala.
• Appam with stew — lacy rice pancakes with a coconut-milk curry.
• A sadya — a vegetarian feast of twenty-odd dishes served on a banana leaf. Eat with your right hand.

Visit between October and March, after the monsoon has left everything glowing green.