Kerala

On India’s southwest coast, between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats mountain range, lies Kerala, the landfall of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama’s historic voyage to the subcontinent. Once prized for its pepper, the “black gold” that drew traders across oceans, the state is now known for its landscape of backwaters, tea-clad hills, forests and tropical shores.

In the north, the coastal town of Kasaragod centres on laterite forts and the Hindu ritual spectacle of Theyyam. Further south, Kochi carries the scent of spice markets in a port town that the Portuguese, Dutch and British once called home. In Kumarakom, village life follows the slow waterways of the backwaters, while the coastal stretch of Kovalam rests along a crescent beach dotted with shacks and evening nightlife. Further inland, the forest-fringed settlement of Thekkady opens onto the waters of the Periyar Reserve, where elephants gather along wooded lakeshores. Nearby, the mountain settlement of Munnar rises into cool highlands quilted with 19th-century tea estates.