Kerala Backwaters & Hills Escape

Five days from Munnar's tea hills to Alleppey's backwaters — the two poles of Kerala that make it "God's Own Country" (their words, but not inaccurate). Munnar at 1,600m: tea plantations that carpet the hills in velvet green, the endangered Nilgiri tahr on the cliffs of Eravikulam, and mornings so misty the world shrinks to the nearest tea bush. Then descend to the backwaters: board a traditional kettuvallam houseboat, drift through the palm-fringed canals of Alleppey, and eat fish curry cooked on board while kingfishers skim the water. The transition from hill to water happens in a 5-hour drive through cardamom forests and rubber plantations. Kerala fits more ecosystems into one state than most countries manage.