Kerala

Kerala is three trips stacked on top of each other. Up in the Western Ghats, Munnar's tea estates roll away in every direction and the mornings are cold enough for a jacket. Down on the plain, Alleppey's backwaters are a maze of canals and paddies best seen from the deck of a houseboat. And along the coast, Fort Kochi's Chinese fishing nets, Kovalam's lighthouse bay and Varkala's cliff are as different from each other as they are from the hills.

Distances are short but the roads are slow — budget four to five hours between regions, which is why our trips pick two or three places and stay put.

Best time: September to March — the monsoon has cleared, the hills are green and the coast is dry. April and May are humid; June to August is monsoon (ayurveda season, half the price, the backwaters at their fullest).