Kerala

Kerala runs cool and dry from September through March, which is when the backwaters are most pleasant and the hill stations clearest. The monsoon months are dramatic but wet, and better suited to Ayurveda stays than sightseeing.

A typical route works up from Kochi through Munnar’s tea estates and Thekkady’s spice plantations, then down to the coast and a night on an Alleppey houseboat.