2 days in Kerala

Day by day

1. Day 1: Backwater houseboat cruise and Chinese fishing nets

   Backwater houseboat cruise, Chinese fishing nets, Mattancherry Palace and Paradesi Synagogue and Jew Town, then Kathakali performance in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Backwater houseboat cruise

      Overnight trips typically board around noon, anchor at sunset and return the next morning, with Kerala meals cooked on board.

   2. Late morning

      Chinese fishing nets

      They are thought to have arrived with traders from China centuries ago. Stalls nearby will cook fish you buy from the catch.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Appam and stew

      Homestays in Fort Kochi and local restaurants across central Kerala.

   4. Afternoon

      Mattancherry Palace

      Inside are some of India's finest Hindu temple murals, depicting scenes from the Ramayana, alongside royal portraits and palanquins.

   5. Late afternoon

      Paradesi Synagogue and Jew Town

      It stands at the end of Jew Town Road, a street of antique shops and spice warehouses that once belonged to Kochi's Jewish community.

   6. Evening

      Kathakali performance

      Arrive an hour early to watch the performers apply their make-up, which is as fascinating as the show.

2. Day 2: St Francis Church and Eravikulam National Park

   St Francis Church, Eravikulam National Park, Munnar tea estates and Tea Museum and Top Station, then Varkala Cliff in the evening.

   1. Morning

      St Francis Church

      Vasco da Gama was buried here in 1524 before his remains were returned to Portugal in 1539, and his gravestone is still in the floor.

   2. Late morning

      Eravikulam National Park

      Park buses take visitors up to the tourism zone below Anamudi, the highest peak in southern India. The slopes turn blue when the neelakurinji shrub flowers, roughly once every 12 years.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Puttu and kadala curry

      Local breakfast places all over Kerala, usually from early morning.

   4. Afternoon

      Munnar tea estates and Tea Museum

      The Tea Museum at the Nallathanni estate explains the industry's history with old machinery and a working processing demonstration, and guided walks through the estates show how leaf is picked by hand.

   5. Late afternoon

      Top Station

      The road there passes Mattupetty Dam, Echo Point and Kundala Lake.

   6. Evening

      Varkala Cliff

      Walk the cliff path at sunset and stay for dinner at a cliff-top restaurant; carry a torch, as the path is unfenced in places.

Before you go

• Backwater houseboat cruise: Book a reputable operator a few weeks ahead for December, January, Christmas and Onam; avoid deals offered by touts at the jetty.

If it rains

• Swap in Napier Museum (Thiruvananthapuram): Combine it with the Sree Chitra Art Gallery next door for paintings by Raja Ravi Varma.
• Swap in Kerala Folklore Museum (Ernakulam): It is in Thevara, south of central Ernakulam; combine it with a ferry ride to Fort Kochi.
• Swap in Ayurveda treatment (Kovalam): Choose centres with qualified Ayurvedic doctors who consult before treatment, especially for multi-day programmes.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 17–22 hours of visiting over 2 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 11.5 hours in December to 12.8 hours in June.

Getting between stops: Train. Indian Railways trains connect Kerala's coastal towns frequently; Ernakulam to Varkala takes about 3–4 hours and to Alappuzha about 1–1.5 hours.

More or fewer days

• One day in Kerala
• 3 days in Kerala
• 5 days in Kerala

Questions travellers ask