11 Days 10 Nights
India
14
Overview
Overview
Our retreat begins in Kochi, a friendly harbour city on the West coast of India. We spend an afternoon here, exploring the old fort and enjoy the food markets before having dinner with a local family. We stay for one night at a beautiful boutique hotel in Kochi before driving up into the hills to stay for two nights in the tea plantations of Munnar.
Our destination is a traditional tea and coffee estate where you can enjoy rambling walks around the plantation and the tea gardens or dip in the pool with spectacular views. We will be learning about the art of tea making, visiting a cardamom and coffee estate, walking a tea trail and enjoying a hands-on tea making and tasting experience.
Our next stop is Lake Vembanad where we spend 3 nights at an Ayurvedic resort set on the lake. Here you can enjoy morning yoga and book Ayurvedic treatments. We’ll visit a local vegetable market operated by local cooperatives and have a cooking class on board a traditional Kerala houseboat.
We will also explore the Kerala backwaters by boat with a local guide and visit the Kattanad community, joining an energetic grandmother for lunch who will cook specialities like rice puttu and appam served with curry on a banana leaf. After lunch we walk to the coconut farm and see the art of toddy tapping, while discovering the simple joys of village life.
After 6 days immersed in Kerala way of life, it is time for a change of scene, a change of pace and a different local cuisine as we head back to Kochi and then fly to the holy city of Varanasi. Known as the City of Light, Varanasi is a colourful and fascinating place. It is a magical experience but not one for the faint-hearted as the sights, sounds and smells of the maze like old town can be intense.
Varanasi is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world and one of the most holy for Hindus. Rituals of life and death take place in public along the ghats of the Ganges river and confronting the reality and ritual of death can be a powerful experience.
We’ll be staying in an oasis of calm at the BrijRama Palace. Set on the serene banks of Darbhanga ghat and towering over the Ganges, the palace offers a luxurious respite from the hustle and bustle. During our 3 days in Varanasi we will watch sunrise from a boat on the Ganges, enjoy a guided tour of the city, join the evening Aarti ceremony and head to the Buddhist pilgrimage site of Sarnath.
We will have some for a little shopping too – bargaining for a silk scarf or shawl from Varanasi is a special experience not to missed! On our last evening we will have dinner with a local family and head to the station for a night on the sleeper train back to Delhi.
Our final 24 hours will be a whirlwind of Delhi magic as we will be staying in old Delhi at a beautifully restored heritage haveli. We’ll spend our afternoon on a guided walking and rickshaw tour of old Delhi including visiting the magnificent Jama Masjid (India’s largest mosque) and a street food tour in Chandni Chowk market where we visit local food joints like the famous “Paranthe Wali Galli” and the delicious Natraj “Dahi Balla”. The buzz of the market is something that has to be experienced, walking through a chaotic abundance of ingredients, food, produce and people. There is nothing quite like it!
Our last evening will be spent flying kites on a rooftop, celebrating our trip with a sundowner and indulging in a 7 course tasting menu at our haveli.
This is a ten day trip taking place 9-19 October 2023. Costs are £2999 for a place in a twin room and £3999 for a private room.
In case you want to explore even more, we can arrange a private trip to the Taj Mahal on 20th October.
