Kochi, on the Malabar coast, has been a port city for spice trading for 700 years and a visit to its spice town is a heady experience. Chinese fishing nets still grace the Kochi shore and dramatic Kathakali dancers perform their traditional story telling dance there. Inland, the Nilgiri hills are carpeted with endless green tea plantations where wild elephants roam free. No visit to Kerala is complete without a slow meandering boat ride through the backwaters, lined with tall palm trees and tranquil rice paddy fields.

This is relaxing, sensory India.