South India Hill Stations Honeymoon Tour

Coimbatore's small, efficient airport sits on the flat cotton-mill side of Tamil Nadu, and the blue line of the Nilgiri hills is visible from the car park on a clear day. Our representative meets the two of you at the exit with a name board and leads you across to the cool car where your driver, who stays with you until Kochi, is already holding the door. Flights from Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai land through the day, and there are direct services from the Gulf, so your arrival time decides the rhythm of the first afternoon. If you are hungry, a quick stop for idli or a fresh juice can be fitted in before the traffic lights give way to open farmland.

Mettupalayam, about an hour north, marks the foot of the hills, and from there the ghat road starts climbing through a long string of hairpin bends. It is the same slope the toy train tackles on its rack section, and you may catch sight of the line running beside the road or crossing a ravine on a narrow bridge. Higher up, plantations of tea and silver oak cover the slopes, and the air smells of eucalyptus. Coonoor sits at about 1,850 meters, lower and gentler than Ooty, and is quieter too, which is exactly why we start the honeymoon here.

You stay for two nights in a restored planter's bungalow or tea estate cottage on the edge of town, with wooden floors, a fireplace and a veranda facing the tea. Rooms are normally ready by early afternoon, after which you are free to sit outside with a pot of Nilgiri tea and watch clouds roll across the valley. The staff will ask what time you would like breakfast set up in your garden tomorrow, a small detail that makes the mornings here feel like your own. Dinner is served in the bungalow, often with simple Anglo-Indian dishes on the menu. Overnight in Coonoor.

Breakfast arrives at your chosen hour in the bungalow garden, with eggs cooked to order, fresh fruit and tea picked on the slope below you. There is no need to hurry, as Coonoor's sights are all within a short drive. Your local guide joins you mid-morning, and the first stop is Sim's Park, a hillside garden from the 1870s that carries the name of J.D. Sim, a British official of the Madras Club. Unlike a flat formal garden, it drops down the side of a ravine, so paths wind between giant tree ferns, camellias, magnolias and old trees from Australia and Japan. Spring brings the fruit and flower show that Coonoor holds here each year.

Next, the road runs out along a ridge through tea estates toward Lamb's Rock, a viewpoint named after a British officer, where a short walk through woodland ends at a railing above a sheer drop. When the haze lifts, you look straight down onto the Coimbatore plains, and you can sometimes pick out the reservoirs shining in the sun. Your guide can also arrange a stop at a small tea factory on the way, where you see green leaf withering on long racks and smell the drying rooms. For lunch, choose a town café famous for its baking or a simple meal back at the bungalow.

A short hop further along the same ridge brings you to Dolphin's Nose, a rocky outcrop that juts into the void above a deep valley. Across the gorge, the long white thread of Catherine Falls can be seen on the far hillside after the rains, and eagles often circle at eye level. The last stretch is a pleasant walk, and the evening light from here is soft and golden. Coonoor is also famous for its bakeries, so pick up some plum cake or macaroons on the way back. The fire will be lit when you return to the bungalow for a quiet dinner. Overnight in Coonoor.

This morning your driver drops you at Coonoor station, a small building with a red tiled roof and a busy platform, to catch the Nilgiri Mountain Railway up to Ooty, while he takes your luggage by road. The line, built by the British and completed in 1908, is listed by UNESCO along with the Darjeeling and Kalka–Shimla railways. Above Coonoor the train no longer needs its rack and pinion system, but the gradient is still steep, and the carriages creak gently around curve after curve. We reserve first-class seats for the two of you, which are limited in number and booked well ahead.

Allow just over an hour for the ride, which runs through Wellington, with its army cantonment, and the hill stations of Aruvankadu, Ketti and Lovedale. Between them are deep valleys covered in vegetable terraces, pine trees and tea, and the train pauses at each tiny station long enough for photos. Around Ketti the track clings to the hillside high over a long, broad valley of farms and terraced vegetable plots. Your driver waits at Ooty station when you arrive, and after a short drive you check in to a hill hotel with garden views for one night.

After lunch your local guide takes you to the Government Botanical Garden, whose terraces were first planted in the 1840s on the slopes below Doddabetta. Walk past the fern house, the Italian garden and the fossil tree trunk said to be around twenty million years old, then climb to the upper slopes for a view across the town. Later, stop at St. Stephen's Church, consecrated in the 1830s on a rise above the town; local history holds that its great roof timbers were carried up from Tipu Sultan's fallen capital on the Kaveri. In the evening you could browse the shops of the Tibetan market or rest by the fire. Overnight in Ooty.

Today's drive is the one real compromise of this honeymoon. Ooty and Munnar look close on a map, but no road links them directly across the mountains, so you descend all the way to the plains, pass Coimbatore or Pollachi, and climb again into Kerala via Udumalpet. Expect eight to nine hours with stops, and we leave soon after a packed or early breakfast, ideally by seven. The car has room to stretch out, your driver knows good places for coffee and clean restrooms, and lunch is at a family restaurant in Pollachi known for its banana-leaf meals.

After Udumalpet the road enters Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, which lies in the lee of the Ghats and gets so little rain that cactus, thorn bushes and leafless trees replace the green of the slopes above. Grizzled giant squirrels live here, and herds of spotted deer and sometimes elephants are seen near the road. Beyond the forest, the town of Marayoor is known for its natural sandalwood forest and for sugarcane jaggery, still made in small village sheds. The last hour climbs through tea to Munnar, where a tea estate resort is your base for two nights, and spend the evening resting. Overnight in Munnar.

After a slow breakfast your guide leads you east out of town on the road to Top Station, a scenic drive of about 32 km that passes most of Munnar's well-known valley views. The first stop is Mattupetty Dam, which holds back a long reservoir in a valley lined with tea, where boats can be hired if you would like time on the water. Nearby, the Indo-Swiss dairy project once bred cattle in these meadows, and a few cows still graze on the grassy slopes by the road. The air here is cooler than in town, and the light is best in the first hours of the day.

A little further on, Echo Point sits on the edge of a lake where a shout bounces back from the hills, and the shores are popular with local families at weekends. Then comes Kundala Lake, a quieter reservoir surrounded by eucalyptus and cherry trees, where you can paddle a small boat or take a shikara-style ride together. The road keeps climbing past tea estates to Top Station, at around 1,700 meters on the border with Tamil Nadu. Pack a light jacket and some snacks, because restaurants along this stretch are simple and few, and the weather can change quickly.

Top Station gets its name from the old ropeway that once carried tea down the cliffs to the plains below, and the viewpoint looks out over the Western Ghats into Tamil Nadu. When the valley is clear you see layers of ridges stretching to the horizon; when it is cloudy, the mist climbs toward you in slow waves. It is one of the best spots in Munnar for pictures together with nothing but sky behind. Head back before dusk for a hot drink and a warm shower before dinner. Overnight in Munnar.

Leaving Munnar after breakfast, the road heads south through Devikulam and Poopara, where the hillsides switch from tea to cardamom, the crop that has made this corner of the Western Ghats famous. Cardamom grows best in shade, so the plantations look like open forest, with tall trees above and leafy clumps of the plant below. There is a good halt where the Anayirangal reservoir comes into view, or at a roadside stall selling fresh spices. The drive takes about three hours, with gentle bends and now and then a view east across the Tamil plains.

Thekkady borders the Periyar Tiger Reserve and has a small market area full of spice shops, Ayurveda centers and Kashmiri handicraft stores. After checking in to a forest-edge resort with a private balcony, you head out with a plantation guide for a spice garden walk. Among the shady paths you are shown pepper vines climbing trees, cardamom flowers hidden near the ground, nutmeg fruit splitting open to reveal red mace, and the bark of the cinnamon tree. You taste fresh leaves and pods, learn how each spice is harvested and see why this hill region attracted traders for centuries.

At the end of the walk, a table for two is laid out in a shaded corner of the garden for a picnic lunch, with Kerala dishes such as rice, fish curry or a vegetable stew, tapioca and fresh fruit. Afterward, take your time getting back to the resort for an afternoon rest. After dark there is the option of a Kalaripayattu show, Kerala's old fighting art of leaps and swordplay, at a small arena in town, or simply stay in and listen to the forest sounds. If you would like to go out on the lake tomorrow morning, your driver will collect the boat tickets in advance. Overnight in Thekkady.

Periyar Lake formed behind the Mullaperiyar Dam, finished in 1895, and the flooded forest left behind still stands as bare tree trunks in the water. The forest department runs boat rides on the lake from early morning, and the first trip of the day is the best for wildlife, as the animals come down to the shore to drink. You may see sambar deer, wild boar, gaur, and sometimes a group of elephants feeding near the water's edge. Tigers are rarely seen, but cormorants, darters and kingfishers are almost certain. Boats are shared and seats are limited, so we book in advance.

For the rest of the day, you have a choice. Couples who enjoy being active can sign up for one of the forest department's guided activities, such as a nature walk or bamboo rafting, which take small groups into the reserve with armed rangers. Others prefer a slow day at the resort, enjoying the pool or an Ayurvedic treatment at an extra cost. Lunch is free, and your driver can take you into town for a meal or to the spice market for shopping. The town is also a good place to buy tea, coffee, cardamom and pepper in sealed packs to take home.

Before sunset, wander the quiet lanes around your resort, where the forest edge comes close and the birdsong fills the air. Malabar grey hornbills, giant squirrels and noisy flocks of babblers are all regular visitors to the trees here, so keep binoculars handy. Back at the resort, enjoy a quiet evening with dinner on your balcony if you like, a small luxury the staff are happy to arrange. With the coast as tomorrow's goal, packing tonight is a good idea, and so is requesting an early breakfast. Overnight in Thekkady.

After breakfast you leave the hills behind and descend west through Kuttikkanam, Mundakayam and the rubber plantations of central Kerala. The road winds steeply through forest at first, then flattens into lush countryside dotted with churches, schools and small towns. Your driver can stop for fresh pineapple or a cup of tea at a roadside stall, and lunch is at a clean restaurant on the way. By early afternoon the heat and humidity of the coast are noticeable, and you reach Kochi, Kerala's great port city, for a last night in a heritage hotel in Fort Kochi.

Your guide meets you after a short rest for a gentle walk through Fort Kochi, covering the beach promenade, the Dutch cemetery and the shaded roads around the old parade ground. The pace is easy, and you stop at a café in a converted warehouse for fresh lime soda or cold coffee. Your guide shares stories of the Portuguese, Dutch and British traders who shaped the town, and points out the merchant homes with sloping clay-tile roofs and wide verandas. If you have time, a short ride to Mattancherry reveals spice warehouses and antique shops, but only if you are not too tired after the drive.

At sundown, stroll to the shore where the Chinese fishing nets turn into black outlines against an orange sky, then end the day with a seafood dinner at a restaurant near the beach. Many places here let you pick fresh fish, prawns or crab and choose how it is cooked, from a spicy Kerala fry to a mild coconut curry. This is your last evening of the honeymoon, so take your time, order a dessert to share, and enjoy the cool breeze drifting in off the Arabian Sea. Overnight in Kochi.

The final morning is relaxed. After breakfast, you can go back to the waterfront for a last look at the fishing nets in the morning light, or visit the Mattancherry Palace and the Paradesi Synagogue if you are flying out in the evening. Both sites keep weekly rest days: no visits to the palace on a Friday, and none to the synagogue from Friday through Saturday or on Jewish holy days, so the morning plan depends on your date. A spice shop stop is easy to add if you still need gifts to take home.

When it is time to go, the car heads for Cochin International Airport, roughly ninety minutes up the highway. He will arrive with enough time for international check-in and help with your bags until you reach the terminal. After nine days among tea, toy trains and spice gardens, we hope the two of you leave South India rested and happy. When an anniversary comes around, our team can put together the next trip, whether that means a beach in Goa or the backwaters of Alleppey. Have a safe flight home.