Guided walking in India

Where we photograph - click on a region

It's hard to imagine a richer setting for a walking holiday in India than Kerala, our newest destination.

Kerala is the maritime region along India's tropical south-west coast. The soft breeze from the Indian Ocean ensures that while tropical, it rarely gets uncomfortably hot. However we'll be walking at a gentle pace, covering modest distances, with plenty of opportunities to cool off and take in the ambience of this extraordinary part of the world.

Kerala is a feast of colour and life. It's a state of culture and sophistication, yet thanks to the moderate tropical climate and the diversity of the landscape it is one of the richest in natural beauty.

Cochin, the Venice of the East

We begin and end our holidays in the seaport of Cochin on the Malabar Coast, a spice trading centre since the 14th century. Cochin sits on a headland dividing the inland lagoons and backwaters from the Indian Ocean – Fort Cochin is the site of an old Indian settlement whose architecture will take you back to the days of the British Raj.

We explore the lagoons, canals and rivers on foot and by boat - you'll soon realise why Cochin has been dubbed the 'Venice of the East'. As always with Authentic Adventures holidays, our hand-picked local guides will add a depth of understanding you could never hope for as a conventional tourist. You'll wander through gardens filled with the scent of cardamom, fenugreek and cinnamon, see the fantastical Chinese fishing nets, take in the bustle of the trades people in the waterside villages and perhaps visit the birthplace of Vasco da Gama.

Tigers and tea plantations

From Cochin we travel inland and up into the Western Ghats, a 1000-mile long mountain range which runs most of the length of western India and rises to nearly 9000 feet. In colonial days the British would retreat to these cool, fragrant hills in the hot Indian summer, and you'll soon see what their appeal must have been. Walking in these gentle hills and valleys is a delight.

A highlight of our holidays in Kerala is Periyar Tiger Reserve, whose extraordinary wildlife has made it one of India's most important wildlife sanctuaries. You may see elephants, monkeys, mongooses and monitor lizards, plus any of 160 butterfly species and 2000 kinds of flowering plants. You might even glimpse one of the reserve's 24 tigers.

From Periyar we go on to the hill town of Munnar, the centre of Kerala's beautiful tea region. This was once a favourite summer resort for the colonial rulers.