Classic Southern India: from Pondicherry to Kochi

Meet your driver and head to Mahabalipuram, where you'll spend the night in a beachfront cottage surrounded by lush vegetation.

Included in your itinerary - A private visit to the fish market . At dawn, you will witness the return of night fishermen to the beach, then the bustle and the auction at the market. Also planned: a private visit to Mahabalipuram, a port from which, in the seventh century, Indian civilisation was exported to the Far East, from Ceylon to Java. The Five Ratha - small monolithic temples - are fine examples of the religious architecture of the time. The eighth century Shoreline Temple is one of the oldest built shrines in southern India. But the most impressive monument is the large pink granite bas-relief representing the descent of the heavenly Ganges to earth.
Optional - Bicycles to see the temples on two wheels.
Then on to Pondicherry. Two nights' accommodation in the heart of the ancient English city, in a vast 19th-century mansion with a contemporary wing.

Included in the itinerary - A private cooking class. Massala, turmeric, ginger, cumin, garlic, chilli peppers... a local family welcomes you to their house to try your hand at cooking some family recipes - thali served on a banana leaf, dhal of coral lentils or tamarind-scented rhasam - which you can then enjoy together in a cosy atmosphere. Then, stroll through Pondicherry. As you walk around this city, take in the sleepy squares where pink laurels grow; villas with wooden shutters, identical to the houses in Aix-en-Provence; churches built by missionaries and street names with European names such as 'rue Saint-Louis' and 'rue de la Marine'. You walk through the Tamil city, its streets lined with traditional houses with colonnades and atrium; its market, stalls overflowing with crabs, lobsters and groupers, coconuts and cashews. You will visit the Ashram of Sri Aurobindo, headed until 1973 by The Mother, founder of Auroville.
Optional - Travel six miles north of Pondicherry to visit Auroville, an city dreamed up by Mirra Alfassa, 'The Mother', an English citizen and spiritual companion of Sri Aurobindo.

Drive to Tanjore. Your accommodation for two nights is in a cottage nestled in a green garden on a bank of the Vennar, tributary of the Cauvery River, in a landscape of jungle and rice fields. It's a quiet and cosy cottage.
Included in the itinerary - A private visit to Gangaikondacho-Lapuram, Kumbakonam and Darasuram. In the former capital of the Chola Empire - Gangaikondacho-Lapuram - only the UNESCO World Heritage site of Rajendreshvara remains. The gopurams (towers) of this monumental sculptured temple dominate the landscape. Drive to Kumbakonam to visit Darasuram and the temple of Airatesvara, a superb testimony to mid-12th-century Chola architecture..

Included in the itinerary - A private visit to the temples of Trichy and Tanjore. Visit the temple town of Srirangam in Trichy, where you can climb the Rock Fort Temple, perched atop a rock and offering spectacular views of the Kaveri Valley. The most famous temple in Tanjore, Brihadishvara is a UNESCO-listed temple dedicated to the god Shiva, and is perhaps the most dazzling in India with its high pyramid tower. You will also visit the Royal Palace, a splendid building that houses a fine collection of bronzes.
Optional - A private yoga session at the Chola Temple in Brihadesvara, dedicated to the god Shiva.

Road to the unspoilt Chettinad region, along winding roads between lush green fields and rice paddies. You will stay overnight in an old palatial house, built in 1905 and restored as an eight-room guest house by two English architects, who wanted to highlight the region's unique heritage, which is a blend of Tamil and Western architecture. Interior courtyards, a monumental veranda decorated with marble columns and a spacious banquet hall topped off with intricate carving.

What to see and do - To further your knowledge of Chettinad heritage, go behind the doors of the palatial houses; built in the 19th and 20th centuries, they symbolise the prosperity of the community of the Chettiars of Nattukotatai caste of merchants.
Drive to Madurai, where you'll spend the night in a modern, comfortable, central hotel.
Included in the itinerary - A private visit and puja at Sri Meenakshi Temple. The temple - which is dedicated to Meenakshi, wife of Shiva - is a masterpiece of Dravidian architecture and one of India's most important active temples. It is an underground city, completely enclosed and yet living - young priests make offerings or bless the pilgrims praying to Ganesh. At dusk, you will attend a puja, an offertory ceremony held every evening during which the bronze statue of Shiva is taken to his wife Meenakshi's temple room.
Optional - A wedding ceremony at the temple.

The road to Periyar, through the golden landscape of rice fields, lush hills and a jungle full of wild elephants. Your accommodation for two nights is in a luxurious hotel, nestled in a wooded park, close to Periyar National Park. We love the warm and caring welcome, and the small cabin where you can sip tea.
Included in the itinerary - A private visit to a spice plantation. Southern India's is famous for its tea fields and spice plantations. Guided by the owner, you will discover cardamom, pepper, cloves, nutmeg and vanilla plantations, before ending your tour with a tasty lunch.

Included in the itinerary - The road through mountainous landscapes, tea farms and rubber plantations. Board an elegant cashew resin coconut fibre kettuvallam, once used to carry rice and spices, for a cruise through a network of lagoons, canals and lakes which stretch into the lowlands along the coast. A unique and well-managed ecosystem where rice is cultivated and fish are caught. On board, life is surprisingly comfortable and you can enjoy watching the everyday life of the Backwaters: it's as though time has stood still. Overnight.

Included in your itinerary - Private motor boat on the canals, south of Allepey. Take the route through the network of canals lined with coconut trees. Watch as day-to-day village life passes you by, whether it's the farmers tending to their cattle, gardeners looking after their harvest or youngsters playing in the street.
Take a quick drive to the small village of Mararikulam, on the coast of Malabar, to see colourful houses, white sandy beaches and enormous coconut groves. You'll be staying for two nights in a hotel nestled in a coconut grove overlooking the shore. The bungalows, inspired by traditional fishing houses, are protected by a line of palm trees. The walls are lime-washed, the bathrooms open to the sky and the roofs are of braided palm - they offer protection from the sun while allowing the sea breeze to enter.
What to do and experience - Meet the returning fishing boats - visit the butterfly garden and delight in their constant, silent and colourful activity - discover the village and its small shops by bicycle - treat yourself to an Ayurvedic treatment, which originates in the region - sip a glass of freshly-squeezed fruit juice with your feet in the sand, by the sea, at night.

Drive north along the coast to reach Cochin. You'll spend the night in a beautiful saffron-fronted building built at the turn of the last century by wealthy merchants from Goa, which was home to a British spice export company. Surrounded by English gardens, planted with guavas, avocados, jackfruit and cinnamon, the house has been restored in a fusion of Portuguese, Dutch, Victorian and Indian styles. The colourful suites bear the names of the Indian Ocean tea and spice trading ports: Cochin, Zanzibar, Muscat, Malacca, Goa, Kolkata.
Included in the itinerary - A private visit to Cochin. Houses with steep roofs and triangular church pediments: you can feel the Portuguese and Dutch influences, all against the backdrop of the tropical coast of Malabar. In the Jewish quarter, wander through cobblestone alleyways, passing old merchants' houses and warehouses - it's like a stroll through time. The tour concludes with an aperitif at Old Light House Bristow, whose terrace opens out over the Arabian Sea. Sip a glass of sparkling wine as the sun sets.