Kerala High Range & Backwaters

The Palakkad gap is the lowest and easiest crossing of the Western Ghats in the south, so you enter Kerala without sustained ghat driving. From Bengaluru or Madurai the same circuit involves considerably harder climbing before you even begin.

Yes — a Kerala interstate commercial permit, which we obtain before dispatch. One permit covers the circuit rather than each crossing. It appears on your bill at actuals with the receipt, alongside the state entry tax.

The Periyar boat slot, Eravikulam entry, and the Alleppey houseboat. None can be arranged on the day and none is something we book on your behalf. Tell us what you have and we will build the days around them.

No. It closes for part of the year during the Nilgiri tahr calving season. Groups who came specifically for it and arrive in the closed window are genuinely disappointed, and it cannot be worked around. Check before you fix dates.

You can, and we would not suggest it. As written it descends steadily and ends on the water, so the days get gentler as they go. Reversed, you finish with the Munnar climb on the day everyone would rather be resting.

Around 320 km from Alleppey back to Coimbatore through Kochi, and Kochi traffic is the one thing here that can turn a long day into a very long one. We leave early. If your flight allows, ending at Kochi instead saves the leg entirely — ask us.

It waits, and how it waits depends on what you book. An overnight houseboat means the vehicle and chauffeur stay at the jetty; a day cruise means they are useful for the rest of the day. Both are fine — the chauffeur's rest is simply planned differently.

The 13 seater for nearly every group. The main roads suit any of the three, but Munnar town is congested, high-range estate approaches are narrow, and Alleppey backwater properties are often down lanes a 17 seater cannot use.

Cold enough to need a jacket at night, particularly December to February. That matters for luggage on a circuit that finishes at Alleppey in the heat — you are packing for two climates, and it fills a vehicle faster than the headcount suggests.

It is spectacular and hard. The high range sits in cloud for days, the roads are wet, and views are the casualty rather than access. September to March is the answer if the landscape is why you are coming.

Both fit naturally and each adds a day. Kochi works best as an ending rather than a detour. Athirappilly sits between Alleppey and the gap and is a genuine addition. Ask us and we will lay out the eight-day version.

The vehicle and chauffeur for seven days, fuel, driver batta, and the Kerala permit and entry tax at actuals with receipts. Accommodation, meals, the houseboat, boat safari tickets and entry fees are not included.