A former menswear fashion editor, Kim Cihlar would write about designer runway trends and style on-location photo shoots, ensuring the right fit of both clothes and on-set camaraderie. Kim currently designs handwrought talismanic jewelry, as well as teaches moving meditation, a.k.a. yoga.

Kim’s love affair with India started while training for her yoga certification eight years ago and culminated in a trip to northern India in 2024. Her connection with the heartbeat of India, though, was cemented specifically and spiritually during NextTribe’s slow, lush retreat this past January. She can’t wait to lead this journey in 2027 and will be offering yoga classes through out the trip to enhance your experience.

Your Kerala journey begins at midday, when we gather the group from Kochi airport and make our way to the Cranganor Hotel, a gracious retreat just north of Kerala’s storied capital. 

The Cranganor is a family-owned hotel on the banks of the broad Periyer River—a place that rewards arrival. Take a restorative dip in the pool, or join Trip Leader Kim Cihlar for a yoga session designed to ease travel-weary bodies back into their best selves. 

After our welcome dinner, two itinerant performers bring the ancient dance of Kalimala to life—a private show that sets the tone for everything Kerala has in store.

Most of the day is gloriously unscheduled—yours to fill as you wish. Paddle a kayak along the Periyer River, surrender to the hotel spa, or simply rest and let Kerala’s pace work its magic. 

In the late afternoon, we set off for a sunset cruise that unfolds in two acts. First, a thirty-minute punt through golden light in a traditional country boat. Then, a transfer to one of Kerala’s most singular settings—a centuries-old Chinese Fishing Platform perched in the middle of the river. The great nets hang all around you; watch one work its slow, ancient rhythm as dinner is served.

Every dish comes directly from local fishing families: locally grown rice, steamed tapioca with fish curry, fresh fry, prawns, chicken, and a warming cup of sulaimani tea to close the evening.

A five-to-six-hour drive carries us from the coast into the Western Ghat Mountains, where the air turns cool and the world opens into sky and valley. Birds dart through flowering canopy; the landscape feels both ancient and alive. 

The Windermere Estate—another family-owned gem—is a cluster of handsome cabins tucked into lush woodland..

The morning begins at a gentle pace—a birdwatching stroll through the Windermere property with a resident naturalist. Malabar whistling thrushes and white-cheeked barbets flit among the flowering trees, a living introduction to the Western Ghats’ extraordinary biodiversity. 

At midday, we visit the Shristi Trust, a remarkable welfare society dedicated to creating meaningful livelihoods for people with disabilities. The textile workshop here is so celebrated that international designers—among them Eileen Fisher—commission work from its artisans. We’ll design our own batik patterns for shawls, then watch as they emerge, transformed, from deep vats of indigo dye. The result is a keepsake that carries its own story. 

We’ll also explore the wider compound—where workers produce handmade paper, intricate embroidery, and baked goods—and after a simple lunch, visit the Shristi Trust school. 

And yes—the Shristi Trust store is some of the finest shopping on the entire trip. Every beautiful, one-of-a-kind piece you take home directly supports the young people who made it. 

This evening, if you’re drawn to it, a naturalist-guided walk through the hotel’s cardamom plantations awaits—fragrant and unhurried, the perfect close to the day.

Munnar is defined by it's tea plantations—rolling acres of deep, velvety green that seem to go on forever. We stroll the pathways with a knowledgeable local guide, keeping a hopeful eye out for elephants (or the evidence they’ve been there, a.k.a. elephant dung). 

If the female tea pickers are at work, we’ll join them—plucking alongside them, walking through their residential quarters, and sharing a cup of tea at the village shop. This is a rare window into the lives of the women who sustain one of India’s oldest industries. 

A visit to a traditional tea factory reveals the full arc of this beloved leaf—from drying and cutting to sorting and packaging. By a very literal “tea time,” we’ll be back at the hotel, blending our own custom tea to taste.

After a five-hour drive, we arrive at Thekkady, the lively gateway to Periyar National Park. The town invites a wander—textiles, jewelry, spices, and the occasional bold monkey competing for your attention. We’ll settle into the serene Spice Village, with thatched roof cabins modelled on the dwellings of the native Manan tribe. 

The afternoon is yours to spend as you please—poolside, in the spa with an Ayurvedic treatment, or in the inviting yoga hut where Kim will arrange a session or two during our stay.

Morning brings a guided walk through a privately owned spice plantation. Cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg—and the reigning royalty of the spice world: pepper and cardamom. 

We pass rows of mats where freshly plucked peppercorns are spread to dry in the sun, their sharp, warm fragrance rising into the mountain air. This is where the centuries-old spice trade began—the origin point of flavors that have shaped kitchens and cultures the world over.

The plantation owners welcome us into their home for snacks and drinks made entirely from what their land produces—a gesture of generosity that feels genuinely Kerala. 

Next, a cardamom grading factory—where the art of sorting the world’s finest pods is taken very seriously indeed. We’ll sit with the women who do this work, try our own hand at grading, and discover that the repetitive rhythm of it is nearly meditative. 

The afternoon returns us to the Spice Village for a well-earned choice: nap, pool, massage, or yoga. Honestly, all four would be reasonable. 

We venture deep into Periyar National Park—home to elephants, tigers, water buffalo, howler monkeys, and the particular thrill of not knowing what you might encounter next. An hour’s walk through the jungle brings us to the shores of Lake Periyar, where we board a bamboo raft. 

The silence of the rafts gives wildlife every reason to linger near the water’s edge. After our fill of nature and open air, we walk back to board the bus—carrying with us the quiet that only a jungle lake can leave behind. 

A five-hour drive east brings us to a traditional houseboat that carries us deep into Kerala’s legendary backwaters—the very landscape that forms the beating heart of the bestselling novel The Covenant of Water. 

Along the canals, daily life unfolds with unhurried intimacy—people bathing, brushing their teeth, fishing, spreading laundry in the morning light. That evening, a local college English professor who has studied this novel joins us on the boat, offering the kind of literary and historical context that transforms a good read into a lived experience. 

What unfolds is far more than sightseeing—it’s a first-hand encounter with Indian history and its enduring influence on how women live today.

After a final morning on the canals, we leave the houseboat and make our way to the home of Krishna Kumari Amma—the last stretch by tuk-tuk along paths so narrow they feel like secrets. This extraordinary 80-year-old matriarch could be the living model for the central character in The Covenant of Water, and her warmth and generosity make that easy to believe. 

She cooks a traditional vegetarian spread, served as locals eat it—on banana leaves, with a generosity that needs no translation. A tour of her 400-year-old teak home reveals the utensils and methods that kept this farm flourishing across generations. 

After lunch, we make our way to the Marari Beach Hotel, where the Arabian Sea and a slower rhythm take over. 

Today belongs entirely to you. Stretch out on the beach, wade into the waves, drift around the pool, volley a badminton birdie, or take a morning yoga class. And when you’re ready for deeper restoration, the world-class Ayurveda spa is waiting.

For those who want a little more: a tuk-tuk tour of the nearby village offers temple visits with a guide who demystifies the complex customs and architecture, plus a peek at a family-run coconut oil operation and a small-scale mat weaving workshop where craft has been passed down through generations. 

Midday draws us away from the shore for something special: a visit to Philipkutty’s Farm, a verdant island property run by a mother and daughter-in-law team. We join a cooking class that unlocks the techniques behind traditional Southern Indian cuisine, then sit down to a lunch built almost entirely from the farm’s own sustainably grown produce. 

Then comes the sari. The women at Philipkutty’s drape us in traditional silk, and what seems like a simple act of dressing reveals itself as an art form—one that takes years to master and transforms whoever wears it.  

We kept this day free because the beach here earns it. Stroll along the surf past brightly painted fishing boats readying themselves to head out on the open sea. Or take a short ride to the nearby fish market—wonderfully chaotic—where boats jostle in the breakers and sea bream, sardines, and the day’s surprises are unloaded in a flurry of salt and noise. 

Or simply do nothing at all. That is a perfectly complete agenda.  

Kerala has a way of staying with you long after you’ve left. A morning shuttle will carry early departures to the airport—but don’t be surprised if some part of this extraordinary place travels home inside you, quietly rearranging things.