Explore South India with us - Personalized Road Trip Holidays through Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa! | Responsible Holidays

Tea became indigenous to India in the 19th century when the British discovered wild tea plants in Assam and Northern Bengal. However, the concept of the beverage was not alien to India. Historically, this hot brew was consumed by the tribes from the State of Arunachal Pradesh as it was believed to have medicinal and curative properties. Coffee widely believed to have originated from the Kaffa plant in Ethiopia and originally made famous by the Sheep Herders and Monks of the Region, was smuggled into India around 1600AD by a Muslim Saint returning from his pilgrimage from the Holy City of Mecca. Nevertheless, Tea and Coffee, like the rest of the World, have been and continue to be, the main-stay beverages in our lives. How many times however do we glance into our cups and wonder How and Why these beverages Taste the way they do? Curious to know? Well we think we’ve got the right trip lined up for you. Our 9-day trip through a part of the Western Ghats will give you a refreshing new look into the processes of Tea and Coffee cultivation, its manufacture and processing and the lives of people on a plantation. We also decided to throw in some sojourns into a wildlife sanctuary and some historic monuments, palaces and temples along the way.
click on various days on the map for interactive descriptions of your trip…..

DAYS 1 & 2
Start your 9-day tour in the Nilgiri Hills where you spend the first two days experiencing Tea Plantations and an insight into the process that brings tea to your cup. We break up the intensity of these two days with a walk through a sub-tropical Rain Forest, an indigenous eco-system of the Nilgiri Hills.
DAY 3
We proceed to the Jungles of Nagarhole or the Biligiri National Park where we stay for a day experiencing the Jungle and its inhabitants. The choice on this day depends on your choice of the more upscale historic Kabini Jungle Camp of the Maharaja of Mysore or the more humble tented cottages of the Jungle Camp at B.R. Hills.
DAYS 4 & 5
We proceed to the historic city of Mysore post-morning Jeep Safari at the Jungle the previous day. We set the tone in this city by making our base for two days at a former Royal Palace, now an eco-friendly Palace Hotel. A visit to the opulent Amba Vilas Palace provides a deep insight into the history of the City and its charismatic and modern-thinking Rulers. Our next day comprises of visits to a Bird Sanctuary located over 16 sq.km. of mangrove forests, the famous Mysore Silk Factory and the local Farmers Market, made famous by its vast varieties of tropical fruits and local vegetables.
DAY 6
We proceed North to the Town of Hassan which we use as a base to visit the ancient Temple Complexes at Belur and Halebid over the next two days.
DAYS 7 & 8
We spend the first half of the morning visiting the ancient temple complex of Halebid. We drive North in the afternoon into the forested hills of Chikmaglur dotted with old and new Coffee Plantations, where we spend these two days exploring these plantations and visiting the processing centers in the area with the objective of gaining an insight into this remarkable bean.
DAY 9
We drive to the Garden City of Bangalore where you get to end your eight-day sojourn by indulging in various spa and massage treatments at a Spa Resort set amidst gardens and pools just outside the City.