Day 1Fly into Bangalore where you will be greeted by a Red Dot representative. The new international airport is located around an hour outside the city centre, so from there you will be escorted into the city. Here you will stay overnight in the comfort and reprise of the Jayamahal Palace to allow for full rest and recuperation from your flight and allow for some adjustment to the Indian time zone. A beacon of India’s recent economic boom, Bangalore is famous for its extensive shopping arcades and boutiques offering famous Western brands at a much lower price. Flagship stores pander to the new middle class’s consumption. Look for the bright lights of the MG Road and Brigade Road. Alternatively, take a stroll through the enchanting Lalbagh Botanical Garden. These gardens are set on 240 acres with a rare collection of tropical and sub-tropical trees and plants, and a glasshouse built on the lines of London's Crystal Palace. The British imprint is clear; the house was constructed in 1889 to commemorate the visit of the Prince of Wales.

Day 2 & 3Depart from Karnataka’s capital first thing in the morning for a three hour journey to Karnataka’s old capital city of Mysore. Renowned for its magnificent palaces, a rich art culture, and stunning botanical gardens, Mysore encapsulates an Indian charm that Bangalore cannot rival. In the manner of a visiting Viceroy of yesteryear, check-in to the Lalitha Mahal Palace and live out a throwback to the city’s colonial past. By day, climb or drive the Chamundi Hills, barter in the Devaraja market, or wander through the famous Mysore Palace. Stay around for the evening illumination of the palace on weekends and public holidays to see the 97,000 thousand bulbs outline the palace against the ink-black sky. The 150-acre Brindavan Gardens just outside the city makes for a spectacular evening trip. On weekends and public holidays a ‘Dancing Fountains’ show is laid on where the fountains are lit up in an array of typically vibrant colour.

Day 4 & 5In the matter of a two- hour drive, you will leave behind the turbulence and vibrancy of Indian city life and retreat to the lakeside peace and beauty of Kabini. Here you will be well received by the Orange County group, whose safari lodge adopts the feel of a highly luxurious tribal village. Spend 2 days and nights wildlife spotting and nature walking in the morning and evening, and the rest of the time relaxing in this 5-star eco-friendly lodge. After a day exploring the jungle, perhaps book in at the resort’s spa or unwind in the open air Jacuzzi of your thatched private cottage, before indulging in the excellent buffet food by candlelight. In the light of dawn, take a boat trip across the River Cauvery to enter the Nagarhole National Pak for your jeep safari. Once the hunting grounds for the Maharaja of Mysore, Nagarhole is home to Tigers, Leopards, Asiatic Elephants, Wild Dogs, Sloth Bears and a wealth of other fascinating wildlife. Accompanied by the resort’s nature expert, you can take daily excursions deep into the park and experience a real-life Indian nature documentary of your own.

Day 6 & 7Set off for a 3 hour journey up into the rolling hills where the eastern fringes of the Western Ghats merge with the Mysore Plateau. Once a proud warrior kingdom, Coorg survives as a beautiful anomaly of South India in that it has so far retained its original forests. This lesser-known region to international visitors is comprised of rugged mountain terrain interspersed with cardamom jungle coffee plantations and acres of lush rice paddy. Here you will be tucked away at the Heritage Resort which provides the setting to soak in one of South India’s most beautiful regions. Not only is the resort a place to relax, it is also a base for exploration. Short treks from the resort can take you through the local coffee and spice plantations to the source of the great River Cauvery. To understand something of India’s cultural diversity, the Nyingmapa Tibetan Monastery and Golden Temple is half an hour’s drive away from the resort. Draped with prayer flags and surrounded by fertile farmland, the town is really a refugee camp of Tibetans and practicing monks, fighting to preserve their own culture and Buddhist religion in exile. Visit the temple, the people will welcome you, and see monks debating with one another in the evening time.

Day 8 & 9The 4 hour journey from Coorg will take you the morning, but in that time, you will leave behind Karnataka’s Western Ghats and enter into the exotic lands of Malabar and Northern Kerala. Stay for 2 nights in the Neeleshwar Hermitage, where the excellent staff, food and pristine beach will settle you nicely into the Keralan way. It is fitting that the staff at the Hermitage prefer to refer to themselves as a retreat over a resort. Beautifully tucked away down a narrow coastal track, enjoy the beautifully secluded beach cove or take an excursion out to a local village market or ashram by day. As the evening rolls in, you may attend an evening talk on Indian culture and travel with the resort’s own cultural director, Alistair Shearer.

Day 10After a relaxed morning, you will travel 4 hours (160km) south down Kerala’s coastal road and stop off overnight in Kozhikode – once Calicut -- en route to the capital city of Cochin. Arrive at the Kadavu Resort in the late afternoon, and enjoy the tropical setting on the banks of Malabar’s winding Chaliyar River. Build your evening around a cultural show of local folk arts and dancing, performed in the resort’s outdoor amphitheatre, and then sit out for the evening’s meal in one of the resort’s open restaurants.

Day 11 & 12Leave first thing from Calicut and arrive for lunch at Fort Cochin, an old trading post on the ancient Malabar Coast. Check-in for your two night’s stay at Hotel Arches, a colonial-style property located in the heart of Fort Cochin across from St Francis Church and the Parade Grounds. This is an ideal base from which to explore Fort Cochin’s cultural heritage. Stroll down to the Vasco da Gama square, a narrow promenade that parallels the beach where the fish market runs in the late afternoon. See the vast Chinese fishing nets, tended by fishermen; even lend a hand if you wish. These impressive nets are built out of teak wood and bamboo poles, resembling the shape of a preying-mantis, and date back to the 14th century. Traditional Kathakali and Bharathanatyam dance performances are held at the Greenix Village down Kalvathy Road. Go early and catch the intriguing ritual of the Kathakali dancers putting on their make-up before their performance. Visit the Mattancherry Palace, once occupied by the local Verma Kings and now a museum that tells of their lifestyle. Explore Jewish Town with its narrow cobbled stone walkways where wayside shops overflow with antiques and silk shawls; the 16C synagogue with intricate chandeliers and porcelain tiled floors; the Santa Cruz Basilica; the Dutch Palace and St Francis Church.

Days 13Travel one hour south to Kumarakom – an island on the vast Vembanad Lake -- and head to Privacy, an exquisite boutique hotel owned by the Malabar Escapes chain. Upon arrival, board Malabar Escape’s own houseboat – The Discovery - and begin your overnight cruise on the Vembanad Lake. Vembanad provides the setting for Arundhati Roy’s Booker prize-winning novel, The God of Small Things, and offers a true experience of India’s enchanting natural landscape and rural village life. The Backwaters of Kerala consisting of lagoons, lakes, canals and a network of 41 rivers leading to the Arabian Sea. Over 900 kms of this massive water body can be explored by boat. Views change constantly as you travel. Glide past lush green paddy fields and coconut groves, while tranquil waters momentarily disturbed by cormorants and brahmini kites diving down in search of their catch. Fishermen tend to their Chinese nets, and villagers pass by in canoes filled with coir and vegetables. Stop enroute and explore the rural villages, Hindu kovils and churches. At night, once your houseboat is anchored in the waters, dine on the helm under a starlit sky with the sound of crickets in the background.