Experiences in India

The dabbawalas and Dhobi Ghat of Mumbai

North India

At Dhobi Ghat thousands of garments are washed by hand every day in stone tubs, a sight best seen from above. Then at Churchgate you watch the dabbawalas, who every day deliver hundreds of thousands of lunchboxes to as many workers, almost without a single mistake.

It is a living portrait of the city and its astonishing organisation.

Breakfast at dawn on the rocks of Narlai

Rajasthan

You leave Rawla Narlai before dawn and climb one of the great granite rocks that dot the countryside, among the oldest on earth. When the sun rises, breakfast is ready, with silence all around.

Riding the Marwari horses

Rajasthan

The Marwari was the horse of the Rajput warriors, famed for its courage and for ears whose tips touch. You ride through fields, temples and villages, greeting farmers and shepherds along the way. It is arranged by Rawla Narlai.

The camel milk dairy

Rajasthan

The Raika have bred camels for centuries, but their world is disappearing. The dairy buys their milk and turns it into new products, to give the herders a future.

You see the camels, learn about the herders' way of life and taste the products. It is arranged by Rawla Narlai.

Pokkali, the rice that grows in salt water

Kerala — Kochi, Muziris and the backwaters

Pokkali grows in flooded fields near the sea, where the water turns salty: after the harvest, the same fields are used to raise prawns. It is an age-old way of farming that now draws the interest of those studying how to feed ourselves in a changing climate.

You visit the farmers' cooperative bank, the village market and the fields, talk with the people who work them and cross the river in a punted boat.

In the footsteps of the Jews of Kerala

Kerala — Kochi, Muziris and the backwaters

Jews reached the Kerala coast in very ancient times, with the spice trade, and for centuries lived between Kochi and the villages of Muziris. The day begins in the Jew Town of Mattancherry, with its synagogue of porcelain tiles.

You then head north to the restored synagogues of Paravur and Chendamangalam, now museums keeping the memory of a community that has almost entirely emigrated to Israel.

Muziris from the river, in search of the lost port

Kerala — Kochi, Muziris and the backwaters

Muziris was the port where Romans, Arabs and Chinese came to buy pepper. Then a great flood of the Periyar changed the course of the river and the city disappeared. Today its remains are scattered across Kodungallur, Paravur, Gothuruth and Chendamangalam.

From the boat you discover the sites of the ancient city: what tradition holds to be the first mosque in India, synagogues, churches, temples, the excavations and the museums. The story links the past to the life of today's villages.

Dawn kayaking in the backwaters

Kerala — Kochi, Muziris and the backwaters

You set off from Alleppey or Kumarakom and glide silently among palms, herons and village homes, where the day begins on the water: people washing, fishing, going to school by boat.

It is the most intimate way to discover the backwaters, and suitable even for those who have never paddled before.

Village life in Kumarakom

Kerala — Kochi, Muziris and the backwaters

You walk and boat among houses facing the water, stopping with people who live by the crafts of the lagoon. You see how coconut rope is made, how fish are caught by hand and how the paddy fields are worked.

It is an encounter with everyday Kerala, just minutes from the lakeside resorts.

The Meesapulimala trek

Kerala — mountains and forests

You set off from the Silent Valley base camp above Munnar and climb through grassy hills and patches of ancient forest, home to species found nowhere else. The path is demanding but not technically difficult.

From the summit, when the sky is clear, the view sweeps across the ranges of the Ghats all the way to Tamil Nadu. A good level of fitness is required.

The night patrol in the Periyar jungle

Kerala — mountains and forests

At night the forest changes: you hear the calls of the animals, see eyes shining in the dark, and sometimes cross paths with deer, wild boar or an elephant. The guards lead the way by torchlight along the trails they patrol every night.

It is a powerful and rare experience, for those who love nature.

Handmade paper and natural dyes in the Srishti workshops

Kerala — mountains and forests

Srishti is a small world of workshops tucked away among the plantations: recycled handmade paper, fabrics dyed with indigo, turmeric and other plants, a bakery. The work is done by people with disabilities, who have found a craft here.

You see the work in progress and try making a sheet of paper or dyeing a piece of fabric, to take home.

Kerala mural painting, in the workshop

Kerala — the Nila river and Malabar

Kerala murals use only five colours, traditionally drawn from stones, leaves and minerals. The master tells the story of this art and demonstrates the technique, from the pencil drawing through to the colours.

Then it is your turn: you paint a small subject to take away as a keepsake.

Beypore and Kozhikode, city of literature

Kerala — the Nila river and Malabar

Kozhikode is a city of writers and bookshops, and Beypore was home to its best-loved author, known to everyone as “the Sultan of Beypore”. You walk the streets of the centre and the market, so closely tied to his books.

In Beypore you visit the yards where craftsmen build the uru by hand, the wooden sailing ships that for centuries voyaged as far as Arabia.

The Mappila cuisine of Kozhikode

Kerala — the Nila river and Malabar

Mappila cuisine, from the Muslim communities of Malabar, is famous for Kozhikode biryani, rice pathiri and cardamom-scented sweets. You wander through the markets and the places where people have eaten for generations, tasting the city's typical drinks along the way.

You then step into a home for a workshop on family recipes and a meal together.

The Chembra trek and the heart-shaped lake

Kerala — the Nila river and Malabar

You set off early through the tea plantations and climb onto the mountain grasslands, with the view opening out over Wayanad. Halfway up the heart-shaped lake appears, the emblem of Chembra.

The path is steep in places: some fitness is needed. Access to the summit is regulated by the forest department.

The Kalka–Shimla on the Himalayan Queen

Heritage trains

The line was built by the British to reach Shimla, the summer capital of colonial India. The train climbs through forests of pine and cedar, villages clinging to the slopes and ever wider views of the mountains.

You travel on the Himalayan Queen, which connects at Kalka with trains from Delhi, or in the glass-roofed panoramic carriage, to take in the scenery looking upwards too.

The Goram Ghat rural train in the Aravalli hills

Heritage trains

The train runs on one of the last metre-gauge lines in Rajasthan, past shepherds, villages and hill forests. The finest stretch is at Goram Ghat, where the tracks overlook the gorge between tunnels and bridges, with waterfalls in the rainy season.

It is an everyday train, used by local people: a simple, authentic experience, to combine with a stay in Narlai or Deogarh.