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made with coconut gravy—wipe up the juice with the millet chapatti provided. Wine is available and you’re able to sample tribal liquors here. Elsewhere in Palolem, you’d do well to stick to whichever beachfront restaurants are pulling a crowd this season—standards are generally up and down. However, we’ve never had a really bad meal at Droopadi ( 98-2268-5138; daily 8am–10pm, closed June–July) where you sit on cushioned cane armchairs at tables in the sand; there’s recommendable fresh seafood (the day’s catch is chalked up on the board), and even the pasty is fairly tasty; best of all, though, is the nonstop action on the beach, and it’s a fine place to take in the sunset. On Agonda Beach, look no further than the slick Turtle Lounge (see “Where to Stay,” above).

Chapter 7: God’s Own Country: Kerala & Lakshadweep

Sailors once swore that a blind man could steer a ship to the Malabar coast, guided by nothing more that offshore winds heavy with the scent of Kerala’s fragrant spices. This is a coastal idyll that once lured endless flotillas for its black gold and now draws travelers to indulge in some of the subcontinent’s most restful, laid-back pleasures. India’s most verdant state—rated by National Geographic Traveler as one of the world’s 50 must-see destinations and also one of “ten earthly paradises”—is a seamless landscape of palm-lined beaches rising to meet steamy jungles and plantation-covered hills, watered by no less than 44 tropical rivers. Once thronged by merchants clambering to trade for spices, today the coast is often bustling with visitors who come here primarily to unwind and indulge. This is, after all, where succumbing to a therapeutic Ayurvedic massage is as mandatory as idling away an afternoon aboard a slowly drifting kettuvallam, or sipping coconut water under a tropical sun before taking in a ritualized Kathakali dance. Eastward, the spice-scented Cardamom Hills and wild elephants of Periyar beckon, while a short flight west takes you to the little-known but sublime tropical reefs of the Lakshadweep islands. All of which make Kerala not just a must-see on your southern India itinerary, but a major destination in its own right.

A thin strip on the southwest coastline, sandwiched between the Lakshadweep Sea and the forested Western Ghats that define its border with Tamil Nadu to the east, Kerala covers a mere 1.3% of the country’s total land area, yet its rich resources have long attracted visitors from across the oceans—it is in fact here that the first seafarers set foot on Indian soil. Legend has it that King Solomon’s ships traded off the Malabar coast between 972 and 932 B.C., followed by the Phoenicians, Romans, Chinese, Portuguese, and Arabs, all of whom came to stock up on Malabar’s monkeys, tigers, parrots, timber, and, of course, the abundance of spices that were literally worth their weight in gold. Seafarers not only brought trade but built synagogues and churches in the emerging port cities, while an entirely Muslim population set up shop on the islands of Lakshadweep. Despite its religious cosmopolitanism (many locals will tell you they subscribe to both Hinduism and Christianity), Kerala’s Hindu tradition is deeply engrained in daily life. Most Kerala temples do not permit non-Hindus to enter, but the months of February to May bring magnificent temple processions through the streets—the most jaw-dropping being the April/May Thrissur Pooram—involving thousands of chanting devotees and squadrons of elephants adorned in flamboyant caparisons (ornamental coverings).

Contemporary Kerala was created in 1956 from the former princely states of Travancore, Kochi, and Malabar. Largely ruled by benevolent maharajas who introduced social reforms emphasizing the provision of education and basic services, Kerala remains one of the most progressive, literate, and prosperous states in post-independence India—and at the same time retains an untouched charm. In 1957, it became the first place in the world to democratically elect a Communist government, and the first Indian state to introduce a