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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 travellers to indulge in some of the subcontinent’s most restful, laid-back pleasures. 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.

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. This is 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 ritualised Kathakali dance. The spice-scented Cardamom Hills and the shimmering beaches beckon to unravel the natural beauty of Kerala.