Spice World

Spicing up my life with a 1000km trip around the backwaters, mountains and forests of Kerala and Tamil Nadu - the world's largest spice garden

- Nigel Saxon

I'd kicked off my semi-retirement in 2023 with a motorcycle tour of Rajasthan in northern India, being blown away by the culture, history, people, food, and the joy of experiencing all of this on a locally-built Royal Enfield.

One year on, I was keen to explore more of India, settling on Kerala in the south of the country. Again, I chose the specialist tour company Two Wheeled Expeditions who take care of the itinerary and logistics.

Kerala is a state about the size of Ireland on India's tropical Malabar Coast, nestling between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats mountain range, isolating it from the Indian interior. Most of the world's spice production is grown here, including pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, and ginger, which have all been traded with the west for hundreds of years. Kerala is also a major producer of tea, typified by the undulating lush green plantations that famously adorn the holiday brochures.

Kerala is not the easiest place to get to from the UK, with no direct flights to the main access city of Kochi. I chose a short stopover in Dubai, to break up the 12-hour journey. I last visited 10 years ago and I'm stunned at how much of the desert has since been consumed by the ostentatious sprawl of concrete, glass and gold. The nighttime vista has become overwhelmingly neon like a scene from the futuristic Blade Runner movie. Before my flight to Kochi, I stayed in Diera, which is the old part of the city. I meandered through the colourful gold and spice souks which are a world apart from the flash new districts. I suspect that most of the spice on display in the markets comes from my next destination.

Fort Kochi

Base camp for our trip is Fort Kochi, an old trading port that has held on to its traditional way of life and Indian heritage, blended with historical influences from the Portuguese, Dutch and British colonisers.