Sri Lanka, Kerala & Maldives: The Indian Ocean Wellness Arc

Your flight arrives in Colombo, where our representative meets you and drives you up into the hills to Kandy, the last royal capital of Sri Lanka. The afternoon is free to rest after the journey, with an early-evening stroll along Kandy Lake.

A gentle day in Kandy. The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, Sri Lanka's holiest Buddhist shrine, in the morning, and the magnificent Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya in the afternoon, with their orchid house and avenue of giant bamboo. An evening of Kandyan dancing and drumming.

A drive north into the Cultural Triangle, stopping at the golden cave temples of Dambulla. Continue to your village resort near Habarana, set among lakes and jungle. The late afternoon is free for the pool or a gentle nature walk in the grounds.

A relaxed morning, then an afternoon jeep safari in Minneriya or Kaudulla National Park, where wild elephants gather in herds around the great reservoir — one of Asia's finest wildlife spectacles. Those who wish can opt for a gentle climb of Sigiriya or the easier Pidurangala in the cool morning.

A scenic drive south to the walled town of Galle on the Indian Ocean. After checking in to your beachfront hotel, an early-evening walk along the seventeenth-century Dutch ramparts, the lighthouse and old churches glowing as the sun sets over the sea.

A free day to explore Galle Fort's galleries, jewellers and cafés at your own pace, or to enjoy the hotel's ocean-facing pool. An optional visit to a sea-turtle hatchery or a southern tea estate can be arranged. A restful day before the journey to India.

A transfer to Colombo and a short flight to Kochi on India's Malabar coast. Our Kerala representative transfers you to a heritage hotel in atmospheric Fort Cochin. A late-afternoon stroll past the Chinese fishing nets, the spice-trading lanes and St Francis Church as the harbour fills with light.

A morning drive to Kumarakom on the shores of Vembanad Lake, the heart of the Kerala backwaters. Your retreat is a CGH Earth eco-property of restored heritage homes set in a coconut grove by the water. The afternoon is free for the lakeside pool, a bird sanctuary walk, or the first of the Ayurvedic treatments.

Today your hotel floats. You board a private traditional kettuvallam houseboat — palm-thatched, with an en-suite cabin, a deck and a personal cook — and drift through the narrow canals and broad lakes of the backwaters, past paddy fields, churches and village life. Lunch and dinner are prepared fresh on board as the water slides by.

You disembark mid-morning and transfer to Marari, a tranquil fishing village on the Arabian Sea. Your beachside retreat, another CGH Earth property, is a cluster of thatched cottages set in gardens behind a long, quiet beach. The rest of the day is yours — the beach, the pool, or an Ayurvedic consultation and treatment.

A full, unstructured day on the Kerala coast. The retreat's Ayurvedic centre offers consultations and treatments — herbal massage, shirodhara, yoga at dawn — or you may simply walk the beach, swim, and rest under the palms. This is the restorative heart of the trip.

A morning transfer to Kochi airport and a flight to Malé (via a short connection). On arrival, a scenic speedboat across the lagoon to your island resort. The afternoon and evening are yours — the first swim, the first sunset from the sand.

A full free day on the island. Snorkel the house reef just off the beach, swim in the lagoon, take a sunset dolphin cruise, or do nothing at all. Half-board dining each evening.

Another day at your own pace in the lagoon — diving, an over-water spa treatment, or simply the rhythm of swim, shade and sea.

A final full day on the island to make the most of the warm water and white sand before the journey home, with an optional sandbank picnic or a last snorkel on the reef.

A speedboat back to Malé in good time for your onward flight, with the help of our airport representative. The end of the most restorative arc in Asia.