Around India In 80 Trains

There are few places in the world where you can truly lose yourself to your surroundings, and Coconut Lagoon on Kerala's backwaters is one of them. A 30-minute drive from Kottayam train station, the resort in Kumarakom is only reachable by a taxi-boat that stops just where the lake begins and drops you off by a nine-hectare paradise of coconut trees, bright green grass and smiley faces all-round.

An elderly gentleman playing a flute welcomes guests down to the wooden-decked lobby where you'll be handed a fresh coconut with the top hacked off and a straw inside - a typical Keralan alternative to drinking water when thirsty. Winding through the blooming trees and tweeting birdies, up and over little wooden bridges, you'll find yourself in a secluded, beautiful wooden cottage filled with polished antique wood furniture, giant beds and a lovely outdoor bathroom - with a couple of little pigeons watching from the rafters.

Though they hate to market themselves as eco-friendly, the CGHearth group of resorts have taken great steps to make sure that they are very self-maintained. All their food is locally sourced and they specialise in traditional cuisine. They have one main restaurant, but also a tiny-offshoot local restaurant on site, a cosy romantic spot hidden in the trees where their local kingfish is one of the most incredibly meaty, yet soft and delicately flavoured dishes I've ever tried.

In fact their fish is so fresh that while you're enjoying an ayurvedic massage, complete with hot poultices on aching knots, you can see the local fishermen wading into the water with nets.

Above all, dragging a chair onto the porch at sundown gave the perfect opportunity to watch a deep red sunset over the backwaters as a couple of lanky herons prodded the soil before vanishing across the water. You will never want to leave here.

Cottages sleeping two start at Rs.15,000