FOOD & TRAVEL 88

words AND photographs Taken from GENESIS by SebastiAo Salgado (TASCHEN, £44). images © Sebastiao Salgado/Amazonas/nbpictures. to buy signed collectors’ prints email info@nbpictures.com

KERALALocals like to describe Kerala as ‘God’s Own Country’, and they may have a point. Certainly its cuisine – majoring in outrageously fresh vegetables and fish – has a touch of divine inspiration, which is worth the visit alone. Prices in this part of India drop in April as summer arrives and the temperature and humidity rise, making this a fine time to visit, if a little sticky. Rains here tend to last a few hours rather than bedding in for weeks in typical monsoon style. You can save even more money by staying in Kerala’s famous (and comfortable) homestays rather than the heritage hotels beloved of the majority of Western tourists. And it goes without saying, a night on the backwaters is essential – the evening meal prepared by the crew in the boat’s tiny kitchen may just be the best you have during your trip. PICK YOUR PACKAGEFlights now: £282, Emirates, emirates.comPeak season: £577Points South has a ten-night culinary tour you can join, costing from £1,600pp, including stays at the Western Ghats, the backwaters and Cochin but excluding flights – a saving of up to 20 per cent over peak season. points-south.co.uk

APR_085-090_EndofSeasonV3.indd 88 09/02/2015 11:24