While most people get their plantation fix at Munnar or Periyar further south, those who journey north instead find one of the most lush and unspoilt pockets of mountain scenery in the state of Kerala.

A stay here really is magical. It’s not just that you get to stay in colonial-era bungalows, spend hours wandering through fields planted by Scottish settlers, and visit still-working tea factories humming with activity and rich with the heady scent of tea. What’s special about Wayanad is that tourists are still a novelty, and people are eager to stop you for a chat or a selfie. As many locals can speak English, it makes for a much more rewarding exchange than just a nod and a smile.

Wayanad is remote and lovely, but it isn’t untouched. Sitting on an ancient trade route between the mountains of Mysore and the multicultural ports of the Malabar Coast, this tribal heartland was buffetted by cultural crosswinds for centuries before it was earmarked by the British for tea, coffee and spice plantations. In fact, it has some of the oldest remnants of human habitation in India: 6,000-year-old engravings you can visit on a day trip to Edakkal Cave. Little now remains of this storied history except the plantations themselves, which ripple across green hills like a vast jigsaw puzzle.

Beyond the plantations, Wayanad is surrounded by some of the most pristine forest left in southern India, with a Jungle Book of characters hidden in its depths. This protected region is home to the world’s largest remaining population of wild Asian elephants, plus leopards, sloth bears, pangolins and a (very) few tigers. Most of these have survived by being invisible, so don’t pin your hopes on any exciting sightings. Do, however, expect outstanding trekking with excellent guides, whose background in the forestry industry means they’re full of knowledge about the local flora, fauna, and tribes (of which Wayanad has the highest diversity in Kerala).