Tailor made holidays: Visit Kerala for one of the world's most 'extraordinary festivals'

People planning to take a trip to India should time their holiday to coincide with one of the most "extraordinary" festivals in the world.

Onam is a Hindu celebration which is held between the end of August and the beginning of September, depending on the year. The harvest festival, which is Hindu in origin, brings the whole country together, irrespective of religion.

The festival celebrates the homecoming of the mythical King Maveli to the place it is held: the south-western Indian state of Kerala.

People travelling to Kerala on tailor made holidays will find that their restaurants serve some of the finest food in the whole country - and will also find it has many opulent luxury hotels.

BBC Four is currently showing a television programme called Feast, in which food writer Steven Gates visits different countries around the world to see "some of the most extraordinary feasts and festivals on earth".

In the first episode, which was shown last week and is now available on BBC iPlayer, Mr Gates visited the Onam festival.