Tranquil Kerala

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12Days Tranquil Kerala
 
Price from: $2946 per person on twin sharing basis
 
Kochi – Thekkady – Kumarakom – Backwaters – Kovalam – Kochi
 
Get insights into the southern state of Kerala, with its famous backwaters influencing the daily lives of people in the region. Visit the tea gardens and beautiful natural landscape of Munnar, spice garden and wildlife reserve in Periyar before taking an invigorating Houseboat Cruise on the backwaters.
 
Highlights: Fishing nets in Cochin, Tea plantations, Backwater Cruise, spice gardens
 
Day 01: Kochi
Arrive in Cochin and transfer to Hotel.
 
A special treat awaits us this evening as we proceed to witness the strength and vigour of Kathakali dance drama, as it enacts episodes from great Indian epics. The extremely stylized gestures, the elaborate make-up, the masks and the splendid costumes of these all-male dancers, recreate an incomparable sense of pageantry.
 
Day 02: Kochi (B)
Take a morning tour of Cochin, the commercial capital of Kerala, with its wealth of historical associations and its magnificent setting on a cluster of islands and narrow peninsulas. Of special mention is the older parts of the Fort Cochin area. This part of the city reflects an unusual blend of medieval Portuguese, Dutch and English country life grafted onto the tropical Malabar Coast. The 16th century Mattancherry Palace, also known as the Dutch Palace, is a fascinating fort with elegant buildings and interesting collections from the Royal traditions of the region. The unique feature of Cochin is the unexpected and isolated Jewish community, whose origins date back to AD 52. They are self-contained in Jew Town and have their own Synagogue.
Afternoon, visit Kumbalangi village, a tiny eco-friendly fishing village on the backwaters.
 
Day 03: Kochi – Munnar (B)
Morning drive to Munnar, the highest town of Kerala with a cool, bracing climate exuding old-world charm and popular for extensive tea and cardamom plantations on lustrous rolling hills. Some of the plantations here lie at an altitude of 2100 m making them among the highest in the world. Visit a Tea Museum. This museum basically is a demo model of a working tea factory and show the basic processes of tea making. This museum was established by Tata Tea and features rare exhibits and photographs that trace the tea industry, right from its formative years to the modern times. Also visit a tea plantation and tea factory to see the processes involved.
 
Day 4: Munnar (B)
Morning visit to Pothamedu, to see the tea, coffee and cardamom plantations of Munnar. Also visit Devikulam, an idyllic hill station with its velvet lawns, exotic flora and fauna.
 
Day 5: Munnar - Thekkady (B)
Proceed by car to Thekkady. It’s fabulous landscape is diffused with exotic spice plantations, green carpets of endless tea plantations and lush tropical forests. Visit the spice plantations and learn how different spices are cultivated.
 
Day 6: Thekkady (B)
Visit the Periyar Tiger Reserve, the largest sanctuary in Kerala. People who once made a living by illegal operations in the forests have since become forest protectors and earn their livelihood through the programs conducted for visitors. Afternoon visit to a tribal village.
 
Day 7: Thekkady - Kumarakom (B)
This morning, proceed to Kumarakom, popularly known as the rice bowl of Kerala. A huddle of tiny islets on the Vembanad Lake, it’s a pictorial, unsoiled village, an incredibly stunning ecstasy of mangrove forests, pea green paddy meadows and coconut coppices intermingled with enthralling waterways and canals. Afternoon visit Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary. Egrets, darters, herons, teal, waterfowl, cuckoo, wild duck and migratory birds like the Siberian stork live here in flocks.
 
Day 8: Kumarakom - Backwater Cruise (B/L/D)
Drive this morning to pier to board a Houseboat. A houseboat cruise is the best way to explore the beauty of the backwaters; sit back and relax while the boat cruises through the narrow serene backwater canals that take you through nearby villages. Cruise on the backwater canals in a personal, luxurious kettuvalam (houseboat), watching the paddy fields painted rich greens, rice barges and village life along the slim canals of Kerala.Enjoy your evening on the sundeck away from polluted cities and maddening crowd. The only disturbance will be the twinkle of a shining star or the leap of a fish near you.
 
Day 9: Alleppey - Kovalam (B)
Disembark in Alleppey and transfer to Kovalam. A former fishing village and today the Paradise of the South, Kovalam is a sleepy town with three crescent shaped beaches.
 
Day 10 & 11: In Kovalam (B)
Days free to relax at the beach and enjoy the facilities at the resort.
 
Day 12: Kovalam -Trivandrum (B)
Transfer to airport. 
 
Included: Accommodation in 4* Hotels, meals as shown above, transfers & sightseeing using air-conditioned private car, local English speaking guides, entrance fees at monuments, current taxes.
 
Private program - can start any day of the week and can be customised
Note: Contact us if you require more options on Hotel categories.
 
Prices quoted are valid till 30 September 2024Cost above is indicative, based on Low Season in NZ Dollars and subject to change due to fluctuation in exchange rates. Please read T&C before booking. Call 09 410 5060 or 0508 EXOTIC (0508 396 842) or email info@exotic.net.nz for more information.