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KERALA CULTURE TOUR: LUXURY
If you are looking for extra luxury, this is the tour for
you. Highlights include: dance and temple festivals; walking in
the hill stations; train journey; over night houseboat on the
backwaters; bamboo rafting; small elegant hotels; forest bungalows
and homestays in beautiful colonial houses.
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Sample Kerala culture tour: 14 days/13 nights
Kerala: (Cochin) Kochi, Munnar, houseboat, Periyar, Alleppey,
Kochi.
Cost: £3480 for a couple (not per person) and £6391
for a family of four staying in 2 rooms for this Kerala culture
tour, excluding international flights. All our tours are
private - you won't be part of a group.
The price quoted is for full board, except at Brunton Boatyard
and Marari Beach Hotel, an English speaking Indian driver, local
hosts/guides, other travel costs.
This is a sample tour to Kerala. We can mix and match according
to the dates and places you would like to visit. Note that we
don't arrange air flights.
Day one and two
Is your arrival in the City of Kochi. Set on a cluster of islands
and narrow peninsulas, Kochi is a city of cultural diversity -
winding streets, shady trees, Kathakali dance, modern Indian art,
500-year old Portuguese houses, mosques, a tiny Jewish community
with ancient roots - and ferry boats scuttling backwards and forwards.
Once you are settled into your hotel, we can take strolls or three-wheelers
to explore the city. You may also want to
watch the city's Kathakali dance show.
Overnight: (2 nights), Brunton Boatyard - Fort Cochin - grand
hotel built on a former shipping yard, using old Portuguese architecture.
The hotel lies at the Harbour mouth and all rooms (and the swimming
pool) have a magnificent view of the sea and the Delta..
Day three to five.
We'll make our way to Munnar. The hill town of Munnar is set amidst
dramatic mountain scenery: craggy peaks, tall red wood trees,
high altitude rain forests and some of the world's highest tea
plantations.
Here you can meet the indigenous Muduvan people, a stroll around
the tea plantations and visit a tea factory, visit the local bazaar
for tea & spices, visit to the Tea Museum and short treks.
Overnight: (3 nights) Talayar Estate Bungalow
A three bedroom colonial bungalow in a tea estate - is surrounded
by these mountains and it is not uncommon to see wild elephants
roaming the grounds here. The Talayar Tea Gardens have passed
through many hands since the original allocation of land for the
development of tea gardens. In 1887 the first tract of lands were
acquired by Mr. John Payne and later the estates passed through
numerous hands including a Baron Von Rosenberg, who along with
partner A W Turner, later sold these lands to The Devicolam Estates
Company. The present owners acquired it in 1997 and primarily
run the gardens as a tea plantation with a fully functional manufacturing
facility, which is nearly a century old.
Note: Here we organise make your own tea programme:
The Make your Own Tea program begins at 6am and guests are taken
to the tea garden where they pluck tea leaves. The plucked leaves
are processed separately on an individual basis. The following
morning finished tea packed and labelled with the guest name is
provided as a gift to each guest.
Day six to eight
We'll take the 5 hour drive to Periyar Nature Reserve.
En-route we can visit Rajamala for viewing the endangered Nilgiri
Tahr and take a peek at the Tea Museum, where the history of tea
in South India is vividly captured. We will also stop over at
Chellar Koil for a view of the spectacular plains of Tamil Nadu
below.
Periyar is a 777 sq km forested wildlife reserve - home to bison,
sambar, wild boar, Nilgiri langur, elephants and tigers. Run under
the imaginative supervision of the Kerala Forest Department, it
is also home to the indigenous Mannan community, who help conserve
the reserve in exchange for income from eco-tourism. Living in
the outskirts of the reserve, they run many of the activities
that we can do - trekking, bamboo rafting, night treks, elephant
rides and plantation visits.
The bullock cart ride is one example of the potential benefits
of eco-tourism. Few years ago, the riders of the bullock carts
were part of a 24-strong gang who logged the reserve for sandal-wood.
Just one sandal-wood tree can bring rich earnings for these people.
With the security of income offered by the bullock cart rides,
they have now become protectors.
The ride starts in Tamil Nadu, over the border from Kerala. You'll
travel by bullock cart through immaculately kept agricultural
plantations - vanilla, mango, cotton, chilli, beans, tomatoes,
pumpkins, guavas, papayas - past women harvesting grapes, herons
and kingfishers, a herd of mountain sheep, and men on motorbikes.
A quick picnic - before returning along the banks of the river,
fringed by palms, and the sun-setting behind the mountains.
Overnight: (3 nights). Lake Palace - former hunting lodge of the
Maharaja. Guests get to the hotel by boat. You can actually see
animals from your room.
Day nine and ten
We'll make our way to Tharakan's Homestay near Alleppey. The drive
time is around 4 hours. The 400 year old wooden mansion (called
'tharavad') was built by Tachil Mathew Tharakan who was the Forest
Minister to Maharaja Marthada Varma of Travancore. Here you can
go boating on the backwaters, fishing, learn about crab and pawn
farming, watch the toddy tappers, and stroll around the coconut
groves, paddy fields, canals and villages.
Accommodation: Overnight: (2 nights), Tharakan' s Homestay in
Allepey
Day eleven
From Tharakan's Home stay we'll make our way to the house boat.
One of Kerala's most luxurious forms of accommodation, the houseboat
is a converted rice-barge. Reclining on cushions, you'll travel
through the rivers and a labyrinth of man-made canals that flow
through island paddy fields. The life of the people who live here
is centered on these backwaters - here women pound their washing,
families brush teeth, men linger at the local 'chai' shop, and
canoes and ferry boats scurry by.
Overnight: (1 night) on-board the house boat. Lunch and dinner
on board.
Day twelve and thirteen
We'll make our way to Marari Beach Resort. Here you can stroll
along the beach, go swimming and take cycle rides.
Overnight: (2 nights) at Marari Beach Resort
Day fourteen
After taking you for a farewell meal, we'll take you the airport
for your return journey home.
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GENERAL INFORMATION
Other things to do in the Kerala culture tour
Other activities that you can do: farm walks, a visit to Kalamandalam
dance school, a visit to the elephant training center at Kodanad.
Seasons for Kerala culture tour
September until the following April are the best months for visiting.
June, July and August are the monsoon months. You can still travel
during monsoon season if you can put up with the rain. On the
second Saturday of August each year is the famous regatta on Vembanad
Lake. Scores of long 'snake boats' fill the lake, each boat crewed
by up to 100 rowers. The annual event celebrates the seafaring
and martial traditions of ancient Kerala.
Contact
us about the Kerala culture tour
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