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| Kerela
Summer Special – 7 nights |
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About this holiday
This is a special summer tour that uses
CGH Earth’s excellent boutique eco-hotels, who have
offered some very attractive off-season rates. We have steered
clear of the beach because the sea is usually choppy and rough
between June and August and have instead focused on arguably
the three most interesting locations of this remarkable and
unique corner of India: explore historic Kochi (long known
as Cochin), a colourful melting pot of foreign influences
and architecture; Kerala’s serene backwaters, a vast
network of vegetation-clocked rivers, streams, lagoons, canals
and tanks; and the beautiful Periyar National Park in the
spice-growing Cardamom Hills.
Holiday highlights
• Wander around historic Fort
Kochi
• Visit St. Francis Church, Mattancherry Palace &
medieval synagogue
• Shop for antiques and see unique Chinese fishing nets
• Watch a traditional Kathakali dance performance
• Watch elephant herds in Periyar National Park
• Trek through Periyar jungle
• Visit one of Thekkady’s spice planatations
• Explore Kerala’s serene backwaters and village
life
• See coir-making and toddy-tapping along river banks
• Stay overnight on exclusive Kettuvallam style houseboat
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Day
1 & 2:
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Arrive at Kochi Airport and be welcomed by a Red Dot Tours representative
and transferred in one of our comfortable Ambassador cars to
Fort Kochi, an ancient Roman trading port that provided a safe
port of call for sailors on the main trade route from Europe
to China. The journey from the airport will take approximately
one hour before you check in to Brunton Boatyard. After resting
at the hotel, dipping into the cool courtyard swimming pool
and enjoying your first taste of Kerala’s distinctive,
spicy cuisine, we suggest you wander around the fort in the
late afternoon. Walk along the fort promontory and see the unique
Chinese Fishing Nets and soak up the atmosphere of the town.
During the evening you may wish to watch a Kathakali dance performance
– a noisy, colourful and spellbinding 400-year dance-drama.
The following day, hopefully after a refreshing night’s
sleep, we will show you around the fort, the highlights of which
are a magnificent synagogue dating back to 1568, the St Francis
church, India’s oldest European church, and the Mattancherry
Palace, a gift to the Raja of Kochi back in 1557. While the
outside of this two-storey palace is not particularly striking,
the interior is quite the opposite, its walls adorned with murals,
the quality of which is said to make them the best kept secret
in India. Along with the sixteenth-century friezes illustrating
stories from the Ramayana, these are fine examples of the Keralan
School of art. Other objects of interest include a collection
of Dutch maps, coronation robes, weapons of war and household
furniture.
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Accommodation profile:
The Brunton Boatyard, the refurbished colonial Geo Brunton and
Sons boatyard which looked after the Empire’s shippers
for centuries, is a monumental property which has an extremely
colourful history. It is a unique and unpretentious 22-bedrooom
boutique hotel, with spacious bedrooms all of which have hardwood
four-poster beds and an old-world feel. The wide window shutters
open out to the Arabian Sea and where dolphins can often be
seen showing off in front of the swimming pool terrace. |
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Day 3 & 4:
Travelling by car, you will venture inland through the spice-scented
foothills of the Western Ghats, an area famous for its cardamom,
clove, pepper, coffee and rubber plantations. At the end of
this scenic journey, which will take approximately four hours,
you arrive at Periyar National Park, the leading wildlife park
in South India, which was designated as part of Project Tiger
in 1972. The lakeside sanctuary, best explored by boat or on
foot with a trekking guide, is home to a relatively small population
of game but thanks to stringency of its newly introduced anti-poaching
policies, the number of animals is rapidly replenishing. With
the Kerala Forest Department having happily enlisted the support
of the indigenous Mannan community, who now conserve the reserve
in exchange for money from eco-tourism, you are likely to see
elephant grazing by the lakeside as well as bison, sambar, wild
boar and barking deer. There are also quite a few tigers in
Periyar, but these are more often heard than seen, especially
at the night when prowling the jungle for prey.
Given the amount of travelling you will have done, coupled
with the fact that there is so much to see and do, we recommend
that you spend two nights here, in the nearby hotel, Spice Village.
For the tirelessly active, there are a number of additional
excursions that can be organised, such as a tour of the spice
plantation, a night trek, elephant and even bullock cart rides.
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Accommodation profile:
Once renowned as the ground-breaking property that put spice
plantation hotels on the map and showed others how sensitivity
to social and environmental issues is of benefit to everyone,
Spice Village is in every respect an exemplary and adventurous
place. Surrounded by dense plantations, its cottages are modelled
on the jungle-dwelling design of the local residents, using
elephant grass and spilt bamboo. The rooms are not luxurious
but large, peaceful and comfortable. You will not have TV but
a full orchestra of birds and insects should keep you pleasantly
entertained throughout the night. The staff, who are warm and
courteous, usually serve a delicious Keralan feast flavoured
with spices and herbs from the neighbouring fields. Red Dot
heartily recommends it. |
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Day
5:
From Periyar you travel south to Kumarakom,
where we start with a stay on a traditional Kettuvallum houseboat
(reconverted rice barges), one of the highlights of the holiday.
Journey through Kuttanad country, a land of shimmering waterways
and dense tropical greenery, witnessing the age-old village
livelihoods so vividly described in Arundhati Roy’ novel,
The God of Small Things. Chugiging slowly through canals and
creeks, the hours will slip by as you gaze ashore at the passing
homes, farms, paddy fields, playful children, fisher-folk in
traditional dugouts and bathing buffaloes. Watch out for fish-eagles
circling for prey and wise cormorants perched on the riverbank.
At 6pm the houseboat will moor up and the staff will cook a
sumptuous traditional feast.
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Day 6 & 7:
In the morning, you return to
Kumarakom, an island on the large Lake Vembanad, but this time
head straight for Coconut Lagoon for a relaxing two-night stay.
There is a wonderful bird sanctuary here, which serves as a
winter home for many migratory birds, some from as far away
as Siberia. Enthusiasts should visit at dawn when, depending
on the time of year, species may include the golden-backed wood-pecker,
darter, little cormorant, night heron, white-breasted water
hen, tree pie and many more.
Acommodation profile: Coconut
Lagoon is an architectural triumph, a boutique hotel that has
been cleverly crafted from the fragments of ancient village
homes and palaces. In some cases whole houses, complete with
beautiful wood carvings and its original brass work, have been
painstakingly transplanted into the property piece-by-piece.
The result is the ultimate backwater resort, a property where
fine traditional craftsmanship and the stunningly beautiful
natural surroundings makes it utterly impossible not to relax,
unwind and dream. The Keralan cuisine is delicious and the staff
are friendly and attentive. Like the other Casino Hotels, there
is a special emphasis on caring for the environment. In fact,
they are so serious about the natural environment that there
is a fulltime director in charge of there environmental policies,
which include comprehensive waste management schemes and a breeding
programme to protect the endangered Vechoor cows. |
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Day 8: After
an early breakfast, depart for the airport, approximately a
two-hour
drive. |
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Cost:
Package price includes:
- 6 night’s BB hotel accommodation on twin-sharing basis
- 1 night’s full-board accommodation on houseboat
- Airconditioned car and English-speaking driver for transfers
- Entrance fees: St. Francis Church, Mattancherry Palace,
Synagogue, Kathakali dance performance
- Guide for half-day Cochin tour
- One boat ride in Periyar National Park
- Spice plantation tour
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