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| Kochi,
Backwater, Spice & Hills Tour – 7 nights |
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About this holiday
This is a brief one-week tour of Kerala
which provides an excellent taste of this remarkable and unique
corner of India. Explore historic Kochi (long known as Cochin),
a colourful melting pot of foreign influences and architecture;
cruise through Kerala’s serene backwaters, a vast network
of vegetation-cloaked rivers, streams, lagoons, canals and
tanks; stay inside the beautiful Periyar National Park, tracking
its elephants and tigers; visit a spice growing plantation
in the fertile foothills of the Western Ghats; and finally,
explore the tea-growing highlands around Munnar. The tour
works very well on its own and can also make an interesting
addition to holidays in Sri Lanka and/or the Maldives. It
is available all year, with special rates on offer during
the off-season from May to September, although due to the
monsoon we do advise against traveling in June.
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
• Explore Kerala’s serene backwaters and village
life
• See coir-making and toddy-tapping along river banks
• Stay overnight on exclusive Kettuvallam style houseboat
• Watch elephant herds in Periyar National Park
• Trek through Periyar jungle
• Visit one of Thekkady’s spice plantations
• Walk in Munnar’s tea-growing hills
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Day
1:
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Arrive 0900 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 Malabar House. After resting
at the hotel, dipping into the cool courtyard swimming pool
and enjoying you first taste of Kerala’s distinctive,
spicy cuisine, 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. Having been built by the Portuguese and with subsequent
additions from the Dutch, this two-story Palace makes an interesting
amalgam of European styles of architecture. While the outside
of this 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:
Malabar House is a little gem: a sophisticated boutique hotel
that has quite understandably become one of the most sought-after
properties in Fort Cochin. Formerly a Dutch col onial mansion,
which has been lovingly restored, there are 17 individually
designed suites that mix contemporary design with vibrant colours
and antique local furnishings. The atmosphere is peaceful, the
service is excellent and the fusion food is acclaimed. |
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Day 2:
After a refreshing night’s sleep and some breakfast, depart
for Alappuzha (formerly known as Alleppy and referred to by
some as the ‘Venice of the East’), a town surrounded
by a large network of canals that has now become a major centre
for backwater tours and is most famous for its annual ‘snake
boat’ races in August. The drive from Kochi will take
about 90 minutes and you will board your traditional Kettuvallum
houseboat (reconverted rice barges) at noon for one of the highlights
of your 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. Chugging slowly through
canals and creeks, the hours will slip by as you gaze ashore,
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. Sleep contentedly in
your air-conditioned cabin and look forward to the coming day. |
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Day 3 & 4:
After breakfast you will cruise for another
two hours before being picked up and driven 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
a wonderfully scenic journey, you will arrive at the Periyar
National Park, the leading wildlife park in South India, 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 a small six-bedroom former Maharajah’s
game lodge called Lake Palace. Spend your days relaxing on the
island, cruising around the lake and trekking through the jungle.
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:
Lake Palace, a former Maharaja’s holiday home now managed
by the Kerela Tourism Development Corporation, is a very special
property because of its idyllic peninsula location inside the
heart of Periyar Wildlife Reserve. Supplies and guests are ferried
across the lake, a pleasant 20-minute journey. Elephants stroll
close-by and tigers, leopards and wild dogs can often be heard
at night. Thankfully, it has been preserved as a heritage property,
and thus it retains much of its old-world charm. |
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Day 5 & 6:
Today you travel north through Kerala’s beautiful Cardamom
Hills, stopping en route for a spice plantation tour. The journey
will take you across high ridges and through lush tropical forests
to Munnar, the major centre of Kerala’s tea-growing hills.
The town itself is not particularly charming, but the surrounding
countryside is beautiful with soaring peaks in the distance
and neatly-clipped tea estates in the foreground. We have recommended
staying at Tall Trees, an unpretentious hotel property with
friendly and caring staff. Rest during the afternoon and evening
and recover from the long drive. The following morning you have
several options to choose from: hiking at Top Station, an idyllic
spot 41km from Munnar which offers fine views over Tamil Nadu;
exploring the Ernakulam National Park, a 100 sq km park of moist
evergreen forest and grassy hilltops (home to the Nilgiri Tahr,
one of the world’s rarest goats, and the starting point
for the climb up Anaimudi, the highest peak in South India);
off-road cycling; playing golf; visiting a nearby tea factory;
or simply lazing on your veranda with a good book.
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Accommodation profile: The
Tall Trees is another special property, remarkable for its ambience
which is created by both natural beauty of the woodland setting
and its staff. The management has taken great care to look after
its employees: they play cricket in the afternoons and jointly
run a curio shop to boost their wages. The end result is a warm
and friendly atmosphere. The grounds spread out over a 66-acre
woodland and cardamom plantation that includes 561 different
species of tree. The chalets are spacious, clean and each has
a balcony with a spectacular view of the valley below. It is
quite a hilly property so best suited to those unperturbed by
the idea of a still climb up to the restaurant.
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Day 7:
After breakfast drive back to Kochi, a four-hour journey, where
you will check back in to Malabar House. Either rest during
your final afternoon or catch-up on some of the sites you missed
first time around. Walk along the promontory and see the unique
Chinese Fishing Nets or arrange to watch a Kathakali dance performance
– a noisy, colourful and spellbinding 400-year old dance-drama. |
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| Day 8:
Leave in good time for your flight home.
The drive to the airport will take one hour. |
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Cost:
Package price includes:
- 6 night’s BB hotel accommodation on twin-sharing basis
(FB at Lake Palace)
- 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
- One trek with a private guide in Periyar National Park
- Unlimited boat cruises in Periya National Park
- Spice plantation tour in Cardamom Hills
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