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| Luxurious
Malabar – 13 nights |
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 About
this holiday:
This is a two-week tour that provides you with an opportunity
to enjoy
the main highlights of Kerala – the serene backwaters,
tea-growing hills, spice plantations, national parks with elephant
herds and tigers, and palm-tree lined golden beaches –
at a leisurely pace. We have selected our favourite hotels in
Kerala, all of which are small, personal and indulgent. This
is a very special trip and we recommend traveling between December
and April. But don’t be afraid to travel outside of the
peak season either when the hotels offer some very good-value
rates.
Holiday highlights
• Wander around historic Fort Kochi
• Visit St. Francis Church, Mattancherry Palace
& medieval synagogue
• Watch a traditional Kathakali dance performance
• Explore Kerala’s serene backwaters and village
life
• Munnar’s tea-growing hills and Thekkady’s
spice plantations
• Two-night stay on exclusive Kettuvallam style houseboat
• Watch elephant herds bathing in Periyar National Park
• Relax on Kerala’s golden beaches
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Depart: Leave London
and arrive at Trivandrum International Airport
Day 1 & 2:
Arrive at Cochin Airport and be met by a Red Dot representative
and transferred in one of our comfortable Ambassador cars to
Fort Cochin, an ancient trading port since at least Roman times
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 Koder House.
After resting at the hotel, dipping into the cool courtyard
swimming pool and enjoying you first taste of Kerela’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 generally 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 that is usually staged outdoors
and lasts for approximately 3-4 hours. The following day, hopefully
after a refreshing night’s sleep, we will show you around
the fort, the highlights of which include Mattancherry Palace,
a gift to the Raja of Kochi back in 1557, St. Francis Church,
first built in 1510 and the resting place of Vasco de Gama,
and a magnificent synagogue dating back to 1568.
Accommodation profile: The Koder
House was reconstructed from an early nineteenth century Portuguese
mansion. It is believed to have been structured and gabled in
Europe and shipped to Cochin. Its windows are said to be made
of glass imported from Belgium. Koder House was built by the
family’s patriarch, and is believed to have been constructed
across three floors because he intended for each of his three
sons to occupy each floor. The boutique property offers five
deluxe suites and one junior suite. The deluxe suites offer
a large bedroom, a state-of-the art bathroom and a sitting room.
Day 3 & 4:
Today you journey east to Munnar, the major centre
of Kerala’s tea-growing hills. The spectacular drive will
take four hours. The town itself is not particularly charming,
but the surrounding countryside is beautiful with its soaring
peaks in the distance and neatly-clipped tea estates in the
foreground. We have recommended staying at Tea Sanctuary, a
land of rolling hills, crystal clear streams and lush mountain
ranges with cool air has always been one of the most popular
hill stations in India. This is a cluster of bungalows is strewn
along nearly 100 square miles, perched at altitudes ranging
from 1372 meters to 2134 metres.
Accommodation profile: The Tea Sanctuary
is set amongst a landscape of lush tea gardens. All the bungalows
– six in all - offer panoramic views of the tea and eucalyptus
plantations. Inside, the rooms are clean and spacious. Most
have fireplaces, making the room very comfortable and cosy with
a décor and feel of colonial times. Rajamalley, the natural
habitat of the highly endangered Nilgiri Tahr – a wild
goat -- is at the foothills of the Anaimudi peak, the highest
peak in South India and the area is also home to many species
of wildlife. Apart from Kashmir and the Nilgiris, Munnar is
the only other place in India to offer trout fishing in pristine
streams. Its gravel banks are located in a secluded part of
the Tea Sanctuary, and are a haven for many naturalists.
Day 5 & 6:
Leave the hills, travelling south across dramatic ridges and
through thick forests to the spice-growing foothills of the
Western Ghats, an area dubbed Cardamom Hills after its most
important crop. Your destination is destination is the picturesque
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,
encouragingly, thanks to enlightened anti-poaching policies
of the Kerala Forest Department, the game numbers are increasing
fast. The forest department have successfully co-opted 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 and bison, sambar, wild boar
and barking deer are also commonly spotted. But the tigers are
shy and are usually heard not seen, especially during the nights
as they prowl the jungle for their prey. We recommend staying
at Shalimar Spice Garden, a peaceful property set in the Kerala's
spice growing south-western Ghats. Spend two nights here, relaxing
on your island, cruising around the lake and trekking through
the jungle. We can also organise a spice plantation tour, a
night trek, elephant rides and even a bullock cart ride (an
innovative idea to prevent unsustainable sandalwood logging)
if you can tear yourself away from your island home. |
Accommodation
profile: Tucked away in the low-lying hills of south-western
Ghats, Shalimar Spice Garden offers a rustic and distinctly
spiritual environment in which to relax and unwind. Designed
simply and stylishly, the property is full of interesting ar
tefacts and antiques. The rooms are basic, tastefully furnished,
homely and comfortable. The swimming pool is invigorating and
an Ayurvedic centre offers therapeutic massages. The restaurant,
'Mangiatutto' (which is translated from Italian as 'eat everything'),
serves up delicious feasts cooked from freshly picked vegetable,
spices and fruits from the garden.
Day 7 & 8:
From Periyar you travel south to Kumarakom, an island on the
large Lake Vembanad that is blessed with an idyllic location.
The area has attracted several exotic hotels offering backwater
and Ayurveda holidays. There is also a wonderful bird sanctuary.
We head straight for Coconut Lagoon, one of Red Dot’s
favourite properties in Kerala for a relaxing two-night stay.
Accommodation 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.
Day 9 & 10: Relax during the morning at
Coconut Lagoon and wait for the arrival of your traditional
Kettuvallum houseboat (reconverted rice barges) around noon
for one of the highlights of your holiday – a journey
through Kuttanad country to Kollam, a land of shimmering waterways,
dense tropical greenery and age-old village livelihoods so vividly
described in Arundhati Roy’s remarkable novel The God
of Small Things. Your houseboat, fully staffed with a friendly
and attentive crew, will chug slowly through canals and creeks
allowing you to relax and unwind. Hours slip by easily as you
gaze ashore, soaking up a myriad of views as you pass homes,
farms, paddy fields, playful children, fisherfolk in traditional
dugouts and bathing buffaloes. See fish eagles circling for
prey and wise comorants 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. Spend
the following on the houseboat as well.
Day 11 to 13: After breakfast on the houseboat
you will soon arrive in Kollam and then travel overland to towards
Kovalum, the most popular stretch of coastline in Kerala. We
skip Kovalum’s more developed areas and instead seek out
Surya Samudra, Red Dot’s favourite beach hotel in Kerala,
a delightful boutique-style heritage property blessed with a
prime clifftop location above a beautiful bay. Spend three days
relaxing at the hotel. We recommend trying out the Ayurvedya
and ‘wellness’ centre which will ensure you travel
back home in the pink of good health.
Accommodation profile:Surya Samudra is a delightful
boutique-style small hotel with 22 heritage cottages, all reconstructed
from 300-year-old Kerala and Tamil Nadu village homes, spread
over a 21-acre site. The large area means that all the villas
have private gardens, verandas and amazing views from the sea.
The bathrooms are open-air with sunrays cutting through the
canopy of trees overhead. The bl ue-green infinity pool, hewn
out of solid rock and decorated by the temple sculptures of
Ma mallapuram, has a magnetic appeal but there is also an excellent
beach for swimming and sun-bathing. There is also spa offering
a wide range of Ayurvedic and wellness treatments and massages.
Day 14: Leave in good time for your flight
home. The drive to Trivandrum International Airport will take
one hour.
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| Cost: TBC |
Package price includes:
• 11 night’s BB hotel accommodation
on twin-sharing basis
• 2 night’s full-board accommodation
on houseboat
• Airconditioned car and English-speaking
driver for transfers and tour
• Entrance fees: St. Francis Church, Mattancherry
Palace, Synagogue, Kathakali
dance performance, spice plantation tour, one guided
trek in Periyar
National Park, unlimited boat rides in Periyar
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