| Day |
Title |
Description |
| 1. |
Arrive Cochin |
On arrival, our representative will meet you at the Exit Terminal and will take you to Kochi. Fort Kochi is part of Old Kochi, which was an active trade and port town for centuries. Kerala being an exporter of spices since ancient times, Kochi acted as the gateway to Kerala for traders and mariners. The town still retains its old charm with magnificent colonial building and large rain trees adding to its heritage.
On arrival, Check in to the Brunton Boatyard - A hotel right on the banks of the backwater close to the estuary, overlooking the Vypeen Island. The hotel showcases a colonial style of architecture with high beds in rooms, and at the balcony, you can see fishermen folks on their boat cruising to a fro from the sea.
Afternoon, a native of Fort Kochi will meet you at the lobby and take you for a walking tour around the town of Fort Kochi. The highlights of the tour will cover legacies and monuments from the 15th Century like. St. Francis Church, the Chinese nets -a 700-year-old legacy. A 3km Tuk-Tuk ride from Fort Kochi to Mattancherry will take you to the Dutch Palace, the Jew town & Paradeshi Synagogue of Mattancherry.
Return to the hotel by evening, for a sunset cruise through the estuary. |
| 2. |
Drive to Munnar Hills |
After a sumptuous breakfast at Fort Kochi, Check out and proceed to the high ranges of centra Kerala. The Western Ghats make up all of the mountain ranges across the South West Coast of India. They are considered to be some of the top bio hotspots in the world. Enroute to Munnar, stop for toilet breaks at a few waterfalls.
On arrival at Munnar, check-in at the Windermere Estate. You have rest of the day at leisure, enjoying the charm of the tea plantations of Munnar. The Kannan Devan Hills as mentioned in the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India, it's known to be the modern-day Munnar. The British planters arrived here two hundred years, and today Tata tea holds most of the plantations in Munnar.
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| 3. |
In and around Munnar |
After breakfast, A local English speaking guide will join you for local visits in and around Munnar. Proceed to the Tea Museum to see an audiovisual show of the history of Tea Plantations in Munnar, further proceed to visit the DARE School (Children wouldn’t be there during the holiday season) and the Shrishti Women self-help centre. It is a beautiful place you should visit in Munnar, they make fabric and paper, hand made paper and associated products. Finally, visit a typical tea factory where they explain about both Orthodox and Crush tear and curl method of tea production.
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| 4. |
Drive to Thekkady |
If tea was introduced in these high ranges, cardamom is a native of the Western Ghats. As you are in the Cardamom Hills, Josin - A small planter from Periyar, would take you for a short walking tour around his property, narrating about the stories of this green pearl named Cardamom, and other spices grown native and foreign to his land.
On arrival at Thekkady, you have the rest of the day at your convenience. There would be a Christmas Eve Gala dinner organised at the resort of stay. Spice Village is designed to be a typical Mannan Village - Mannan is one among the four tribal communities of the Periyar Forest Range. There would be a cultural show in the evening at the Resort.
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| 5. |
In and around Thekkady |
Early in the morning, transfer to the Periyar National Park. A boat ride would be arranged at the reservoir in the National Park. This boat safari is going to be in a large boat. While you cruise, there is every chance of sighting wild beings of the forest which come to drink water in the reservoir. Common sightings include Wild boar, Indian Guar, Sambar Deer, Elephants and Otters *Sighting is purely subject to luck.
Return to the resort, after lunch by evening you can take a drive to the Tamilian countryside, and how the geography changes as soon as you drive down the Ghats and reach the plains of Tamil Nadu. Visit the Organic farm and take a bullock cart ride in the Tamil Countryside amidst the farm. Thekkady (Peri-yar) is a border town to Tamil Nadu in Kerala.
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| 6. |
Drive to backwater town of Kumarakom |
After breakfast, drive down the hills to the Agrarian backwater town of Kumarakom. Check-in at the resort on arrival, you take a 10-minute boat ride to reach the resort in Kumarakom.
Today 45 minutes full body Ayurveda Massage is organised at the in-house Ayurveda Centre. Ayurveda is about a way of life, a traditional system of medicine followed in India. The Ayurveda massage is a session where you get to interact with a certified Ayurveda medical practitioner, an Ayurveda Doctor. The body massage is an introduction to experience the world of Ayurveda.
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| 7. |
Houseboat Cruise from Allepey to kumarakom |
Today you will drive to the backwater town of Alleppey, as you pass by you see a lot of houseboats ready to take guests. The houseboats were traditionally rice barges, a big boat with a huge hull which was used to transport cargo earlier when waterways were a primary mode of transport. Today they are modified into places where guests can cruise and experience the typical backwater lifestyle and its people.
On reaching Alleppey board a houseboat and cruise through narrow canals and the cross the Vembanad Lake to reach Kumarakom where you disembark the houseboat to the resort of stay in Kumarakom. The lunch, a traditional Kerala meal would be served onboard the houseboat.
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| 8. |
Departure Transfer from Kumarakom to Cochin Airport |
Departure transfer to Cochin Airport. start from the Resort 5.5 hours before the flight departure time for international flights (2.5 hours drive and 3 hours time for International check-in / 2 hours for check-in for Business Class flyers) |
