The Complete Tour of Kerala

After breakfast proceed for half day sightseeing which includes the visit to St. Francis church, Mattancherry palace, Jewish Synagogue and Chinese fishing nets. St Francis Xavier's Church at Fort Kochi was the oldest European church in India which was built in the year 1503, by the Portuguese traders. Today, it stands as the pride of Fort Cochin. It was here that the great explorer Vasco da Gama was buried first in 1562. His mortal remains were taken back to Portugal by his son 16 years later. Even though it is austere in its appearance, the Mattancherry Palace of Cochin has a quaint charm of its own. The credit for building this landmark monument partly goes to the Dutch, who captured Cochin city of Kerala during the pre-British period. The Jewish Synagogue is the oldest synagogue in the Commonwealth Nations. Thus, it comprises the topmost slot in the itinerary of the tourists visiting the city. The synagogue is now a fascinating mixture of shops, warehouses and spice auction rooms.  The Chinese fishing nets make up a very popular tourist attraction since they are fixed land installations, which are used for a very unique and unusual method of fishing. After noon check out from the hotel and drive to Munnar which is one of the most beautiful hill stations of South India and is famous for tea estates. This beautiful hill station is 1600 meters above sea level. The town is situated at the confluence of the three mountain streams such as Mudrapuza, Nallathanni and Kundala. There are lakes, reservoirs, forests and several tea estates. On the way you can visit a Tea Museum. On arrival check in at HOTEL for 02 nights. Munnar is very famous for its tea and has nearly 55,000 acres of land covered with tea which looks like a green carpet on earth. Overnight at hotel.

Munnar was the summer capital of the British in southern India. One of the main attractions of Munnar  Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana)  is a shrub that used to grow abundantly in the shola grasslands of Western Ghats in India. The Nilgiris, which literally means the blue mountains, got its name from the purplish blue flowers of  Neelakurinji  that blossoms gregariously once in 12 years. And the another attraction in Munnar is The Nilgiri Tahr. The Nilgiri Tahrs are stocky goats, The western Ghats run along the West coast of South India. After noon drive to the Munnar hills to visit Eravikulam national park (now closed due to the mating time of Neelagiri Thars), Mattupetty dam, the scattered villages. A visit to this beautiful hilly town (old Munnar) and the local market will be interesting. Evening free to relax and walk around the interesting place. Overnight at hotel.

After breakfast check out and you’ll drive through the cardamom hills to Periyar, one of the well maintained wild life sanctuary of South India. On arrival check in at HOTEL for 02 nights. The drive from Munnar to Thekkady will be an unforgettable experience through the cardamom hills and by the valleys and hills. This will be one of the best drive you can have during this tour. Apart from the wildlife in Periyar it is the best place in Kerala where you can see all the spices cultivated in natural surroundings. It is the prime place for the spice plantations like coffee, cardamom, clove, cinnamon, green pepper, areca nut…etc. Moreover the cardamom from Periyar is the best available in India and is world famous. After noon you will be taken to the nearby village where you can see the spices growing naturally. There will be also opportunities to taste some of the spices during the visit. Thereafter you can visit some of the spice markets also. Overnight at resort.

Morning you will be invited for a boat cruise in the lake to watch wild animals OR if you are interested you can proceed for Nature walk. Boat cruises make the best option to check out the wilds of Periyar Sanctuary. Animals like Elephants, Wild Boar and Sambar Deer can be spotted during the boat cruise. Most interesting wildlife experience here would be the sight of elephant herds playing in the lake. The sanctuary is a protected Tiger Reserve and don’t wonder if you see a lone tiger gently walking in the woods. This is the only sanctuary in India where you can see wild animals at close range sitting in the safety of a boat. After the boat ride return back to the hotel. Later proceed to visit an Elephant place where you will get an opportunity to do the Elephant ride, enjoy Elephant bath and you can feed the Elephant also. Rest of the day free to relax and walk around the interesting place. Overnight at home.

After breakfast check out and drive to Kumarakom, one of the most beautiful backwater site in this state. Kumarakom is a paradise of mangrove forests, emerald green paddy fields and coconut groves interspersed with enchanting waterways and canals adorned with white lilies. Kumarakom is a serenely beautiful and scenic backwater destination, a charming peninsula jutting into the ever-effervescent Vembanad Lake that is dotted with plenty of traditional rice boats and canoes, leaving a scene that is immensely pleasing to the eye. Kumarakom is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna. The  Vembanad  Lake, the largest backwater in Kerala, is habitat for many marine and freshwater fish species and it teems with Karimeen (Pearl spot), shrimp (Chemmeeen in the local language) and prawns. Afternoon by around 03 pm proceed to enjoy the traditional activities in the village which includes Country boat ride (small open country boat / big covered canopy country boat), Coconut tree climbing (Coconut Tree climbers are a rarity these days in Kerala and other coconut growing states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharastra and Goa, with very few preferring on the traditional profession now a days), Toddy tapping (Toddy is an  alcoholic beverage  created from the  sap  of coconut palms . The sap is extracted and collected by a tapper. Typically the sap is collected from the cut flower of the Coconut tree. A container is fastened to the flower stump to collect the sap. The white liquid is toddy that initially collects tends to be very sweet and non-alcoholic  before it is  fermented ). Net fishing (The traditional way of fishing is mostly used in backwaters, The fisher man’s uses small canoes for fishing with the help of net/ fish hook. Fishing is the main income earning way of Lake side residents. They normally go for fishing in the morning time and evening time. You can see traditional fishing almost in all areas of backwaters. Freshwater prawns, lobsters, crabs, clams and oysters which find a ready market overseas are cropped from these backwaters. Coconut leaf weaving (Most of the villagers are used to thatch their houses with weaved coconut leaves and is also used for making baskets, handicraft items etc..), Coir making (Coir is a  natural fibre  extracted from the  husk  of  coconut  and used in products such as floor mats, doormats, brushes, mattresses, etc. Coir is the fibrous material which is found between the hard, internal shell and the outer coat of a coconut), Paddy field walk and Homestead vegetable garden visit. In between the village tour we will provide lunch with Kerala meals, fish curry and tender coconut. Evening by around 06 pm back to the resort. Overnight at resort.

By around 12:30 hours, house boat will come to your resort and you can directly embark in the HOUSE BOAT to go for cruise through the world famous backwaters of Kerala from Kumarakom to Alleppey. Alleppey has a large network of canals and is a center for backwater cruises in our state. The famous Nehru Trophy Boat race - the most colorful of boat races is held here on the second Saturday of August every year. The cruise in a house boat through backwaters is an unforgettable experience and you can enjoy the real Kerala village life. These boats, originally known as Kettuvallam’s were used for carrying goods and there were only limited facilities available in the boats for stay and for food preparations. Now these boats are made very modern and the food prepared in the house boats are very special and is very tasty and fresh. During the cruise you will have opportunities to enjoy typical Kettuvallam meal. Overnight in the boat.

Morning have a relaxed breakfast on board. After breakfast disembark from the house boat and drive to Kovalam via the visit of the world famous Padbhanabha Swamy Temple and horse palace in Trivandrum. The origin of the Temple of Sree Padmanabha swamy is lost in antiquity. It is not possible to determine with any exactitude, from any reliable historical documents or other sources as to when and by whom the original idol of Sree Padmanabhaswamy was consecrated. The value of the treasure found in the four vaults of  Sri Padmanabha temple in Kerala  has so far crossed an estimated value of Rs 60,000 crore. Tonnes of gold, thousands of precious stones and other valuables found in the secret vaults of the temple have literally blinded the eyes of the Supreme Court appointed team to estimate the value of the treasure. Two other unopened vaults are believed to contain the yellow metal and gems worth an equal amount. In short, the twelve centuries old temple owned by the royal family which ruled the erstwhile princely state of Travancore, is sitting on a treasure worth Rs 1.2 lakh crore. If their antique value is taken into account, their worth will be 10 times higher than the current market price. After the temple visit proceed to visit the horse palace which is very much near to the temple containing the collections of antiques. On arrival check in at HOTEL for 03 nights. Kovalam, one of Kerala’s most popular beach destination is situated just 15 kilometers from Trivandrum. "Kovalam" means a grove of coconut trees and true to its name the village offers an endless sight of coconut trees.  Kovalam offers an excellent diversity with Kovalam beach to suit all desires and occasions. Kovalam was brought to the public eye by the Maharaja of Travancore. Over the past three decades, the place has been well developed, and now figures prominently on the world tourism map. Today Kovalam beach is known as the "Paradise of the South". Evening free to relax by the beach or swimming pool. Overnight at hotel.

After breakfast proceed for a day trip to Kanyakumari, the place where the 3 oceans meeting together (Arabian sea, Indian Ocean & Bay of Bengal). En route visit Padmanabhapuram Palace, the magnificent wooden palace constructed by the Maharajas of Travancore. Later continue to Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of India and also a pilgrimage center of Hindus. After lunch, go by boat to visit Vivekanada rock, Thiruvaloor statue and Kanyakumari temple. On the way back to Kovalam, visit Sucheendram Temple, a well known temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Overnight at hotel.

Day free to relax by the swimming pool or beach. Overnight at hotel.

After breakfast check out from the hotel and transfer to Trivandrum airport to catch your onwards flight after an ever memorable holiday in Kerala.