Central Kerala Itinerary
Tour Overview
Kerala is a state in South India, popularly known as God's own country. The state is known for its scenic beauty, hill stations, spices, wildlife, backwaters and the beaches. The central Kerala itinerary includes all of the known places in central Kerala namely Fort Kochi (the colonial, old port town), Munnar (the plantation hill town), Thekkady (the Periyar National Park), Alleppey (the backwater town where you see the houseboats) and Mararikulam (a fishermen village on the Malabar coast). These are some of the best places to visit in Kerala. This is just an outline and we would be making the program entirely customized to your requirement. All of the activities and places of visit in each destination would be made based on your interest. This program works best as a private tour and the itinerary is more of the details about each place. The whole idea is to give you an idea of each destination so that you can come to a conclusion as to how many days you would need to spend to enjoy the Kerala holiday in its real sense. The itinerary is designed in such a way that you will arrive and depart from Cochin International Airport [COK].
Program Highlights
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Sunset cruise in the backwaters of Cochin extending to an hour.
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Visit Srishti a school for the mentally challenged who make things out of their hand.
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Half day village tour followed by Lunch at the village.
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Visit an Elephant orphanage.
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2 nights Trek and Camping in the Western Ghats
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Half Bamboo rafting at the Tiger Reserve and National Park.
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A modern tea factory visit.
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Witness the Martial art form of Kalaripayattu at a local theatre.
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Houseboat cruise with an overnight stay.
Itinerary - Best places to visit in Kerala
Day 1 - Arrive at Cochin International Airport - Transfer to Fort Cochin [2 hours ]
On your arrival at Cochin International Airport, our representative would be there at the airport terminal exit. You will be received and transferred to the hotel. Later our colleague will meet you and brief you about the course of the complete holiday. Fort Cochin is the old part of Cochin that has an interesting ambiance, with large rain trees and old colonial buildings. Old Cochin was located on the shores of the Arabian sea at an estuary, where the ship enters the mainland to the port of Cochin. There is a new town called Ernakulam which is around 10 Kilometers away, where all of the commercial business happen. Ernakulam is the commercial capital of Kerala. You would rest for the day and evening proceed for an exclusive sunset cruise on the backwaters of Cochin.
Day 2 - Fort Kochi - Reminiscence of a bygone era | Sightseeing tour of Cochin [1 hour]
Fort Kochi was the port town that handled most of the trade of the colonial powers who had settled in central Kerala. From an aerial perspective, Cochin is about the Vembanad backwaters, lakes, lagoons and islands. the Vembanad lake is spread to a vast area from Kollam in South Kerala, all the way to Cochin.
In the morning you will be going for a sightseeing tour of Cochin along with an Engish speaking local guide. You will visit the Jew Town, Paradeshi Synagogue and the Dutch Palace at Mattancherry. Later proceed to Fort Cochin, see the Chinese fishing nets, and the St. Francis Church, the oldest European church built in India. Afternoon at leisure and by evening you will proceed to witness Kathakali dance performance at a local theatre.
Day 3 - Drive to the hills, towards Munnar [4.5 hours]
Drive to Munnar, route visit Abhayaranyam Elephant orphanage. Enjoy the weather, the tea plantations and the mountain ranges. Munnar is essentially a plantation town in the Western Ghats of Kerala. There are enough and more things to do in Munnar, including treks, hikes and tea factory visits. On arrival at Munnar, you will check in at the resort of stay and rest for the day.
Evening you will go for a short walk, it connects you to the beautiful hill station and gets you an idea of the beauty around. The walk would be around 2 hours and you would be back to the resort by around 6 in the evening. Rest of the day at leisure, overnight stay at the resort after dinner.
Day 4 - Enjoy Munnar | Sightseeing tour of Munnar
You have an option to walk past plantations in the morning, post breakfast, visit the Christ Church in Munnar, the tea museum that explains the plantation history of Munnar, and the morning visit to Eravikulam National Park will give you a clear idea about the richness of flora and fauna of the region. The Anamudi, the highest peak in South India is inside the Eravikulam National Park. Central kerala Itinerary tour by green earth trails gives time to feel and experience your each moment as fresh and memorable
Visit Srishti and the Dare school, Srishti is a non-government organization which co co-existing with the Kannan Devan Hill Produce company that works towards rehabilitating mentally challenged students through vocational training and craft making. It would be a great chance to see their talent in art and craft. Return to the resort for overnight stay.
Day 5 - Transfer to Thekkady [Periyar] - [3.5 hours]
Thekkady is known to be the cardamom hills of Kerala, where some of the world class cardamoms are cultivated and produced. Apart from the cardamom plantations, Thekkady is also known for the Periyar National Park and Tiger Reserve. This is one of the best places to visit in Kerala. There is a reservoir inside the National Park which is part of the Mullaperiyar Dam. There is scope for boating inside the reservoir four times a day, where guests could spot wild animals on the banks of the reservoir.
On arrival at Thekkady, check in at the resort. Proceed for a spice plantation tour here you get to know and learn about spices. followed by an Elephant safari through the plantation and later a Kalaripayattu martial art show at a local theatre in Thekkady. Overnight stay at the resort in Thekkady.
Day 6 - Bamboo Rafting at Lake Periyar
The Periyar National Park has led way to some of the revolutionary changes in forest management. They were successfully able to rehabilitate the poachers of the forest to protectors of the woods. As part of the rehabilitation process, these guards were given jobs as guides to the forest for different nature-oriented walks and treks like those of bamboo rafting, nature walk, green walk and so on.
A bamboo rafting program is organized in the morning where you walk into the forests along with the guards. Reach the lake a proceed for a rafting session on top of a raft where bamboo poles are tied to keep it afloat. It would be a half day program where you get to experience the flora and fauna of the Periyar National Park along with a bit of adventure. Return to the hotel, rest of the day at leisure and overnight stay at the resort.
Day 7 - Transfer to the backwater town of Alleppey [4.5 hours]
Backwaters are essentially an extension of the sea into the mainland. One such backwater expanse in central Kerala is the Vembanad lake; the water would be salty, murky and has a lot of islands and lagoons. The life is different here. Alleppey is a backwater town on the banks of the Vembanad lake in central Kerala.
After breakfast check out from the hotel and drive all the way to Alleppey. It would be a drive downhill through tea estates and other plantations like rubber and pineapple. Check in at a backwater resort in Alleppey and enjoy the evening sunset by the backwaters. You could witness a different world here with a lot of boats and houseboats moving here and there. Rest of the day at leisure, overnight stay at the resort in Alleppey.
Day 8 - Cruise on board the Kerala Houseboat
Wake up to the beautiful morning on the banks of the backwaters. It would be a different world altogether. By noon you would be boarding an exclusive Keralan Houseboat from the resort of stay.
A houseboat is a home set up on a large rice barge, which are huge cargo boats that used to carry tonnes of rice from Alleppey to Cochin through the backwaters. The boat would have a living area, a bedroom and a kitchen at the rear of the boat. The beauty of the houseboat is that it would take you through the narrow canals of the backwaters that will give you a chance to witness the backwater lifestyle. The backwater lifestyle is all about a lifestyle very much water oriented, everyone would have a boat and a lot of people live in the banks of the backwaters.
Day 9 & 10 - Alleppey to Mararikulam Beach [20 minutes]
Mararikulam beach is a quaint little fishermen village on the shores of the Arabian sea. One could see fishermen folks coming back early in the morning with their catch and all of these are auctioned right at the beach.
Central Kerala itinerary is a circuit connecting popular destination in the center of Kerala that includes, hill stations, wildlife, spices, backwaters and beaches. Green earth trails will help you to chart and explore these best places to visit in Kerala. The whole idea of Mararikulam is to end the holiday with a wonderful beach vacation. The nearby activities include beach walks, cycling and village walks.
It would be two days of relaxation on the shores of the Arabian Sea enjoy the tropical beauty amidst coconut grooves.
Day 11 - Departure transfer to Cochin International Airport [2.5 hours]
The program includes
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Accommodation in the below mentioned hotels / resorts in standard rooms.
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The respective meals during the course of the tour as mentioned in the itinerary.
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The transportation would be in a cab or larger SUV or Van based on the number of travelers in the group.
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Local guides would be assigned wherever is required based on the itinerary for sightseeing and city tours.
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Entry tickets and mandatory permits are included in the cost. however certain points of interest will have a camera / video camera ticket, which is not included in the price.
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There would be one 500 ml bottle of water in coach per day.
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Tips, Table drinks, shopping or expenses of personal nature are not included in the tour and has to be paid directly at the point of purchase.
Notes
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This tour can be organized for both Free Individual Travelers as well as a group. This is very much a customizable itinerary based on the interest of the travelers. Price would be based on the customization and the accommodation options included in the tour.
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Once you have decided to go ahead with the tour, you will require to take an Indian Visa on your own contacting an Indian embassy or Indian missions abroad.
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To confirm your participation we would require 50% of the tour as an advance deposit. You can make this deposit with either by bank transfer or by credit card.
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The tour does not come along with a travel insurance.
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In case of an emergency, the required would be done by us as a tour operator within our limits.
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Kindly contact us to know more about the itinerary, cost along with the cancellation policy.