DAY 1: ARRIVE COCHIN
Morning arrive Kochi International airport, meet and assist by our representative. On arrival check into the Hotel and relax. Later, Afternoon proceed for a heritage walking tour with English speaking guide. You visit the heritage area in Fort Kochi visiting Chinese fishing nets, Beach, St. Francis church etc.
Afternoon free for some shopping or independent activities. You can buy some interesting handicrafts/souvenirs for your friends and family.
Evening visit “Greenix Theatre and Museum” to see the Cultural show “Kaleidoscope” at 17:00hrs. “Kaleidoscope show” is performance of various art forms like Kathakali, Mohiniyattam, Kayaripyattu, Theyyam etc. The Kathakali make up starts at 17:00hrs and the show will start by 18:00hrs. The show ends by 19:30hrs and you will be transferred back to your hotel.
Overnight in Cochin
DAY 2: COCHIN / MUNNAR
After breakfast around 8:30 AM check out from the hotel and proceed for guided sightseeing tour of New Delhi.
Morning after breakfast, check out and drive to Munnar hill station (around 3 ½ to 4 hour drive). En-route you will stop at Cheeyapara waterfalls for a short break.
Munnar is arguably the ideal starting point for exploring the unfathomable diversity and beauty of Kerala, and it is a hill station – breathtakingly beautiful – a haven of peace and tranquility – the idyllic tourist destination in God’s own country. Set at an altitude of 6000 ft. in Idukki district, Munnar was the favored summer resort of the erstwhile British rulers in the colonial days.
Arrive Munnar town and your vehicle will be parked here. You will then transferred to Nature Zone Resort which is located in an ideal spot on top of a hill with nature in its serene beauty. This is a 6 km off-road hilly Jeep ride through the tea plantations.
Check into this exclusive resort on top of the hill. Enjoy the nature and stay in an exclusive “Tree House”.
Overnight in Munnar.
DAY 3: MUNNAR
Early morning you can go for a nature walk inside the resort. A short trek from the property will take you to one of the highest peak in Munnar. The view from here is breathtaking…..
After breakfast, you will drive down the hill for sightseeing tour of Munnar. Visit the Tea factory Museum, Mattupetty Dam, Eravikulam National Park etc.
Eravikulam National Park: A sanctuary for the endangered mountain goat of South India, the Nilgiri Tahr. The Eravikulam National Park stands out for the stark beauty of its rolling grasslands and sholas, spread over 97 sq km in the Rajamalai hills. Anamudi, the highest peak (2695 m) south of the Himalayas, towers over the sanctuary in majestic pride. The slopes of the hills abound in all kinds of rare flora and fauna. The Atlas moth, the largest of its kind in the world, is a unique inhabitant of the park. Other rare species of fauna found here are the Nilgiri Langur, the lion-tailed macaque, leopards, tigers, etc.
If interested, you can do a speed boat ride in the artificial lake at Mattupetty Dam.
Overnight in Munnar
DAY 4: MUNNAR / THEKKADY
Morning after breakfast, check out and drive to Thekkady (around 3 hrs. drive).
Thekkady, one of India’s major wildlife sanctuaries, sprawled over an area of 777sq.kms is rich in varied flora and fauna. It is one of the finest wildlife reserves in India and spread across the entire district are picturesque plantations of tea, cardamom, pepper, cloves and cinnamon in the High Ranges and hill towns that hold great opportunities for treks and mountain walks.
On arrival, check in to the hotel and relax. Afternoon, proceed to visit the Periyar Wildlife sanctuary. Enjoy a boating through the lake in Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary to see the wildlife in close range. Elephants, wild boar, bison are the main attraction here. Optional sightseeing – Plantation tour, Elephant ride, Kalaripayattu show, Jeep Safari etc.
Overnight in Thekkady.
DAY 5: THEKKADY / KUMARAKOM
Morning after an early breakfast, check out from your resort and drive to Kumarakom (around 3 hours’ drive).
“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. The Vembanad Lake with its majestic canals, streams and distributaries along its banks weave an intricate and enchantingly beautiful web. The gorgeous green of the fringed palms ripple in the blue waters and blend into wavelets.
On arrival check in to the beautiful backwater resort and relax. Enjoy a rejuvenation massage here at the Ayurvedic centre here.
Overnight at Kumarakom
DAY 6: KUMARAKOM/ALLEPPEY (HOUSEBOAT)
Morning hours at leisure. Around 1200 noon board a traditional Kerala houseboat from the resort itself and cruise along the serene backwaters.
During the cruise, the countryside offers a close look into an engaging rustic life. You can see skilled fishermen launching their cockshell boats, large flotillas of ducks waddling down to the water from thatched houses on the banks, women neck-deep in water, with their waist-length hair heaped in a crown, searching for fish with their feet and aimless cattle grazing in lush pastureland, where white lotuses lie here and there in small, low-lying pools.
The personal chef on the houseboat will prepare delicious Kerala style cuisine for you on board. Evening, cruise till 1700 hrs and the boat will be anchored in the lake for dinner and overnight stay.
Overnight on Houseboat
DAY 7: ALLEPPEY (HOUSEBOAT) / KOVALAM
Morning after breakfast around 09:00 AM disembark the houseboat in Alleppey and drive to Kovalam (around 180 kms, 04 – 05 hours drive). On arrival check in to a beach resort and relax.
Overnight in Kovalam.
Morning after breakfast, proceed for Trivandrum city sightseeing tour with an English speaking guide.
Trivandrum is an ancient city with tradition dating back to 1000 BC. Thiruvananthapuram became the capital of Raja of Travancore in 1750. The city gets its name from the word, Thiru-anantha-puram, meaning the city of Anantha or the abode of the sacred Serpent Anantha on which Lord Vishnu, the preserver of the Hindu trinity, reclines.
Places of interest are: Napier Museum, Shri Chitra Art Gallery, drive through the Kanakakunnu Palace & other government buildings. Also visit the famous Padmanabha Swamy Temple.
Later drive back to your hotel in Kovalam.
Overnight at Kovalam.
DAY 9: KOVALAM / KANYAKUMARI
After breakfast check out and proceed to Kanyakumari (2 ½ hrs drive), enroute you will visit Padmanabhapuram Palace.
Padmanabhapuram Palace is located in at Padmanabhapuram Fort, in Padmanabhapuram, Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, India. Padmanabhapuram is the former capital city of the erstwhile Hindu kingdom of Travancore. It is about 20km from Nagercoil and about 50km from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The palace is complex inside with an old granite fortress around four kilometers long. The palace is located at the foot of the Veli Hills, which form a part of the Western Ghats. The river Valli flows nearby. The palace was constructed around 1601 AD by Iravi Varma Kulasekhara Perumal who ruled Venad between 1592 and 1609.
It is believed that the Thai Kottaram was built in 1550. The founder of modern Travancore, King Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (1706–1758) who ruled Travancore from 1729 to 1758, rebuilt the palace in around 1750. King Marthaanda Varma dedicated the kingdom to his family deity Sree Padmanabha, a form of Lord Vishnu and ruled the kingdom as Padmanabha dasa or servant of Lord Padmanabha. Hence the name Padmanabhapuram or City of Lord Padmanabha. In the late 18th century, precisely in 1795 the capital of Travancore was shifted from here to Thiruvananthapuram,
On arrival in Kanyakumari Check into the Resort.
Kanyakumari, located at the southern tip of peninsular India, it offers a unique experience of sunrise & sunset.
Kanyakumari is a coastal town in the state of Tamil Nadu on India’s southern tip. Jutting into the Laccadive Sea, the town was known as Cape Comorin during British rule and is popular for watching sunrise and sunset over the ocean. It’s also a noted pilgrimage site thanks to its Bagavathi Amman Temple, dedicated to a consort of Shiva, and its Our Lady of Ransom Church, a center of Indian Catholicism.
After lunch visit rock memorial dedicated to Swami Vivekananda and the Gandhi Memorial.
Overnight stay at the hotel
DAY 10: DEPARTURE TRIVANDRUM
Morning after breakfast, you will be transferred to Trivandrum International Airport to take your onward destination flight.
Meals:
END OF THE TOUR
For tour price write to mail@fortextravel.com
