Wonders of Kerala

Your arrival is at Kochi International airport.  Our executive will meet, greet and receive at arrival destination.  On arrival, you will be travelling to Kochi city and relax for the day or if interested a half day sightseeing of Fort Kochi.

Main attraction of Fort Kochi is below.  Along with you can have a shopping at Kochi city also.

• Fort Kochi. Fort Kochi is a fishing village that become the first European township in India.  The town shaped by Portuguese, the Dutch and later the British.
• Jewish Synagogue.  Constructed 1568, this is the oldest synagogue in commonwealth.  It is noted for its mid-18th century, hand-painted, willow-patterned floor tiles from Canton in china, a clock tower, Hebrew inscriptions on stone slabs, old scrolls of the Old Testament etc.
• Dutch Palace.  Built by the Portuguese in 1557 and presented to Raja of Kochi, the palace was renovated by the Dutch in 1663.
• Vasco da Gama Square / Chinese fishing nets. The huge cantilevered fishing nets are the legacy of one of the first visitors to the Malabar Cost. Erected here between 1350 – 1450AD by traders from the court of  Kabul Khan. The best place to watch the nets being lowered into the sea and the catch being brought in is the Vasco da Gama Square
• Kodar House Constructed by Cochin Electric company in 1808 example of indo-European architecture.

Other attractions are Bolgaty palace, Pierce Leslie Bunglow, Santa Cruz Basalica, etc are located in the same area.

After Fort Kochi sightseeing, you can go straight way to Kochi Hotel. Overnight stay in the Hotel.

Important Points to Know

• All the tourist entry points except Fort Kochi Beach will be closed down at 5pm.
• Jewish synagogue will be closed on Fridays.  But they now start opening after 2pm on Fridays.
• Dutch Palace is closed on Friday and Saturdays.
• This sightseeing is possible only if you can reach airport latest by 2pm.

Arrival at Kochi, our representative will meet, receive and transfer to Munnar. It takes approximately 3.5 hrs. to cover 148 kms. On the way to Munnar, you can have your lunch at Onnukal, where veg and non-veg restaurants have restrooms available. Post lunch moves to Munnar, on the way you can see Valera waterfalls. You can spend some time there and proceed to Munnar and check in the resort. Leisure and relax in the resort. Overnight stay in the resort.

Note: All Munnar waterfalls are depended upon rain and when the rain stops, the waterfall may or may not have water.

Since there is only one day to cover all the sightseeing in Munnar, the appropriate time to start is at 0800hrs.  Below are the possible sightseeing available for the day.

• Rajamali National Park: It is located 10 kms. away from Munnar town. Basically it’s a mountain where one can spot rare species of mountain goat called – Nilgiri Tahr.  Entry permit can be obtained through online booking.           

Note: Main attraction of Rajamali is Nilgiri Tahr and once you reach on the top of the hill, you can have a good view point.  Since this involve approx 2kms trek, those who have breathing problems should avoid this.  Also those who are not interested in this Nilgiri Tahr and view point, this trip can be avoided.

• Tea Museum: Once Rajamali is over, TATA Tea Museum located near to the city, which gives an idea of how tea is processing from raw tea leaves, is an attraction.

Now its lunch time and Munnar city provide restaurants which caters veg and non veg food, jain etc. 

Post lunch, you will be visiting below places.

• Top Station: This is one of the best view points.
• Echo Point: This is a place near Mattupetty dam where if you make a sound, it bounce back with eco.
• Mattupetty Dam: Mattupetty dam and its park gives you some time to relax.  If you are interested, here speed boat trip with full security is available. There is a small play ground for children is also available.
• Kundala Dam: This is another dam enroute, good place for photography.

Your second day in Munnar is fully packed with sightseeing. This is the time for shopping.  Main shopping items are Ayurvedic products, coffee/ tea etc. We will surely recommend not to buy spices from here as  you are visiting Thekkedy (Periyar) all the species are cheaper. Return back and overnight stay in resort.

Today your trip is to Thekkedy (Periyar).  Thekkedy is located approximately 135kms and it may take minimum 3.5 hrs. to reach.  You can go Thekkedy by choosing two different directions.

Munnar city – Chinnakanal – Thekkedy.  This route is one of the best routes as you can see below sightseeing options on the way.

• Lockhart gap view point – one of the best view points after Top Station.
• Periya kanal water falls – this is available during Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep.
• Anayirangal Dam – 1.5km from the main road, this is one of the best scenic spot in Munnar. Sometime you can see wild elephant also there.
• Lockhart tea plantations – around 30mins drive through this tea plantations – one of the best experience and best place for photography.

The other route to Thekkedy is via Kunjithanni, Rajakkad, Udumbanchola.  You can save approx. 20 kms and around 30 mins.

Note : Guest whose hotels located in Anachal, Kunjithanni, Chithirapuram etc cannot go this route as one need to first go to Munnar city which 17kms more and it takes another 40mins.

• Periyar National Park: Periyar national park is famous for elephants and tigers. The sanctuary surrounds Periyar Lake which was formed when the Mullaperiyar Dam was constructed. One should note that like other wild life sanctuaries in India – Ranathambore, Gir etc, you cannot go inside the forest in a jeep or any other transport to see wild life animals.  Since Periyar National Park is surrounds by Periyar Lake, the forest department conduct boat safari in this Periyar Lake to see wild life animals. The boat trip starts at 0730hrs which is for 2hrs and all other trips are for 1.5hrs only.  There are 4 boats available for trip in the lake. One needs to book online ticket for the safari.  When the boat moves through the Periyar lake, you can see wild animals.  The interesting thing to note that till now except elephant, birds and wild gaur etc, none of the visitors have seen a tiger.  Therefore, if you are coming to Periyar national park to see tigers, sorry to inform that this is hardly possible.

Apart from the boat safari in the Periyar Lake, the forest department conduct many activities like overnight stay in forest with armed guards, night trekking, bamboo rafting etc. If you are interested for these activities, it’s always recommended to stay minimum two nights in Thekkedy.

Arrival at Thekkedy, Check in Hotel.  After lunch below are the activities we recommend for you.

• Boating in Periyar National Park.  You need to book a boat safari ticket online in advance.  Otherwise during  peak time, getting a ticket is difficult.  Since you are staying just one night, we recommend to book a ticket in 1530hrs trip.  The boat trip start at 1530hrs and ends at 1700hrs.
• 1800hrs – visit an art centre to see kathakali (art form) and kalaripayattu (martial art).  It takes almost 2hrs for this.

Apart from the above, you can also go for elephant safari, plantation tour etc.  If interested, these can be experienced next day also.  Overnight stay in resort.

Today you are going to experience stay in a Houseboat.  It may take approx 3.5hrs drive by road to cover around 150kms.  We always recommend starting sharp at 8am so that you can comfortably reach houseboat by 1200hrs.  On the way from Thekkedy to Houseboat there is nothing much to explore except a couple of view points.

Arrival and check in houseboat.

1 Night Alleppey – Kumarakom Houseboat Trip Plan
The below Houseboat backwater programme has been designed for those who like to visit the best canals in and around Aleppey.  Boarding Jetty in Kumarakom and alight at Alleppey Jetty.

Boarding Houseboat from Kumarakom Jetty at 1200hrs.

Check in Houseboat at 1200hrs and houseboat make a trip through the biggest vembanadu lake.  From 1200hrs to 1730hrs, the houseboat make a trip thorugh the below beautiful rivers and canals with an hour lunch break.

• Vembanadu lake: biggest fresh water lake.
• Punnamada kayal: river famous for Nehru trophy boat race.
• SNDP canal: one of the smallest canal in this trip.
• Pamba river: almost 150 ft. width river.
• Irumbanam Thod: best narrow canal.

We provide 01 hr. country boat trip in narrow canal where houseboat cannot make a trip.  This will be a unique experience for our guests.

Evening Options and Activities: Fishing in the lake and backwaters. (most of the houseboats is always having a fishing roads and you will surely get small fishes).

Overnight stay in Houseboat.

This is the last day of the trip. After having breakfast in Houseboat, check-out from the hotel and drop at Kochi Airport / Ernakulam Railway Station at an appropriate time. 

Tour ends here with some of the best memories of your life.