The mountains of the Western Ghats are about 100 kms from the coast and backwaters and they offer a wonderful variety of scenery and adventure too. The drive up will take you through the banana and rubber plantations, passing many silvery waterfalls, then the coffee and spice plantations and then the velvet green tea-estates.
Munnar, a real gem, is approximately 4 hours from Cochin and 3 ½ hours from Thekkady. All around there are the beautiful tea-estates and the soaring peaks with thick forests. Here you can visit the Rajamalai wildlife sanctuary, home to the endangered but so tame mountain goats, and home also to some stunning scenery. Then visit the lakes and enjoy boating and a picnic lunch with nature ! Two wonderful jeep safaris also – one to the highest tea-estates in the world, again with superb scenery and another through the largest shola forest in the world, both hard drives but with great rewards! More stunning scenery on the Lexmi estate visit and a great surprise with DARE…only revealed once there !
In Munnar we offer lots of adventure with trekking and camping also. Here you really just cool out ! For nature lovers it truly must be Munnar !
Thekkady, is another great mountain area and is approximately 5 ½ hours from Cochin and 3 ½ hrs from the Backwaters. The highlight here must be Tusker Trail, home to the majestic beauty Meera the elephant. Here you can feed her and then ride her through the forests and plantations. You may even be able to sit on her knee for a chat and perhaps help bathe her. We will also reveal the fascinating secrets of the scented plantations. Of course a cruise on the lake in the wildlife sanctuary is another must and we will always try to arrange the late afternoon cruise as that offers the best chances of viewing the wildlife. For the more adventurous, it surely is preferable to take a gentle trek through the forest and then enjoy a bamboo raft ride on the lake. This is a full day outing of fun. Another fascinating outing is to the nearby but so contrasting Tamil lowlands – full of surprises here too. Then whilst traveling from Thekkady to Munnar we will enjoy taking you to View Point with great views of those Tamil lowland and also we will take you for a ride on an ox-cart through the county-side, real fun !
At least a day in the forested foothills and you will be totally relaxed and ideally at the end of your holiday here as you are just 2 ½ hrs from Munnar and 1 ½ hrs from Cochin airport. You will stay at the small nature resort near the bird sanctuary and the Periyar river with a lovely lagoon. However towards the end of the monsoon, the lagoon is usually emptied to release the water levels. However during all other times we will take you boating on the lagoons and the river with surely lots of lovely birds and wildlife. At sunset the sounds of the birds returning to the trees in the resort is a real wonder !
The largest waterfalls in south India are approximately 1 ½ hours from Cochin airport. There are 2 sets of these thundering masterpieces and here we will take you to the small resort with gardens right by the river, just away from the falls. Here also you surely can enjoy an open air dinner by the river. Whilst here you may also have a day trip to the cultural city of Thrissur and the temple elephant home at Guruvayur where up to 80 of the majestic beauties may be seen.
Here we will take you to Alleppey with it’s numerous canals or Kumarakom, both on the lake-shore and surrounded by endless palm trees. Here surely relax for a day at your resort and a must is a day and night with a memorable cruise on your exclusive houseboat. You board your boat around noon time and all your meals are prepared freshly onboard by your crew as you slip gently along. The night is at anchor with the gently lapping water. You disembark after breakfast with your driver waiting to take you on to your next retreat !
Cochin is dominated by the picturesque harbour and we will accommodate you in your resort overlooking the harbour. Some sightseeing here includes the old Fort Kochi area with the Chinese fishing nets also and Hill Palace just away from the town and former home to the Travancore kings. Good shopping in Cochin city also.
Kerala with her long coastline offers many nice beaches and resorts by the sea. Kovalam down in the far south by Trivandrum was the original destination for visitors to Kerala and has become a rather commercialized area. Many of the better resorts are all a steep walk from the beaches. A little further north is Varkala beach, 1 ½ hrs from Trivandrum and 2 ½ hrs from Alleppey and Kumarakom. Here it is less commercial and with some very quiet beach areas also. Our resort here is the only one right by the beach, other good ones are very far up on the cliffs.
Up near the Backwaters of Alleppey we have some quiet beaches with a couple of resorts just by the beach. These are just 30 minutes from the Backwaters and 2 hours from Cochin airport.
Near Calicut in the north of Kerala, we have the quiet and so friendly Kappad beach. Here the small resort has all rooms facing the sea and has a large swimming pool too. Day trips to the old forts at Kannur and Bekal are possible and also some shopping in Calicut city, 45 mins away.
All the beaches in Kerala are public so no resort or hotel has a private beach.
Here we will take you to Alleppey with it’s numerous canals or Kumarakom, both on the lake-shore and surrounded by endless palm trees. Here surely relax for a day at your resort and a must is a day and night with a memorable cruise on your exclusive houseboat. You board your boat around noon time and all your meals are prepared freshly onboard by your crew as you slip gently along. The night is at anchor with the gently lapping water. You disembark after breakfast with your driver waiting to take you on to your next retreat !
No trip to Kerala is complete without at least an introduction to the ancient rejuvenation art of Ayurveda. Using natural oil massages, even a single massage will make you feel a refreshed person. Weight loss is also another very useful treatment by Ayurveda. Do contact us for your requirements for both rejuvenation and weight loss. Many of the resorts we offer have in-house Ayurvedic centres. For true rejuvenation and relaxation treatment then at least 3 days is required and ideally 1 week. Vegetarian food is strictly recommended at the dedicated Ayurvedic resorts.
Perhaps more important than basic rejuvenation, Ayurveda can cure many illnesses that modern treatments cannot. However Ayurvedic treatments work slowly and some can require 3 weeks at least to have beneficial results. Do contact us for further special treatments for which we will need a medical report which we will pass to the consultant.
This is Kerala at her wildest. Picture this….
You are sitting on your balcony, watching the sunset. In the distance thick, dark clouds are building up, the birds are swarming for cover, chirping loudly as they scurry for shelter, the water becomes angry, the skies darken, then the first drops of water fall, then the clouds unleash their load and the rain tumbles down. Then silence, the trees bristle, the birds cheap – it’s time for a rain check.
This is the monsoon – cool and yet wild – surely a great time to escape the heat.
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