South India Slow Travel Tour | South India Individual Tours | Pyala Travel - Travel Program
Why hurry? Enjoy the best of South India with this slow travel tour from Pyala Travel!
South India Slow Travel
private tour
Easy Going Tour with homestays in South-India
With this South-India without a rush trip, you will get to know a whole different side of India. You will spend the night in homestays and be welcomed by the lovely hostfamilies. The travelpace is low, which gives you the opportunity to fully enjoy India.
from 1375,-
18 days
Tabs
Day 1 Arrival Bangalore
You will be welcomed at the airport of Bangalore and a driver will take you to your homestay. This homestay is build in the traditional Kerala style. It has an open courtyard covered with Mangaloean tiles. In the middle of the courtyard you can find a 'varppu', which is a traditional jug used for cooking for the guests by the Kerala families. The interior is furnished in the traditional Kerala style with authentic palissander furnitures, lamps and a tanjore Veena. The bright colours, abstract wall-paintings and baubles make sure that the entirety has a present look. The rooms are stylish decorated and clean, and so are the bathrooms.Joseph John and his wife Maria will give you a warm welcome. They have lived abroad for 20 years, but nowadays they have this authentic, Indian homestay and love to share their knowledge about the Indian culture with their guests.
Guests have access to a fairly well filled library and film collection. Maria is an amazing cook as well and will prepare many delicious Indian dishes for you!
Day 2 Bangalore
After a strong breakfast, you can visit Bangalore; a mix of a traditional Indian city and at the same time one of the most modern green cities and the center of the IT-industry.Visit the Botanical Gardens in Lalbagh Bangalore, designed at the lines of a traditional Mughal garden from the 18th century. Take a walk along the flower beds, the lotus ponds and the impressive greenhouse.
The palace of Tipu, which dates back to the 18th century, is worth visiting as well. This summer palace of Tipu is a wooden building of 2 floors, decorated with balconies, pillars and arches. Flower motives ornament the walls and the ceilings of the palace, surrounded by a lovely garden.
Wander around in the indoor market, where local people go for generations long to purchase fruits, vegetables and flowers for their daily habits. And of course to get the latest news, with a warm cup of Chai. Visiting this market will give you an idea of the true soul of the city.
Day 3 Bangalore - Coorg
Today you will continue your trip to the next homestay, located amidst a lush and green tea garden, in the Nagarahole forest of Southern Coorg. It's about a six-hour drive from Bangalore to Coorg.Your hosts, Ramesh and Pavithra, will give you a warm welcome and make sure that you will have a nice and comfortable stay, which makes you feel at home. Enjoy the delicious local Coorg dishes. The local food is absolutely amazing and the hosts will make you don't want to leave the dinner table!
Day 4 Coorg
Today you can walk around and see the lovely coffee plantations round the Thadiyandamol Peak. Or would you rather go vising for the day? Or perhaps just wander around and enjoy the lovely surroundings? Or enjoy a good book? Everything is possible!
Day 5 Coorg - Wayanad
Today you continue to another exotic location, which takes about 4 hours driving to Wayanad. Along the way you will visit the Wayanad nature reserve near Tholpetty, a paradise for nature lovers. You will spend the night in a homestay a bit further in Wayanad and enjoy the panoramic view and the calm ambiance. The hostfamily will welcome you like your one of their long lost family members. Far away from the 'crazy and crowded mass', you will find here the nostalgic lonelyness of the long lost wilderness.
Day 6 Wayanad
Explore the surroundings today. Visit for example the Edakkal caves, a fascinating neolithic cave, which has been inhabited for centuries. Or would you rather go to some lovely waterfalls. The Soojipara waterfall is a beautiful waterfall, which flows down in 3 fases.
Day 7 Wayanad
Today you can take a trip to Kuruva Island. A lovely place to be away from everything. You will travel by boat to this unhabited island in the Kabani river.Make sure you take some delicious food with you in the morning, to have a nice picnic lunch at the island and enjoy the beautiful nature. Take a walk through the thick forests and look for rare bird species or beautiful orchids. Try to get in touch with the indigenous Kurichiya tribe. This tribe has fought against the British with a bow and arrow.
Day 8 Wayanad - Coonoor
You will continue your trip to the Nilgiri hills, which is about a four hour-drive. The night will be spend amidst a plantation, about one hour away from Ooty and Coonoor. This plantation is a big estate of approximately 120 hectares, where they grow tea, coffee, pepper and oranges.From your window you can see a lush green carpet of tea bushes. Further away you can see the valley with a spectacular view of sunsets and sunrises!
Day 9 Coonoor
Take some time to relax and choose one of the optional activities; tea/coffee plantantion tour, walking tours, nightsafari, birdwatching or would you rather go for a swim? Or would you be more interested in an adventurous jeep safari.You can also visit Ooty (Uthagamandalam), a famous hill station in the Nilgiri Hills founded by the British in the 19th century. You will find beautiful gardens here amidst the sloping hills. In the surroundings you can find the Todas people who live here, a local primitive tribe.
Other options are visiting the Botanical Gardens in Ooty or take the steam train (the Udagamandalam Mettupalayam Passenger) through the hills.
Day 10 Coonoor - Palaghat
In about four hours you will drive to Palakkad at the Mana. Here you will stay in a feodal house of the Namboothiris Brahmans. They were the guardians of Art forms like Kathakali, percussion, classic music, literature and Vedical and Sanskrit education. During your stay you will get traditional, vegetarian Kerala meals.
Day 11 Palaghat - Munnar
In the morning you will have the opportunity to get to know the village and the slow way of living in Kerala. Afterwards you continue your trip with a 4-hour drive to Munnar, a beautiful and pristine hill station in the Western Ghats. You can find different kinds of plantations here, such as rubber, cardamom, tea and coffee. Your overnight stay will be at a lovely located estate located at a height of 1600 meters with an amazing view of Munnar. This place was the most favorite spot for the British rulers in colonial times for a reason!
Day 12 Munnar
Enjoy the quietness of the estate, which is one with the nature. The restaurant is created by palm leaves, elephants grass, etc. Today you can take a trip to Eravikulam National Park or walk around and enjoy the magical tea gardens and enjoy the rest.
Day 13 Munnar - Allepey
You will travel in about 5 hours to the famous backwaters of Kerala. The backwaters are full with beautiful canals, lakes, fields, palm trees, rice fields, waterplants and orchards.The night will be spend in a homestay amidst idyllic surroundings, at an island where you will be surrounded by rivers and rice fields. Enjoy a canoe trip, take a cooking class or rent a bike and cycle the island. In the evening you can enjoy the hospitable ambiance and the delicious local homemade dishes.
Day 14 Allepey
Rise and shine early! In the early morning you can go birdwatching in the abandoned areas nearby or drink some coffee and have a chat with the locals, before you go back and have breakfast.Next you will take a boattrip on the sparkly waterways, among coco trees, green rice fields and remote villages where the daily life is being dominated by the rhythm of water. Loaded boats floating around, fisherman fishing with their small rowing boats and small ferries are floating criss cross at the rivers.
Day 15 Allepey - Marari
In half an hour you will drive to the fisherman village Mararikulam, located near a beautiful beach. You will spend the night in a cozy resort and take some time to blow away at the beach, meet the local fishing life or take a refreshing swim.
Day 16 Marari - Cochin
It's about a 2-hour drive to Cochin. Here you will spend the night in a homestay, located in the Fortress of Cochin, at a walking distance from the most important sights of this historical town with a Portugese and Dutch history.Cochin (Kochi) is united with Ernakulam in one city. Ernakalum is the new part and the commerical center, but Kochi is for travellers the most interesting part because of its past.
Uniquely located in a row of islands and small peninsulas, where you see small boats crossing the rivers to transfer passengers. Kochi has one of the most spectacular natural harbours of India.
Traditionally, the salesmen from all over were attracted to trade here. The most important reason for this is the plenitude of spices and the rural area of Malabar. The first traders were from the Middle-East and China. Much later also the Portugese, the Dutch (1653-1795) traders and the English traders arrived.
Day 17 Cochin
From a historical point of view, mostly Fort Cochin and Mattancherry are interesting for visitors. Contrary to Ernakulam, you can see that this Fort Cochin island is still being ruled by a serene quietness. Many houses of Fort Cochin date back to the Portugese times and are about 500 years old. The St. Francis Church is the oldest Europese church at Indian territory. Once there used to be a grave here of Vasco da Gama, the first European person who reached India. His tombstone can still be found in this church, while his remains have been transported to Lissabon. Another interesting church is the Santa Cruz Baslica.At the coast of Fort Cochin you can find the famous Chinese fishing nets. Long ago the nets were placed here by tradesmen, supported by the court of the Kublai Khan. Nowadays, they are still being used to hoodwink fishes. The nets are ingenious wooden constructions and with high tide they put the nets down. During the night, they lighten up the nets with lamps to attract fishes.
The MattancherryPalace was build in 1557 by the Portugese, but rebuild dramatically by the Dutch in 1663. For this reason, they also call the palace the ‘Dutch Palace’. The wall-paintings with scenes from the classic Hindu mythology remained surprisingly good and are the main attraction here. You can also find the Jewish Synagoge in Mattancherry, with its amazing Belgian chandeliers and hand-painted Chinese floortiles with a willow pattern.
Apart from all the attractions, Fort Cochin is also a beautiful place to wander around. Especially the small streets nearby the Jewish Synagoge and Mattancherry Palace are full of lovely shops, where you can find cute little souvenirs. There's plenty of choice in Kochi to eat something. Cozy, small and delicious restaurants are surely here, where you can spend the whole evening.
In the evening you can experience a Kathakali-dance performance.
Day 18 depart Cochin
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