Backwaters, Beaches, Boats & Wildlife in Kerala

Our popular and long running journey to south India! Biking, hiking, a backwater boat ride, a stay in an Indian arts centre, a wildlife reserve and the beach, all combine in this unhurried visit to Kerala. We first travel to the Periyar wildlife reserve where there are tiger, elephant, deer, wild boar, monkeys, fish eagles, hornbills and many kingfishers and walk through plantations of cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, cumin, cinnamon and pepper. In the cool Cardamom hills, where we have seen wild elephant, we hike above the tea estates to reach the highest peaks in south India at over 2500m. In Cochin, the spice centre of India, we catch the public ferry-boats between the islands before our own boat journey glides away down the tranquilKerala backwaters to an arts centre where we can practice or watch woodcarving, martial arts, south Indian cooking and Kathakali dance. Finally we bike toward the coast, 4-5 hours daily before the sun gets too high. Through the palm trees there will be views of the Arabian Sea and we spend a final day at a golden beach.


Day - By - Day Tour Plan

Day 01: Arrive Cochin
Day 02: Kochi
Day 03: Kochi - Periyar
Day 04: Periyar
Day 05: Periyar - Kumarakom
Day 06: Alleppey - Marari
Day 07: Marari
Day 08: Marari - Kochi


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Guest Comments

-----Original Message-----
Guest Name(s): Christine & Jeffrey Moses
Country: USA
Email: ------
Tour Taken: Customized Kerala Hikes, Bikes & Boats Tour
Year: 2003, January

Dear Compass India,

          Bravo to another fantastic tour you arranged for our second trip to India!  As a repeat guest, we can add “reliable” service to the long list of praises for Compass.   As stated before, “Whenever we return to India, this wondrous and distant land, we will always go with a "Compass" at hand”.  It did not occur to me how soon we would come back.  Normally, we do not set foot into a country we recently visited, much less the same continent.  But my husband explained that Compass is the only company we can fully trust to fulfill our wishes, especially on short notice.

Knowing we were in good hands, the planning phase was different than our first experience. Rather than requesting specific cities and hotels based on the typical tourist circuit, we created a “wish list” of things we wanted to see.  Compass incorporated our wishes and filled the itinerary, yet we were involved in every step of the way to ensure your interpretation of our wishes were correct.  The unusual tour was a challenge, especially with the vast distances between places.

Though there were unavoidable days of travel, the route was logically considered to minimize the necessary hassle.   In response to our reluctance to train travel, we were escorted to our specific seats well in advance of departure.  Most remarkable, was the enthusiastic welcome by Joy Mazumdar in the tout-filled city of Varanasi.  As we opened the train door to exit, we were immediately greeted with marigold garlands and whisked away to a vehicle. 

Overall, it was a well-executed tour with a few minor glitches.  Yet to our amazement, the casual mention of them prompted an immediate response to remedy the situation.  Similar to our first tour, the accommodations and guides delivered expert knowledge, personal attention and commitment to service.  All made themselves available with an “At your service”, smile even during the national holiday of Diwali.   Most notable was the tiger safari portion of our trip.  Our wish to see tigers (7 total) in the wild was fulfilled, but it was the extraordinary and incredible service at Tiger Den that indelibly remains in our minds. 

We leave once more with memories of fascinating sights, scrumptious cuisine and hospitable people.  
Durjay, we want to thank you again for your personal touch in arranging this tour.  We appreciated the periodic phone calls to see if things were going smoothly, taking time out of your family’s hectic schedule to dine with us twice and giving us opportunities to gain a deeper understanding of Indian culture.  Truly, your company is listed under the definition of “hospitality”.  We hope that we can show you our version of hospitality, if ever you come to the United States.  Until then, best of luck to Compass and thank you so much for another unforgettable trip to India.  

Warmest and best regards,
Christine & Jeffrey Moses, USA

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