Biking Tour in South India
Day 1: Arrive Cochin.
Meet and assist on arrival and transfer to hotel.
After a chance to relax and freshen up we have lunch.
In the evening, a trip to Fort Kochi for seeing the historical
city. Its historic links can be seen in the Colonial Bungalows,
an old Synagogue, Chinese fishing nets, the oldest European
Church in India and the Dutch Palace Museum.
Day 2: Cochin/ Munnar ( 127 kms)
In the morning transfer to Munnar, a tea town founded
by the British over a hundred years ago. Its agreeable
climate & tea gardens is indeed a refreshing sight.
In the afternoon, check out the bikes. If time permits,
a trip to Rajamalai for watching the endangered Nilgiri
Tahrs. Overnight at a hotel.
Day 3: Munnar-Chinnakanal (35 km).
The first part of the biking takes you through tea
estates & thick forest patches, criss-crossed by mountain
streams. By evening we will reach Chinnakanal where we
will stay at the comfortable resort.
Day 4: Chinnakanal-Vandanmedu (55 km).
The most spectacular sceneries around the Anaerangal
Lake, cardamom forests & winding village roads along
mountain tracks will be the main attractions of the day.
By late evening we will reach Vandanmedu – the main auction
center for cardamom for centuries; where we will stay
for overnight. If the route gets too strenuous, we will
transfer the team by coach.
Day 5: Vandanmedu-Periyar. (30 Kms).
A relaxed day of biking through country roads of the
hills to Periyar – famed for the Periyar Tiger Reserve
– one of the best managed sanctuaries for protection of
the tiger. We will check into one of the best resorts
in Kerala. In the evening a boat ride on the Periyar Lake
for watching wildlife.
Day 6: Periyar-Murinjapuzha (35 km).
This morning we start to see the rolling grasslands
of the foothills of the southern Indian mountain ranges
– called High Ranges here. The route takes through rolling
grasslands & roads that are most of the way downhill.
We will reach our resort at Murunjupuzha for overnight
saty, a wonderful retreat based on the ancient architectural
style of Kerala & set amidst a vast coffee estate
overlooking the Periyar valley
Day 7: Murinjapuzha-Vagamon (40 km).
Bike through tea estates, cardamom plantations to
reach Vagamon – a hill station set amidst the rolling
grasslands. These are ecologically fragile grasslands
and windswept most of the year around. We will be staying
at the beautiful Resort.
Day 8 : Vagamon-Erattupetta (35 km).
Today we will leave the hills & reach the plains.
The journey is through a totally different eco-system
– that of rubber & spice plantations of Central Kerala.
After we get to Erttupetta, a spice growing center, we
will proceed to Kottayam in our coach. But we will break
en-route at a spice villa for a typical Keralan lunch.
Overnight at hotel.
Day 9 : Kottayam-Kumarakon (20 km).
This is the last day of cycling. We will go along
the beautiful backwater roads, villages set amidst the
estuaries & lagoons and see the simple lifestyles
of people along the way. At the end of the day, we will
be at a resort for a well deserved break after a week
on the roads of Kerala. Overnight at hotel.
Either they stay back at Kumarakom for Ayurveda treatment
or we suggest beach extensions to Kovalam / Marari Beach
/ Poovar Island Beach Resort
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