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Description: Arrive in Kochi. After you have cleared immigration and customs formalities, you are met outside the arrival hall by our representative, who will be holding a plycard with your name. He will escort you to your vehicle and assist with transfer and later check-in formalities at your hotel. (Check-in time 14:00 hrs) Rest of the day at leisure.

Locations: Cochin

Highlights: Explore Cochin

Description: After breakfast, take a city tour of Cochin, comprising of a cluster of islands and towns, is a living museum. Fort Cochin is believed to be the oldest European settlement in India, with the Portuguese flag first hoisted here in 1500. St Francis Church, built in 1510 by friars brought to India by Vasco da Gama, is the first European church built in India and is the site where da Gama was buried. While the remains were later taken back to Lisbon, the gravestone can still be seen here. The Jewish Synagogue was built in 1568 and considerably embellished in the mid 18th century by Ezekiel Rahabi, who built a clock tower and paved the floor of the synagogue with hand- painted tiles brought all the way from Canton in China. The "Dutch Palace" (CLOSED ON FRIDAYS AND SATURDAYS) was built in the 1550s by the Portuguese and taken over by the Dutch, who later presented it to the Rajas of Cochin. The palace contains excellent mythological murals and a rare example of traditional Keralite flooring - a subtle mix of burnt coconut shells, lime, plant juices and eggwhites - which gives the effect of polished marble. The Chinese fishing nets are used for a very unique and unusual method of fishing. Operated from the shore, these nets are set up on bamboo and teak poles and held horizontally by huge mechanisms, which lower them into the sea. They look somewhat like hammocks and are counter-weighed by large stones tied to ropes. You have time to wander around Mattancherri or Jew Town. Jew Street is full of antique shops selling genuine and pseudo objects d'art. The Jewish Synagogue (CLOSED ON FRIDAYS AND SATURDAYS) was built in 1568 and considerably embellished in the mid 18th century. It contains Grand Scroll of the Old Testament and the copper plates giving privileges to the Jew settlers by the rulers of Kochi.

Locations: Cochin

Highlights: Visit a tea plantation

Description: After breakfast, depart on the drive to Munnar (133kms/4hr) This beautiful hill station is popular for its cool climate and tea plantation. This quiet little town boasts of many colonial bungalows, tea factories, wildlife sanctuaries and many lakes. The accommodation facilities are excellent. Munnar, literally meaning 3 rivers, is situated on the confluence of three rivers. The average altitude is over 4000 feet above sea level. The sprawling tea plantations and the cool climate make Munnar a special place. On arrival check in at hotel.Afternoon visit to tea plantation. After visiting the tea plantation, visit Mattupetty: The Indo Swiss Project here attracts a lot of domestic tourists, the exotic cattle, rose gardens, lush green meadows and the dam with boating facilities are the major attractions. After the visits, return back to your hotel.

Locations: Munnar

Highlights: Game drive through Periyar

Description: After breakfast drive 190 kms/4hr to the Periyar Tiger Reserve and National Park. Established in 1934 as the Nelliampatty Sanctuary, the park was enlarged in 1950 and is India's southernmost tiger reserve. The lake covers some 10 sq. miles and most of the sanctuary is undulating. Since boat travel is the only means of transport in the park, large areas can be covered in a short time. Among the game found here are gaur (the largest of the world's wild oxen), elephant, wild pig, sambar, barking deer, mouse deer, the rare and endangered lion-tailed macaque, the Nilgiri langur, the common langur and the bonnet macaque, porcupine, Malabar squirrel, wild dog and tiger. Among the birds commonly seen are darters, cormorant, osprey, kingfisher and kite, great hornbill, grey hornbill, hill mynas, orioles and racket-tailed drongos. In the afternoon, visit the spice plantation. Option: take an optional cookery lesson in one of the neighboring villages

Locations: Periyar

Highlights: Game Drive in Pariyar

Description: Before breakfast take a morning nature trek in Periyar Sanctuary. After visiting the Sanctuary, return back to your hotel for breakfast. After breakfast, depart on the drive to Alleppey, known as the "Venice of the East", situated on the Vembabad Lake, the longest lake in India. A maze of canals and a network of bridges give this busy commercial town its descriptive sobriquet. Alleppey is known for its coir, the retted fibre of the coconut husk and for black pepper. Coir yarn, mats and matting and a wealth of other coir products are manufactured here and are good buys. Some 25 km away as the crow flies, lies the prosperous town of Kottayam, an important trading centre and the first town in India to attain 100% literacy. Nestled in the foothills of the Western Ghats, it has beautiful backwaters to its west and scenic fertile mountains to its east. A major centre of the trade, Kottayam also has a strong spiritual side to it, with several sects and divisions of the Syrian Christian faith due to the influence of history over the centuries. The best known churches are the historic Valia Palli and Cheria Palli, both with colourful frescoes enriching their dim interiors. On arrival check in at hotel.

Locations: Alleppey

Highlights: House Boat

Description: After breakfast, morning is at leisure. By afternoon transfer to board the houseboat, a special delight Kerala offers. Take a leisurely cruise on the backwaters, through forests, and palm-shaded canals, enjoying the magnificent scenery along the waterways and stopping to admire what history and religion have left along the way.

Locations: Alleppey

Highlights:

Description: After breakfast, disembark houseboat and drive 160kms/04 hrs to Kovalam Beach is a natural bay, sheltered from high waves and surges. You can experience an Aryuvedic massage, famed for its rejuvenating qualities. Aryuveda is the traditional system of medicine practiced in Kerala for centuries. The potions are prepared from herbs. On your arrival, check-in at the hotel. Rest of the day at leisure on the beach

Locations: Kovalam

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Description: After breakfast, Rest of the day at leisure on the beach

Locations: Kovalam

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Description: Transfer to International airport to connect flight for onward destination.

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