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Day
1 London/Kochi (Cochin)
Depart
London Heathrow by overnight Emirates scheduled flight via Dubai.
Day
2 Kochi (Cochin)
Arrive
Kochi this morning and transfer
to Brunton Boat Yard, your hotel
for a 2-night stay (Standard Seaview Room & Breakfast). Remainder
of day at leisure.
Day
3 Kochi (Cochin)
Spread
across islands and promontories between the Arabian Sea and the
Kerala Backwaters. Kochi. was founded in 1341 after a flood created
a natural safe port. Cochin was on the main trade route between
Europe and China and became the principal harbour for the Malabar
Coast's spice trade. People of various religions settled here, and
both Jewish and the Christian communities grew up, with their own
places of worship. A full day's sightseeing tour includes the Dutch
Palace at Mattancherry (renowned for its wall murals depicting scenes
from the Ramayanas); the Jewish Synagogue at the heart of what is
locally called the Jew Town, with many spice traders and curio shops;
the St Francis Church (oldest European church in India); and the
Santa Cruz Basilica, built in 1557 by the Portuguese. In the evening
enjoy a Kathakali dance performance. Kathakali is the classical
dance drama of Kerala, which dates from the 17th century and is
rooted in Hindu mythology.
Day
4 Kochi (Cochin)/Munnar
After
breakfast leave by road for Munnar
(84 miles/4 hours 30minutes). Check-in at the Windamere
Estate for a 2-night stay (Cottage accommodation & Breakfast).
Afternoon sightseeing tour of Munnar, including a tea factory visit.
Set at over 5,000 ft above sea level, at the confluence of three
mountain streams, this was once the main South India summer hill
station of the British Raj. Sprawling tea plantations, picture-book
towns and winding lanes all make this a popular resort. Among the
exotic flora found in the forests and grasslands here is the Neelakurinji
- bathing the hills in blue every twelve years. Munnar also has
the highest peak in South India, Anamudi, which reaches to nearly
9,000 ft.
Day
5 Munnar
Day
to relax or to explore Munnar
on your own - or to visit Eravikulam
National Park (not included in tour cost). Originally established
to protect the Nilgiri Tahr (Ibex), this beautiful park covers an
area of 37 square miles of rolling grasslands and high level evergreen
forest.
Day
6 Munnar/Periyar
Leave
this morning for the drive to Periyar
(70 miles/3 hours 30 minutes), with overnight at the Spice
Village - Thekkady (Standard Villa & Breakfast). Afternoon
at leisure. Periyar is South India's most popular wildlife sanctuary,
encompassing an area of 300 square miles and situated around the
attractive man-made Periyar Lake. It was made a part of Project
Tiger in 1973 - but today it is better known for its many elephant.
Day
7 Periyar
Morning
visit to local tea and spice plantations. In the afternoon enjoy
a boat ride on Lake Periyar to see the wildlife that frequents the
banks of the lake. As well as elephant, you can normally expect
to see bison, sambar, wild boar, langaur, otters and flying squirrels.
There are also no less than 246 species of birds and 112 species
of butterfly to look out for!
Day
8 Periyar/Kumarakom
After
breakfast drive down to Kumarakom
(80 miles/3 hours) in the Kerala Backwaters. Enjoy lunch en route
at Kanjirappally Plantation Bungalow, a Syrian Catholic heritage
home in the midst of plantations. Continue to the attractive village
resort of Kumarakom where the Coconut
Lagoon Resort is your base for two nights (Bungalow accommodation
& Breakfast). It lies on the shore of peaceful Vembanad lake,
about 10 miles from Kottayam, in a setting where a former lakeside
rubber plantation has been developed into a bird sanctuary (a path
leads through the swamp to the main nesting area, and an island
in the lake can be reached by boat).
Day
9 Kumarakom
Full
day at leisure - a chance for an optional backwaters cruise or to
visit Kuttanad, 'the Rice Bowl of Kerala'). Kuttanad is a land of
lush paddy fields extending for some 50 miles and sandwiched between
the sea and the hills. Fringing the coast of Kerala and far inland
a vast network of lagoons, lakes, rivers and canals - together known
as the Kerala Backwaters - are unique in India. A short backwaters
cruise is one of the highlights of a visit to Kerala. You can also
meet with the local population and learn about their lifestyle -
seeing how people live on narrow spits of reclaimed land only a
few metres wide.
Day
10 Kumarakom/Kochi (Cochin)
After
breakfast, drive to Cochin (50
Miles/2 hours) for an overnight stay at Brunton
Boat Yard (Standard Seaview - Room & Breakfast). Remainder
of day at leisure or for independent sightseeing.
Day
11 Kochi (Cochin)/Goa
Morning
at leisure. In the afternoon transfer to the airport for your flight
to Goa (70 mins). Transfer on arrival to the
Leela Palace, where you stay for
the next three nights (Pavilion Room & Breakfast).
Days
12/13 Goa
Two
full days to relax by the beach or your hotel pool - and for independent
sightseeing. The former Portuguese enclave of Goa
is undoubtedly India's most popular international beach resorts
- with magnificent palm-fringed beaches, excellent hotels and watersports,
lively markets, cosmopolitan restaurants, bars and nightlife - and
a unique Portuguese cultural and architectural heritage dating from
its colonial heyday.
Day
14 Goa/Mumbai
Morning
at leisure. Afternoon transfer to the airport for your Jet Airways
flight to Mumbai. Transfer to The Oberoi
for overnight (Deluxe Room & Breakfast).
Day
15 Mumbai
Mumbai
(formerly Bombay), the capital of Maharashtra State, is the economic
powerhouse of India - the fastest-moving, most affluent and cosmopolitan
- and most industrialised - city in India. Yet once it was no more
than a group of low-lying, swampy and malarial mud flats presented
to the British by its Portuguese occupiers as a wedding gift in
1661! Enjoy a full-day sightseeing tour of today's Mumbai - visiting
the grandiose Prince of Wales Museum, driving along Marine Drive
(the city's most popular seaside promenade), and see the Kamla Nehru
Park and Hanging Gardens on the slopes of the Malabar Hills, overlooking
Chowpatty beach. Other highlights include the Jain temple, Mani
Bhawan (where Mahatma Gandhi used to stay), the Dhobi Ghat, the
Flora Fountain, colourful Crawford Market and Victoria Terminus
railway station, the Hare Krishna ISKCON temple complex and Juhu
Beach.
Day
16 Mumbai/London
At
leisure. Transfer later in the day to the airport for your overnight
scheduled flight to London.
Day
18 London
Arrive
London Heathrow.
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