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The leading specialists in cultural walking
tours
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We specialise in guided cultural walking
tours with music festivals, opera, art & architecture,
birdwatching, wildlife and gourmet food & wine.
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Walks and Wildlife in the Western Ghats
Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka
Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are
India at its greenest - peaceful, rural states with excellent
walking and wildlife (including tigers, elephants and many
endemic birds, plants and butterflies) in the Biosphere
reserves of the Western Ghats and the spice-growing Cardamom
Hills; historic Cochin with its early churches and synagogues;
verdant tea plantations; and a coastline of golden beaches
backed by coconut palms.
The famous narrow-gauge Blue Mountain
train takes us up to ‘Ooty’ to catch an echo of the
Raj era; we visit Tippu Sultan’s Palace and bargain for
silks in Mysore; explore a British East India Company fort,
built to protect the pepper trade, in Thalassery; and visit
exotic temples, botanical gardens and Maharajah’s
palaces.
During our 2 week journey we explore
these diverse facets at a leisurely pace, guided by an expert
naturalist (assisted by trackers from the indigenous tribes up
in the Ghats), whilst based in a selection of historic hotels
and special lodges which blend harmoniously with the natural
environment.
TRIP ITINERARY
DAY 1
D included
We meet mid afternoon at Cochin airport
and have a one hour road transfer to our historic hotel, a
beautifully restored 300 year-old Dutch mansion, on the island
of Fort Kochi. There is time for a swim in the pool in the
central courtyard before drinks on the garden terrace and an
introductory dinner of Keralan specialities.
DAY 2
B, L, D included
We walk along the shore by the famous
cantilevered Chinese fishing nets and watch the morning bustle
around the fish market. Exploring the atmospheric lanes we
glimpse warehouses dealing in cardamom, chillies, ginger and
pepper and visit the charming 16C Pardesi Synagogue,
Mattancherry Palace with its murals depicting stories from the
Ramayana, and St Francis, the earliest church built by
Europeans and original burial place of Vasco da Gama. After a
leisurely lunch overlooking the water there is time for an
Ayurvedic massage in the hotel spa, or a relaxing punting trip
along the Kerala Backwaters.
DAY 3
B, L, D included
Heading inland (in a comfortable
airconditioned vehicle) our first stop is a 4C Syrian Catholic
church, still very much in use, followed by the Birds Lagoon
where we have a guided walk by the lake, hoping to see our
first endemics such as Malabar parakeet and the Malabar grey
hornbill. A spectacular further 2 hours drive takes us up 1,550
m, with a visit to cardamon and pepper plantations en route,
into the Western Ghats and the hill station of Munnar, a former
British colonial resort. After settling into in our very
well-appointed hotel we walk by the river and in the
surrounding tea plantations.
DAY 4
B, L, D included
Crossing the Great Escape Gap, where 3
mountain ranges converge, we descend to the Marayoor Sandalwood
Forest and walk in search of Nilgiri langurs, the extraordinary
Malabar giant squirrel and 9,000 year old cave paintings. After
a traditional lunch served on a banana leaf we continue to the
Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary and walk in the riverine forest
where stork-billed kingfishers, Paradise flycatchers, elephants
and bonnet macaques are all possible. Crossing the state
boundary into Tamil Nadu, our destination for three nights is a
welcoming heritage home set on a 4,500 acre private estate
growing vanilla and coconuts.
DAY 5
B, L, D included
Today we trek in the Parambikulam Tiger
Reserve, a particularly remote section of the Indira Ghandi
National Park, the natural habitat of the highly endangered
Nilgiri Tahr (a primitive relative of a goat) and also where
the Kannimari teak tree, the largest in Asia, is found.
Hundreds of wild peacocks and occasional blue-winged parakeets
move through the forest, butterfly species include tree nymph,
iris peacock and banded peacock, and leopards, tigers and gaur
(Indian bison) all occur here.
DAY 6
B, L, D included
A relaxing day on the farm, with a bird
and butterfly spotting walk through the chickpea and coriander
fields; the opportunity to take a bullock cart ride; learning
about the tribal customs of the villagers; a walk to a
viewpoint over the Deccan plateau; time for a good book, and
dinner by firelight.
DAY 7
B, L, D included
After a very early start for the 2 hour
drive to Mettupalayam, we board the Blue Mountain Railway train
for the spectacular ride (46kms and almost 2,000m up) to the
celebrated hill station at Ooty (properly called
Udhagamandalam), once the summer residence of the entire Madras
Presidency. We have tea in our historic hotel (the 5 star Savoy
Taj), then set off on foot to see the local Botanical gardens
and the beautifully kept English Church, with its commemorative
plaques redolent of the colonial era.
DAY 8
B, L, D included
A day's drive to Mysore (6 hours) is
punctuated by lunch and a bird watching walk near the Mudumalai
Wildlife Sanctuary, a tropical dry forest where we hope to find
rufous tree-pie and Ceylon frogmouth. We settle into our
Sustainable Tourism award winning hotel in Mysore (a converted
Princess’s palace where profits go to charity and staff
are recruited from less advantaged groups), then have an
evening walk round the nearby Kukkerly Lake.
DAY 9
B, L, D included
Mysore has the reputation of being
India’s cleanest and most ecologically aware city and has
a good share of pre-Independence buildings. The
Maharaja’s Palace, designed by British architect Henry
Irwin in 1912, is a huge, walled, eclectic building, full of
memorabilia which provide a fascinating insight into a
grandiose Indian dynasty. There is time to visit the Devaraja
produce market (mountains of marigolds and jasmine) and then
shop for the silks and scented sandalwood for which Mysore is a
noted centre. In the afternoon we travel east to visit Tipu
Sultan’s fort (the site where he was finally defeated by
Col. Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington) and his
charmingly decorated summer palace, dating from 1784.
DAY 10
B, L, D included
Travelling west into the Ghats once more,
a scenic 2 hour drive brings us to Nagarhole National Park,
former hunting reserve of the Maharajahs of Mysore, where
deciduous forest along the Kabini river harbours wildcats,
sloth bears, leopards, elephants and monkeys, as well as the
rare Malabar trogon and Indian pitta. We have time to swim
before lunch and settle into our very comfortable private
jungle lodge, recently awarded the title of Top Wildlife Resort
in India. An optional birdwatching walk precedes a 3 hour early
evening boat trip on the lake in search of wildlife.
DAY 11
B, L, D included
We have the choice of a jeep safari
before breakfast, with the Park naturalists guiding us, or a
relaxing start to the day, watching butterflies from our
hammocks and perhaps visiting the local village before lunch.
In the late afternoon we again walk in search of wildlife and
take a second boat trip on the lake (an ideal way to approach
game quietly as they come down to drink, providing excellent
photo opportunities).
DAY 12
B, L, D included
Setting off around 9, we have a long,
very bumpy, but extremely picturesque drive down from the edge
of the Western Ghats (the road suffers monsoon damage
annually), pausing for lunch en route. In the small town of
Thalassery (Telicherry) on the Malabar coast we spend 2 nights
in a delightful, colonial style, heritage hotel, famous for its
food and with a temple pond pool and panoramic views from the
terraces.
DAY 13
B, L, D included
We accompany our host on a shopping
expedition to the lively fish market by the harbour, then walk
to the fort, built by the British East India Company in 1683 to
protect their trade in pepper. After lunch we relax on a
beautiful palm tree-backed beach and hope to catch a
performance of Thayyam, an ancient Dravidian ritual dance drama
special to Malabar, before dining under the stars.
DAY 14
B, L, D included
We catch the express train which travels
the coastal route south to Cochin (airconditioned carriages,
with luggage transported separately by road), reaching our
original historic hotel on Fort Kochi in time for a late lunch
and a swim. We can investigate the intriguing antique shops
near our hotel or make some last minute shopping forays before
our farewell seafood dinner, accompanied by Indian classical
music.
DAY 15
B included
We depart early for the airport and
flights home.
Price includes:
All accommodation for Days 1 through 15
on a double shared basis
All meals with local beer at lunch and
dinner as listed (beer is far more appropriate with Keralan
food and the tropical climate, and wine is often spoiled by
inadequate storage)
All land transportation in private
airconditioned vehicles, and trains as described, except during
free periods
Jeep safari and trips on watercraft as
described
All entrance and sightseeing fees except
during free periods
Services of an expert local naturalist
guide and a driver throughout (plus our Kudu Travel tour
leader)
Services of specialist trackers and
guides in National Parks and reserves
Tips for porters, restaurant and hotel
staff
Visa and Health Requirements
All visitors require a visa for entry to
India. All visitors require a visa for entry to India. Visa
applications are processed by Indian Visa Application Centres (in London, Birmigham and Edinburgh). The
costs start from £40.
Alternatively, a visa can be obtained
(for a fee) using visa agencies such as IndiaVisa.co.uk (0870
240 2526, www.indiavisa.co.uk) or India Visa Office (www.indiavisaheadoffice.co.uk, 0844 800 4018).
A Yellow Fever vaccination certificate is
not required when arriving from Europe or the USA.
Immunisation/boosters against Hepatitis A, Tetanus, Typhoid and
Polio are recommended - please consult your doctor in good time
about this (at least 6 weeks before departure) and also the
latest situation on malaria prophylaxis and anything else they
recommend. You may also wish to check the advice given to
travellers by the Department of Health.
Insurance
It is essential, and a condition of
booking, that you protect yourself with a suitable travel
insurance policy as soon as you book a trip. We can arrange
comprehensive cover for UK
residents (up to the age of 79) -
follow this link for details.
If you are already insured or a non-UK
resident, please inform us of your policy at the time of
booking.
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Kudu Travel Limited
Teffont Manor
Teffont Ewyas
Salisbury SP3 5RJ
Phone: 01722 716167
Registered in England
No. 03854049
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