Kerala: The Essential South

Touchdown at Bangalore Airport, where a transfer will be ready to take you to your hotel. Check-in and enjoy your peace at your poolside cottage. Shreyas Retreat offers many facilities such as an infinity pool, steam, sauna, library, gym, reflexology path, a three kilometer jogging trail, and services such as an Ayurvedic Wellness Consultation on arrival. All your meals will be covered and will be gourmet vegetarian meals. There are also two daily group Yoga sessions and one daily group chanting / sound meditation session.

Today you will have a full day to embrace and enjoy the facilities and the area fully with all meals included.

Enjoy a leisurely morning with some breakfast and lunch at midday before checking out when your driver arrives. You will be driven to Kabini which is about a five-hour drive from Bangalore. Once at Kabini, you will check in at your camp at Kaav Safari Lodge which is on the edge of the Nagarhole Wildlife Sanctuary and the Kabini River. If you arrive earlier in the afternoon, you can enjoy a nature walk with a local Naturalist. Cycling to a nearby village and alongside the Kabini river or even a Coracle Boat ride. Later at night, you will have the chance to have dinner under the stars while eating your dinner.

Before the sun rises, sit atop a morning jeep safari ride with the best views imaginable of the wildlife with some experienced rangers. As you drive deeper into the jungle, more and more wildlife will reveal itself so you can come across its inhabitants. You will cross paths with large residents such as the elephants, bison, sambar, and bonnet macaques. You might be in luck to see the hidden predators too, such as tigers, leopards, panthers, and wild dogs. There are over two hundred fifty species of birds endemic to the region. This area is also most famous for having the most Asiatic elephants in the region. You will be taken back to the lodge to have some breakfast and lunch. In the late afternoon, we suggest going on another jeep safari adventure, or a trip floating down the river looking upon the banks of the National parks of the Southern States of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. With Nagarhole on one side and Bandipur on the other, their habitats step out onto these banks to quench their thirst. While herds of elephants, deer, bison, and even the mighty cats come out for a drink, the reservoir’s most frequent visitors are marsh crocodiles and water birds like herons, kingfishers, cormorants, spot-billed ducks, and many more. After a day filled with lush wildlife and nature return back to the lodge for dinner and relax.

After having breakfast at the lodge, check out and be driven to Neeleshwar. The drive will take around five and a half hours. Once you reach Neeleshwar Hermitage you will be secluded in the middle of a palm grove beside the Arabian Sea. The beautiful property is located amongst the unspoiled beaches of Malabar and was built in accordance with the architectural principles of Kerala Vastu. Each bungalow is a thatched cottage with a view of the pool, garden, or sea. You can spend the rest of the afternoon leisurely by enjoying the beach, swimming pool, and Ayurvedic spa.

Today you will have breakfast as the waves crash on the beach. Today you will have the today to yourself and be free to do as you wish. A walk to the village can be arranged if you wish to explore the area. You can also choose to explore on your own, walk on the beach, explore the local temples, dive in the pool, learn to cook Kerala dishes or pamper yourself at the spa.

Enjoy another breakfast under the shades of the palm tree grove. In the early morning, you can watch a Theyyam Performance, a colorful sacred ritual dance of Kerala that pays tribute great importance to the worship of heroes and ancestral spirits. After their performance, you are free to enjoy the rest of your day to yourself.

Today enjoy your final breakfast in the palm tree grove before you take a drive down to the Lotus Houseboat Jetty, where you will embark upon the houseboat on the unspoiled backwaters of Valyiaparamba. The houseboat was converted from an old kettuvalam, a rice barge. This now-converted houseboat has two private rooms with spacious bathrooms and great living spaces. You will meet the lovely crew as you board the ship. As the boat disembarks on the cruise you will the aquatic birds, and local fishermen alongside each other as they spend their lives along the banks of the river. You will also get a view of the coir cottage industry along the way. You will also visit a monkey island which is home to a sacred grove of monkeys. You will spend your night aboard the houseboat and enjoy your dinner as the boat drifts down the river into the night.

Have breakfast aboard the Lotus before disembarking so that you can hop on a car to your next stay in Wayanad. The Pepper Trail is an experiential retreat in a hundred-forty-year-old colonial-style bungalow set amid a two-hundred colonial coffee and spice plantation in the mist-clad hills of Wayanad. It offers a private escape cocooned in warm old-world luxury, and unending plantations combined with immersive local experiences that will leave you truly enchanted. Once you have checked in and fully settled, you will have the rest of the day to yourself to explore on your own.

Eat your breakfast with the beautiful stunning views of the spice fields in the hills. Today you will have the chance to explore the surrounding area at your own pace. There are guided plantation and nature walks, open-air jeep rides, and cycling to explore the surrounding countryside. You may choose whatever you please as everything will be set at your pace.

Enjoy your breakfast hidden in the spice fields of Wayanad. Today you get another chance to explore and spend the rest of the day to yourself amongst the beautiful fields and hills of Wayanad.

You will have a laid-back morning to enjoy your breakfast till around eleven in the morning before you check out to hop on your ride to take you to Fort Cochin which is about three hours away by car. Once reaching Cochin, you will check into Malabar House which is in the heart of the Old Fort of Cochin. Across from the harbor is you can catch a private sunset cruise, where you can enjoy another gorgeous boat ride on the ocean. After checking in at two in the afternoon you will have the day to yourself to explore the magnificent Old Fort Cochin and the surrounding city built on the Banks of Kochi. You will also be just a few minutes walk from the beach.

Begin your day early so that you can watch as the town wakes up. You will be exploring all the temples, cow shedding units, Yoga centers, fish markets, and Dhobi Khanas ( traditional laundry centers). This walk will start at around six in the morning and can last up to three hours. After your walk, you will come back to have some breakfast at the hotel. Later in the afternoon to you will have the chance to explore the city in the countryside with a guide to uncover the secrets of the area. In the evening you can get the chance to witness a Kathakali dance performance, the dramatic dance-drama that tells the much-loved epic stories of gods and goddesses. If you want to arrive early, we may also watch the performers getting dressed and preparing their make-up.

Free day with no arrangement, you can relax, walk around the city, do you shopping, enjoy a last spa or ayurvedic treatment before departure.

Enjoy your last breakfast on the edge of the Arabian Sea. Prepare yourself to check out, as a driver will be waiting for you to take you to Kochi Airport for your flight back home.

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