Walking & wildlife holiday in Kerala
| country: | India |
| location: | Kerala |
| trip type: | Walking safaris, introductory walking |
| departures: | This trip can be tailormade throughout the year and can be adapted to suit your interests, budget and requirements as necessary |
| price: | From £950 - £1200 (14 days) excluding flights. Price includes accommodation with breakfast,all meals during camping, AC transport. |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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the amazing things you'll be doing
The rainforests of Kerala, punctuated by various streams, brooks and rivers, make an ideal habitat for a wide variety of flora and fauna.
The trip covers tropical evergreen forests, semi evergreen forests, moist deciduous grass lands, shola, high rolling plateaus, dry thorny scrubs, ravines, rugged peaks and rain shadow regions.
Various accommodation options are used ranging from home stay, heritage resorts, hotels and wilderness camping. The days spent in Cochin, Alleppey the guests have free time to explore around. The days spent in Cochin, Alleppey the guests have free time to explore around.
We offer a range of activities as a way of experiencing the wilderness - including rainforest trekking, waterfall trails, bamboo rafting, Thoni Cruise, Night time Jungle Patrol, wilderness camping, bird watching, wildlife spotting, safari and butterfly watching.
Whilst most of the day is spent in the forest and its fringe areas, we have taken care to make sure that guests are not denied any level of comfort in terms of accommodation. This includes Plantation accommodations, riverside resorts, wilderness camps, jungle lodges, tree houses and eco lodges.
Tailored to the needs of novices as well as the experienced trekker, this is a trip that will bring you as close as it is possible to nature in Kerala. Transport options between locations range from the luxury of air conditioned taxis to public transport, to barges and houseboats.
Over the last two years we have spotted sambar deer, lion tailed macaque, nilgiri tahr, spotted deer, malabar giant squirrel, otter, barking deer, mouse deer, leopard, civet cat, pangolin, grizzled giant squirrels, porcupine, star turtle, great Indian hornbill, nigliri marten, dusky stripped squirrel, nilgiri langur, small travancore flying squirrels, asiatic elephants, bonnet macaque, slender loris, common palm civet, but not yet the elusive tiger! .... Hopefully though when you trek with us!
The trip covers tropical evergreen forests, semi evergreen forests, moist deciduous grass lands, shola, high rolling plateaus, dry thorny scrubs, ravines, rugged peaks and rain shadow regions.
Various accommodation options are used ranging from home stay, heritage resorts, hotels and wilderness camping. The days spent in Cochin, Alleppey the guests have free time to explore around. The days spent in Cochin, Alleppey the guests have free time to explore around.
We offer a range of activities as a way of experiencing the wilderness - including rainforest trekking, waterfall trails, bamboo rafting, Thoni Cruise, Night time Jungle Patrol, wilderness camping, bird watching, wildlife spotting, safari and butterfly watching.
Whilst most of the day is spent in the forest and its fringe areas, we have taken care to make sure that guests are not denied any level of comfort in terms of accommodation. This includes Plantation accommodations, riverside resorts, wilderness camps, jungle lodges, tree houses and eco lodges.
Tailored to the needs of novices as well as the experienced trekker, this is a trip that will bring you as close as it is possible to nature in Kerala. Transport options between locations range from the luxury of air conditioned taxis to public transport, to barges and houseboats.
Over the last two years we have spotted sambar deer, lion tailed macaque, nilgiri tahr, spotted deer, malabar giant squirrel, otter, barking deer, mouse deer, leopard, civet cat, pangolin, grizzled giant squirrels, porcupine, star turtle, great Indian hornbill, nigliri marten, dusky stripped squirrel, nilgiri langur, small travancore flying squirrels, asiatic elephants, bonnet macaque, slender loris, common palm civet, but not yet the elusive tiger! .... Hopefully though when you trek with us!
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Calicut - Wayanad: Arrival at Calicut, meet our representative outside the airport terminal and transfer to Wayanad by road (3 hours). Lunch at the hotel and relaxation. Afternoon visit Edakkal caves: Listen to the heritage of Wayanad and see the pre historic sites that unveil the mystery of the land called Wayanad. Back to the hotel in the evening and overnight in Wayanad. |
| Day 2: | Wayanad: Wildlife trekking and safari through Muthanga Wildlife sanctuary. Accommodation in a plantation hideout. |
| Day 3: | Wayanad and River Nila: Early morning trek to Chembra Peak through shola grass lands. The grassy hill offers panoramic views during sunrise. Moderate trekking for a total of four hours at an average pace. We have spotted wild life during our early morning treks. Back to the resort for Lunch. After noon transfer to Nila (4 hours drive). Rest and for the day. Overnight in a riverside hotel / Farm house. |
| Day 4: | River Nila and Silent Valley: After breakfast transfer in Silent Valley Jungle camp (3 hrs). Overnight in the Jungle lodge. |
| Day 5: | Silent Valley: Jeep Safari to Sairandri Forest Camp. Silent valley has one of the largest viable breeding populations of Lion Tailed Macaques; a true arboreal monkey which is highly endangered and a good population for birds and butterflies and orchids. Rain forest trek to Kunti puzha. Overnight in jungle lodge. |
| Day 6: | Silent Valley - Chimmony Wildlife Sanctuary: Drive to Chimmony 3.5hrs drive. Trek through the wilderness of Chimmony to the campsite. Light trekking with our naturalist to explore the wilderness and forest area comprise of Tropical Evergreen forest and deciduous forest. Rainforest Camping at night. |
| Day 7: | Chimmony - Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary: Drive 2 hrs to Thattekkad. Birding and butterfly watching ornithologist have identified more than 253 species of birds in Thattekkad sanctuary area, that spread over an extend of 25.16 sq km, overnight in the forest Camp |
| Day 8: | Thattekkad - Munnar: Drive to Munnar 3hrs drive. Munnar hill stations lie is known for vast acres of tea plantations and misty cool climate. Overnight in a Farm house/ Resort. |
| Day 9: | Munnar: Rest and relaxation. Drive to Chinnar -2hrs drive. Trek to Vysapara Hills. Excellent site for spotting wildlife. Overnight in a Jungle hut. |
| Day 10: | Chinnar Wildlife sanctuary: Trekking and River trail. Overnight in tree house. Its dry deciduous forests makes it easier to view the wildlife. Undulating terrain with rocky patches increase the scenic splendor of the sanctuary. The forest type comprise thorny scrub forests, dry deciduous forests, high altitude sholas and wet mundane grasslands make this forest area a good wild life area to spot the wild life. |
| Day 11: | Periyar: Drive to Periyar 5.5 hrs drive. Evening: Night Patrol: 3hrs trek into Jungle with naturalist and torches..Return to Hotel by 10pm. Overnight in Periyar. |
| Day 12: | Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary: Nature trek and bamboo Rafting. Sixty three species of mammals have been recorded from this biggest protected sanctuary area of Kerala. The checklist of birds has 323 species. All the Western Ghats endemics except the Nilgiri laughing thrush are found here. Out of the 119 species of butterflies recorded, 20 are Western ghat are endemic. Overnight in Periyar. |
| Day 13: | Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary- Vallakkadavu Camping: After breakfast transfer to Vallakkadavu camp site (2 hours). Short trek around the camp and overnight tented camping. |
| Day 14: | Vallakkadavu Camp - Cochin Aiport: Transfer to Cochin airport. Approx 4hrs drive |
travellers' tales
The excitement of setting the camera trap before sunset along with the naturalist and the trackers and then waking up in the early morning to check for the results were definitely the most exciting part of the whole trip. (more)
travelling with a local operator
This holiday is operated by a company based in the holiday destination and they will be able to provide expert local knowledge. They will be able to tailor make your holiday to suit your requirements not only concerning the dates of travel but also typically the standard of accommodation, and thus price. It is rare for local operators to be able to help with the booking of your flights.highly commended
This tourism business was Highly Commended in our 2006 First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards - the largest awards of their kind in the world, and organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical Magazine, of the Royal Geographical Society. Since 2004, the Awards has recognised individuals, companies and organisations in travel making a big commitment to the culture and economies of local communities and helping to conserve biodiversity.
how this holiday makes a difference
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One of the most unique programmes in Eco Tourism in India, this holiday supports mainly those people who live on the fringes of the forest as trackers, guides and interpreters.
Due to several "social re-engineering" and political decisions, many of the tribal people have been forced to leave the forest and are no longer associated with its day to day activities. This particular trip focuses on their role as caretakers of forest, its resources and wildlife and by doing so also assures them a decent livelihood with dignity. Sustainable income through responsible tourism ensures increasing interest amongst local community members, which in turn supports conservation of wildlife and forest resources. Poaching, forest fires and illicit liquor brewing in forest areas have been reported by our assistants and trackers. These issues have been successfully handled by the authorities with support from VSS (Forest Protection Committee) and EDCs (Eco Development Committee). Except in the rare case of communication problems in terms of naturalist's interpretation, all the associates in this program are locals. The now famous 'Periyar Model' have successfully rehabilitated several former poachers as protectors. The majority of the accommodation used in this itinerary is operated by local community members belonging to the Eco Development Committees (EDCs) and supported by our team of naturalists and professionals. The benefits are transferred directly to the community members and not simple tokenistic. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |