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By using homestays and small guesthouses on this tour, you are supporting the host families, their staff and the local community. With small numbers of individuals staying in small properties the impact on the environment is reduced, as waste, lighting etc will be minimal. This tour includes a visit to Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. Periyar is a protected area, is committed to conserving the numbers of tigers and elephants within the reserve and practices community based ecotourism.
Dewalokam Retreat is a homestay/guesthouse with guest accommodation adjacent to the family home. Dewalokam is a farm, growing tropical fruits and spices as well as Ayurvedic herbs for its Ayurveda centre. Guests are encouraged to go on nature treks in the surrounding forest or along the adjacent river. This is a great start to this holiday as it is not far from Cochin Airport and gives guests a certain amount of independence / privacy when you may still be getting over the jet lag. There is a small swimming pool using fresh water and no chemicals.
Royal Mist this friendly and popular guesthouse is situated just outside the town of Munnar and walking in the area is a popular activity. There are three guest rooms with great views on the top floor of this family home.
Pepper County a delightful family will welcome you to their comfortable home set in a beautiful rural setting not far from the Wildlife Sanctuary of Periyar. Guests are encouraged to take walks in the surrounding area where the Periyar Lake can be seen from the top of the nearby hill.
Mannaas Veedu was built fairly recently in the traditional style of Kerala architecture. The friendly hosts (plus their family members who all seem to live in the surrounding area) are able to offer a number of activities including visiting the elephant camp at Konni, cycling, fishing and exploring the local area.
Emerald Isle – is situated on an island in Kuttanad region of the backwaters. It is a delightful, traditional home dating back over 150 years.
Walton's Homestay is a in a preserved old Dutch building in the heritage zone of Fort Cochin. Convenient for sightseeing and shopping and a friendly welcome from Mr Walton.
The houseboat is locally made using traditional methods and natural materials and owned by a local company. All our houseboats adhere to stringent environmental rules and regulations that are in force on the Kerala backwaters.
The ground handling of this tour is provided by our local agent and we supply him with more than 90% of his turnover. All of the drivers and staff are local people. Thus we have fifteen local families that are directly financially reliant upon us. Our drivers have a contract and are paid a monthly wage. This is very unusual in South India where most drivers are normally employed on a commission-only basis (not easy for such seasonal work). Tailor-made holidays cater for couples or small groups and this means that our customers have the opportunity to interact with the locals.
All of our customers are supplied with detailed information about their holiday. We supply general advice relevant to all customers as well as more specific facts about your particular tour. These documents offer our customers lots of advice and guidance including how to obtain an Indian Visa, which immunisations are recommended, how much to tip people, how to dress appropriately and how to behave in National Parks. We support local charities and invite our customers to do so too (details are supplied with your travel documents).
We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!
