Kerala summer holiday special
Highlights
Cochin | Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary | Spice gardens | Gentle forest trek | Kerala backwaters | Mararikulam beach resort with swimming pool | Optional activities include: cooking classes, yoga, bike riding, guided nature and village walks, boat trips and bullock cart rides |
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about this holiday or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.
01273 823 700 Calling from outside the UK? rosy@responsibletravel.com
Departure information
Tailor made holiday
The tour operator offering this holiday is a British company with an intimate knowledge of the destination. All their holidays are tailor made which means that they can create a unique holiday for your individual requirements. They offer a range of accommodation from guesthouses and homestays to the more luxurious hotels. Where possible they use properties that are heritage or characterful. Quality and value are the hallmark of these trips. They are licenced to sell flights from the UK and will search for the best airfare for your dates. If you book flights with them, then the whole holiday will be protected by ATOL. This tour operator is also a member of ABTA – this means that all their holidays adhere to the ABTA Code of Conduct, their finances, insurances etc are checked regularly and if you have a complaint that cannot be resolved there is an arbitration scheme available to you.Responsible tourism
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we screen every trip so you can travel knowing your holiday will help support conservation and local people.
This tour features CGH Earth properties, a Kerala family owned business that has been operating since 1954. Sustainability has been their ethos from the start. At CGH Earth protecting the environment and nature is core to their business and visitors staying at their various hotels will see this in practice. Every hotel has been inspired by the nature that surrounds it. Spice Village in the Periyar Wildlife sanctuary area has individual cottages constructed using the same methods and thatched with elephant grass used by the Oorali (the tribal people of the area). The villas of Marari Beach resort used methods adopted from the fishermen of the area. Eighth Bastion in Fort Cochin is a heritage building that has been saved by conversion to a hotel. The group incorporates as many environmental friendly practices as is practicable at each hotel. For example at Spice Village (which is in the mountains) they do not have air-conditioning, much of their power is generated by a huge solar panel structure, they grow masses of their own vegetables (organically) and using their own compost created by a Vermicomposting (worm) plant. At Coconut Lagoon food waste is put into a ‘bio-gas plant’ and the power created is enough to run the staff quarters. Another initiative has been about preserving the local biodiversity of flora and fauna in the grounds of their hotels. Guests will find many of the plants are labelled and birds and butterflies are common (Coconut Lagoon has a butterfly garden). Water harvesting and wastewater management is another area where they have focused their attention. All these facilities can be seen by interested guests – just ask a staff member.
The Impacts of this Trip
CGH Earth is a Kerala family run business and at all their hotels they endeavour to employ as many people as possible from the local community. Their obligation to ‘give back’ is key to their beliefs and is a major contributor to their success. Local people are employed at all levels. They have instituted community based programmes that have helped to rehabilitate poachers and smugglers and local tribes have been taught organic farming techniques. At Coconut Lagoon the guest accommodation is in traditional tharavads that were restored by hand using the local craftsmen. At Spice Village they have a 50 mile radius restaurant. This means that all the food has been sourced no more than 50 miles from the hotel. This initiative has given local farmers a regular source of income and has enabled them to produce higher quality, organic food knowing that there is a market for it.
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.
Our local agent only works with us, so he and his team (and their families) are dependent on us for their income. Our drivers have a contract and are paid a monthly wage rather than only earning during the season. This gives them income throughout the year and the knowledge that they have a job next season (most other drivers have to re-apply for their own job each year). This low season work will give them additional income in the form of tips.
This tour features CGH Earth properties, a Kerala family owned business that has been operating since 1954. Sustainability has been their ethos from the start. At CGH Earth protecting the environment and nature is core to their business and visitors staying at their various hotels will see this in practice. Every hotel has been inspired by the nature that surrounds it. Spice Village in the Periyar Wildlife sanctuary area has individual cottages constructed using the same methods and thatched with elephant grass used by the Oorali (the tribal people of the area). The villas of Marari Beach resort used methods adopted from the fishermen of the area. Eighth Bastion in Fort Cochin is a heritage building that has been saved by conversion to a hotel. The group incorporates as many environmental friendly practices as is practicable at each hotel. For example at Spice Village (which is in the mountains) they do not have air-conditioning, much of their power is generated by a huge solar panel structure, they grow masses of their own vegetables (organically) and using their own compost created by a Vermicomposting (worm) plant. At Coconut Lagoon food waste is put into a ‘bio-gas plant’ and the power created is enough to run the staff quarters. Another initiative has been about preserving the local biodiversity of flora and fauna in the grounds of their hotels. Guests will find many of the plants are labelled and birds and butterflies are common (Coconut Lagoon has a butterfly garden). Water harvesting and wastewater management is another area where they have focused their attention. All these facilities can be seen by interested guests – just ask a staff member.
The Impacts of this Trip
CGH Earth is a Kerala family run business and at all their hotels they endeavour to employ as many people as possible from the local community. Their obligation to ‘give back’ is key to their beliefs and is a major contributor to their success. Local people are employed at all levels. They have instituted community based programmes that have helped to rehabilitate poachers and smugglers and local tribes have been taught organic farming techniques. At Coconut Lagoon the guest accommodation is in traditional tharavads that were restored by hand using the local craftsmen. At Spice Village they have a 50 mile radius restaurant. This means that all the food has been sourced no more than 50 miles from the hotel. This initiative has given local farmers a regular source of income and has enabled them to produce higher quality, organic food knowing that there is a market for it.
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.
Our local agent only works with us, so he and his team (and their families) are dependent on us for their income. Our drivers have a contract and are paid a monthly wage rather than only earning during the season. This gives them income throughout the year and the knowledge that they have a job next season (most other drivers have to re-apply for their own job each year). This low season work will give them additional income in the form of tips.
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