Kerala holiday, hidden gems of India

Planet

This holiday is arranged on an individual basis and a vehicle of appropriate size will be used. All the accommodation owners are committed to operating in an environmentally friendly way.

All the properties on this tour are small - Taleket has just two cottages. Windermere River House and Indian Summer House each have five rooms, Ameya has four. Chittoor Kottaram and Elakai are sold as an exclusive property - so if you are a couple you will have it all to yourselves (they will lock the other bedrooms). Small numbers of guests have lower impact on the environment.

All the accommodation on this tour is in a rural location (and in many cases set in a plantation or farm) and away from the main tourist areas we expect guests selecting this holiday to be interested in nature, walking or photography as well as wanting a very personal experience of South India. The backwater resort of Ameya operates totally off-grid.

People

Taleket is owned and hosted by a lovely lady called Pirkko. Originally from Finland and she was previously a manager at a property in Periyar. After some years she has opened her two-cottage property, and her slogan is "Dreams do come true".

Ameya is owned by a French couple and Indian Summer House by Don an Australian and his Mini is Keralite wife - both properties are staffed by locals. The combination of Indian staff and Western owners is good as the Western input ensures that certain standards are maintained. The plot of the Indian Summer House is the ancestral home of Mini and they have a range of activities that involve members of their local community.

Windermere River House is the second property opened by Windermere Retreats; a family run group of hotels. They started in leisure travel in 1997 as a hobby by Simon John, who was then a practising Ophthalmic Surgeon. The name Windermere came from the old cardamom estate in Munnar that Simon bought in 1987 as his venture in farming, and later here was the first venture into tourism with Windermere Estate.

Elakai was the private 'holiday home' of the owners and therefore much of the time unused. By offering it to guests it means that the property will be occupied more, and it has generated much needed local employment.

Chittoor Kottaram is owned by the environmentally friendly and Kerala based family-owned group - CGH Earth. CGH Earth Group were pioneers of eco-friendly resorts in Kerala. They also own the popular hotels of Coconut Lagoon, Spice Village, Marari Beach and Brunton Boatyard. CGH Earth evolved over four decades into a chain that specialises in remaining true to the environment – one of their mottos is "Nature remains the Chief Architect".

All the properties employ local people as staff - cooks, housekeepers, managers etc. As the properties are in more rural areas away from the normal tourist destinations this local employment is very important to the individual communities. The experience and training they get often enables them to pursue a career in tourism.

Our local agent is also a family-owned business and our lovely team of drivers (most of which have been with us for many years) are dependent on our company for their business. We have an unusual arrangement with our drivers who are paid a monthly wage. This helps them to budget as work in South India is very seasonal and during the low season drivers typically have no work and therefore get no salary and no tips. Our drivers have a contract of employment too which means they know that they still have a job at the beginning of the next season. The drivers and their families were also given a ‘free’ holiday. Many people in India do not take a holiday as such – rather they visit family members. Our agent negotiated with the hotels and houseboat operators we work with and arranged a holiday for 36 people with transfers, accommodation and meals all included. The highlight was to return from Cochin to Trivandrum by air. None of them had stayed in a hotel or flown before so this was a tremendous experience for them. We know of no other local agent who has provided their staff and family with a holiday.