Highlights

• Kochi’s intriguing maritime and trading history, pre-dating even Vasco da Gama and the Romans.
• Malabar Coast with chinese fishing nets and brightly painted boats.
• Flora including teak, mahogany plantations and shola forests.
• Abundant, ever-present birdlife in forests and in a renowned bird sanctuary.
• Hill stations and tea, coffee, and spice plantations in the Western Ghats.
• Wildlife including sloths, porcupines, leopards, elephants and a tiger reserve.
• Tranquil and ever-changing Kerala backwaters and cute houseboat.
• Mouth-watering traditional South Indian cuisine.

Who is this tour for?
Riding preference:

• Best suits an active rider or those who want a challenge. Averages 40-70 km per day.
• You start in Kochi and cycle inland through flat green plains and rice fields, gradually moving up to altitudes of 1,500 metres (5,000 feet) above sea level hills in the Western Ghats, and then descend to the flat backwaters and finally the coast of Kerala.
• Going deeper into different faces of beautiful Kerala – mountains, plains and sea, as well as living religions, culture and way of life.
• Suits a nature lover, bird watcher and wildlife enthusiast.

Interests:

• Going deeper into different faces of beautiful Kerala – mountains, plains and sea, as well as living religions, culture and way of life.

• Suits a nature lover, bird watcher and wildlife enthusiast.

About the tour ?

Day 1 – Arrive Kochin and transfer from airport.
Day 2 - Kochin – explore by bicycle with sightseeing.
Day 3 – Bicycle from Kochin to Thattekkadu.
Day 4 - Bicycling from Thattekkadu to Munnar.
Day 5 - Munnar – explore by bicycle with sightseeing.
Day 6 - Bicycle from Munnar to Thekkady.
Day 7 - Explore Thekkady by bicycle.
Day 8 – Bicycle from Thekkady to Allepy Kerala Backwaters houseboat via Paruthumpara.
Day 9 - Bicycle from Allepy to Kochi via Marari.
Day 10 - Transfer to airport.

Accommodation: Optional.

Not quite right? Let us create a private customised short tour

Starting in Kochi, you go on a fascinating guided? bike tour of Kochi, India’s oldest
European settlement, to explore its history, art, buildings and monuments.
The next day you head north-east on land dotted with villages and criss-crossed with
canals, riding next to lush green paddy fields and coconut trees. You cycle upwards
from the coastal plain to Thattekkadu and its many teak, mahogany plantations and
famous Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary on the Periyar River. The forest of tropical
deciduous and evergreen trees provides a rich habitat for over 500 species of water
and land birds (280 considered rare). If your luck holds you may see local wildlife
such as sloths, porcupines, leopards, and elephants.
The air continues to cool as you ascend to Munnar in the misty mountains of the
beautiful green Western Ghats, with its hill stations, tea and spice plantations and
abundant wildlife. Here the route is more challenging, full of ups and downs, and
reaching altitudes 1,500 metres (5,000 feet) above sea level.
From Munnar you ride to Thekkady enjoying the views, and spice plantations for
black pepper, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, nutmace, and ginger. Here, the Periyar
Wildlife Sanctuary, declared a tiger reserve in 1978, is set in thick evergreen forest.
Herds of wild elephants, deer and bison come down to drink in the lake created by the
dam. Next it is on to the spectacular rock formations and views near Paruthumpara (or
eagle rock) village.
Then it is a fabulous downhill run to Allepy and the spectacular beauty of the Kerala
backwaters with its lakes, fishing villages, and palm-fringed fields. Here you see local
life on the tranquil waterways, before spending a night on a houseboat. You finish
with an easy flat ride along the coast from Marari (Mararikulam), a fishing village,
past sandy beaches and interesting villages to Kochi.
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