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Welcome to Kochi, India. You will be greeted and received by our representative who would transfer you to your hotel for check-in. Kochi was earlier known as Cochin and is nicknamed as the Queen of the Arabian Sea. The name of the city comes from Malayalam term “Kochazhi” that actually means small lagoon.

Kochi was put on the world map by Vasco-de-Gama. The Arabs, Portuguese, British, Dutch, all have left their impression on the history of Kochi. Kochi was an important spice trading centre on the west coast of India from the 14th century onward, and maintained a trade network with Arab merchants from the pre-Islamic era.

Kochi is known as the financial, commercial and industrial capital of Kerala. Kochi is the second most important city on the west coast of India, right next to Mumbai. It is the most popular tourist destination for both domestic and international visitors to Kerala and is among the most visited tourist destinations in India.

This afternoon is at leisure. Overnight at hotel in Kochi.

Have your breakfast and get ready to explore the city of Cochin and some of the famous places in the city. You will be exploring the Portuguese churches, mosques and temples and also the Jewish synagogues. You will be taken to watch something that is amusing and most widely seen across Kerala – the Chinese style fishing nets. It has a height of 10m and holds a cantilever along with an outstretched net that is suspended in the sea and the other end has a huge stone tied to balance the counterweight. A group of six fishermen does the installation and operation of each fishing nets.

Come back to the hotel visiting these places. This afternoon is at leisure.

Overnight stay at hotel in Kochi.

On the 3rd day of the trip, you would be exploring the beach village of Mararikulam. It derives its name from Marari (Lord Shiva), and has the famous temple Mararikulam Mahadevar temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. The sleepy little village is about 11 kms from Alappuzha and is an idyllic location for a vacation.

The place is distinctly known for its beautiful beach which is known by the name Marari Beach or Mararikulam beach. It is one of the most beautiful beach destinations in India and was rated as one of the world’s top five hammock beach by National Geographic survey.

Spend the afternoon in the beautiful beach which is a photographer’s paradise for its eccentric natural beauty.

Overnight stay at Mararikulam.

This day is entirely at leisure for you to explore the beach. Mararikulam is a paradise for the nature lovers. A morning stroll by the beachside is a fine way to get introduced to the Malabar Coast’s unique ecosystem and to explore its myriad charms.

Just to give you an idea, you can expect to find 97 species of butterflies, more than 350 species of endemic plants, 3 varieties of turtles, and even 10 kinds of frogs. As for the birds, there are too many to even name them down.

You can also visit the famous Mararikulam Mahadeva templ, which is the most important and ancient Shiva temple, that has its origin dating back to centuries. The temple has to its account a lot of specialties which are unseen in any other temple .This is also the only temple where Mahadeva and Parvathi Devi sit facing each other as in swayambhoo.

Overnight stay at Mararikulam.

This day, after the breakfast, you will be driven to Periyar Animal Sanctuary. Periyar, with its cool chimes and agreeable greenery, has a wide zone for travelers to chill out. This pride destination in southern India is boosted with serene surroundings and startling sights and the reason to visit Periyar is mainly for its wildlife scene.

On that note, you will be driven to Periyar Animal Sanctuary which is set high in the mountains and sprawls over the Western Ghats. This National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area located on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border and here, you can feel the presence of serenity and excitement amidst the wilderness.

Periyar is famous as an Elephant and Tiger Reserve and shelters various animals like Bengal Tiger, Indian elephant, wild boar, sambar, tiger, leopard, wild dog, langur, monkeys, etc. You can also spot a number of birds and plants. The Park is surrounded by various plantation regions for coffee, tea, etc. and a visit to these plantations is a worth.

A boat ride in the Periyar Lake in the evening would give you enough chance to spot and photograph different animals. You could be delighted to spot a herd of elephants or a family of deer near the lake that come frequently to drink water. You may be able to spot herds of Gaur, Sambar and wild boars in the grasslands adjacent to the shores. A variety of avian fauna such as darters, egrets and kingfishers can be seen resting on dead tree trunks that stick out over the lake. During your boat ride, you may also watch the antics of the Indian Otter.

Overnight stay at Periyar.

This day, get driven to Alleppey, also named as Alappuzha that gets its name from two words, Ala (broad) and Puzha (river). Alleppey is a town with picturesque canals, backwaters, beaches, and lagoons, it was described as the one of the places known as the “Venice of the East” by Lord Curzon. History traded ancient Greece and Romans even before Christ and also during the middle Ages. Different religions mingled and built their churches, mosques and temples.

It is an experience to explore Kerala backwaters, which are a huge network of large lakes linked by canals and fed by rivers. The backwaters are formed because of the waves and shore currents creating low barrier islands. The backwaters would be explored in a houseboat (known as kettuvallam) which you would board for overnight stay that is by itself a lifetime experience.

These houseboats were first introduced to ferry the grain. The boats are like floating cottages with a sleeping area, toilets, dining area and a sit out on the deck. The food is cooked on board by staff.

Overnight in the houseboat in Alleppey.

Your trip comes to an end on day 7th, when you would be driven to Cochin to get dropped at the airport for your return or outbound flight.