Discount Travel with Rotary Tours

If you work with Wipro, Cognizant, Infosys, TCS, Accenture you get Half Ticket and an additional 10% off

On packages organized by Rotary Club of Kuttanad

Snapshot of a Rotary Trip: 9 days 8 night tour

2 days at Munnar; 2 days at Kovalam

1 day each at Kochi, Thekkady, Allepey and Kanyakumari

Itinerary:

1^st day – Arrive at Kochi, transfer to hotel, noon tour of Kochi, visit Fort Kochi, Jewish Synagogue, Jew Town, Dutch Synagogue, Chinese fishing nets, St. Francis Church. Overnight stay at hotel

2^nd day – Drive to Munnar. Transfer to hotel, day at leisure. Overnight stay at hotel

3^rd day – After breakfast, sightseeing in Munnar. Visit Eravikulam National Park, Mattupetty dam, old Munnar town and local market. Rest of the day at leisure. Overnight stay at hotel

4^th day – After breakfast, drive to Thekkady. Reach hotel at noon and take rest of day off or opt for a boat cruise down the Periyar river in the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary (This is not included in the package cost). Overnight stay at hotel

5^th day – Transfer from Thekkady to Kumarakom/Allepey houseboat. All meals on houseboat. Full day and overnight stay on the houseboat

6^th day – Drive to Kovalam. Transfer to hotel. Overnight stay at hotel

7^th day – Day at leisure. On payment basis avail of the resort facilities like Ayurvedic massage

8^th day – Drive to Kanyakumari after breakfast. Check into hotel by noon. Rest of day at leisure. Overnight stay at hotel

9^th day – Transfer to Thiruvanthapuram to catch connecting train/flight back home

Package Cost:

Budget    - Rs.40,290 for two. Rs.4000 for extra person

Standard – Rs.44,660 for two. Rs.4500 for extra person

Deluxe    - Rs.65,240 for two. Rs.5000 for extra person

Luxury    -  Rs.86,235 for two. Rs.8000 for extra person

Mode of Travel: Indica. A/c Indica for Deluxe and Luxury packages

Bus tickets can be arranged on request

Other Offers

Rotary also offers discounts on houseboat packages such as 15% off on deluxe 5 days 4 nights tours and if you like them on Facebook there's a 5% discount!

Contact

Call 09349178898 or 09447776841

Nattika - Life in Slow-mo

Want to be where it's lights out at 9 pm indoors and 6 pm outdoors then the place to be is Nattika beach.

It's a place where the crabs outnumber people on its 3 km white sandy stretch

You can take a walk on the beach and visit a 300 year old mosque, the second most ancient in the world where Jumu'ah prayers are offered or take a peek at deep sea fishing

If you're looking for spa/ayurveda resorts that are top-notch and far from the madding crowds you'll find them in Nattika. There's the Nattika beach resort and Kadapurram beach resor but be warned the resorts here offer only Rs.350/- buffet and no a la carte menus so it's a bit steep for budget tourists and the tariffs are with an eye on foreign clientele


If you're looking for whooping it up and crowds, wait till end of the year Nattika Beach Fest which unfolds from 25-12-2012 to 30-12-2012 as part of the Oruma celebrations complete with caparisoned elephants and cultural programmes by famous artistes


The best way to take in Nattika is to drive down there from Athirapally Waterfalls...the combo of waterfall and beach trek is worth the 1 hour drive


Going to Nattika


You can ask houseboat cruise operators who have Nattika as a pit stop

Or drive down 30 km from Thrissur town

Secluded Beaches in Kerala

1. Bekal Beach: This beach is 1 km away from Bekal Fort is one of the cleanest beaches, Bekal beach which offers a place far from the madding crowds. Since it’s part of a beach development project, it’s an extremely clean 19 km stretch. It’s a boon to families with kids as there’s a separate Children’s play area with a park. Bekal is the gateway to the untouched beaches of Kerala.

2. Kappil Beach: 5 km away from Bekal beach is the even more secluded and untouched Kappil beach and the Kodi cliffs are a stone’s throw away from it. 

3. Azhitala beach: 25 km away is Azhitala beach.

4. Kanwatheeratha Beach: 3 km from Majeswaram is Kanwatheertha beach whose main attraction is the sea segueing into a formation resembling a swimming pool in the midst of the long beach.

Nearby the beach, you can Cruise Along: The lashing of the sea gives way to the serene backwaters of Kasargod 18 km away. The stretch of Valiyaparamba is an hour’s drive from Bekal where you can take a boat cruise as the National Waterway passes through this island haven. There’s the regular ferry as well as the houseboats for this charming backwaters.

Visiting Kappad Beach

 Kappadkadavu as the locals call Kappad is no ordinary beach. It’s the beach that launched a thousand ships so to speak. Vasco da Gama stepped ashore with 170 men in 3 ships on 27^th May 1498 at Panthalayani, about 6 km away. His visit launched trade between Portugal and India. The Dutch and English followed suit wanting a hold over calico and they didn’t leave for nearly 450 years. Vasco da Gama died on his third visit to India in 1524  but he left India finally only in 1538 when his remains interred in St. Francis church returned to Portugal. What remains behind still is the gold crown studded with precious stones that Vasco da Gama presented to the king of Kochi. The crown is still to be seen in the Hill Palace museum at Thripunitura in Kochi.

Kappad is one of the still serene, untouched beaches with a charm all its own unruffled by the weight of its history. For much before Vasco da Gama came the Arabs, the Greeks and the Romans attracted by the spices and riches of Malabar. As Kappad beach is the entry point to the Malabar coastline.

Beach Sights

·         A stone pillar with an inscription commemorates the event of Vasco da Gama’s landing

·         Rock formation at one side and beach stretches endlessly on the other

·         Shore is a short 20 m and the sand is swallowed by soil

·         Wading isn’t really possible as the waters are quite deep

·         A rock abutment into the sea has a temple Urapottam Kavu considered to be 800 years old

Location

• The best route is to imagine you’re on the ship of Vasco da Gama and cruise through the backwaters towards Korappuzha river and come ashore on Kappad
• Take the train or plane to Kozhikode and Kappad is 16 km away.
• Drive down 20 minutes to Kappad or bus it or take the auto