NORTH KERALA

Destinations Covered : Cochin – River Nila – Nilambur – Beypore – Wayanad – Neeleswar – Calicut

Activities
Pottery Workshop, Art & Musical School visit, Weaver’s workshop, Meenmutty waterfall, Eddakal Caves visit, Tholpetty wild life safari, Beach Stays

About the itinerary
For those tired of the well-known image of swinging palms, crowded backwaters and kettuvallams of South Kerala, North Kerala is the perfect rendezvous, hidden in the heart of Kerala and far from prying eyes. Comprising of the five districts-Kasargod, Kannur, Wayanad, Kozhikode and Malappuram, this region is untapped so far, the beaches and the beauty here is far more captivating than South Kerala.

Itinerary:
Day 1 – Cochin-River Nila:
Arrival at Cochin, meet our representative outside the terminal and transfer to River Nila (3 hours). In the afternoon visit handicraft and pottery making centers and spend twilight with folk artists, in the courtyard of local household, show casing the folk heritage of River Nila. Late night return to the hotel.

Overnight in Nila.

Day 2 River Nila:
Breakfast at the hotel. Morning visit to Kerala Kalamandalam.
Day with the masters: An interaction with students and masters of classical dance and music school of Kerala. Back to the hotel for lunch and transfer to a traditional farm stay in the afternoon.

Relaxation and overnight at the farm stay.

Day 3 – River Nila:
Breakfast at the farm stay and proceed for Thoni cruise at Tirur River; explore the life along the placid waters of the river in a country boat. Back to the farm stay for traditional Kerala lunch with the host family. Visit Traveller’s Forest, plant a sapling. Travellers Forest was set up in August 2009 as many villages in Kerala were facing severe challenges of losing their biodiversity. As deforestation in catchment areas is one of the main causes of river depletion, Travellers Forest aims to motivate local communities, as well as travellers, to restore and preserve the valuable ecosystems.

Overnight in Nila

Day 4 – River Nila – Nilambur:
Breakfast at the home stay and proceed to spend time with family of Musicians. The musical trail is a journey to show case the percussion culture of River Nila. A lecture demonstration on various kinds of musical instruments is concluded by an amazing performance by the group. Lunch at one of our interpreter’s house and proceed to Nilambur (one and half hours). Check in at the home stay on arrival. Relax and spend evening with host discussing Kerala’s history, art and culture.

Overnight in Nilambur home stay

Day 5 – Nilambur:
Day and overnight at the home stay. Optional visit to the pottery making centre or teak forest.

Overnight at the home stay

Day 6 – Nilambur – Beypore:
Breakfast at the home stay. Visit an initiative set up to provide jobs for local weavers and preserve the rich traditional knowledge. The NGO gives opportunity to travelers to participate in the weaver’s workshops. The produce they create during these workshops can be taken back by guests as a souvenir.

Overnight in Baypore.

Day 7 – Beypore:
Continue with the activities.

Overnight in Beypore

Day 8 Beypore – Wayanad:
Checkout after breakfast and transfer to Wayanad (2and half hours). Check in at the hill side resort on arrival. Relaxation till evening. Visit Edakkal caves in the afternoon; Etching found on the rock face of the caves is believed to date back to 500 years.

Overnight in Wayanad.

Day 9 – Wayanad:
Breakfast at the hotel and proceed to farm tour. Acquaint with almost all kind of spices grown in Kerala during you’re the spice tour that takes you through various farms owned by local communities. Lunch at a local house hold and proceed to visit Meenmutty waterfalls in the afternoon. Waterfall visit include two hours moderate trekking through the rainforest of Western ghats. Explore the three storied waterfalls and return to the hotel in the evening.

Overnight in Wayanad

Day 10 Wayanad:
Check out after breakfast and transfer to the Farm stay at North of Wayanad (1.5 hrs). Drive along the spice plantations and wildlife reserve. Check in at the farm stay on arrival and relaxation till evening. In the evening go for two hours Safari inside the Tholpetty wildlife sanctuary.

Overnight at the farm house in Wayanad

Day 11 Wayand – Neeleswar:
Early morning safari at the Wildlife sanctuary for two hours. Check out after breakfast and transfer to Neeleswar (4 hours). Check in at the beach hotel on arrival.

Relaxation and overnight at the beach hotel.

Day 12 – Neeleswar:
Full day relaxation at the beach hotel. Option visit can be arranged to see the forts(Bekal Fort) and many temples of this region that showcase the rich heritage of this land.

Day 13 – Neeleswar:
Full day relaxation at the beach hotel.

Day 14 – Neeleswar – Calicut / Mangalore
Check out after breakfast and transfer to Mangalore /Calicut airport (2 hours) for flight to onward destination.

How this particular trip makes a difference to the local community / environment :

The day with the musicians help them to promote their art forms, make known to the rest of the world their musical styles and also provides with them a source of income which given the nature of festivals in Kerala is seasonal. These are also lower caste members of the communities who otherwise, wouldn’t get an opportunity to perform in esteemed musical gathering.

Visit to potters and weavers community is an appreciation to the efforts to rehabilitate the local artisians. Our visits expand the knowledge about the program and provide them financial support.

Spice tours were initiated to support small time farmers and spice planters in and around Wayanad areas to find alternative, supplementary source of income. This provides a glimpse of the issues surrounding the struggles of spice farmers in terms of price crash and issues of globalization.

Trekkers and guides are from the local communities and the programs are operated by them. These are people who live on the fringes of the wildlife areas. All parts of our trek routes and campsite follows zero waste management. During and after every trek, we collect and dispose plastic waste that might have been left behind by other tourists and local people.