South India - Culinary Trail
8 Days & 7 Nights
Kochi | Kumarakom | Kothamangalam | Kochi | Tellicherry | Calicut
Detailed Itinerary
Day 01: Kochi | Kumarakom (100 km/ 2.5 hours)
Arrival at Kochi airport, meet and transfer to Kumarakom. This morning you will be transferred to the backwater region of Kumarakom where you will take a short boat ride to the Coconut Lagoon back water resort. Set on a little picturesque island in the serene backwaters, the Coconut Lagoon is rated as one of the twenty five best getaways in the world with good reason. Spend your day at leisure at the resort. Amongst other things, the Coconut Lagoon offers Kerala cuisine in its most authentic form and those who want to take home an enriching taste of the land can take a lesson or two from the ever obliging chefs. Dinner and overnight at Coconut lagoon.
Hotel: Coconut Lagoon
Meals: Dinner
Website: www.cghearth.com/coconut-lagoon
Day 02: Kumarakom |Philipkutty’s Farm |Kumarakom
After breakfast, proceed to take boat to Philipkutty's farm, an exclusive home stay located on a small farm island on Vembanad Lake, the farm is run by a local family and offers a rare opportunity to enjoy an authentic experience of Kerala while getting to know people who live and work here.
Meals at Philipkutty’s are a family affair using mostly local ingredients, are home cooked and some of the resident family, if not all of them, join guests for dinner each evening. The cuisine is predominantly Syrian Christian with a strong backwater influence, with a touch of family tradition. Cooking classes are also offered with some of the sample dishes taught in the cooking classes including, Appam (rice based bread), chicken stew, duck curry and roast, iddli appam (string hoppers), Kerala fish curry, vegetable thorans, chutneys and traditional desserts
After lunch, drop back at coconut lagoon. Dinner and overnight at Coconut lagoon.
Hotel: Coconut Lagoon
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Website: www.cghearth.com/coconut-lagoon
Day 03: Kumarakom |Kothamangalam | Kochi (140 Kms 4-5 hours)
Morning, drive to Mundackal Plantation Bungalow at Kothamangalam and spend the afternoon at leisure in a century old estate bungalow homestead set in over 100 acres of multi crop plantation. Apart from exploring the estate, you could also participate in cookery demonstrations involving authentic Kerala cuisine. Later, drive to Kochi. Check- in at your hotel.
In the evening, visit the 'Pai Thattukada', named after the Pai brothers who popularized the concept of 'Thattus' or small shops that offer cheaper and quicker alternative to restaurant food. Some of the 'Thattus' serve over 70 varieties of 'Dosas' or rice pancakes and your trip to Kerala cannot be complete without sampling the dosas here.
Dinner at the specialty seafood restaurant, ‘Fort Kochi’ (Casino Hotel) which hosts the finest buffets with fresh catch straight from the fishing nets. Overnight at Hotel.
Hotel: Fragrant Nature
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
Website: www.fragrantnature.com
Day 04: In Kochi - Visit the home for Cooking Demo
Morning, proceed for a local tour on an auto rickshaw (TUK-TUK – Duration 02 Hrs). Visit Kayees Restaurant – known for their Signature Malabar Dhum Biriyani, Spice shops and fish market. In the latter half of the day, you will get to spend time at the home of Nimmy & Paul/ Similar who belong to the traditional Syrian Christian community in Kerala. Nimmy has been a professional cookery instructor for more than 20 years and in keeping with family traditions, is very passionate about serving great Kerala food today which will offer you an opportunity to participate in and learn how traditional spices are used in the typical Travancore vegetarian food.
Hotel: Fragrant Nature
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
Website: www.fragrantnature.com
Day 05: Kochi |Tellicherry (Thalasserry) ( By Train @ 7: 50 AM TILL 1:30 PM)
Morning you will be transferred to railway station on time to board train to Thalassery. Arrive Thalassery and proceed to ‘Ayesha Manzil’ home stay. Ayisha Manzil was built in 1862 by Murdoch Brown, a tradesman from the East India Company, and bought in 1900 by the Moosas, a local timber trader family of Muslims who still runs it today. Experience the warm hospitality, traditional cuisine with emphasis on Fresh seafood and local culture of Tellicherry. ‘Ayisha Manzil’ oozes history – antique furniture and family heirlooms decorate the spacious rooms.
Enjoy the home cooked food with the host. This coastal strip is famous for its fish, caught daily in the warm waters that lap the heavenly Malabar Coast and sold right off the boat on the local beach. It is here that a particular style of Indian cooking developed, quite different from elsewhere on the subcontinent. Named after the 'Mopillas' Or 'Muslims of North Kerala". Mopilla cuisine is the tradition that Faiza Moosa teaches in her home kitchen.
After enjoying wonderful home cooked meal, time to explore Thalassery by visiting Muzhappilangad Beach (the best four km drive-in beach of Kerala), Beedi (Local Indian Cigar) Factory and handloom weaving Centre.
Home Stay: Ayisha Manzil
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
Website: www.ayishamanzil.com
Day 06: Explore Tellicherry
Breakfast at homestay. Begin your day in Ayisha Manzil with an early morning trip to Fish market and spice merchant and end with a great feast. A Houseboy can accompany you on trips to a 6 Km long tropical beach, the fruit markets of Tellicherry or to the 300 acres of cinnamon plantation which is 10 km away from the house (originally established by Murdoch himself and is the only one of its kind in the country.
Mrs. Faiza Mooza, a joint in Ayisha Manzil and internationally renowned will delight you with her own specialty in cooking Kerala dishes. You are in for a treat if you prefer having hot and spicy food. In the evening a cooking demonstration is done by Mrs. Faiza Mooza, in which you can be a part of.
Home Stay: Ayisha Manzil
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Website: www.ayishamanzil.com
Day 07: Tellicherry-Calicut (75 km/1-2 hours)
After breakfast, proceed towards Calicut. Lunch at Calicut Paragon Restaurant (On direct payment basis), with a culinary heritage dating back to more than seven decades , the flagship restaurant is a true icon of Calicut, offering a fusion of the Malabar region's Moplah, coastal and Thiyya Cuisines.
After lunch visit to experience ‘CVN Kalari’, where you will witness one of the oldest martial art forms training, unique to Kerala named ‘Kalari Payuttu’. Check in at resort – Kadavu. Evening, the chef at the hotel will demonstrate a few of his special varieties in Malabar cuisine (subject to availability). Overnight at Hotel.
Home Stay: River Side Resort
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Website: www.theraviz.com/raviz-kadavu
Day 08: Departure Calicut
Departure transfer to Calicut Airport to board onward flight.
Arrival at Kochi airport, meet and transfer to Kumarakom. This morning you will be transferred to the backwater region of Kumarakom where you will take a short boat ride to the Coconut Lagoon back water resort. Set on a little picturesque island in the serene backwaters, the Coconut Lagoon is rated as one of the twenty five best getaways in the world with good reason. Spend your day at leisure at the resort. Amongst other things, the Coconut Lagoon offers Kerala cuisine in its most authentic form and those who want to take home an enriching taste of the land can take a lesson or two from the ever obliging chefs. Dinner and overnight at Coconut lagoon.
Hotel: Coconut Lagoon
Meals: Dinner
Website: www.cghearth.com/coconut-lagoon
Day 02: Kumarakom |Philipkutty’s Farm |Kumarakom
After breakfast, proceed to take boat to Philipkutty's farm, an exclusive home stay located on a small farm island on Vembanad Lake, the farm is run by a local family and offers a rare opportunity to enjoy an authentic experience of Kerala while getting to know people who live and work here.
Meals at Philipkutty’s are a family affair using mostly local ingredients, are home cooked and some of the resident family, if not all of them, join guests for dinner each evening. The cuisine is predominantly Syrian Christian with a strong backwater influence, with a touch of family tradition. Cooking classes are also offered with some of the sample dishes taught in the cooking classes including, Appam (rice based bread), chicken stew, duck curry and roast, iddli appam (string hoppers), Kerala fish curry, vegetable thorans, chutneys and traditional desserts
After lunch, drop back at coconut lagoon. Dinner and overnight at Coconut lagoon.
Hotel: Coconut Lagoon
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Website: www.cghearth.com/coconut-lagoon
Day 03: Kumarakom |Kothamangalam | Kochi (140 Kms 4-5 hours)
Morning, drive to Mundackal Plantation Bungalow at Kothamangalam and spend the afternoon at leisure in a century old estate bungalow homestead set in over 100 acres of multi crop plantation. Apart from exploring the estate, you could also participate in cookery demonstrations involving authentic Kerala cuisine. Later, drive to Kochi. Check- in at your hotel.
In the evening, visit the 'Pai Thattukada', named after the Pai brothers who popularized the concept of 'Thattus' or small shops that offer cheaper and quicker alternative to restaurant food. Some of the 'Thattus' serve over 70 varieties of 'Dosas' or rice pancakes and your trip to Kerala cannot be complete without sampling the dosas here.
Dinner at the specialty seafood restaurant, ‘Fort Kochi’ (Casino Hotel) which hosts the finest buffets with fresh catch straight from the fishing nets. Overnight at Hotel.
Hotel: Fragrant Nature
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
Website: www.fragrantnature.com
Day 04: In Kochi - Visit the home for Cooking Demo
Morning, proceed for a local tour on an auto rickshaw (TUK-TUK – Duration 02 Hrs). Visit Kayees Restaurant – known for their Signature Malabar Dhum Biriyani, Spice shops and fish market. In the latter half of the day, you will get to spend time at the home of Nimmy & Paul/ Similar who belong to the traditional Syrian Christian community in Kerala. Nimmy has been a professional cookery instructor for more than 20 years and in keeping with family traditions, is very passionate about serving great Kerala food today which will offer you an opportunity to participate in and learn how traditional spices are used in the typical Travancore vegetarian food.
Hotel: Fragrant Nature
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
Website: www.fragrantnature.com
Day 05: Kochi |Tellicherry (Thalasserry) ( By Train @ 7: 50 AM TILL 1:30 PM)
Morning you will be transferred to railway station on time to board train to Thalassery. Arrive Thalassery and proceed to ‘Ayesha Manzil’ home stay. Ayisha Manzil was built in 1862 by Murdoch Brown, a tradesman from the East India Company, and bought in 1900 by the Moosas, a local timber trader family of Muslims who still runs it today. Experience the warm hospitality, traditional cuisine with emphasis on Fresh seafood and local culture of Tellicherry. ‘Ayisha Manzil’ oozes history – antique furniture and family heirlooms decorate the spacious rooms.
Enjoy the home cooked food with the host. This coastal strip is famous for its fish, caught daily in the warm waters that lap the heavenly Malabar Coast and sold right off the boat on the local beach. It is here that a particular style of Indian cooking developed, quite different from elsewhere on the subcontinent. Named after the 'Mopillas' Or 'Muslims of North Kerala". Mopilla cuisine is the tradition that Faiza Moosa teaches in her home kitchen.
After enjoying wonderful home cooked meal, time to explore Thalassery by visiting Muzhappilangad Beach (the best four km drive-in beach of Kerala), Beedi (Local Indian Cigar) Factory and handloom weaving Centre.
Home Stay: Ayisha Manzil
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
Website: www.ayishamanzil.com
Day 06: Explore Tellicherry
Breakfast at homestay. Begin your day in Ayisha Manzil with an early morning trip to Fish market and spice merchant and end with a great feast. A Houseboy can accompany you on trips to a 6 Km long tropical beach, the fruit markets of Tellicherry or to the 300 acres of cinnamon plantation which is 10 km away from the house (originally established by Murdoch himself and is the only one of its kind in the country.
Mrs. Faiza Mooza, a joint in Ayisha Manzil and internationally renowned will delight you with her own specialty in cooking Kerala dishes. You are in for a treat if you prefer having hot and spicy food. In the evening a cooking demonstration is done by Mrs. Faiza Mooza, in which you can be a part of.
Home Stay: Ayisha Manzil
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Website: www.ayishamanzil.com
Day 07: Tellicherry-Calicut (75 km/1-2 hours)
After breakfast, proceed towards Calicut. Lunch at Calicut Paragon Restaurant (On direct payment basis), with a culinary heritage dating back to more than seven decades , the flagship restaurant is a true icon of Calicut, offering a fusion of the Malabar region's Moplah, coastal and Thiyya Cuisines.
After lunch visit to experience ‘CVN Kalari’, where you will witness one of the oldest martial art forms training, unique to Kerala named ‘Kalari Payuttu’. Check in at resort – Kadavu. Evening, the chef at the hotel will demonstrate a few of his special varieties in Malabar cuisine (subject to availability). Overnight at Hotel.
Home Stay: River Side Resort
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Website: www.theraviz.com/raviz-kadavu
Day 08: Departure Calicut
Departure transfer to Calicut Airport to board onward flight.
Price & Inclusions
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Prices
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Inclusions
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Exclusions
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- Accommodation for 07 Nights & 8 Days as per the program
- Meal plan as mentioned in the program
- Air conditioned Vehicle (9 Seater)
- English speaking accompanying guide for the entire trip
- Cooking demo with lunch at Philipkutty Farm
- Motorboat transfer from Coconut Lagoon to Philipkutty
- Mundackal Plantation visit with cooking demo and lunch
- Sea Food platter at Hotel Casino
- Tuk-Tuk ride (Duration 02 Hrs) at Fort Cochin
- Evening cooking demo with dinner with Nimmy Paul Or Similar at Cochin
- Train ticket Air Conditioned Chair car from Ernakulum to Thalassery
- Cooking demo class at Ayisha Manzil
- CVN Kalari (Martial Art) visit with demonstration at Calicut (duration 45 minutes)
- Assistance upon arrival and departure
- All applicable taxes
- GST
- International & Domestic Airfare
- Visa charges
- Porterage, Tips, laundry, table drinks, telecalls etc
- Any meal not specified
