| Day | Place | Premiere Inns | Duration | ~ Cycling Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kochi to Kumarakom | Coconut Lagoon | 1 | 40km / 24mi* |
| 2 | Alleppey | Purity | 1 | 40km / 24mi* |
| 3 | Kochi | 40km / 24mi* |
Arrival note:
Cochin(Kochi, COK) has direct connecting flights via Middle East & few destinations in Southeast Asia. Domestic flights can be connected to Cochin either from Mumbai or Bangalore.
Meeting time and Location:
On day 1, meet your trip leader, 08:30am at your hotel. We recommend to do bike fit at least a day before departure. If you plan to arrive early, please contact your trip consultant for a list of suggested hotels at Kochi, if required. It is good to pick a hotel in Fort Kochi area.
Day 1: Kochi to Kumarakom
Caught between the backwaters and Arabian sea, this is simply the best rural biking trail combined with village life experiences around Kochi. It’s a day-cycle ride that lets you feel the charm of simple Keralan backwater villages. We ride through vast paddy fields, fish farms, coconut tree canopies to reach one of the backwater edges. Learn about fish farming, traditional boat making and other local traditions. What you take back from this beautiful ride is a true village experience spiced up with few untold local stories.
Meals: Lunch, Dinner
Distance cycled: ~ 40km/24mi*
Day 2: Alleppey
A beautiful ride today takes us near to spectacular Vembanad Lake. Enjoy stunning vistas in all directions. Small canals, country canoes, fisherman throwing nets into the water, a coconut climber climbing up the coconut tree, women working in the rice fields, all come into scene one after the other.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Distance cycled : ~ 40km / 24mi*
Day 3: Kochi
Soon you will be biking from the backwaters to the coastal side. See the life in fishing villages in action and hear the stories from our local guide. Get the best picture imprinted to your memory on this last day of the Kerala adventure. Our tour ends as we reach Fort Kochi by afternoon.
Meals: Breakfast
Distance cycled: ~ 40km/24mi*
Extend your holiday: You can extend your holiday in the backwaters of Kerala by opting for a stay in houseboat, floating in Vembanadu lake.
insightful details
The tour covers only the lowlands of Kerala. The lowlands stretches are flat and are very close to the coastal line and backwaters. .
Altitude range: 0 to 11 m
Fauna:
Egrets(little, moderate, large), Cattle Egrets, Cormorants, Brahminy kites, Pond Heron, Kingfisher, Mynah, Ducks, House crow, Goats, Cows.
Flora:
Plantations – Coconut, Banana
Farms – Paddy farms, Fish farms
Food: Keralan spicy fish curry or rice with curry on banana leaf, variety of spiced-up local side dishes and curries.
Drink: Chaaya(milk tea), Sulaimani (a black tea)
Culture: Hinduism, profuse influence of Christianity along the coast, backwater village life.
from our friends
“Thank you for such a well planned, superbly led trip. We learned so much more about Kerala and it’s unique characteristics and beauty than we thought we would. This was our first trip to India and our first “organized tour group”. Both exceeded our expectations. We will surely return.”
“Jacky and I would like to thank you and all your staff , in particular Rakesh and Dipu, for a terrific cycle ride in Kerala. As experienced organisers of cycle tours in South Africa ourselves and participants in many other tours in Asia, Australia and Europe, we really can appreciate the superb attention to detail that you brought to this remarkable tour and cannot fault it in any way. It ranks amongst the very best we have experienced over many years. The cycling was challenging in parts for us over seventy year olds but always enjoyable. The other activities were also great. We saw many birds, giant squirrels and an elephant on our walk in the Tiger Reserve.Kayaking on the Periyar in the evening at Hornbill Camp was a birding highlight too and who would not enjoy the overnight stay on the backwaters in a luxury houseboat. Each place we stayed at was well chosen and different, giving us a real feel for this beautiful region with its rubber, tea and cardamom plantations. Rakesh and Dipu took exceptional care of us and pampered us throughout shielding us from traffic and making sure we had everything possible to add to our enjoyment as well as being knowledgeable about each area. They were superb. What you promised on your website was more than delivered and we feel that we have made new friends as well. The local food everywhere was very good and the cooking lessons that you arranged for us super fun as well as being delicious. Our friends in Cape Town, where we are now, can look forward to some amazing curry meals when we try out our new recipes in the coming weeks before we head home to Australia. Please post this in your testimonial column and anywhere else where it may do you some good. You thoroughly deserve every success. We would be happy to respond directly by phone or email to any prospective clients who might like personal reassurance of your quality. Our best wishes and good luck in your cycling future.”
“My husband and I took th 12-day Taste of Kerala Bicycle tour. Having taken many other multi day bike tours this one rates at the top of my list. You ride through beautiful tea and spice plantations. The views are vivid green and spectacular. I loved every minute of it. The ride itself is comfortable. The guides take you via back roads so while you are riding with India traffics it is much reduced, the vehicles tend to drive slowly and it was comfortable. Kerala has hills bit as medium level riders we were comfortable. The support was outstanding. Ebin was our guide and was both experienced and personable. We had fun riding and talking to him. He gave realistic expectations of the route and made sure we felt safe. Thanks Ebin for your superb guiding! The accomodations and food was good and the side trips off our bike were worthwhile. We loved the houseboat night. I highly recommend this tour to anyone. I think it is an undiscovered biking area. Enjoy it before it gets discovered.”
“I would thoroughly recommend this trip – it was simply magical! We were a little worried that this was a local company of whom we knew nothing and we have been used to the large global operators in this field. We need not have worried at all. The itinerary was perfect and, with the interludes of visiting tea, rubber and cardomom plantations and spice gardens, we had a perfect mixture of cycling and interesting things to do. The bikes were great and the hotels were a very good choice. The terrain was challenging, as its quite mountainous, but we did not need to get off and push at all, as all the climbs were just steady, slow hills, not steep at all. We got up to over 7,000 feet at one time and the views were simply breathtaking! Our guide, Thomas, was wonderful, with his perfect English, he was both charming and interesting as well as caring and thoughtful. Selvam was much more than just a driver as he was at all times looking after us and keeping his eye on how we were doing, stopping at just the right time to give us rest, fresh water and food, exactly when we needed it. If we tired, and we did sometimes, then he was more than ready and willing to pack up the bikes and take us into the cool interior of the car for a while. All in all it was a really good week and the very best cycling tour we have done anywhere in the world, and that is saying a lot….. as we have done cycling holidays in England, France, Italy, Cuba and Croatia. This one beat them all hands down!”
“Do not hesitate to trust the team at Art of the Bicycle with your holiday…we have just returned from 10 spectacular days touring the backwaters, the tea gardens, spice plantations and the beaches of this incredible place. Luckily we decided to tour around on a bike and therefore have indulged in platefuls of the most tremendous food without noticeable weight gain. The team at Art of the Bicycle are great company, good fun and certainly go out of their way to make sure you have a holiday to remember. Go for it!”
“The more I think about this trip, the more beautiful it becomes. You guys are the best – the whole operation and trip appeared very smooth. Thank you so much for giving one of the best times of my life!!”
“We were a little hesitant to take the trip as we had a 8 year old, but it was a very good experience for all of us. Our crew was fabulous and made the trip very easy. The organizers of the trip were fantastic and very patient with us while we planned the trip. They have accomdated all our requests. The places we stayed at very unique and hidden treasures to discovers. Our kids enjoyed the trip thoroughly.”
“The transport vehicle was fantasic. The driver was always near to us while bicycling and always had water and snacks for us. He did a great job. The food was great. The sag food was good. The bicycles were good for the roads we were on. All the accomodations were fantastic. The non-cycling activities were great. I especially liked the kayaking on the Periyar River and the hiking in the Periyar Sanctuary. The afternoon and night on the houseboat on the backwaters was excellent. That was the best way to see the tropical vegetation. Overall I thought the trip was excellent. Pranav was an excellent guide. The driver of the support vechile was always there for us and also very pleasant.”
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