Cycling in Kerala sounded fun. Yes, they mentioned mountains, but how hard could it be?
Day 1 was deceptively relaxing – a guided tour of Kochi and its history. Separated from the rest of India by mountains, Kochi was influenced mainly by foreign traders, attracted by the lucrative spice business. The apostle, Thomas, beat the Portuguese missionaries by several centuries, and Indian-style Christian churches alternate with Hindu temples and mosques, together with one beautiful old synogogue, maintained by just six Jews.
The cycling started gently, along quiet canals. The locals stopped washing their clothes in the waters to enquire just how old we were? And couldn’t we afford a car?
Then the first mountain appeared. It was beautiful (I think – I mostly stared at the road, with gritted teeth, resisting the call of the air-conditioned, leather-seated support vehicle ahead). But after hours of grunting and cursing, we arrived at a spice plantation, set on the mountain-side. After cakes, fruit juice, and a much-needed shower, the owner showed us around. Every spice we’d ever heard of – and some we hadn’t – were growing around us. Using smell and taste, we identified nutmeg and mace, ginger plants, cardamom pods, all spice, and cinnamon bark. The photograph shows Johann, an Austrian guest, testing peppercorns on the vine.
Our evening meal, naturally incorporated all these spices.
Next day – more climbing, but the rolling tea plantations were worth the shaking thighs. We paused (any excuse) to watch the tea-pickers cutting leaf tips into bags attached to their scissors.
Then we visited Tata tea factory (thankfully by car) to watch the tea process and buy fresh, high-quality tea.
On to the Periyar Rainforest. Wearing sackcloth overboots (for leech protection), we crossed the river, by standing on a narrow raft of thin branches. Incredibly we reached the forest still on board. The native guide showed us monkeys, giant squirrels, numerous medicinal plants and even fresh tiger paw marks (no sign of the owner, fortunately).
Finally, it was downhill, literally, as we whizzed to the Backwaters. Rounding a corner, we braked to avoid flying into a huge lake – cartoon-style. The guides loaded our bikes, plus us, into a large canoe and we chugged to our waterside accommodation – a traditional farmhouse with luxurious, open-roofed bathrooms – a shower with a suntan.
More delicious Keralan food followed, with a chance to sample the local coconut toddy.
The Backwaters comprise hundreds of reclaimed islands, surrounded by lakes and canals. By hiring a houseboat, you can see life on the water – families fishing for their supper, school children travelling by canoe (see photograph) and local youths practising snake-boat racing.
We were greeted with a coconut drink and banana fritters on our houseboat.
After a peaceful night, rocked by the water, we enjoyed a typical South Indian breakfast, watching cormorants and sea snakes.
After disembarking, we cycled to the Alleppey beach, for camel rides.
Would I recommend Kerala as a holiday destination? Absolutely.
Kalypso Adventures is a holiday company based in Kochi, Kerala. Their experienced and high-quality customer service works to give a wonderful holiday experience : http://www.kalypsoadventures.com