Kerala Elephant Festival

(May) - Elephant Festival Kerala

MUMBAI (1) - COCHIN (2) - TRICHUR/BACKWATERS (1) - MARARI BEACH (3) - MUMBAI (0) = 7 nights

Thrissur, in India's most south-westerly state of Kerala north of Cochin is the venue for the Elephant Festival where over 100 highly decorated elephants participate.

Overview

Festival date; 1st May 2012

It is one of the biggest of all elephant festivals in the state of India, ‘Thissur Pooram’ is a 36-hour long affair dedicated to Lord Shiva, the Hindu God.

The tapestry of Kerala is unimaginable without the famous Kerala elephants. They are endlessly loved, adored, revered and celebrated animals. They are an indispensable part of the Kerala culture. Elephants are found here in the religious ceremonies, festivals and also a few in the timber yard. They are complete scene stealers in the Kerala Elephant Festival held in the month of Apr/May at Thrissur. It is only 83kms away from Kochi. It is also called the Thrissur Pooram or the meeting day of the divine deities.

The grand celebration of the festival begins in the premises of the famous Vadakkunatham Temple. A magnificent herd of 30 elephants fully bejewelled with caparisons, bells and necklaces is a sight to behold. Each elephant carries an idol of the deity along with the mahout. Accompanied with musicians and percussionists the grand procession proceeds gradually thronged by onlookers eagerly awaiting this grand spectacle! Children wait for their favourite part of the festival-crackers and thoroughly enjoy the noise and the festive fervour. This entire celebration continues for seven good days.

The choice rests with us, on the amount of time we spend here. You can also have quick chat with the mahout or the master of the elephant about their life and skills before you move ahead to Alleppey and Mararikulam to capture some more magic of this beautiful destination. No matter how strong the winds of change and modernism have been, a little ruffle and shuffle and the cities like Alleppey open up their olden times treasures for you to admire and at times also feel nostalgic!

There are colonial mansions, buildings churches and so much more. The emerald waters and the heavenly beaches are the travel monograms of this mesmerising state and its pride too!!

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Outlined Itinerary

Day 01 - Mumbai
Arrive Mumbai, meet and transfer to your hotel. In the afternoon, you will take a private guided tour of Mumbai – visit Prince of Wales Museum (Closed on Monday), Malabar hills, Victoria Terminus, Gateway of India and Mani Bhawan.
Day 02 - Cochin
After breakfast, you will be met and transferred to Mumbai airport to board your flight for Cochin 1340-1545. Arrive Cochin and transfer to your hotel. In the afternoon, you will enjoy a half day private guided tour of Cochin, visit to Dutch Palace (Closed on Friday), Jewish Synagogue (Closed on Friday & Saturday), St. Francis Church and Chinese Fishing Nets.
Day 03 - Cochin
After breakfast, you will enjoy an excursion to Thrissur for Elephant festival (2 Hrs). Watch the parade of 30 richly caparisoned elephants. You will be spellbound to see a wide array of elephants accompanied by the performances by musicians and percussion artists. Return to the hotel in the evening.
Day 04 - Backwaters
After breakfast, you will drive to Alleppey jetty (2 Hrs) to board overnight houseboat. Check in at the Houseboat. Kettuvallam (Houseboat) is an ideal mode to experience life of Kerala villages through backwaters. FULL BOARD
Day 05 - Mararikulam
Breakfast is onboard. You will disembark houseboat at Alleppey jetty and drive to Mararikulam. Arrive Mararikulam and check in at the Resort. Afternoon will be at leisure to relax at the Resort.
Day 06 - Mararikulam
After breakfast, the days will be at leisure to relax and explore the on own.
Day 07 - Mararikulam
After breakfast, the days will be at leisure to relax and explore the on own.
Day 08 - Mumbai
After breakfast, at an appropriate time, you will drive to Cochin airport (1.5 Hrs) to connect with your flight to Mumbai 0840-1030. Arrive Mumbai and assistance in connection for homebound flight.

All our tours and holidays are tailor made so can be amended to suite your budget. Click on our from prices below to see what hotels you can expect based on the cheapest time to travel in High Season per person based on two people sharing a room. We can design this tour for you at a lower or higher price, basically to suite your budget, style and comfort. Contact a specialist to discuss your requirements. International flights are not included.

What's Included

The prices shown are per person and given as a guide price based on the hotels featured. Twin or Double share on a bed & breakfast basis unless otherwise mentioned in the day to day itinerary. Single supplements or triple share reductions are available on request. All our tours include a local government registered private guide for sightseeing, unless day at leisure is mentioned.

Road Travel

Private luxury vehicle and driver.

Train travel

If mentioned in the tour will be booked in best class available.

Domestic Flights

If mentioned in the tour will be based on economy class.

All our tours are tailor made and can be changed to suite each individual client, so we can design this or any tour to suite your budget.

Contact a member of our team and tell us how much you want to spend, we can then work with you to produce a tour that consists of all that you wish for within reason, at a price that fits within your budget. There will be compromises but we are sure we can help you.

International flights

International flights are not included as we have clients from all over the world that make their own way to India & the subcontinent. Mystic India then comes in to its own with all arrangements on arrival from meet and greet to assistance with departure.

International flights in economy class from the UK start from around £500 - £700 each. This is of course dependent on which airline you choose, your destination in India, how far in advance you book and your travel dates.

We can arrange flights for you, just ask our team for an accurate price for when you wish to travel.

Suggestions to help bring the cost down

  • We can suggest alternative hotels
  • Maybe exchange a few nights in hotels for homestays
  • What about shortening the duration a little
  • If you want to do your own sightseeing and not have a private guide, then this will help bring the price down a little.
  • What about travelling in low season, there are some very good offers around for travel in April and May.

Work with us to help you, we are sure we can design a memorable tour in the budget and duration you would like.

Contact Us - we are here to be of service.

What's Included

The prices shown are per person and given as a guide price based on the hotels featured. Twin or Double share on a bed & breakfast basis unless otherwise mentioned in the day to day itinerary. Single supplements or triple share reductions are available on request. All our tours include a local government registered private guide for sightseeing, unless day at leisure is mentioned.

Road Travel

Private luxury vehicle and driver.

Train travel

If mentioned in the tour will be booked in best class available.

Domestic Flights

If mentioned in the tour will be based on economy class.

All our tours are tailor made and can be changed to suite each individual client, so we can design this or any tour to suite your style and in the mode of luxury you are accustomed too.

Contact a member of our team to discuss the details for the style of luxury tour you would like.

International flights

International flights are not included as we have clients from all over the world that make their own way to India & the subcontinent. Mystic India then comes in to its own with all arrangements on arrival from meet and greet to assistance with departure.

International flights in economy class from the UK start from around £500 - £700 each. This is of course dependent on which airline you choose, your destination in India, how far in advance you book and your travel dates.

We can arrange flights for you, just ask our team for an accurate price for when you wish to travel.

Treat yourself

  • Based on the current hotels, we can arrange higher room grades or suites.
  • We can suggest alternative hotels if a choice is available in any of the locations featured.
  • We can upgrade your private vehicle to eg; a Mercedes for around town sightseeing, but would recommend the more robust Toyota Innova or similar for longer road journeys.
  • For a more in-depth experience we can arrange for a private guide to accompany you throughout your tour, travelling with you.
  • For real luxury, we can organise a private jet instead of the normal domestic carriers.
  • If time allows may we suggest that you add in some extra days to really soak up some of the locations, or perhaps a spell beachside at the end of your tour.

You may have your own ideas on how you would like to upgrade this tour, let us know. Speak to a specialist who can advise how best to design a tour for the ultimate luxurious experience, as each location offers different opportunities.

Work with us to help you - we can design a bespoke itinerary that offers you a memorable trip base around your personal and meticulous style of travel.

Contact Us - we are here to be of service

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