Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 2215377;
www.leelahomestay.com
; Quiros St; classes veg/nonveg ?550; 11am & 6pm)
Mrs Leelu Roy
runs popular two-hour cooking classes in her big family kitchen, teaching five dishes to
classes of five to 10 people. Several of the homestays in towns are also happy to organise
cooking classes for their guests.
Tours
Most hotels and tourist offices can arrange the popular day trip out to the
Elephant training
camp
( 7am-6pm)
at Kudanadu, 50km from Kochi. Here you can go for a ride (?200) and
even help out with washing the gentle beasts if you arrive at 8am. Entry is free, though the
elephant trainers will expect a small tip. A return trip out here in a taxi should cost around
?1000 to ?1200.
Tourist Desk Information Counter
Tour
(?650) through local backwater canals and lagoons. A canoe trip through smaller
canals and villages is included, as is lunch and hotel pick-ups. It also offers a two night
Wayanad Wildlife tour
(?6000), and an overnight
Munnar Hillstation tour
(?3000). Prices include
accommodation, transport and meals.
BOAT TOUR, WILDLIFE-WATCHING
BOAT TOUR
KTDC
( 2353234; backwater tours half-day ?450, motor-boat tours 2½hr ?250, houseboat backwater trips day tour ?650)
The KTDC has
backwater tours
at 8.30am and 2pm, and
motor-boat tours
around Fort Cochin at
9am and 2pm. Its full-day
houseboat backwater trips
(
8am-6.30pm)
visit local weaving factor-
ies, spice gardens and toddy tappers.
Kerala Bike Tours
( 04842356652, 9388476817;
www.keralabiketours.com
; Kirushupaly Rd, Ravipuram)
Organises motorcycle
tours in Kerala and the Western Ghats and hires out touring-quality Enfield Bullets (from
US$155 per week) with unlimited mileage, full insurance and free recovery/maintenance
options.
BIKE TOUR
Festivals & Events
The eight-day
Ernakulathappan Utsavam festival
(January/February) culminates in a procession
of 15 decorated elephants, ecstatic music and fireworks. The
Cochin Carnival
