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Day 1 |
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Arrival in the morning at the hotel. You receive your bicycles to visit the city of Cochin, historical and economical heart of Kerala. Open to the sea, the city used to be a trading post on the Spice Trade and received many influences as early as in the Antiquity. You’ll admire in particular the special chinese fishing nets inheritated from the eunuch Zheng He who stayed there well before the Europeans, the Dutch Palace, the synagogue or the cathedral. Guided tour in english. Night in the hotel.
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Day 2 |
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Kochi’s Historic District
custom distance
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Kochi’s Historic District
custom distance
You’ll riding to discover the historic center of Cochin situated on the Mattancheri peninsula. You will find Raja’s
palace nickname "the dutch palace" because of his temporary occupation by a dutch governor.
You can do a stop to the synagogue or to the Santa Cruz Cathedral. During the path, you will admire craft liftnets, these fishing nets wich were adopted further to a probable chinese
expedition. On evening, you are going to attend a Kathakali representation, a traditionnal dancing theatre from Kerala. Night in Hotel.
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Day 3 |
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Market et Kochi’s surrounding
custom distance
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Market et Kochi’s surrounding
custom distance
A new loop departure from Cochin allow you for get off the beaten track. Your ride make you discover local lifestyle, the differents markets and monuments of your choice.
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Day 4 |
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Kochi - Allepey - Kainakary
custom distance
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Kochi - Allepey - Kainakary
custom distance
You ride along the shore headed for backwaters. You cross over Alllepey, starting point of boat cruises on canals. After, follow the road to Kainakary, a more protect place sideline to the crowd.
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Day 5 |
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Riding along backwaters - Day 1
custom distance
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Riding along backwaters - Day 1
custom distance
You discover backwaters by bike, riding along canals. Night in Hotel
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Day 6 |
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Backwaters - day 2
Canoe / custom distance
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Backwaters - day 2
Canoe / custom distance
We suggest you to visit backwaters with a trip in a canoe. You will see the daily life in villages. You will have the possibility to visit a coconuts plantation and a school (depends of autorisation)
You’ll stop at lunch for a cooking demonstration. Lunch with a local.
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Day 7 |
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Ridind along Backwaters 3
custom distance
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Ridind along Backwaters 3
custom distance
You choose with your guide an itinerary along backwaters depends on your interest. Your guide crossed all the region and know it very well so he can concoct the perfect itinerary
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Day 8 |
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Kainakary - Munnar
car transfert
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Kainakary - Munnar
car transfert
Car transfert to Munnar (175km - Almost 4h30 driving)
Munnar is a mountainous region cover by tea and coffee plantation. Night in hotel
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Day 9 |
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You will give up your bike for the day to walk in the mountains and to admire plantations landscape. Duration : 3 hours
with a guide and a picnic for lunch. Night in Hotel
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Day 10 |
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Munnar - Cherai plage
Car transfert
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Munnar - Cherai plage
Car transfert
Car transfert to Cherai beach. (140km - 4 hours of driving)
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Day 11 |
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Departure Cochin - Paris
Transfer in car
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Departure Cochin - Paris
Transfer in car
Free time before your transfert to the aeroport and return in France
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The bikes
"Giant" mountain bikes adjusted to your size. Only men bikes are available.
Luggage and documents
Because of his density of population and his sometimes chaotic organization, India does not pedal with a simple map as it can be done in Europe.
You are accompanied throughout the trip by an English speaking driver-guide. He will follow the itinerary by car in order to offer more flexibility and optimal safety conditions. He will open the
roads, tell you where to go to the next meeting point, customize itineraries according to your expectations and conditions on site. To facilitate communication with the driver-guide, it is
necessary to speak a minimum of English without being an expert. Guides are used to interacting with strangers who are not native English speakers.
The car is equipped with a bike rack that can collect 3 bikes if either of the participants does not want to make the whole itinerary by bike.
When to leave ?
• As many Asian countries, India is a touristic destination dependent of its climate and different seasons (fresh, dry, wet). In South India, the tropical climate dominates so temperatures are high
all year (30° to 35°).
• The best period for cyclists still remains the fresh season which spreads from November to March. Indeed, the precipitations are limited.
• From April to June, the temperature rises in South India. From June, the monsoon brings strong humidity.
• Don't leave during the wet season! Even if tourists are fewer, the period from July to October is marked by the rainy season (heavy and sudden rain) and high temperatures.
=> Vélo Voyageur's advice: prefer winter to extend summer!
Country:
• India is one of the South-Asian countries bordered from one side to another by Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Myanmar. Since a long time ago, India was the image of a
country without a real economic growth. Nevertheless, from 2010 the country experiences an economic boom especially in the agricultural sector (the world's forth agricultural power)
and thanks to the dynamism of international exchanges. The industrial sector thanks to the automobile industry experiences an incredible economic growth (investments and internal
market development). Tourism also participates to this dynamism especially thanks to medical tourism. The cinema still remains the image of India and the city of Bombay (called
Bollywood) where numerous movies were produced.
• India is the country of several religions. In fact, Hinduism (80%), Muslim religion (13%), Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism are significant of the religious diversity
of this country. Those are at the origin of numerous conflicts and mark the daily life of Indian people.
Formalities:
• A visa is compulsory to go to India. A simple visa of tourism with "several entrances" is necessary if you stay a maximum of 30 days in the country.
The visa must be effective six months after the emission date. You can get it at the Embassy of your own country. Do not miss to consult the required documents to obtain the visa.
• You must also have a passport effective six months after the return date for French people. Concerning the other nationalities, please ask for more information at the
embassy of your country.
Your flight to South India:
• The most suitable period to visit the country remains the fresh season, but it is also the most expensive one for international flights. Consequently, we advise
you to book earlier your flight (we are not able to book the flight for you). The price ranges from 650€ to 1000€
depending on the selected companies.
• South India has got several international airports as Cochin or Bangalore. To join South India (Cochin or Bangalore) from Paris, the direct
journey lasts about 10 hours of flight (including the time difference) and between 14 hours and 20 hours for indirect journey (one or two
correspondences in India in Delhi, Bangalore or Mumbai).
Health and safety precautions:
• Compulsory vaccines are not necessary for Europeans. Nevertheless, it is highly recommended for tourists to be vaccinated against typhoid (important in India),
tetanus, pertussis and hepatitis A and B.
• Prevention measures against malaria are highly recommended if you are going to stay in rural areas during your holidays but are not necessary in the heart of the
main touristic destinations.
• We recommend you to buy in South-India or before leaving, a product against mosquito (Odomos brand) very effective and cheap.
Practical life:
• The jet lag in India in relation to Greenwich Meridian is 5h30 but the local hour is the same in Mumbai and Kolkata. When it is midday in France, it is 4.30pm in
India in winter (+4h30) and 3.30 in summer (+3h30).
• India counts 18 official languages and English. English is usually used by locals (5% of the population) who can easily understand you. Moreover, Dravidian
languages constitute one of the main language groups in the southern and the eastern region of India.
• The Rupee (Rp) is the official currency of the country. Nevertheless, most of the payments are made in USD (dollars). The payment by credit card (Visa,
MasterCard) is more and more used in shops, hotels and restaurants.
• Depending on the regions, the quality of the water changes and is more and less vector of diseases. We highly misadvise you to drink tap water. You can easily buy bottles of
water.
• The country has got an electrical system of 220 volts. Nevertheless, plugs are not similar to the French ones. Consequently, we advise you to buy a universal
adapter. Moreover, in some regions, the electricity sometimes doesn't work (frequent power cuts), so we recommend you to take a flashlight before leaving your own
country.