Ayurveda is an intricate system of healing that originated in India thousands of years ago. It helps maintain health in a person by using inherent principles of nature to bring the individual back in equilibrium with their true self. Kerala's natural abundance of forests, tranquil surroundings and cool monsoons are best suited for Ayurveda's curative and restorative programs.

There are many Ayurvedic centers, which provide treatment for a variety of ailments. They also offer special health and beauty care packages. The treatment is a perfect combination of the traditional and spiritual. The centers have state of the art facilities while remaining true to time tested traditional methods of treatment.

Kairali is a chain of Ayurvedic center found in many cities across the country. Here, the special health and beauty care packages are specifically designed to treat modern day maladies like stress, respiratory problems, eye ailments and skin diseases. Traditional Ayurvedic treatment is imparted here using state of the art facilities. Kairali has its very own herbal garden where rare herbs of great medicinal value are grown. These are used in Ayurvedic preparations and treatments.

An Ayurvedic resort recently opened by a chain of boutique hotels across Southern India, all fiercely committed to ecological and environmental sensitivity. At Kalari, every therapy is personal and all treatments are customised for you by the resort doctors, often combined with yoga and other methods to provide deep healing from within and without. Every treatment is based on your needs and your ayurvedic body type. Even the food you're served is individual, with health drinks and herbal preparations that vary with your treatment. Here minimum days of stay are 21 days. At Kalari the principles of Ayurveda are followed very strictly.

‘Swa' is the Sanskrit prefix for the self and ‘Swara' refers to sound. SwaSwara literally means one's own sound. The resort is a sanctuary for the inner self. Here if you wish, a therapy program can be created just for you, complete with Yoga postures and Pranayama (breathing exercises), meditations, diet and Ayurvedic massage. Located just below Goa, next to the Om beach it is also an excellent beach getaway.

A cruise along the palm-fringed waterways of Kerala in a luxury houseboat is the most enchanting holiday experience in India today. Skim past ancient Chinese fishing nets, water lilies, lush paddy fields, coir villages, rustic homes, temples and coconut groves. A backwater cruise mostly starts or ends at Alleppey, though it may be other wise also and depends on the route selected. Alleppey is a busy town situated south of Cochin and surrounded by cocoa-palm plantations and has an intricate network of canals and lakes.

Traditionally, the houseboat was called “Kettuvallam”, which means a boat made by tying together pieces of wood. Earlier these traditional country boats were used as a mode of transport from the isolated interior villages to the towns. Today these giant 80-foot long crafts have been adapted into luxuriously furnished houseboats, which cruise through the backwaters allowing you to enjoy the scenic countryside of Kerala. A ‘Kettuvallam' usually has one or two bath attached rooms, an open lounge, deck, kitchenette and a crew comprising two oarsmen and a trained cook. Traditional lanterns are used as lights. The kitchen is properly protected from hazards by fireproofing and fire extinguishers. Clean good quality linen, blankets, towels and clean environment with a hygienic storage hold, free from insects. You could select between an air-conditioned and non air-conditioned houseboats.

A houseboat cruise mostly starts or ends at Alleppey, though it may be other wise also and depends on the route selected. Alleppey is a busy town situated south of Cochin and surrounded by cocoa-palm plantations and has an intricate network of canals and lakes. The duration of a backwater cruise varies as per the routes selected. There are cruises starting from a duration of approximately 1 ½ hrs to a maximum of 03 overnights. Kumarakkom is a beautiful backwater destination and has excellent resorts.

Originally a small town, Cochin has outgrown its original bounds and is now the general name given too much of the adjoining region. The commercial capital of Kerala with one of the finest natural harbours in the world Cochin is considered to be the gateway into Kerala, with sites like Munnar, Kumarakkom and Mararikulam in close proximity. From time immemorial, Arabs, Chinese, Dutch, British and Portuguese seafarers followed the sea route to Cochin and left their impressions on the town.

The harbour is the nucleus around which Cochin has grown to become the Queen of the Arabian Sea. The Chinese fishing nets, the Jewish Synagogue, Dutch Palace, Portuguese Architecture, Bolghatty Palace … all enrich the heritage of the region.

This centuries old church at Fort Kochi was originally built completely of timber and later reconstructed in stone masonry. The Protestant Dutch, converted to an Anglican church, restored it in 1779.

This synagogue built in 1568 A.D., was destroyed by the Portuguese in 1662 and rebuilt by the Dutch two year after Scroll of Old Testament and a number of the Copper Plates inscribed in the Hebrew script are preserved in the synagogue. The synagogue is closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays.

Fort Kochi - The Chinese fishing nets are a fascinating sight. These nets, at the entrance of the harbour and along the backwaters with pivots of wood, were introduced by traders from the court of Kublai Khan in 1350AD.

This long narrow palm-fringed island, easily accessible from the mainland is where the Bolghatty Palace is situated amidst 15 acres of lush green lawns. Built by the Dutch in 1744, it became the seat of the British Resident later. In 1976, the palace was converted to into a hotel under the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation. The palace has a golf course on its grounds. This island is connected by frequent ferry services with the mainland Ernakulam. Boats to this island start from the High Court Jetty. Country boats (Machuvas) can also be hired near the Jetty.

The tombstones here are the most authentic record of the hundreds of Europeans who left their homeland on a mission to expand their colonial empires and changed the course of history of this land.

The Palace was built by the Portuguese and presented to the Raja of Cochin in 1555 A.D. It is popularly known as the 'Dutch Palace' as the Dutch renovated it during their short-lived reign here. The palace is well known for its mural paintings, which are noted for their high level of excellence. The Palace is closed on all days except Fridays and National holidays

Tripunithura - It is the largest archeological museum in Kerala. Set on top of a hillock, this prodigious palace-turned-museum displays 13 categories of exhibits, including paintings, carvings and other royal antiquities donated by the Cochin and Travancore royal families and the Paliam Devaswom. The museum is closed on Mondays and National holidays.

The International airport is located at Nedumbasser (20kms away from the town). Various International carriers have regular flights to Cochin. All domestic airlines connect Cochin to other major Indian cities by regular flights.

Ernakulam is the major railhead for Southern Railway. Train connect to all major cities all over India.

Cochin is well connected by motor-able road.

With the Arabian Sea on the west, the Western Ghats towering 500 - 2700m on the east and Kerala is one of the ten 'Paradises Found' as declared by the National geographic traveler. It is a land much acclaimed for the contemporary nature of its cultural ethos, and much appreciated for the soothing, rejuvenating paradise that it is. The beach at Kovalam, voted to be the best in India, tranquil stretches of emerald backwaters, lush green hill stations and exotic wildlife, ayurvedic health resorts, enchanting art forms, magical festivals, historic and cultural monuments and an exotic cuisine, Kerala offers an unforgettable holiday.

Kerala has a distinctive cuisine, very different from rest of India. The cuisine offers an array of meat and fish dishes. The culinary skills of the different communities of Kerala make the dishes distinct in taste and in variety. Almost every dish that is prepared in the Kerala style has coconut and spices added to it. The food is generally fresh, aromatic and flavoured. Keralites are mostly fish-and-rice eating people. The land and the food are rich with coconut, though one can't imagine Kerala food without chilies, curry leaf, mustard seed, tamarind and asafetida. Keralites put to good use whatever the land offers and the result is a marvelous cuisine that is simple yet palate tickling.

With a tropical weather round the year, Kerala is an all year destination. Summers (April-June) temperatures go to a maximum of 33 degree Celsius. During winters (October-March) temperature varies from a minimum of 22 degree Celsius to 32 degree Celsius.

The lush green forests of the Western Ghats in Kerala are some the most magnificent and varied found anywhere in the world. Not long ago, these forests made a contiguous path for animal migration. But with time and unrestricted migration, where once elephants roamed free are now farmlands. However, the wildlife protection program has been continuing successfully over the past few years and the result is 14 wild life sanctuaries in Kerala. Close these protected enclaves are some fantastic trekking trails in the country. The spice-scented air of endless acres of spice plantations makes the trip more enchanting than ever. The Wildlife Parks, reserves, sanctuaries and National Parks stretch from the southern tip of Kerala to the Northern Border with Karnataka. Wildlife Sanctuaries in Kerala.

Eravikulam National Park is a plateau at an average height of 6500 feet, about 30 kms from Munnar, high up in the mountains of Western Ghats. This park was originally established to protect the Nilgiri Tahr (Nilgiri Ibex), which found its way into the endangered list of animals in the Wildlife schedule. It covers an area of 97 sq. kms of rolling grasslands and high-level sholas (evergreen forests). The park is breathtakingly beautiful and easily comparable to the best mountain ranges found anywhere in the world. Anamudi (2694m), the highest peak South of the Himalayas, is situated in this Park.

It will be no exaggeration to say that this Park is one of the finest wildlife sanctuaries in India. The uniqueness of this sanctuary is the Periyar Lake, an artificial lake, which was created by damming the Periyar River a century ago.

The open grasslands are home to a magnificent variety of animals - the elephant, the bison, Gaur, Sambar deer, Barking deer, Mouse deer, Nilgiri langur, Bonnet macaque, Lion-tailed macaque leopards, Jungle cats, Wild dogs and most importantly the tiger. An estimated 40 tigers inhabit the Reserve. Other animals are bears, Porcupine, Jackal, Indian Giant Squirrel, Malabar flying squirrel, Wild boar, small Indian Civet, Mongoose and the Pangolins. The tiger is the main predator in the Periyar Tiger Reserve.

Periyar Tiger Reserve is also rich in bird life. Birds such as Malabar Hornbill, Grey heron, Jungle fowl and Jungle Mynah are some among the 266 species of birds, which are residents of this forest range.

The Silent Valley National Park, around 90 Sq.Kms in all was the subject of a state wide environmental agitation, to save the virgin evergreen forests from destruction. The Park attained international attention then and now forms part of a larger Nilgiri Biosphere reserve. The park is home to more than 100 species of butterflies and birds. Other wildlife includes the Nilgiri Tahr, the rare and endangered Lion Tailed Macaque, leopards, tigers and elephants.

Thattekad is a bird sanctuary developed by the untiring efforts of India's birdman Dr Salim Ali. The sanctuary is near Munnar along the lower reaches of the Western Ghats, spread over 25.16 sq. km. Tropical evergreen forests, tropical semi-evergreen forests and tropical deciduous forests make up this sanctuary. There are patches of grasslands too. Around 210 species of birds have been identified here so far.

Indian Roller, Cuckoo, Common snipe, Crow pheasant, Jungle Nightjar, Kite, Grey Drongo, Malabar Trogon, Woodpecker, Large pied wagtail, Baya sparrow, Grey jungle fowl, Indian hill myna, Robin, Jungle babbler and darter are found here. Crimson-throated Barbet, Bee-eater, Sun bird, Shrike, Fairy blue bird, Grey-headed fishing eagle, Blackwinged kite, Night heron, Grey heron, Common Grey Hornbill and Malabar Hornbill are some of the rarer birds found. Best season to visit is from September to March.

All below mentioned cost is in US Dollars, Per Person, Inclusive of all applicable taxes, nett payable to us & valid From Oct'07 till Mar'08.