Popularly known as the Queen of the Arabian Sea, Cochin is the oldest European settlement in India. Frilled with backwaters and rich with old world charm, this city has lured many a great voyager to its shores.

Tour of Cochin or "Kochi"- the palm green, commercial captial of Kerala which has one of the finest natural barhours & is known as the "Queen of the Arabian Sea". From time immemorial, Arabs, Chinese, Dutch, British & Portuguese seafarers followed the sea route to Kochi & left their impression on the town. Modern Kochi is thus a splendid mosaic of these myriad influences. Visit the Dutch Palace, the Jewish Synagogue, the Church of St. Francis, the Bolghatty Palace & the famous Chinese fishing nets. The backwaters extending to the east & south from the harbour, are dotted with tiny islands, formed naturally by alluvial deposits from the rivers.

Join the local fishermen as they go out for their daily “catch” in their wooden vessels with primitive Chinese sails. Kumarakom has evolved a bizarre local method of fishing; the lagoon is no more than 4-5 feet deep in most places and a group of fishermen will wade in, two carrying a long rope, the others walking behind, dragging a small boat. the rope is dragged along the lake’s glutinous floor, hitting the fish and causing them to burrow into the mud for protection. The highly skilled fishermen walking behind then dive down, feel around and grab the fish wherever they find them.

Arrive to a warm welcome by the villagers with a fresh coconut drink. Witness an absolutely fascinating demonstration of coir making (one of the foremost cottage industries of Kerala) right from the first stage of climbing the coconut tree to fell ripened coconuts, to the second stage of their imbursements to dry out the husk, to the third stage of beating & threshing to remove the fibers, to the fourth stage of weaving the yearn. The group will be called upon to participate in every stage & compete in the race up the coconut tree with the local villagers as well as compete with the local ladies in the art of spinning yarn out of the fiber at an amazing speed! Gala evening consisting of seafood dinner on the illuminated water front gardens of the hotel with the traditional dance performance - ‘Kathakali’. Kathkali is a unique dance which has a 2000 year old history with more than 100 different ‘mudras’ or gesture depicting deities, demons, heroes, heroines and kings - each based on episodes from the Mahabharata and Ramayana, the two epic Indian myths.

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