THE TROPICAL SOUTH

15 days from GBP1,499 to GBP1,869 including flights
Tripcode: AIT

Countries Visited: India

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Our Clients’ Reviews

Average Review Rating: from 13 reviews.

Deborah Crook

THE TROPICAL SOUTH
Written March 2010
A very relaxing trip with a good mixture of natural scenery and sightseeing. Excellent weather and excellent food!
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Sri Meenakshi Temple - so different to the temples in northern India. Colourful and spiritual. You could people watch there for days.
Staying on a houseboat on the Kerala backwaters. A relaxing sail on the backwaters watching the palm trees, rice paddies and river life go by. Awesome banana fritters from the houseboat staff!
Having a Keralean cooking lesson at a local family home in Periyar. Great hospitality and interesting introduction to south Indian cuisine. Learning how to eat with your hand and using banana leaves as plates was great fun!
What did you think of your group leader?
Rajiv was friendly, well presented and very informative. Nothing was too much trouble.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Take plenty of mosquito repellent and be prepared to walk barefoot around most of the temples.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
The trip notes do warn you that you may have to wait some time to be allocated a room on arrival in Cochin, but I would enquire about booking an extra nights accommodation to guarantee a room straight away.
Norman Smith

THE TROPICAL SOUTH
Written March 2009
I was well-satisfied. The content was what much was said 'on th box'. As anticipted, accomodation ranged from adequate to good.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Temple elephant display at Kochi festival.
What did you think of your group leader?
Courteous, caring and well-informed.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Make sure you are up to the 10 km 'trek' at Mannur. Unless young and fit you will find climbing 2000 feet without shade in tropical sunshine' shall we say, 'exacting'. Make it clear at the outset that you will progress at your own pace, not one dictated by somebody else. Be prepared for some long coach rides.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I was impressed by the ease with which our guide added unscheduled 'treats' such as Kochi temple festival, backwater small-holder visit and a wedding invitation in Madurai.
Kerala is Kerala and dissimilar to most of India - some would say better!
Helga Greenbank
THE TROPICAL SOUTH
Written March 2009
This was my second visit to India but my first trip to the south which is very different. It was brilliant; smiling, friendly people, amazingly varied landscape, from tropical coast and backwaters to lofty peaks and lush green manicured tea plantations around Munnar.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
There were so many. The itinerary was excellent - I particularly enjoyed old Cochin, the houseboat trip on the backwaters, the quite challenging trek to Mapprine Peak /down through tea plantations and the Sri Meenakshi Temple in Madurai (we were lucky in that part of it was uncovered (after extensive renovations) the very day we visited (with colourful wedding party), but it was all the extra, often spontaneous, things we did which added colour and spice to the trip and perhaps made it, for me anyway, exeptional;
wandering through the markets of Madurai, especially the flower market, having jasmine wound in my hair
the evening visit to the Sri Meenakshi Temple for the nightly ceremony
helping to wash the elephants in the river
stopping to chat to a group of trainee teachers having their lunch by the road side
stopping to interact with tea-pickers, rice-harvesters, brick-makers ....
drinking masala chai from a road side café with spectacular views .......
What did you think of your group leader?
I wrote a poem for our group leader, Avtar Singh - Souvenirs of south India. He was special
What will I remember?
Well, Avtar, to be sure,
So full of passion and pride
Wanting only to give
Everyone a grand ride.
Hairpin bends, mists
Over mountains,
Drinks 'behind the curtains'.
Tea-pickers chattering,
Their voices carrying,
Always plucking, often in the rain.
The sun sinking, a kingfisher
In the hand.
What a fabulous land!
Temples and gods to fill the gaze,
Jasmine and rose to assail the nose
Tea stops at local cafs,
Stunning views and masala chai,
Ping-pong in Munnar
And perhaps a game too far.
Land of contrasts,
So many souvenirs, so much sun.
Thank you Avtar
For making it so much fun.

Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Do some research on the country/area but go with an open mind
be curious, be interested, be flexible
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I think my poem says it all! I am a seasoned traveller, having done many such trips, and I would say this was the very best; it was my first with exodus.
Suzanne Faulkner

THE TROPICAL SOUTH
Written February 2009
Idling away the hours on a houseboat on the backwaters of Kerala was absolute bliss. The scenery and sighs were wonderful and a real escape from the hustle and bustle of home. Truly relaxing.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Just to watch the general chaos and colour of life in India was amazing. It was frenetic and wonderful to be a part of, for a short space of time.
What did you think of your group leader?
Our guide was incrediby knowledgeable in all aspects of life and current affairs in India and was keen to pass this on to ourselves. He was enthusiatic and always tried to fit the program to suit our wishes.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Just stand and stare, and soak up the atmosphere!
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Yet another incredible trip. Exodus has never let me down.
Lynn Edwards

THE TROPICAL SOUTH
Written December 2008
I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy this kind of trip. The places, yes; but there was a lot of travel involved, and it didn’t seem from the trip notes that there would be much free time compared to other Exodus trips. However, I was proven wrong. (Thank you, Gopal!) If you wanted to explore on your own, there was ample opportunity, and the coach rides were spellbinding, due to the astonishing scenery. (I didn’t realize I could take so many pictures of tea plantations!) It’s true there was an older clientele than you normally get on Exodus trips, but they were well-travelled and delightful company—and if you needed adventure, it was out there beyond the hotels. You simply had to walk out the door to find it.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
- Being carried along by waves of devotees at the Shree Meenakshi temple at night. Truly inspirational. I went both nights and could happily have gone again.

- Waking up as dawn broke on the backwaters’ houseboat and watching and hearing a new day begin—magical.
What did you think of your group leader?
It’s supposed to be an impossible task to please all of the people all of the time. So I guess our tour guide, Gopal, achieved the impossible. I cannot praise him enough. For those who were India-neophytes and required a greater degree of ‘hand-holding’, Gopal was there 24/7 for them, arranging group meals in places they’d feel comfortable, ordering their food and drinks, staying to explain what was what—I’m not sure when he slept or ate himself. For people like me, who’ve travelled to India lots and like to explore independently, he gave me every facility to do so and even gave me helpful suggestions of where to go and what to see. Whatever you wanted from this trip, Gopal happily delivered, with grace and good nature. It was like each of the 16 of us having our own personal tour guide. On the last of the very long drives, sensing our potential boredom (it was mainly towns, and not the stunning scenery of the other journeys), he played us a Hindi movie and patiently translated the whole thing for us. A trip with this much travel involved must be a logistical nightmare, and I know there really must have been difficulties, especially in arranging things like the Periyar day, when the local set-up made it so very complicated to get us all booked onto the boats and walks. But Gopal never let any of this filter down to us. He provided a complete barrier between the nightmare bureaucracy that is so much a part of the Indian way of life and our enjoyment of the trip. Without him this trip would not have been half what it was.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Take walking poles and hiking shoes for the Munnar walk. It's a hard slog uphill for at least 2 hours. I'm fit, and I struggled in the 30C heat.
Also, if you’re going soon, you'll be aware that the gopurams at Shree Meenakshi mandir are all covered for restoration and can’t be viewed. But it says a lot for the inside of the temple that any disappointment I thought I’d feel about this was more than compensated for by what lay within.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
First time in this part of India and I was amazed—so unspoilt, beautiful, lush—and the people are friendly beyond belief. They are what really make it special. Do get out there and talk with them! We can learn a lot.
Keith Urro

THE TROPICAL SOUTH
Written September 2008
This trip lived up to all expectations. The itinery was interesting and varied with plenty of stops on the longer journeys to take in some of the road side lifestyles.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
The Houseboat was superb. Lots to see, very good food and comfortable accommodation. This part of the trip gives an excellent insight in to river bank life. If you are in to photography you can't stop clicking. From past experiences with Exodus, this is one of the more leisurely moments.
What did you think of your group leader?
Ajay, the group leader was excellent. For the most part Exodus leaders are local and very knowledgeable and on this occasion Ajay was no exception. Nothing seemed too much trouble. A good leader enhances a good trip and often promotes it to excellent.
I was very fortunate to have experienced Ajay on a previous Exodus trip in Northern India. Hopefully our paths will cross again.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
I took this trip at the beginning of August which was at the tail end of the Monsson season. When we travelled in land to Munnar the weather changed to feature more of the Monsoon season. I took a light shower proof coat which proved inadequate. Perhaps something a little more conducive to heavier showers would have been better.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
If you like to see lots without too much of a struggle then this is an excellent trip. The Hotels, generally and collectively, were probably the best I of all the eight trips I have enjoyed with Exodus.
Katherine Booth

THE TROPICAL SOUTH
Written August 2008
I am in love with India because of my tour of Kerala, and mostly because of our tour leader, Ajay Paliwal. I had never been on a tour group before, but EVERY SINGLE experience on this trip was wonderful and seminal, and I will never forget it!
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Listening to Mr. Paliwal tell us about the history and culture and current events of India. He was so knowledgeable and engaging that I felt I was a part of the country!
What did you think of your group leader?
I cannot say enough about our group leader, Ajay Paliwal. He is very smart, he is very kind, he is extremely perceptive; and he is a genius at being a tour guide! He augmented our experience with anecdotes, facts, history...to the extent that, at the end of the tour, we foreigners felt that we really understood the country of India. I think that was Mr Paliwal's goal: besides being a fabulous guide, Ajay helped us understand his country and love it!
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Find the tours led by Ajay! Every tour Exodus does is fabulous, but the tours led by Ajay are the best.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Exodus is the best tour group around.