Spice plantation tour
Columbus went west to find the sea route to the land of spices but found America. Vascodagama, the Arabs and other explorers and traders came to India for the same purpose and stumpled on the spice rich south western tip of India, now known as Kerala.
Spices have always been an important part of life in Kerala. Here the masters of ayruveda, the science of life, discovered the use of spices for medicinal purposes. Spices also play an important role in the Kerala cuisine, non-ayruvedic medicine and cosmetics. Periyar is, due to its location in the lower mountains around 1000 metres above sea level, blessed with numerous types of spices. Consequently, the spice plantation tour is in one of the most important activities outside the reserve that a visitor can engage in. It is an opportunity to see why the Kerala cuisine is so different from most of the other Indian cuisines. The tour gives you a chance to enjoy cardamom, pepper, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and many other varieties of spices and medicinal plants.
High quality tea, also known as the Queen of beverages, grows over the hills around Periyar Tiger Reserve. The visit to the tea factory will give you an insight into the cultivation and processing of tea.