Mountain to plains trek
People who are interested in walking through the villages of Periyar, and who are fit enough to walk up and down for more than five hours can chose this programme and enjoy the heartbeats of villages, rivers, tea gardens, spice plantations etc.
1st day: towards the lake side
Our trekking will start at 8am from your accomodation, and will take us through cardamom, pepper, clove and coffee plantations. While walking through the plantations your guides will provide information about the processing, usage and medicinal values of spices. Around 3.30pm we will reach our camp site near to a beautiful lake.
After making a camp (pitching tents, making a kitchen etc.) our cook will prepare a delicious vegetarian dinner followed by a deserved and, hopefully, unforgettable riverside sleep.
2nd day: towards the hill
After breakfast we walk towards our next campsite. Part of the route goes through tea plantations where your guides will tell you about one of the main crops of Kerala; also known as the the queen of beverages. And if you are lucky you can see the harvesting of tea leaves by the local tea workers. This day is, at times, a tough trek because you have to walk through some ghat roads that lead upwards only. Around 3pm we reach the second camp site which is in the grounds of a government guest house. If you want to stay in a room it will be possible to use the guest house. After arrival it is time for relaxation, enjoyment with the cooking, and a peaceful sleep under the cover of mist and fog.
3rd day: towards the water fall
The third day of trekking will take us through rubber plantations. This is the hardest part of the trek because the paths are narrow forcing us to climb some relatively steep hills. At the end of the day we will reach a seasonal water fall in the middle of a big rubber plantation where we make camp.
4th Day: towards the plains
To reach our 4th campsite we will have to come back to civilisation and use tarmac roads because there are no gap roads or shortcuts to reach the site. After walking from 8.30am, we reach the last camp site, in front of an old plantation resort, at around 3pm. Here we arrange a Kerala meal for dinner. You can join us in cooking, explore the area or simply relax.