Trip-specific information
Dec 26, 2017 - Jan 7, 2018
Kerala and Karnataka, South India
Mission: Kerala is full of captive elephants, while Karnataka has the world's largest concentrations of wild Asian elephants. SavingGanesh has ongoing projects in both regions and you can join in our goals of life enhancement for the captives, and preservation of habitats for the wild ones.
Primary Tour Plan: Arriving via Trivandrum Airport, we will travel north to the palm-fringed beaches of Varkala (Kerala’s best surfing spot) and its rich cultural and artistic life. Two nights here will allow plenty of time to connect with the culture and beach scene. As time, weather and road conditions allow, our route is carefully arranged to see a variety of Kerala’s offerings, which includes visits to tourist elephant establishments and so called elephant training centers. We will follow a northeastern route, carrying us from near the southern most tip of India - along beaches, before climbing into the lush high tropical lands of the majestic Wayanad region.
Upon departure from Varkala, we will enjoy peaceful cruising of the backwaters of historic Alleppey, Next, we escape the heat of the lowlands by heading into the hills, which rise nearly 8,000 feet. En route we will enjoy beautiful streams, waterfalls, pepper, cardamom and tea plantations and thick forests. Time permitting, we will visit Munnar, which is breathtakingly beautiful and is described by National Geographic Traveler as "one of the fifty must see destinations of a lifetime and one of the ten paradises of the world." The tea plantations present a carpet of green - the landscape offers one of the most romantic views in the world. Onward to Kochi, we will enjoy the tourist amenities here before blowing our bliss while visiting Guruvayur Temple and their 59 short-chained elephant facility. These majestic bulls are used in regional parades like the local Thrissur Pooram.
Next, it's time to brighten our outlook by escaping Kerala and their perverse use of elephants with an extended visit to the National Parks in Wayanad, Mudumalai, and Nagarhole. This portion of the tour is what SavingGanesh is really about, as we revisit many farmers to ask about elephant conflicts, as well as inquiring about the effectiveness of deterrence tools we provided in previous years. We’ll be joining our local naturalist friends for guided tours in various settings. We’ll trek to an elephant anti-poaching camp, as well as share in the work of one of our associates who is doing a film about the increased elephant conflicts in the tribal villages. The objective of the film project is to discover why species coexistence is a thing of the past, as these tribes have changed little since time immemorial, but conflict has profoundly increases.
Wayanad's name is derived from “wayalnadu” meaning ‘land of paddy fields.’ This area contains the largest concentration of tribal population, perhaps in all India. Our tour ends at Bangalore on January 7, but not before enjoying nearby Mysore, which is one of the centers of the international yoga training. We’ll spend 2 days exploring the yoga and health food scene, as well as the Palace.