|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Home
|
Sitemap
|
Alappuzha
|
Aranmula
|
Guruvayur
|
Kannur
|
Kochi
|
Kodungallur
|
Kollam
|
Kottayam |
Kovalam |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
As beds inside the sanctuary are in such short supply, most visitors end up staying in or near Kumily, 2km north of the park gates. Kumily is a growing town where tourism seems to be slowly replacing the spice trade as the main source of income. However, the spice industry is alive and well and several agencies offer tours to plantations. Almost every shop on Thakkady Road sells freshly collected spices; just to walk along the street and breathe in the air filled with the scent of cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom is a heady experience. In the middle of the melee of the bazaar stands the main cardamom auction area, where you can watch tribal women sifting and sorting the fragrant green pods in heart-shaped baskets. Idduki's DTPC has a low-key tourist office (Mon-Sat 10am-5pm; phone 0486/322620) on the first floor of the Panchayat Building, Thekkady Junction. Besides offering information on the district itself, they organize conducted tours, including a Spice Valley tour (6.30am-9.30pm; Rs200) that takes in Munnar and several spice plantations. The other source of information is the tourism police, with an office at the bus stand and the main office at Ambady Junction. Their prime purpose is to maintain law and order, though they also offer information. However, there have been reports that they only provide details about hotels, tea factories, homestays and plantations that pay them commission, which will later be added to your bill.
|
Tea factory and spice plantation tours are the big tourist attraction in the area; aside from every hotel offering a tour of a farm, you will also be besieged by tourist agencies in Kumily all offering the same package at very competitive rates. Unfortunately, some places such as Abraham's Plantation have become heavily commercialized and expensive as a result of tourism; the best way to organize a tour is to ask at your hotel - most of the staff will have a relative who has a good plantation. At the time of research, Rs300-350 was the going rate for a three-hour tour, including a guide and jeep hire. Both the State Bank of Travancore (phone 0486/322041), near the bus stand, and the Central Bank of India, KK Road (phone 0486/322053), change money. For internet facilities try Rissas Communications/Media at Thekkady Junction (Rs45/hr). Although hilly, this is good cycling territory; bicycle rental is available from stalls in the market for around Rs30 per day.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
