South Indian Threads Tour

Welcome on arrival at Kochi International Airport and transfer to your hotel for a three night stay in historic Fort Kochi. Kerala enjoys a tropical climate, with temperatures around 32C in February.

Enjoy a free day to rest, acclimatise and to explore the atmospheric old streets of Fort Kochi.

The glorious faded architecture is evidence of the various European trading nations who occupied Kochi in the 17th and 18th centuries. The trading port of Cochin remains a spice hub, with aromas of ginger, cardamon and cinnamon drifting out of the ancient warehouses by the harbour. There’s so much to discover here

In the evening, we invite you to an inclusive welcome dinner at one of Fort Kochi’s excellent waterfront restaurants.

Explore eclectic and historic Fort Kochi with our organised tuc tuc tour or choose to wander independently through the old colonial streets enjoying the cosmopolitan atmosphere of delightful boutiques, cafe’s and places of interest.

Our first textile expedition takes us by ferry from Fort Kochi to Vypin Island. Here we’ll see street starching of the cotton warp threads then visit the weaving co-op where the yarn is lovingly hand woven into cotton cloth for the local area, giving a great glimpse into the weavers way of life. Enjoy an inclusive Kerala lunch on the 7km Cherai Beach front and then enjoy an opportunity to buy Khadi cotton and handloom fabric in the afternoon. In the evening discover the colour and skill of a traditional Kathakali performance with its intricate make-up, flamboyant costumes and subtle gestures, followed by dinner at a recommended restaurant.

Take a six hour trip into the serene local backwaters south of Fort Kochi. Float silently through the lush vegetation of the lagoon in a sustainable, motor-less rice boat and experience life on the smaller waterways in an open wooden ‘snakeboat’. Enjoy a delicious Kerala style lunch in a local waterside village, with a demonstration of local crafts.

Experience a wonderfully scenic drive up into the mountains of the Western Ghats to the old British hill station and tea-growing centre of Munnar. Your hotel for three nights is perched above a beautiful valley in the contoured greenery of the tea gardens and cardamom plantations. Enjoy a walk down to the Atakkad waterfall directly below the hotel before dinner at the hotel. 

Monday 17th February

The first day of our two day workshop with Aranya Natural at the natural dyeing and printing workshops of SRISHTI. Using natural dyes they create beautiful textiles and garments with decorative techniques such as wax resist block printing, clamp and tie dyeing. Try your hand at some of these skills and learn some of the techniques of natural dyeing in our hands-on workshop. 

Monday 6^th February

Experiment with eco-printing with marigolds and native leaves today and complete your creative natural dyeing projects at Aranya Natural. Visit their extensively stocked on site store to see their beautiful collection of silk and cotton scarves and garments. An inclusive dinner will be provided at your hotel this evening ready for an early start in the morning.

 Dive a little deeper today into tea, its growing, production and tasting.  Join a knowledgable local guide with a particular interest in the way of life of the tea workers and the tribal peoples of the area. Go off the usual trails to learn more about their way of life while enjoying breathtaking scenery and the occasional cup of local tea!

A travel day through the most diverse and stunning scenery so far, winding up through Munnar’s sculptural tea gardens into the mountains that divide Kerala and Tamil Nadu and down into the Chinnar Wildlife and Adimali Tiger Reserves as we descend into Tamil Nadu . There is the possibility of spotting some wildlife, if you are lucky! Late afternoon takes you to your hotel resort in Pollachi, for a two night stay.

A fascinating day in Pollachi starting with a morning visit to the main temple in the centreof the town and the nearby flower market, to savour a glimpse of life in this provincial Tamil Nadu town. After lunch we’ll travel a short distance to visit the silk weavers in the nearby traditional villages where the art of Pochampally style Ikat sari weaving is still practised in the weaver’s houses.  Return to our hotel for a swim before an inclusive dinner.

A short drive back into the lush paddy fields and banana plantations of Kerala takes us to the rural craft village of Peruvemba, where we’ll meet the wonderful weavers at a women’s hand  weaving Co-op and learn how they’re adapting the traditional gold bordered Kerala saree to modern tastes.
Another hour takes us to our countryside heritage farmstay near Ottapalam, with a lovely pool and often a resident elephant

Today we’ll visit a small remote village where the only family left in this part of Kerala carve and decorate the ornate wooden headresses and arm, shoulder and waist decorations worn by Kathakali performers in central Kerala. They are still practising this precious craft after three generations and each costume takes 3 months to complete.

Sunday 23rd February

A free day to spend relaxing by the pool at the our beautiful heritage farm stay. Plus a possible up close and personal with the mighty semi resident elephant Rajandren, between his temple duties.
Alternatively, a local visit, if available to an historic mansion to explore how high caste Kerala families lived in the past. 

Today we take the train on a scenic route to
our secluded beach house near Kannur in
North Kerala for four nights.
Our resort serves delicious traditional Kerala
home cooking. You’ll have time to unwind
before we explore the rich cotton weaving
heritage of the Kannur area. Experience the
famous and unique north Kera Ia ritual of
Theyyam during our stay in Kannur, where
dedicated performers in magnificent colourful
costumes and makeup, actually manifest as
the various Hindu gods as they reenact
traditional stories and perform feats such as
fire walking.

Explore one of Kannur’s thriving co-operative handloom weaving workshops this morning. The warping, winding, dyeing and weaving processes will be explained as you tour the workshops. After lunch at a nearby restaurant, we delve into the rich cultural life of the region at the Kerala Folklore Akademie, based in a stunning traditional Keralan palace.

A flexible day to explore the shopping possibilities for fabrics, haberdashery, handloom, hand woven bed linen, khadi and sarees, in nearby Kannur, or simply revel in another glorious day on the beach. We’ll also enjoy a South Indian classical dance performance this evening at our beautiful beach side resort

Thursday 27th February

Journey over the mountains that divide Kerala from Karnataka, taking you on to the next stage of your exciting textile adventure to the city of Mysore. This city of the plateau enjoys a less tropical climate than Kerala with pleasant temperatures around 30F in February. For centuries a city of the Wodeyar dynasty of Maharajahs, Mysore retains the unspoilt charm of a bygone age as many of the buildings have survived and give the city a flavour of its majestic past.
After checking in at your hotel, the rest of the afternoon is at leisure for you to browse the vibrant and colourful Devaraja flower and spice market and to discover the many silk sari and fabric stores in the city centre. Dinner is at a recommended restaurant.

This morning, we’ll start to explore Mysore
with a visit to the government silk factory, famous for weaving the lustrous Mysore silk sari.
If you wish to explore further today, we will be happy to organise an auto rickshaw tour of the city for you with one of Fare’s Fair trusted auto rickshaw drivers. Dine in style tonight in the grand dining room of the magnificent Lalitha Mahal Palace Hotel, once the guest house of the Maharajah of Mysore.

Travel an hour to a once thriving Gandhian village industries centre, opened by Gandhi in 1927. They still train and employ local women cotton spinners and weavers to produce simple Khadi cotton items in a bid to keep the centre alive.
Recent exciting developments there means that the centre is in the process of being renovated and a new Gandhian style visitor centre and museum being built with central government funding. There’s always a very warm welcome for visitors here.
On the way, explore the temple town of Nanjangud with it’s ornate temple gopura and bustling bazaar area full of rural Karnataka life. Our guide for the day is local to the area and full of knowledge about the culture and way of life here.

A free day to explore and enjoy Mysore at your leisure.
Take a tour of the opulent palace of the Maharajah of Mysore, visit silk shops and fabric stores, wander the old streets of the metalwork and wood inlay craftsmen. Alternatively, take a Karnataka cookery class and eat the results!
In the evening meet up to see the Maharajah’s palace light up for thirty minutes with 100,000 lightbulbs! Dinner at our hotel ready for an early start tomorrow.

A scenic day from Mysore, through fields of paddy and sugar cane of rural Karnataka to Bangalore, the last stop on our tour. On the way we’ll vist the extraordinary Janapada Loca Folk Museum. An open air rural museum of Karnataka traditional life and culture, with life sized recreations of the diverse Karnataka tribal villages and figures in their traditional dress, covering 15 acres. 

Today you can try your hand at block printing in our full day workshop at Tharangini creative printing studios in a beautifully green district of Bangalore. 

Our hostess will start the day with some background to the history of the studios and its collection of over 4,000 historic and modern wood blocks. We’ll learn about the creative processes involved in block printing, with and without the discharge process. This is followed by a technical demonstration and then it’s over to you to experiment with your choice from the huge library of blocks available. 

The end of our South Indian Threads Tour. We hope you enjoyed your textile journey with us. We are so happy that you chose to travel with us and allowed us the privilege of introducing you to the quiet joys of textiles in South India. Thank you for your contribution to raising the value of hand made fabrics in India by joining us on our adventures.
An inclusive transfer to Bengalaru International Airport is available for those who are returning home today. We look forward to welcoming you back soon for another exciting Textile Travels experience. Namaste!