INDIA
Cycle Kerala
10 days
ITINERARY
6 days
CYCLING
350KM
DISTANCE
£1,800
PRICE FROM
Discover the Untouched Beauty of south West India
This stunning 350km cycle challenge takes place in Kerala; one of the least discovered jewels of India. Cycle through the wildlife-packed Western Ghats, the spicy Cardamom Country and the beautiful backwaters of Kerala to the stunning beaches of the Arabian Sea.
The Action Challenge Experience
Life on the cycle
This itinerary is for weekend cyclists seeking a challenge. Covering 350 km over 6 days, it mixes manageable and demanding days, ideal for those used to cycling 50 km on weekends.
You’ll cycle mostly on tarred roads through Kerala’s hill country, chosen for its beauty. Some roads are busier, but Kerala’s road quality is generally high. Hybrid bikes provided ensure a comfortable ride.
Each day starts with a hearty breakfast, and cycling ends by early afternoon, allowing time to relax and explore. Our experienced ground team in Kerala offers excellent support, including well-maintained Giant Roam hybrid bikes.
An Action Challenge trip is much more than a holiday! It brings like-minded people together in fantastic landscapes, provides the best support, and enables the group to take on a tough & unforgettable challenge which forges new friendships, broadens horizons, and leaves you wanting more of life’s adventures!
The blueprint for the Action Challenge trip is based on delivering a high-quality enjoyable experience – and doing it all safely. An experienced UK Leader ensures that all aspects of the challenge run to plan – and one of our UK Medics with an expedition med kit is on hand to look after the group’s wellbeing – enabling everyone to have the best chance of completing their challenge.
We go to great lengths to ensure that we only use the best local organisations to supply the all-important ground logistics and the on-challenge support, catering, and hospitality teams – with experienced guides leading the way on the trails guided by their deep local knowledge and authentic style.
We appeal to like-minded people with a similar sense of adventure – but often from very different backgrounds, and with a wide range of experience, ages, levels of fitness, and personal ambitions. Our trips are perfect for individuals, couples, and small groups of friends to join –to take on a unique challenge as part of a larger group which shapes & bonds as the adventure unfolds!
Whether it’s the hotels, restaurants & transfers before & after the main challenge – or the challenge accommodation & meals whilst out on the trails – our all-inclusive packages mean that you will get a top-quality experience at a great value price! Flights are generally included, but there’s a ‘land only’ option if you’d prefer to book your own – and single supplement accommodation upgrades are available.
Visas– You must organise your Visa yourself prior to arrival in Kerala. Advice on how to apply for this will be provided to you once booked onto the challenge in the App.
The group comes together – takes on a tough challenge together – and then celebrates its achievements in style on the final night of the trip in a local restaurant or hotel, with medals, awards, and a bit of a party! Many of our participants make new special friends on our trips – and quite a few come back together for another challenge in the following years!
A successful challenge starts with good preparation. The better prepared you are the more confident you’ll be, and the more you’ll enjoy it! Our ‘Challenge App’ will have all the info & details of what to expect on your challenge – and how to prepare for it – and we have optional training walks, training weekends, and a 50km place on one of our UK Ultra Challenge events to get out on the trails and test your fitness, kit, & equipment.
The Cycle kerala Challenge
Explore further, classic Kerala
Setting off from Kochi, we’ll tackle tough climbs through Munnar’s coffee and tea plantations to the top of the Kannan Devan Hills.
The panoramas and wildlife spotting opportunities are worth the climb.
The Western Ghats is renowned for its biodiversity, home to thousands of plants and hundreds of animals, including 325 endangered species. We’ll keep our eyes peeled – if we’re lucky, we may spot leopards, elephants, and fifty types of butterfly!
We spice up our cycle as we skirt Periyar National Park through the cardamom-growing Idukki Region.
Then it’s one last stretch across the palm-lined lagoons, islands, and canals of the backwaters. We’ll get insight into the coconut catching and coir communities before reaching a paradise finish.
Although beautiful, this is far from a relaxing getaway. Our cycle will leave you with aching legs, unforgettable experiences, and new friends.
- 6 days cycling with full vehicle support
- 350km of cycling
- Bike and ALL meals included. Comfortable hotels.
- Visit four national parks
- Explore the serene backwaters on a luxurious houseboat.
- Encounter exotic wildlife, including elephants and over 330 bird species.
- Witness breathtaking mountain views and scenic coastal rides.
- Option to extend your stay in Kerala
- Suitable for all adult riders. E-bikes available for hire
Itinerary & Route
We will meet at the airport and will depart the UK for our flight to Kerala.
Meals: D inflight
On arrival in Kochi, we are transferred to our hotel. After a chance to relax and freshen up, we will enjoy a group lunch, before our bike fitting and will finish the evening with a briefing and welcome meal to sample some Keralan delights.
Meals: B, L, D Accom: Hotel
After breakfast, we will start off on our cycle challenge making the most of the early morning coolness heading east, towards the foothills of the Western Ghats along the quiet roads that are mostly level throughout the morning. We pass through the scenic countryside of temples, spice gardens, paddy fields and rubber plantations to the lowland forests of Thattekkad. Our spectacular eco-lodge on the banks of the Periyar river in the late afternoon is a welcome sight and here we have time to relax in a magnificent jungle setting.
Meals: B, L, D Accom: Camp
Today after breakfast, we will set off along the Periyar riverbank, through dense low-altitude forests of Neriyamanagalam where reed is extracted for the manufacture of traditional household items like baskets and mats. As the scenery slowly changes, we glimpse rubber, pepper and cardamom estates and finally tea plantations. The ride will be a shock to the system as the climbing starts early, but the stunning views we get to admire will make it completely worth it. We will stop at Adimali for lunch and continue our riding into the afternoon. As evening approaches, we end the ride and make the rest of the way in our support vehicle to the hill station of Munnar – a hill town famed for its vast swathes of tea plantations. Munnar, a favourite summer resort town, is set amidst dramatic mountain scenery, craggy peaks, tall redwood trees and some of the world’s highest tea plantations. The evening will end with an evening meal before getting some much-needed rest.
Meals: B, L, D Accom: Hotel
Today is a tough challenge but may be one of the most exciting. After breakfast and our 40km transfer, we start our undulating morning ride that is mostly downhill to the dam at The Kallar Bridge, passing through forests, tea gardens and spice plantations. At approximately midday, we will stop along the route to enjoy some lunch before continuing our adventure in the afternoon. This afternoon we have hard climbs out of the valley to Puttady. From here its 15km of descent to Periyar which has one of the best wildlife reserves in India with large herds of Asiatic elephants, Indian Bison as well as tigers. For the ornithologists, it has over 330 species of birds including the majestic Great Hornbill. We end our day at our Periyar Hotel where we can relax our tired legs by the pool after a good evening meal.
Meals: B, L, D Accom: Hotel
After a good breakfast, we will cycle the winding roads down through perfect mountain cycling country with great scenic views of spice-growing hamlets dotting the landscape and undulating roads (ups & downs!) through tea estates and forests. Along the route, we will stop at a suitable time to enjoy some lunch and admire the jaw-dropping scenery surrounding us. As we continue on our journey, we will see the famous arch dam of Idukki on the way and cross the beautiful Kulamavu dam just before reaching our destination on the edge of the Western Ghats: Our resort is set amidst the tea estates and is a perfect quiet retreat after a hard day of cycling. The evening will conclude with another well-earnt evening meal and rest.
Meals: B, L, D Accom: Hotel
Today, we will be taking a downhill ride through the mountain passes to the plains and from there through the rubber country of Palai to the backwaters of Kerala. Our cycling takes us through varied terrains giving us an opportunity to have a glimpse of the rural Kerala. The terrain will be mainly plains with small undulations in some sections. We will stop along the route to enjoy some lunch before continue our cycle to our accommodation for the evening.
Meals: B, L, D Accom: Hotel
A visit to Kerala, ‘God’s Own Country would not be complete without a cruise on board one of Kerala’s most luxurious forms of accommodation, a converted rice barge houseboat. After a morning trip, we disembark and re-join our bikes for the backwater cycling ride as we ride through a stunning landscape of emerald paddy fields and refreshing rivers. We encounter a succession of fishing villages as we draw ever closer to the finishing line on the white sandy shores of the Arabian Sea. Leaving the villages behind we will hit the beaches and cycle up along the coast to our beach resort for our final evening as a group.
Meals: B, L, D Accom. Hotel
After breakfast, we will transfer to Cochin airport and board our flight for the UK.
Meals: B
SPRING DEAL
£100 OFF ALL BOOKINGS WITH CODE SPRING25
+ FREE Cycle Jersey worth £35
+ FREE UK Trekking Event worth £139
DEAL ENDS 30TH APRIL 2025
Costs & Fundraising
Check out the full list of our dates & prices and pick your departure. Sign up today from £395 deposit.
Our Brochure
The Challenge brochure details the full itinerary, inclusions, and more – download for a full run down of the challenge details.
