Photography trip Kerala South India

Kerala, southern India, the land of culture, ancient traditions and rituals, tea plantations, rain forests and wildlife. The diversity and character of Kerala is unique. You’ll experience this during the fascinating photography tour throughout the southern part of India. We’ll take you to the real India; get ready to visit this magical world.

What will you be capturing during this 12-day tour? A small selection of highlights:
A small selection of highlights:

- Ancient traditions that are still lives with full intentions
- Characteristic people that have life experience engraved in their faces
- Colorful festivals
- Culture and cultural rituals
- Rain forests that are home to a diversity of wildlife, such as Indian elephants, Bengali tigers and leopards
- World’s largest tea plantations
- The famous backwaters
- Mountainous areas with peaks higher than the clouds
- Located on the gorgeous south and west coast

During this tour you can enjoy all the beauty that southern India has to offer, there’s no time pressure during the trip. There will be plenty of time for workshops, such as landscape-, nature-, wildlife-, portrait- and travel photography. This fascinating photography tour through Kerala, southern India, is one you’ll never forget and one you can enjoy long after you’ve returned home with your very own photos!

Check out the day to day schedule for this 12-day tour. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us. Contact 

Get inspired and check out the blog of Kerala Southern India and chech out the photos in the gallery.

Travelmarks-photography.. your experience! Untill clicks!

We have carefully put together a route throughout southern India. A nice variety of green tea plantations, rain forests and cultural India with its age-old traditions and rituals. We’ll go to places tourists usually don’t visit, so get ready to be swept away by the fascinating world only India can offer.

Day 1: Cochin
After we meet at Cochin airport, we head to our hotel, Forte Kochi. We start our tour with a Kathakali and Mohiniyattam show, the famous Kerala dance drama. Gorgeous costumes and exceptional make-up are characteristic to this dance. We also watch Kalaripayattu, a martial arts show that will make a lasting impression.

Dag 2:  Cochin
Early in the morning we capture Cochin from the waterside. The famous fishing nets are a true eyecatcher in the gorgeous landscape of the Backwaters. In the afternoon we have a shoot with a model, for special and authentic Indian portraits. We capture the Chinese fishing nets again at sunset, in the magical evening light.

Day 3: Munnar
If the light wasn’t perfect yesterday, we try to shoot the fishing nets one last time, because this is a place you just don’t want to miss! We head out to Munnar, famous for its tea plantations which are one of the largest in the world. This landscape is enchanting and a feast for the eyes. We visit an impressive waterfall and end the day at a spectacular look-out to capture the sunset.

Day 4: Munnar
In the morning we take a jeep to Kolukkumalia, with mountaintops that reach above the clouds. Highlighted by the first rays of sunlight that break open the fog, a beautiful picture unfolds. Via the tea plantations and the Mattupetty dam, we reach Vattavada village, the real authentic India. In the night we visit the local market for some portrait photography.

Day 5: Alleppey Houseboat
We head out to Alleppey, famous for its backwaters, channels and lagoons. From our very own houseboat, which is also our home for the night, we use small traditional boats to check out the channels. We can visit the small villages located on the channels’ shore and capture the local life. Sunset seen from the water is magical, in this fairytale environment of the Backwaters.

Day 6: Cheruthuruthy 
Early morning, we follow the Backwaters to head out to Cheruthuruthy. We visit the Puppet family. A 13-generation family business that runs a famous puppet show. Here, you will be surprised by age-old traditions. We get to see an exclusive show and have the opportunity to interview and photograph the family behind the scenes.

Day 7: Thalassery
Another cultural highlight; we visit the Kerala Kalamandalam for “a day with masters”. This study in singing, dancing and rituals, with traditional clothing and instruments, knows how to impress. In the afternoon we go to Thalassery for the highlight of this tour. We travel by train, an experience in itself. We stay for a few days in manor Ayisha Mazil Homestay, famous for its Indian cooking. A true feast to look forward to.

Dag 8: Thalassery
Depending on the Theyyam program, we start by visiting this ancient ritual. This is India at its purest, you normally don’t see tourists here. The villagers truly believe in Theyyam, the embodiment of a God that brings prosperity to the village. We also visit the local market and the cotton weaving mill and end the day with the magical golden our light on a beautiful beach on India’s west coast.

Day 9: Thalassery
We visit another Theyyam ritual in a different village. This spectacle that carries you to ancient times is so unique, that we want to make the most of it. We have a Kalaripayattu shooting on the beach at the end of the day, specially organized for our group.

Day 10: Nagarhole national park
After breakfast we head out to Nagarhole National Park, also known as Rajiv Gandhi National Park. It’s famous for its high population of tigers, Asian elephants, crocodiles, birds, leopards and even black panthers and is awarded as ‘best top 5 park in the world’ by the British ‘Tatters Travel Guide’. In the afternoon we have our first game drive.

Day 11: Nagarhole national park
Today we have game drives in the morning and the afternoon. This park belongs to Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, known for sandal wood and teak trees. The Brahamagiri mountain range and the Kabini river flowing through the park make this an amazing jungle. You want to spot wildlife here!

Day 12: Nagarhole national park
As if we can’t get enough, early morning we float downstream in a special designed boat to spot wildlife from the water. Afterwards we look back to this amazing journey we’ve made together. Now it’s time to go to the airport for our flight home.

Return flight:
Depending on your return flight back home, we are happy to assist if you wish an extra night at a hotel.

Minimum 6 participants, maximum 8 participants

Date: November 12th, 2024 until November 23th, 2024

Costs per participant: 2889 euro

Extra cost for single room: 565 euro per persoon

Heavyness of the trip

• ***** this trip is suitable for everyone with normal health

Extra personal cost:

• Depending on your spending pattern, you can count on 30 euros a day

Included:

• All hotels as mentioned, with A/C
• Breakfast in all hotels
• Full board on the houseboat Premium A/C
• Transport with chauffeur in a van with A/C
• Day program “A day with masters”
• Sunrise cruise Cochin
• Experienced guide in Cochin, Munnar & Nagarhole
• Cultural shows in Cochin
• Kulukkumalai trekking in Munnar
• Wildlife safari’s in Nagarhole Tiger Reserve
• Tour at herbal plantation
• Train ride with A/C
• Toll and other taxes

Excluded:

• Lunch and dinner, other than mentioned above
• Personal expenses
• Entrance fees, other than mentioned above
• Tips
• Expenses, other than mentioned above
• (international) flights
• Travel insurances

Mark Brands owner and founder of Travelmarks-photography

As an experienced world traveler and professional photographer, you may expect passion, professionalism, fun and enthusiasm from me during this “fascinating” photography tour across Kerala in Southern India. The combination travel and photography makes me happy. And I even get happier when I can share this ‘virus’ with you and have you go home with spectacular photos and an experience to remember! The variety of scenes and activities, make this tour an unique experience you won’t forget! Kerala is pristine and authentic. The culture and the friendly people make you want to stay even longer. I’ll take you to the best Kerala has to offer. Let’s go out and capture this forever! Let’s click!

Pradeepraj, the founder and CEO of destination Oryx,,

is one of the prominent figure in the travel and tourism industry in Kerala. He completed Tourism Management from Kerala Institute of Travel and Tourism studies (KITTS) Trivandrum. As a tourism professional he has been in the field since 2005.
As he was very much eager to start his own travel firm and to explore the domestic tourism in India, he started Destination Oryx in the year of 2010. He was successful to build a secured base very easily with his experience in tourism field. Slow and steady growth, that would be much proper word to call his success graph And now Destination Oryx is one of the leading inbound Tour operator in Kerala.

Practical

• You have to be in normal shape
• We meet at Cochin on November 21st, at a time to be determined
• If you have any food allergies or diets, please inform me about this.
• Non-photographing partners are more than welcome to join. We visit a lot of authentic, non-touristic sites that are worth a visit.
• During this diverse program, you’ll also have a lot of free time.
• Together we decide which workshops to do.
• You can pay with the Indian Rupie or take out money from a bank with your credit card or debit card.
• You need a visa which you can apply for online. If requested, we can help you with the application.
• You need vaccinations for India. Please check carefully and on time which ones you need.
• This is a country program, you have to book the flight separately. If requested, we can help you with your booking.

Climate

The climate is favorable to us at this time of year. On the site of Climate information We travel during dry season. The weather is to our advantage with pleasant temperatures.

Accommodations

Dag 1 & 2  Fort House Cochin
https://hotelforthouse.com/
Dag 3 & 4 Rivulet Resort Munnar
http://www.rivuletresort.com/
Dag 5 & 6 The Mountain Courtyard Thekkady
http://themountaincourtyard.com/
Day 7 Privé Houseboat
Day 8 River Retreat Cheruthuruthy
https://www.riverretreat.in/

Day 9 t/m 11 Ayisha Mazil Homestay
http://www.ayishamanzil.com/

• STO Garant

This booking is covered by the STO Garant guarantee. You can find the conditions for this guarantee scheme at www.sto-garant.nl/en/downloads. You will receive an email from STO Garant (info@sto-garant.nl) containing information about how you can pay for this booking. You will receive a confirmation email from STO Garant for each payment received. You can find all information relating to STO Garant at www.sto-garant.nl/en.

• VvKR

I am a member of the association of small-scale travel organizations (VvKR). VvKR defends the interests of small, often specialist, travel organizations. Via VvKR we combine our strengths and share our expertise in order to achieve the reatest possible certainty and satisfaction for both consumers and the travel organization.

• Travelife

Travelmarks Photography covers more than 100 criteria, related to a travel company's office management, product offerings, international business partners and customer information. The Travelife standard covers ISO 26000 corporate social responsibility topics, including environment, biodiversity, human rights and industrial relations; and is formally recognized as fully compliant with the UN supported Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria.

• Trees for all

We invest in sustainable forest projects in the Netherlands and abroad. In this way we not only contribute to a better climate and more biodiversity, but also to better living conditions and a future perspective. Especially for the people most affected by the effects of climate change.