6 reasons to go cycling in Kerala

Backroads & along the coast

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The trip highlights for this active Kerala holiday included words like palm-fringed beaches, pilgrimage towns, masala dosa, ancient forts and active fishing ports. And as all of that was going to be explored by means of a cycling holiday, Elisabeth in our London office was very keen to go on the Goa to Kerala Cycle trip in South India.

Off she went in October last year and the trip turned out to be a fantastic experience with lots of positive aspects such as cycling in Goa, the temple of Murudeshwar in Karnataka and Kerala’s ancient forts & serene beaches. That’s why in this article, she wanted to share with you what this South India trip is like.

So here we go with the top 6 reasons to take a Kerala cycling trip, in no particular order:

1. Backroads for Quiet Cycling

The Goa to Kerala cycling trip is mainly on the backroads of southern India along stretched sandy beaches and palm trees and through quiet (fishermen) villages. We heard birds chirp, cicadas sing, and passed the occasional sleepy dog by the roadside. We would cycle in the shadow of palm trees or through green rice paddies, passing vibrantly decorated temples, mosques and churches.

2. Interaction with Local Indians

Several times during our bike rides, we would be welcomed by the local team that had prepared some snacks, fruits and cold drinks for us. These little breaks from our cycling were fantastic opportunities to meet and chat with some of the local people. By nature, the Indian people seem very curious and it was great to chat with them, hear about their life and talk about the fact that we were on a 2-week South India cycling holiday – an idea quite alien to them!

3. Sea Breeze

The trip follows pleasant backroads along the coastline from when you start cycling in Goa and then via Karnataka all the way down to Kerala. There’s a lot of variety on these paths and plenty to see along the way. The sea breeze, sound of the Arabian Sea, seagulls and occasional beach hut are other great aspect of this cycling trip.

4. Slow Pace

As all of us in the group were on this Kerala holiday to have a pleasant time and because the cycling distances were very manageable, none of us ever felt rushed to finish the day. There would be plenty of time to take pictures, visit a school, and explore interesting sites such as ancient forts and temples.

5. Cover 3 Different States

Ahead of the trip I wasn’t really aware of the three different states (and how different they actually are) that we would cover on this cycling adventure. From Goa, where the majority of the population is either Hindu or Roman Catholic and the political influence is cultural nationalism, we cycled to Kerala, where besides the large Hindu population a big portion is Muslim and there is a strong communist presence. We could clearly observe the change while cycling south and this definitely added to the variety of our South India trip.

6. See the Real India: day to day life, away from all other tourists/travellers

Perhaps the biggest reason to go cycling in Kerala is the fact that it is basically entirely free from mass tourism. There were no particular highlights on the trip, which you could say was the actual highlight. We were taken to quiet fishermen’s towns, stopped at local eateries to be sat eating side by side with the regulars, and explored ancient cultural sites that we only had to share with the occasional local visitor. The route really allowed us a glimpse in local daily life of South India.