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The Spice Plantations of Periyar, Kerala

After 5 busy days of temple hopping and classes in Tamil Nadu we head to the quieter and lush green hills of Kerala, South India. Kerala is famous for its hill stations, backwaters, spices and tea plantations.

Periyar was our first stop, and after checking into our beautiful hotel the group toured a spice garden and then rode elephants. The spice garden tour was so fascinating as our charismatic friend and guide, Thaj, walks us around a spice garden … enlightening us on the world of spices.

If you are ever in Periyar, Kerala, you need to call on Thaj to have the best experiences in this charming town.

Thaj, our charismatic friend and guide, walks us around a spice garden … enlightening us on the world of spices. — Thaj shares with us his in-depth knowledge on spices. Here he holds up a turmeric root he dug up from the ground.

Thaj holds up a spice……do you know what this is? Scroll to the bottom of the photos to see the answer.

We fill our bags full of spices that have just come from the plantations.

Answer: Cardamom

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Mar 7, 2014
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South Indian cooking classes

Learning about the spiritual path is not all that we do on our spiritual adventures. We often throw in a cooking class or two and in Madurai at the Heritage Hotel the chefs were kind enough to host a very educational cooking class for us. We learnt to make about 3 dishes. They ha
Mar 7, 2014
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Bathing Elephants in Hill Stations of Periyar, India

One of our highlights on our recent spiritual adventure in south India was bathing elephants in the hill stations of Periyar. Periyar in the western ghats of Kerala in South India is a refuge of rolling hills, lush green forests, amazing wildlife and countless tea and spice plant
Mar 6, 2014

On the Spiritual Path

One of the main focuses of our spiritual adventure is the daily classes that we have that focus on the spiritual path. We define the goal, the path and the surroundings that are needed to be on the spiritual path plus share helpful tools that can be implemented in our daily life.
Mar 5, 2014
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A traditional South Indian lunch fit for a king

We headed down to Madurai and on the way stopped in at the Ideal River Lodge for a lunch fit for kings! Here we ate a traditional South Indian lunch called a Thali served on a banana leaf that you eat with your hands. The group got to play with their food and discovered that eati
Mar 5, 2014

Jungle Hike and Tea Plantations in Kerala, India

Photos from our spiritual adventure that is taking place now in South India. We had a great morning trekking in the jungles of Periyar in the Sahyadri mountains and then later that day explored a tea plantation.
Mar 3, 2014

Morning walk in a Village, South India

Day 3 of our spiritual adventure in South India. Quite a few of us took the opportunity to explore the village that our heritage hotel was located in. We were up early and headed off in different directions exploring the rural life. Here are a few photos from our morning walk.