Tourism’s Onam project to be extended across Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Tourism’s unique product ‘Enjoy Onam feast, get Onam gifts’, piloted in 2017 in selected places, will be extended to the entire state on a grand scale from September 1 to 30. The project will provide visitors the feel and taste of Onam festival by enabling them to enjoy a variety of traditional dishes, including the famed multi-dish ‘sadya’, and trips to sylvan rural stretches.
Worked out by the State Responsible Tourism (RT) Mission, the project will enable tourists to stay at village homes as guests, join the celebrations of the festival of flowers, partake homemade delicacies and meals and receive attractive gifts before bidding farewell.
The scheme offers different packages for the visitors to choose — a day-and-night stay at a village home for a four-member family, which will include breakfast, dinner and lunch, a ‘special Onam feast package’, and exploration of the rural stretches to experience sights and sounds of Onam with local communities.
Besides treating to the feast, those choosing the first category, the premier Onam festival package, will be presented with a set of traditional gifts like handcrafted souvenirs, handloom shawls and packets of crispy banana chips. The cost will range between Rs 3,000 and Rs 8,500, depending on the rating and facilities of the unit they are opting to stay.
The Onam sadya, comprising a variety of spicy and sweet dishes, including rice, curries, pickles, chutneys, pudding and chips, will be charged at Rs 250 per head. The visitors, who are keen to explore deep into the countryside, can opt for rural trips, which will cost Rs 3,000 for a four-member family on a vehicle hired by themselves. Apart from the sadya, they will also be given souvenirs, pappad, chips and handloom shawls.
The spots selected for the package are Balaramapuram, Madavoorpara (Thiruvananthapuram district), Kainakari and Kavalam (Alappuzha), Vaikom, Maravanthuruthu, Chembu, Manchira, Varampinakam, Thiruvarpu, Kumarakom (Kottayam), Amballur (Ernakulam), Olavanna, Kadalundi (Kozhikode), Chekadi, Cheruvayal, Nellarachal (Wayanad), Kunhimangalam, Cherupuzha (Kannur) and Bekal (Kasaragod).
The packages are worked out by RT Mission jointly with accommodation units across the state. Those units interested in receiving the tourists and making arrangements for their stay and meals can register on website www.keralatourism.org.