Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd. (IRCTC) has joined hands with the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) to launch tour packages within the State.
The packages are primarily aimed at encouraging domestic tourism and are being offered from cities across the State. Only the properties of the KTDC will be used.
Tourists from Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam city limits will be picked up from their doorstep in a fully sanitised vehicle and dropped back after the tour.
Destinations
The packages have been designed for tourists to enjoy the tea plantations at Munnar, wildlife at Thekkady, backwaters of Kumarakom and Alappuzha, and beaches of Kovalam. The packages of varying durations, from two to five nights, are priced from ₹5,030.
There will be an accident insurance coverage up to ₹10 lakh for tourists availing themselves of the package, according to the Joint General Manager, Tourism, IRCTC, Ernakulam, Ratheesh Chandran R. All IRCTC packages qualify for LTC claims of the government.
Bharat Darshan is back
With the easing of travel restrictions, the IRCTC has launched tour packages from Kerala to other States. Its most popular budget tour package, Bharat Darshan is back in a new avatar. The cities of Gwalior, Khajuraho, Jhansi, Sanchi, Vidisha and Bhopal will be covered in a 10-day Christmas vacation programme titled ‘Jewels of Madhya Pradesh’ that starts on December 20.
Tourists can board the train from Thiruvananthapuram Central, Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam Town, Thrissur, Ottapalam and Palakkad. The package, priced at ₹10,200 per passenger, includes up and down train fare, morning tea, vegetarian south Indian food throughout the journey, accommodation at halls and dormitories at places of night stay, non-air conditioned bus at places of sightseeing, security, and tour escort in each coach.