Tyndis
Tyndis

Kerala

In touristy Kerala, how do you have a truly local and ‘real’ experience away from the more touristed spots? You go to the North of the state-the famed Malabar. While the expats in the Gulf have repatriated immense wealth to this part of the state resulting in the construction of large malls and mega mansions, the Malabar’s beaches, hills, villages and towns are not as explored and exposed yet. Tyndis, an experiential travel company in the state, offers curated tours in the Malabar region. All Tyndis activities, experiences and tour programmes involve local participation in the form of local storytellers and community leaders. 

The Tyndis tours revolve around local experiences, heritage, culture, festivals, food and adventure. While all the tours are set in the Malabar, each is tailored to focus on a great mix of destinations and unique set of experiences. The tours range from day excursions that last a few hours to multi-day multi-destination tours. 

The day tours include cultural and heritage walks and tours of historic towns like Calicut and Kannur and explorations of smaller villages nearby. They also include special interest tours that focus on local textiles, cuisines and arts and festivals, like Theyyam.

The longer tours are varied. So the 6D5N Malabar Treasure Trails covers Wayanad, Calicut and Neeleshwar. The tour includes special experiences led by a Storyteller that include a heritage walk in Calicut, a mangrove tour on country boats, traditional meals on a houseboat, a Nileshwar walking tour or a Theyyam tour.

Price: From Rs 2,000

Read more: https://www.tyndisheritage.com/


<h3>Slow Travel</h3>

Slow Travel

About 70% of the total revenue of Tyndis goes back to the local community. The Tyndis story tellers are from the community and have been trained by the travel outfit. The Theyyam tours are led by storytellers who are Theyyam artists or are from the community. It employs over 30 storytellers. Tyndis has also partnered with various local NGOs and community organisations in areas like ocean life conservation and conservation-based mangrove tourism. It also follows other RT practices like avoiding plastics and taking photos only with permission.