Cycle Kerala
Challenge level: 4 out of 5
Challenge level: 4 out of 5
Need a hand? Get in touch...
| 30 November - 9 December 2023 | On Sale | |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | 10 days |
Cycle through the wildlife-packed Western Ghats, the spicy Cardamom Country and the beautiful backwaters of Kerala to the Mirari Beach, on this exquisite challenge for the charity of your choice.
Setting off from Kochi, we’ll tackle tough climbs through Munnar’s misty coffee and tea plantations, to the top of the Kannan Devan Hills in the Western Ghats.
The breath-taking panoramas and ample wildlife spotting opportunities are well worth the climb.
The Western Ghats is renowned for its vast biodiversity, home to thousands of plants and hundreds of animals, including 325 endangered species. We’ll keep our eyes peeled every pedal of the way. If we’re lucky, we may spot leopards, elephants and nearly fifty different types of butterfly!
We spice up our cycle as we skirt Periyar National Park through the cardamom-growing Idukki Region.
Then it’s one last stretch across the palm-lined lagoons, islands and canals of the backwaters. We’ll get awesome insight into the coconut catching and coir communities, before reaching a paradise finish at Marari Beach.
Although beautiful, this is far from a relaxing getaway. Our cycle will leave you with aching legs, unforgettable experiences and a bunch of new friends.
Pay the registration fee (£349) and challenge costs (£1,799) + airport taxes/fuel surcharge (approx. £325).
£1,799
Pay the balance
Pay your registration fee (£349) and airport taxes/fuel surcharge (approx. £325), and fundraise £3,600 or more for your chosen charity.
£3,600
Minimum sponsorship target
This challenge is not designed for Olympic athletes – it is designed for people looking for an amazing goal to train and get fit for.
A number of the people who will take part will have a low level of fitness when they sign up. This challenge is the perfect motivation to get fit, help your favourite charity in a big way and have the experience of a lifetime.
The toughest aspect of our adventure will probably be the humidity. We also recommend that you incorporate hills into your training rides, as the route is almost entirely undulating hills.
We'll cycle on a mix of roads.
Please don't be! The majority of people will sign up for Cycle Kerala on their own.
Once you've signed up for the challenge, we'll send you a link to a private Facebook group for everyone registered for Cycle Kerala.
Please feel free to use this space to swap questions, advice and updates with your fellow cyclists on your training and fundraising.
You may also want to reach out to the other participants in this group to see if there's anyone in your local area you can meet up to train and fundraise with.
Absolutely not! One of the amazing things about the challenge is that people of all ages will come together to do something very special. Everyone aged 18 or over is welcome to join the ride!
A cycling helmet is essential. Cycling shorts are also recommended and everyone will need their own water bottles or a Camelbak-type hydration system. Apart from that, no specialist equipment is required.
We'll supply you with a list of everything you will need to take before you go. Cyclists will have the use of 18 or 21-gear mountain bikes and we suggest you bring the saddle or gel cover you're used to riding on.
We'll be staying in comfortable hotels on a twin-sharing basis throughout this challenge.
Yes of course! If you wish to extend your stay you will need to come out of our group flights. Please let us know at least fourteen weeks before the challenge start date and we can arrange this for you.
Your non-refundable registration fee of £349 per person is used to administer the challenge and secure your seats with the airline.
Your challenge costs of £1,799 (ie. 50% of the sponsorship target) cover:
In addition to paying your registration fee of £349 and either fundraising the sponsorship target or self funding your challenge costs of £1,799 you will need to budget for:
Travel Insurance
You will need to take out your own personal travel insurance covering health, accident, loss and repatriation. Dream Challenges has found an insurance provider, which covers you for this type of activity and also covers you for cancellation due to medically-diagnosed COVID-19.
You can see the insurance policy here or click here to check out the full 14 actions we're taking to keep you safe.
You can, however, take out your own insurance providing it covers you for a charity cycle ride in India.
Please ask the insurer about the nature of the cover. It is your responsibility to ensure you have adequate cover for your challenge.
Visa
All participants will need a tourist visa for India, which you will need to arrange yourself. Please don't apply for your visa until we advise you to do so. We will send you all the relevant information about how to do this before the challenge.
Please make sure to apply for your visa on the correct website: https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/
This is the only website the High Commission of India uses and other sites are likely to be scams and/or charge unnecessary fees.
The Dream Challenges team are here to help you achieve your challenge and will support you all the way.
We are on hand from the minute you sign up to answer any questions that you may have about your training or the challenge itself.
Once you have registered, we will send you a realistic training programme to help you get fit for the cycle. The programme builds up gradually as the event gets closer.
During the cycle, we'll have a UK doctor with expedition medicine training from the get-go and at all times throughout the challenge, along with a team of experienced, first-aid trained challenge guides and porters.
We’ll have an event leader and a group of first-aid trained challenge guides, plus at least one UK doctor with expedition medicine training, who will be with you the whole time.
The group size is likely to be around 30 people for this challenge.
As we're not medically trained, we're afraid we can't offer you advice on this. We recommend you contact your GP or your local travel clinic, who will have the latest travel health advice.
We also recommend you visit the NHS Fit for Travel website here, to keep up to date with current travel health news and advice on staying healthy abroad.
NHS Fit for Travel website: https://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/home
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