Planning a trip is difficult! Much more difficult is to decide the place to go. In India, there are so many places to visit and hence we were again spoiled for choices.
On a fine Sunday evening, I was having a discussion with my family as to what our next family trip destination should be. Having covered a lot of places in North India, it was time to have a vacation to South India. It was a long time back since we last visited there. Now the next big question was - where to visit in South India? But this did not take much time to decide as the first choice for everyone was the same - of course, it was Kerala! Our long awaited trip destination, and my mother's one of the bucket list of places to visit in India.
Kerala, famously known as God's Own Country, is a beautiful state located in the tropical Malabar coast of India. Kerala offers the most spectacular views and is a perfect package which includes mountains, beaches, backwaters and much more. If you are planning a trip during the months of October to March, it is the ideal place to visit.
Our trip started on the morning of 23rd November from three different places. Haha yes! I traveled from Bengaluru to Cochin, my parents came from Delhi and my brother and my sister-in-law joined from Mumbai. Cochin airport was our meeting location and we all reached there in gaps of 30-40 minutes. Finally after rounds meeting and hugging, we left for Munnar at around 9 AM. It is a 3 hour long journey from Cochin airport to Munnar. On the way we stopped at the beautiful Cheeyappara waterfalls. Though the flow of the water was less, yet we could not take our eyes off the height of the falls. We spent some time there eating pineapple and raw mango. And I must tell you that the pineapple was unlike what we used to have in Delhi. The sweet pineapple seasoned with salt and masala left us longing for more.
After a journey of an hour and half more, we reached our hotel which was not very far from the Munnar main market. Having traveled for more than half a day, our stomachs wanted some food. We put our luggage in hotel and left for lunch in a local restaurant. Since all of us had not had enough sleep at night, we left for the tea museum only after taking much needed naps.
The tea museum is run by Kanan Devan Hills Plantations Company. The entry ticket is of ₹75 for adults and it open from 9 AM to 5 PM. We started with a small documentary which showcased the journey of tea plantation in South India. This was followed by a detailed process of tea making. A staff person explained us the significance of each type of leaf in a tea plant and how each one is used to make different kinds of tea that we drink. After understanding the process, some tea tasting, and shopping, we left the museum. As we left, we saw the sun setting behind the mountains which offered a great view amidst the tea plantation.
The next day was fully packed for us to visit places in and around Munnar. We started with Eravikulam National Park.
This is a famous tourist spot which is around 7 kms from Munnar. The park is open from 7 AM to 4 PM with an entry fee of 125 bucks per head. Do not take any food item with you as it is not allowed. Private vehicles are allowed only till the ticket counter area and from there a bus takes you to the national park. We boarded the bus around 10 AM but it is recommended to go earlier in the morning as it will be less sunny then. Our short bus ride started and in no time we saw ourselves surrounded by tea gardens. Every hill that we encountered was full of tea plants and it seemed as if someone has put a tea carpet all over the area. It was breathtaking. Mild cold breezes with sun on the top made the journey more wonderful.
After 10 mins or so we got off the bus. From that point onwards, we had to walk up to the top in order to get sight of any animals on the way. The path is a well constructed road with pleasant mountain views. We walked towards our destination while clicking pictures on the way. On the way, there was a small source of water where we saw Nilgiri Tahrs. This national park has the largest surviving population of these. After a long walk, we reached the end point and to our disappointment, we saw no other animal apart from Tahr. We soon headed back to the bus pickup point, boarded the bus and left. Although the national park did not offer much variety of fauna but I would still say that this place is a must-visit keeping in mind the spectacular views that it offered. And if you are lucky enough, you might as well see species apart from the Nilgiri Tahr! 😜
Our next stop was the Lakkam waterfalls. Although our travel agent did not include this in our itinerary but we went there on a local's recommendation. As we reached there, we did the most important thing first - which was feeding again on the sweet and sour pineapples and raw mangoes. We had to do a little walk on rocks along the banks of a stream to reach the waterfalls. As soon as the waterfalls came into sight, we started cursing(not literally though :P) our travel agent for not including this gem in our plan. It was a true delight for our eyes. Flowing through multiple levels between the rocks, the water made its way to a clear pond. The tiny droplets fell on our faces to make the experience even more mesmerising. After spending sometime there and clicking pictures, we left for our next destination.
This was huge! One might not think a dam as a sightseeing place, but this was one of the exceptions for sure. The Mattupetty Dam has a reservoir on one of its side with tall tress surrounding the water. Several activities including boating, kayaking, etc. were being offered at the dam. The reservoir also has a Echo Point, known for echoing your voices from surrounding mountains. The water of the reservoir, contrary to the people who were testing the echo point, was quite peaceful. We did not spend much time at this place as we had to head to our last stop for the day.
Situated among the Kanan Devi hills and near Muthirappuzha river, this park offers a great landscape view. Surrounded by lush green mountains, this place was home to a variety of blossom flowers. It is spread across a large area and will give you numerous picturesque locations. Since we reached there after 5 PM, the setting sun just made the visit to the park even more memorable. Just make sure to have ample time to roam around the park as the entry closes at around 6 PM.
A new day started and bought with itself much more amazing views. We packed our luggage in the morning to head towards Thekkady, which is a town near the famous Periyar Tiger Reserve.
The journey from Munnar to Periyar is heavenly. The tea gardens on the way with clear skies above, will take your breath away. We stopped on the way to take a little tour through the tea gardens. Initially, I was not in a mood to get off the car, thinking it would be just another tea garden. However, to my surprise, the place was something I had not seen before. The entire landscape was stunning. After spending half an hour or so, we continued our journey forward. In a total of around 4 hrs, we reached our hotel at Periyar. Soon after having our lunch in a nearby restaurant, we left for the jeep safari. It is to be noted that the jeep safari that is offered near the Periyar Tiger Reserve is not for the reserve's premises but for a separate hilly region, although some drivers may claim otherwise.
But do not get disappointed when I say this, because the jeep drive was an unforgettable one. It was our first off-roading experience and I can't even tell you how much we enjoyed the ride. With multiple ups and downs and numerous turns, the safari takes you from one hill to another. Just a warning - DO NOT EAT anything before the ride, else you might regret later. And make sure to go in the afternoon itself, so that you have enough time before the sun sets. After the super-bumpy ride, we returned to the hotel and soon found ourselves fast asleep.
The next fresh morning, we woke up early to board the bus for the famous Periyar Tiger Reserve. We had read about this place in our General Knowledge books in the childhood and that was the day we actually got to visit the place.
The government bus boarding point for the reserve, was just in front of our hotel. Make sure to catch the bus as early as possible to avoid any hassles. We reached the main entrance, where multiple ferries were waiting to give us the tour of the area. We hopped on them and started our tour.
The scenery was simply amazing, which seemed straight out of a painting. Great reflections of the surrounding trees and the blue sky, made the journey more appealing. We saw a number of wild animals including wild deer, Gaur and wild pigs. You must be wondering why I did not mention 'Tiger'. Well! That was the sad part. As compared to the area of the reserve, the number of tigers is extremely less, hence it is close to impossible to get a sight of them. Additionally, the winters make it even less probable. If you actually want to see tigers, best weather is Summer because it is when these animals come out of their habitat in search of water to the nearby water bodies and you can easily get a chance to spot them. Anyhow, back to the journey!
With slight disappointment of not sighting any tigers, we left for our final destination- Alappuzha or Alleppey. It is a city along the western coast of India, majorly famous for its back waters and house boats. We had booked a resort which had its private entry to back waters. We did not opt for house boats as we had not heard good reviews about the same, but the opinions differ largely.
It took us a long time to reach our resort, since we had to pass through narrow lanes and canals to reach the place. Tired enough, we checked-in and started exploring the resort, and the place soon made us forget the exhaustion. With the backwaters' view, playing area and greenery in the property, this was a perfect place to spend a day. In the evening, we had our complementary boat ride in the back waters adjacent to the resort. The sunset through the coconut tress with its reflections in the water, made the boat ride even more impressive. Soon after the ride, we had our dinner and slept afterwards.
My brother, SIL and I had our next morning planned! We woke up quite early in the morning to have a swim in the infinity pool 😁. Our parents joined us soon after, and post the breakfast buffet, we checked-out from the resort.
Next stop was the Alappuzha beach. On the way, we halted at the main back waters of the city where a large number of house boats could be seen. The beach was not far away. We clicked a few pictures but did not spend time there, as even in the month of December, Alappuzha was pretty hot. We did not like the weather much, but this place is definitely a onetime visit.
Last but not the least, we were fortunate enough to have witnessed the Snake boat(or chundan vallam) race in one the back waters. The long boats with atleast 50 racers in each, made our visit to Kerala complete. After attending the boat race, we left for Cochin, from where our respective flights were. We ended our trip with some saree shopping and some delicious South Indian food.
Overall, our trip was a great one and we could successfully tick-off a must visit place in India.
After reading the post, will you give Kerala a surprise visit this winter? Which place is your favourite? Let me know in the comments☺️ Also, do give a read to my other blogs. Happy travelling!
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