"Lost In Wonderland" - Kerala Tour 6 Nights / 7 Days

This is a story of 4 Buddies who accidentally met with a group then had little chats here and there, suddenly decided to go for a long trip.

In our previous blog “Kerala Has It All” https://apurvad37.blogspot.com/2020/06/kerala-has-it-all.html we covered a lot about Kerala like its History, Ayurveda, Mountains, Waterfalls, Forest life, Cultural art, food and so on..

Here it’s about our Travel Experience that I would like to share with you all. There was a travel group in which we were introduced to each other. We are friends not old enough, but still manage a good bonding with each other. Each one of us stay in different cities and work in different streams and hardly get time to travel. We were in touch with each other on Whatsapp and had met once or twice. There was always a discussion about going on a long trip, but never had any conclusion.

The two travel enthusiast in the group were eager to travel and decided to explore Kerala, so they put this idea in the group. A quick response to this idea was not expected as everyone has some or the other place in mind as their next destination. All of us voted in favor of Kerala so finally a destination was decided now the point was when and for how many days. This took a few days to finalize and coming to a conclusion to visit before the tourist season as the stays would be cheap and the crowd will be less. The main issue was about the places to visit and a way to travel. Now everyone got busy in planning to make arrangements about traveling and stays. Decided to reach Kerala by train from Mumbai and flight from Kerala to Mumbai. All trains towards South has a diversion from Vasai, so the boarding point was Vasai Station and the destination station was Ernakulum. We had planned a round trip from Cochin to Cochin, I will not advise you all to make the same mistake. You can either plan from Cochin to Kanyakumari or vice versa, by doing so you save 7-9 hrs. of unnecessary traveling, instead you can utilize in shopping or any other activities.

I was the one staying in Vasai so it was convenient for me, so I booked the tickets and offered others to stay at my Home. It was going to be 6 nights and 7 days trip a long one indeed as per our return flight booking. We were excited as to and fro tickets were confirmed. Now it was time we jotted down the places we were going to explore, everyone forwarded their own list which was quite lengthy. Picking up the similar once was easy but including in the list had some issues with time and distance which had to be managed and should be on the same route. It took us 3-4 days to finalize the list without missing any.

Finally the day arrived when the others reached Vasai, I received them from Railway station as they are new. Overnight stay was at my Home as next morning we had to board our train early. All of us woke up early, got refreshed and had some breakfast and left for Kerala. Our train no. 22656 - H. NIZAMUDDIN TRIVANDRUM CNTL SUPER FAST EXPRESS was on time and we were onto our berths quickly, the excitement was full-on.

Journey begins with enthusiasm and anxiety, when will we reach Cochin. The rail route towards Kerala is a single track so the train stops every now and then for siding and waiting for the signal. In fact, I think if it was a regular 2 track route we would have reached early, may be 26 hrs. can be reduced to about 16-18 hrs. Leaving this apart the train journey had much to offer in terms of greenery, mountains and water reservoirs on both sides making difficult which side view is the best?

"Fun on the go" was happening ever since we left Vasai, we had homemade lunch for the day and few snacks. As the train halts we used to get down to enjoy the natural beauty of the environment around. Sometimes the train halted in the mountain region, sometimes near waterfalls through small hills or vast grassland and sometimes around large or small water reservoirs with stagnant boats and fisherman's netting for fish. Forgot to tell you, at night around 08:30 pm we had our dinner that we had bought at Karwar Station, veg. Biryani that cost you only 80/- rupees each. The Biryani was very tasty and very spicy, then we had Amul cool milk, finishing our meal for day one in the train. Next morning when we woke up we found a long line for brushing our teeth and we were hungry with the coffee fragrance in the air. One among us just went down the station as our train was at halt and started brushing teeth on the water fountain available on a railway platform. Seeing this I also went down and joined, someone might think it's weird, but it's certainly normal we have seen people doing but never done myself. It was fun doing and it certainly helped me as I was able to have my breakfast of coffee and chocolate biscuits. Traveling teaches us a lot, a few months before we were strangers, but now we have a great bonding of trust with each other. The train was late, so was our start in Cochin towards Athirappilly waterfall our first destination.

Authentic South Indian cuisine

We had booked a Toyota Etios Sedan for the entire journey, and our commander in charge was Mr. Sandip Ji. He was from Allippey, added advantage was he used to speak good Hindi. We started our journey with some Authentic South Indian cuisine, paper dosa, uttapam and Kuttu paratha.

Athirappilly Waterfall view from top and bottom

Athirappilly Waterfalls

Cochin to Athirappilly is around 2 hrs. 30 min. drive of around 75 Kms, as we moved near we could hear the sound of the waterfall and nearby area was full of greenery. Athirappilly falls is one of the largest waterfalls in Kerala. It has an entry fee of 15 rs. per person, as soon as you enter there is a huge noise of the waterfall and picturesque dense green forest surrounding. The way towards the waterfall is very quiet and amazingly beautiful. As you reach the point of this Spectacular waterfall, the feeling cannot be expressed but to be experienced. People come from different parts of the world to have a sight of it and experience the natural wonder. We spent some time in admiring and clicking pictures too, then we found that there was a way to see this waterfall from the bottom also so we had that experience too. The force of this waterfall is such that even from a distance capturing pictures tiny droplets would bounce on to the lens, be careful when you click pictures. After an hour or so we moved out as we had to travel to Munnar a famous hill station in Kerala and our next destination. 

Munnar Tea Gardens

Morning in Munnar

Munnar is 4-5 hrs. drive about 130 Kms, we reached by 07:30 pm and got into our rooms to relax and refresh. Our booking was a Home stay in a Heritage cottage in main market Munnar, it was clean spacious and warm. At the time we reached Munnar it started turning cold so we had to wear warm clothes before getting out for dinner. We had dinner in a Gujarati restaurant nearby our hotel, and walked back to sit and relax outside our cottage, at this time it was quite cold and foggy.

Beautiful view of Munnar

Away from concrete jungle it feels like natural heaven with a slow breeze flowing around cold atmosphere and misty clouds, what else can one expect. Time to sleep as it was around 10:30 pm and the next morning we had to cover the entire list of Munnar. Early next morning when we woke up it was raining very heavily in fact it was raining since last night. We thought it would spoil our day, hoping for the best we started refreshing and by the time we all were ready the rain slowed down. It stopped when we went out towards our car, then we had breakfast nearby our cottage the usual South Indian cuisine.

Our first point was Rose Garden just 10 min. drive, it was a garden displaying a variety of flower plants. The garden was well organized and easy to navigate through, one can buy the plants being displayed inside the garden.

Photo Point TATA Tea Gardens

Priyanka Shendge at TATA Tea Gardens Munnar

Next on the list was Photo point at the TATA Tea Gardens surrounding the entire hills. It is a beautiful point as one side is the tea garden and on the other side you can see the zigzag road to Munnar. We clicked some pictures and moved ahead to Mattupetty Lake, here you can enjoy boating. We chose paddle boating, it was a 20 min. ride into dense forest vegetation with tall green trees.

Spotting Elephant on the way to Echo Point Munnar

Echo Point Munnar

Moving ahead next was Echo point, on the way passing through the green mountains and dense forest our driver Mr. Sandip Ji spotted few elephants. So he stopped the car and we all got down to have a site, we saw 2 elephants grazing on the mountains and they were very far away, we were lucky to have spotted them. Echo point is one of the most amazingly beautiful and picturesque point, it's a forest area surrounded by tall Nilgiri trees on the mountains and in the center is a calm and beautiful lake. We had fun here clicking pictures, shouting names to hear the echo sound again and again, then relaxed on the lake side. Moving out from the point we had refreshing tender coconut and the vendor insisted me on having some kind of a fruit, he said it's very wonderful and tasty and I should try one. Hesitatingly I tried one and I should admit it was very, very tasty, I had never tried this fruit before. Seeing me others too had a bite of this amazing fruit, wonder what the name is "Passion Fruit" yes it definitely is a passion to eat this fruit so is the name. Buying a dozen of this fruit we went to our next point Kundala Dam Lake, this place is "Heaven on Earth".

Kundala Lake Dam

Rain Forest surrounding Kundala Lake

This beautiful lake is surrounded by rain forest and is filled with pure and fresh rain water which is preserved by Asia's first Arch Dam. This dam is the major attraction among the tourists and also boating activities conducted here, namely the Kashmiri Shikara, row boat, paddle boat and the most enjoyable is the Coracle "round boat” ride. We opted for Coracle as it's not offered across major lakes on tourist destinations in India, it is an amazing 20 min. ride in the lake. None of us had experienced it before so it was an excitement for everyone, a life jacket is compulsory for every ride. The operator slowly took us to the center of the lake and halted the boat, the entire view here was just awesome, tall trees, large mountains with clouds, calm and steady water and the mist in the air just feels like Heaven. We were enjoying the movement, suddenly the operator asked whether he could spin the boat? We were like what is he asking exactly! He said I will spin the boat round and round you will enjoy a lot, we decided to have a go on it and experience something new. He started slowly rotating the boat and then speeding it up, we were shouting in excitement and enjoying a lot. This ride is definitely a memorable one for years to come.

This was our last point of the day and we started moving into our cottage, suddenly the climate turned dark and it started raining. As we reached our cottage around 6 pm. it was bright sunlight again. Refreshing tea was what we asked Aunty (owner of the cottage) for, she made us good tea and we had some biscuits along. Then we went for a market walk and chocolate shopping, had dinner in a famous restaurant in the market and finished our day in Munnar. The night was too cold and foggy and the silence at its best calling to enjoy its beauty. Sitting in the front area of our cottage till it got very cold and we went into our rooms to sleep and looking forward for the next day experience.

Jeep Safari in Thekkady

Beautiful Forest in Thekkady

Every morning brings new destination and a new excitement to capture. The next morning we left early for Thekkady, another beautiful hill station in Kerala. Before reaching Thekkady, there is a small town Kumily often known as the spice garden of Kerala. We had a visit to one of the spice gardens where the caretaker showed us the entire garden, explaining briefly about each plant. Then we turned towards Periyar Elephant Safari but unfortunately it was closed by Animal Welfare Association of India. Now we had to change our plan to Thekkady Forest, to add to the thrill we chose Jeep Safari which costed 3500/- in off-season. As soon as we entered the park corridor an uneven muddy road started so we enjoyed the roller coaster ride of the jeep. The entire trip was full of swings and bounces, it’s a fun banging each other’s heads sometimes even getting hurt. My personal recommendation you should never skip this Safari at any cost on your tour to Kerala, people with back pain issue should avoid. We saw Elephants on the top of the hills, and the view of the surrounding from the top was Gorgeous, returned to the base. From there we went to Performing Arts Theater, here we first saw Martial Arts performed by 6-8 artists and even I got chance to participate in 2 performances. It’s a Memory to cherish for me and then we all got chance to click pictures with the performing artists.

Rupesh Patidar at Martial Arts Theater Thekkady

After the Martial Arts performance next was Kathakali a dance of expression where stories or messages are conveyed through expression and music. It was a bit boring for me, otherwise it’s just an amazing act. All theater shows were over and now it was time for Kerala Ayurvedic Massage, how can you not have Kerala Massage on a visit to Kerala. Kerala is very well known around the globe for the different Ayurvedic massage used in curing various diseases and also for rejuvenation of body.

Kerala Ayurvedic massage

It was my very first time to have this experience, how this Kerala Ayurvedic massage works? Few others also didn't, so we all had booked for it. There are different types of massage offered which serves different purpose, as we had traveled a long way and much to come up. We opted for a full body massage which included Shirodhara, massage with Potli n Swedana and Steam bath to finish with. This entire process took around 2-3 hrs, we all finished together and felt very light and happy to have finally experienced Kerala Ayurvedic Massage. Finishing our day with Hot Khichdi and Kadhi a traditional Gujarati food this was the only option available for dinner. As the time was around 10:45 pm which was a bit too late to go out in search of food after a relaxing massage. Here too we had booked a Home stay, it was a local Bungalow which was very good and in a well maintained society. We were offered Balcony rooms on ground and first floor, it was just spacious clean and well maintained. A comfortable sleep at night after a very good massage is what you ask for...

ALLEPPEY HOUSEBOAT BOOKING COUNTER 

Alleppey Day Boating

Alleppey Backwaters

The next morning we left for "Alleppey" a Romantic, Picturesque, Calm and Cruising destination in fact the most awaited one. We reached around 12:30 noon, the booking of the houseboat was from 12 pm to next day 10 am. Cruising time is from 12:30 to 6 pm then they steady the boat on the sides for night halt and morning cruising from 9 am to 10 am only. Bookings can be done on the spot at the Ticket counter after inspecting and choosing your boat. My personal advice will be to book on the spot, we had made an advance booking, but found great on the spot deals. Next but most Important "Confirm that you will be allowed to use the Upper Deck during Night" as we were denied for the same. The actual Romance and thrill is on the upper deck, the lower deck always have only bedrooms.

Bungalow in Allippey

Water sports in Alleppey

Lunch on Houseboat Alleppey

Welcome drink was served as soon as we entered the boat, then we started inspecting the boat house if it’s as per the pictures sent while booking. It was the same and absolutely clean and well maintained, we spend some time in the sitting area on the lower deck until we were out in open waters. Then we tried the upper deck, it was spacious with sitting area and dining table in the center along with TV set and music system to use. It had a small balcony to stand or sit on a chair and relax enjoying the beautiful Backwaters surrounded by coconut trees and typical Bungalows and small houses. We had a good time enjoying the view until the lunch was served, the table was full with a variety of options to choose from. It was a complete meal and very delicious, finishing our lunch and now it was time to relax with soft music and the rhythm of the water. Evening by around 6 pm they put the boat to a halt for an overnight stay, we just went out to enjoy the local area and see their life. We spent some time sitting on the sides and splashing water on each other it was cold enough, then we had a walk around in the village towards a Temple. It was the Padmavati Devi Temple and was very old too, now it was perfect timing to see Sunset in Kerala in open farmland nearby. Suddenly it started getting dark so we moved towards our boat, back to the deck for some fun time with cards which we had bought to play during the journey. We played for some time and then switched the decorative lights on and the entire deck was looking very beautiful. The dinner was served and we enjoyed it watching some movie and shows, then we called our parents briefing the day's schedule as usual. Even they were amazed by the beauty of Kerala and started planing for the same with us as our next trip. Then we moved towards our rooms for a good night sleep. Next day we had our breakfast and moved towards Jatayu Earth Center.

Jatayu Earth Center

Lord Rama Footprint

The Jatayu Earth Center is spread across a very large area which is at the center of the mountain where the "Statue of Women Safety" known as Jatayu is built. It is believed that during the time of Ramayana, Jatayu a large eagle tried to save Princess Sita from Mighty Demon King Ravana. By doing so he lost his wing and fell down and couldn't save Sita. This statue is built in memory of this Divine bird as a symbol of women's safety.

There are 3 ways to enter this park:-

• Walk through  ( Fee 250+GST )
• Rope way  ( Fee 450+GST )
• Helicopter Ride  ( Fee 2400+GST )

We used the rope way as it was noon and hot enough to try climbing. The statue of Jatayu is really very mighty and beautifully carved, there is a 6D theater on the top which was not operational when we visited i.e., October 2019. There is a temple of Lord Ram on the top, the only one I have seen so far without Devi Sita, Brother Lakshman and Lord Hanuman. There is also a foot print of Lord Rama on the rock which is preserved in high security. We were behind schedule now and had to visit 2 more points for the day before reaching Kovalam, so we rushed out quickly and started moving towards Varkala Beach.

Varkala Beach

Myself at Varkala Beach

Varkala Beach is very different from the usual beaches in fact it’s the only one in India which has beach and a Cliff together. When you reach Varkala you are on the top of the Varkala Cliff, the amazing view of the sea and the beach just takes your breath away. The most beautiful I have ever visited in my entire life, I would suggest all to visit once. It was around 02:30 pm when we completed visiting the beach and came back to the cliff and all of us were very hungry including the driver. There is a small open restaurant on the cliff, we had our lunch over there. Here every restaurant serves freshly cooked food, our vegetarian meal was very hot and tasty. After lunch we moved towards Padmanabham Temple our next destination.

Padmanabhaswamy Temple Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

Padhmanabha Temple is located in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala. It is one of the richest temple of India with tales of hidden treasures behind seven secret doors. It has 4 main entry doors in each direction and the traditional custom to wear a Saree for females and Lungi for males, without which you are not allowed to enter inside. The second most amazing thing, as a gentleman you have to wear only lungi and nothing above, which was a bit awkward for me with so many people around. Ultimately, I did wear only lungi and entered into the temple, it is a very big temple spread over a vast land. The entire temple is made of black stones and the Statue of Lord Vishnu in sleeping pose. The area where you have the Darshan is lit with traditional Diyas and not the modern lights which gives you an experience of olden days. After a spiritual journey at Padmanabha Temple we moved to Kovalam Beach to end our journey for the day. We reached around 07:30 pm got refreshed and went out for some shopping and dinner to end the day’s schedule. This time our stay was in a Bungalow which had large and spacious rooms with bathroom having bathtub, balcony on first and second floor and a small garden. This was by far our best stay and that also in budget.

Kovalam Beach

Next morning we woke up early to watch the sunrise at Kovalam Beach which was at a walk-able distance of just 5 min. from our hotel. The early morning view and the atmosphere was just perfect calm and peaceful, the water was clear and the breeze was cold. As it got sunny the place got bright which was just perfect and now I realize why it’s said “GOD’S OWN COUNTRY”. I don’t have words to describe but just liked the feeling and was enjoying the movement. We had spent some time in cold water running and playing around, the lazy one who had not joined had missed a lot. At 7 am we came back to our hotel got refreshed to moved towards our next destination Poovar Backwaters.

Poovar Backwaters

Poovar Backwaters view from inside

Poovar Lake

Poovar backwaters is also known as “Anaconda Lake” after the famous movie ANACONDA being shot at this beautiful place. The entire place is surrounded by mangrove forest, one of the largest in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala state of South India. Nature is at its best with no pollution and almost no population around, the entire place is full of dense green vegetation with tall palm trees and different variety of trees some with poisonous flowers and fruits. The only way to visit the place is through jet boats with operator as it diversifies through different channels leading to a small Island the “Poovar Island”. We had paid 1500/-pp. which was the biggest mistake we made, booking was available online on https://www.poovarbackwatercruise.com/ which was offering 500/-pp. Please make your booking from the website link provided above in advance. It is about 1 hr 30 min ride where they show you some parts of the lake and then to the main island. There are many floating Restaurants within the area and we had breakfast in one of them, you also should try one its real fun. Poovar lake and backwater should be the must visit place whenever you visit Kerala.

Vivekananda Rock Memorial

View from Vivekananda Rock Memorial

Next in our journey in fact last one was “Kanyakumari” a small town in Kanyakumari district in state of Tamil Nadu in India. It is around 68 Kms from Poovar, there are not much places to visit in Kanyakumari but people come here only to see the sunrise and sunset. Popular among tourist places here are “The Vivekananda Rock Memorial, Kanyakumari “Temple of Virgin Goddess” and the beach”. First we visited Vivekananda Rock Memorial, it is situated in the sea and the only way to reach is through Jetty which is run by the Tourism Department of Tamil Nadu, ticket costing 50/- each for 2 way. Built on large rock formation in 1970, in honor of Swami Vivekananda who is said to have attained enlightenment on this rock. This place has very pure and fresh cold air flowing throughout the day, the view of the 2 seas meeting together is clearly visible from top. Vivekananda Rock Memorial is offering a view of Sea on one side and the beautiful town of Kanyakumari on the other side. Sit back and have a peaceful day is what you can do here. Adjacent to this rock is a mighty 113 ft. tall statue of Thiruvalluvar, famous Tamil poet and philosopher.

Statue of Thiruvalluvar

Visiting Vivekananda Rock Memorial was a great experience, then we visited the local market where we did some shopping and then visited the famous “Temple of Virgin Goddess” Kanyakumari. Adjacent to the temple is the famous beach of kanyakumari which every tourist come to visit and enjoy having a dip in this water. It is the only place in India where there is a confluence of Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean at one place, this is what attracts tourists to this place. After having a dip in the sea and spending some time sitting beside, we then came near the market for some delicious snack “Mirchi Vada”. There is a famous shop near the Main circle which serves this very tasty vada and other items, one should definitely try.

Destroyed Church during Dhanushkodi Cyclone

Dhanushkodi Last Indian Road

“Dhanushkodi the Last Indian Road” is an abandon town of Pamban Island or “Rameshwaram Island” in Tamil Nadu. It is believed that during Ramayana period, Lord Rama with his Monkey Army had built a Floating Bridge of stones known as “RAM SETU” with the name of “RAM” written on each stone. This bridge was built to cross the sea from India and reach “Lanka” which is now known as “Sri Lanka” to save Goddess Sita from Mighty Demon King Ravana.
Much before you reach this place the only thing you can see around as far as your sight goes is only water. It has a small Island like formation and from here you can see Bay of Bengal and The Great Indian Ocean meet together, it can be distinguished from the colour of water.
This place is the last road in India and last in our journey.

Finished seeing Dhanushkodi we left for Kovalam for our last night stay, we all felt very sad as the trip had ended, even while writing this I’m feeling sad. Next morning we left for Cochin International Airport for our flight back to home.

Now you all must have realized why I call “KERALA A WONDERLAND”?

Investments in Mutual Funds