Kerala: God's Own Country

Kerala is a mesmerising strip of land on the south coast of India and this was my third trip to Kerala, rightly known as God's Own Country. Though it is a small area geographically, there is always something new to discover. It is also known as the Spice Coast and drew early traders to its shores in search of fragrant riches. The National Geographic Traveller also voted Kerala as one of the 10 paradises of the world.

We landed in Cochin (also known as Kochi), the business capital and also the tourist hub of Kerala after an almost two hour flight from Mumbai. Later after having lunch,  checking into the hotel and freshening up a bit we proceeded towards Marine Drive in the late afternoon and went for the cruise. During the hour long cruise we saw the Naval Shipyard, the Russian Warship 'Mockba', Oil Refinery, Cargo dock and a lot of other ships (this is all I understood during the cruise as I neither follow Tamil nor Malayalam)

The next day we left for Ashtamudi and reached after lunch. The resort Club Mahindra Backwater Retreat, Ashtamudi was just lovely and we were put up in a floating cottage which had a sun deck and the view from there was just so serene that I cannot express the experience in words. In the evening we went to see the Chinese fishing nets in action. These nets are tied to poles attached with lights and are lowered into the water. Small fish get attracted to the light and come into the net. After ten minutes or so, the nets are removed from the water and the fish caught is transferred to another smaller net and this process is carried out through the night.

The next day we mostly admired the view from the sun deck of our cottage and tried our hand at canoeing in the afternoon which was pretty tiring. In the evening we went to the Kollam beach which was  clean  (the water) but missed the gola and chaat stalls that adorn our Mumbai beaches and sadly there were no naariyal paani wallas either!! But it was fun to fly a kite at the beach and watch the sun set. 

The next day we went to Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram) and visited the famous Sri Padmanabhaswami temple which has a reclining idol of Lord Vishnu. The idol is originally made of gold but was coated black to avoid plunderers, but the coating is now wearing out little by little. Later in the evening we went to the Kovalam beach to watch the sun set. This beach gives you a feel of Goa with its familiar looks: golden sands, typical artifact shops and beach-side shacks.

The following day we left for Munnar and reached there in the evening. Munnar was originally a plantation town founded by the early colonial tea company Messers James Ltd of Scotland who planted tea here as early as 1895. It was also the summer resort of the British in India. Our resort: Club Mahindra Lake View, Munnar was located on the winding road overlooking manicured tea gardens set amidst misty hills. 

The next day after spending the morning at the resort and after lunch we proceeded towards the Madupatty Dam which is a beautiful body of water set amidst hills. The water from the dam is used for the generation of electricity. We eliminated a few places as this was our third visit here (My mom particularly loves the place). Other places worth a visit in Munnar are the Rajamalia Wildlife Sanctuary where one can see the rare and near extinct Nilgiri Tahr (mountain goats) and the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary . Munnar proves to be a beautiful contradiction to the tropical image of Kerala: lazy backwaters, swaying palm trees and golden sands.

The next day we left for Thekkady and reached our resort: Club mahindra Tusker Trails, Thekkady by late afternoon. The resort was originally built by Taj group of hotels but is now a Club Mahindra property. The topography of kerala is divided into three types: the backwaters (Ashtamudi), the hills (Munnar) and the highlands (Thekkady). The highlight of Thekkady is the famous Periyar Tiger Reserve and the Periyar Lake, an important tourist attraction.

The following day we went for boating at the Periyar lake which runs through the middle of the sanctuary and the only animals we saw were wild boars, village buffaloes and a few birds. We went boating in the afternoon but the best time to see the animals is early morning or evening. The lake was created in 1895 by building a dam across Periyar river to divert water for irrigation. The next day was spent relaxing and in the evening we went to the market to buy spices, home made chocolates and handloom sarees.

 The next day we went for the bamboo rafting program which consisted of six hours trekking and two hours bamboo rafting. We were a group of eight and the maximum capacity of this program is ten and were accompanied by an armed guard and four guides. The trek started at 8 am and we were given leech socks (knee length socks that look like gunny bags). After walking for sometime through the jungle, observing trees, birds and insects we had breakfast and then got into the rafts and went to the other side of the lake. After trekking for another hour or so through the interiors of this side of the lake spotting elephant foot prints and a sambar deer we had lunch and had some rest before going back to the rafts. After reaching the other side we took another route back to the starting point spotting bison, more sambar deer, monkeys and a Nilgiri mountain squirrel (the largest in the world). In the evening I went for a relaxing Kerala ayurvedic foot massage which was much needed after the trek.

The next morning we left for Cochin to visit Old Kochi. First we went to Mattancherry which has an ancient Jewish Synagogue, the Cochin Synagogue built in 1568 located in the Jew Town. There is also a Dutch Palace which was presented to the Raja of Kochi and housed the Royal family. The palace houses murals on the walls similar to those seen at the Ajanta and Ellora caves and is now converted into a museum. Next we went to Fort Kochi which is one of the oldest European settlements in India with streets adorned by buildings with Portuguese, Dutch and English influences. We visited St Francis Church where Vasco Da Gama was originally buried in 1524 when he died in Kochi on his third visit to India and later his remains were moved to Lisbon but his grave stone can still be seen here. Next we visited the Dutch Cemetery, the oldest European cemetery in India consecrated in 1724 which is considered to be an authentic record of hundreds of Europeans who arrived in India to expand their colonial empire, but it remains closed now. Next was Santa Cruz Basilica which was founded in 1505 and was proclaimed as a basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1984. Later we went to Willingdon Island which is a man-made island the British left behind soon after its completion which is a port now houses the Southern naval Headquarters, some of the best hotels, commercial and industrial offices. 

This lovely trip concluded with an evening flight back to Mumbai but I will surely visit Kerala again as there is always something new to discover.