Kerela - Planning Tips

This is specially for my friends who are planning a trip to Kerela. Its an effort to put down information that might prove useful in deciding your plan.

Highlights :

1) Early morning boat ride on Vembanad Lake around Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary


2) Experience Goa at Varkala beach and cliff-side


3) Houseboat stay at Alleppey


4) Treat your senses at Abraham Spice Garden, Kumily



Recommended :

1) Bamboo rafting on Periyar Lake ( leeches are a big problem during rains)


2) Ayurvedic massage with special oils

3) Kathakali Dance performance at Kumily


Tourist traps :

1) Over developed Kovalam Beach
2) Early morning boat ride at Periyar specially on weekends and holidays
3) Uninspiring Alleppey Beach

Places I missed out on :

1) Wayanad
2) Poovar

My planned itinerary  (9 days) :

Day 1) early morning flight to Kochi - drive straight to Munnar(127 km) - sight seeing by car
Day2 ) Plan a trek to Atthukad waterfalls, visit Matupetty dam
Day 3) Early morning drive to Thekkady/Kumily (90 km) - bamboo rafting on Periyaar lake
Day 4) Explore kumily - kumily to Kumarakom (120km) - bid farewell to cab
Day 5) Kumarakom, go to Alleppey.
Day 6) Alleppey - overnight at houseboat
Day 7) Alleppey - kollam tourist cruise (8 hours) - to varkala by bus (30 km)
Day 8) bus to kovalam (60 km)
Day 9) trivandarum - evening flight to delhi



My actual trip :

Day 1) Fly to Kochi - to Munnar, enroute waterfall and spice garden visit, massage and dinner at Munnar Town
Day 2) Munnar sightseeing - Athukad Waterfall, speed boat ride on Matupetty dam lake, flower garden. Drive to kumily (Periyar Sanctuary)
Day 3) 11:30 am boat ride on Periyar lake, Abraham Spice Garden, Kathakali Dance at Mudra, Massage at Santhigiri Ayurveda
Day 4) 7 am Periyar boat ride, drive to Kumarokom, experience sunset at Vembanad lake
Day 5) boat ride around Kumarakom bird sanctuary, bus to Kottayam, public ferry to Alleppey, rented a house-boat for the night
Day 6) Alleppey beach, cycle ride to Marari Beach,
Day 7) took train from Alleppey to Varkala, swim at Varkala beach, sunset at Varkala
Day 8) Walk to fishing village at Varkala - train to Trivandarum - taxi to Kovalam - visit beach
Day 9) Kanyakumari, hanuman temple and padmanabhan palace enroute, evening flight to Delhi

Travel tips :

1) Kochi - Trivandarum route is well connected by public buses and trains. We find trains a fast and convenient way to travel on this route.

2) For detour towards Munnar and Kumily buses are available, but renting a cab seemed better option, as it is faster and comes handy for local sight-seeing. We booked a cab for 4 days at 1500 Rs per day from makemytrip. It included Kochi - Munnar - Kumily - Kumarakom with local sightseeing at Munnar and Kumily.

3) kottayam to Alleppey public ferry is a scenic way to reach Alleppey

4) We wanted to try public ferry from Alleppey to Kollam (for reaching Varkala) but 8 hours for  a trip which can be done by 2 hours with a train seemed too long. If you have time at hand you might like to try it.


Munnar



Must do : Take a stroll through lush green tea gardens
Recommended : Flower garden, speed boat ride on Matupettey Dam Lake

Where to Stay : Avoid Munnar Town and try to stay near the plantations. We stayed at Ayur County which was nice but too far from Munnar to be worth it unless you are staying for long.

Where to eat : Sarvana Bhavan in Munnar Town, delicious meals at 60 Rs.

Tips : It can get a bit chilly - take light woollens.


Kumily/Thekkady/Periyar

Must do : Abraham Spice Gardens (try to get Mr Abraham to do the tour personally)

Recommended : bamboo rafting (booking at Ecotourism centre - avoid during rains) , kathakali dance (book early to get front seats, makeup start 30 minutes before show)

Avoid : weekend rush for the morning boat ride

Where to stay : We stayed at Coffee Inn and really liked the front cottage (1000 Rs/night). But there are plenty of equally good staying options in Kumily (both budget and expensive). Get there and take your pick unless its the peak season.


Where to eat : Plenty of places offering south indian meals. Chrissie's cafe  served nice pizzas and pasta (slow service)

Boat ride on the Periyar Lake is the usual way of touring the sanctuary. Arrive atleast one hour early to get tickets. Boat timings : 7 am, 9:30am, 11:30 am, 2 pm and 4 pm. The 7am and 4 pm trips are for two hours. Rest are one hour each. Entry ticket available at park entry. Boat tickets available inside at separate counters for KTDC and forest department boats. Carry pen for filling forms.

Other options are bamboo rafting and trekking trips organized by Ecotourism centre. Interesting but avoid during rains - leeches are a nuisance. Some operators offer 4WD jeep safaris but since jeep safari are not allowed inside the park, we didn't try it.


Kumarakom

Must do : Visit Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary early in the morning. Frequent buses ply on the route. At the sanctuary, hire a 3-4 person boat to take you around the Sanctuary and spot birds on the Vembanad lake.

Recommended : Enjoy sunset at Vembanad lake next to ferry terminal.


Avoid : Booking a house-boat at Kumarakom. The houseboats at Allepey are much more tourist friendly, more abundant and generally cheaper

Where to stay : Heavily recommend Tharavadu Heritage Home (200 m from the lake) for medium budget travelers (1500 - 2500Rs) - we stayed in their bamboo cottage at 1500 Rs. If you want an AC room, then go for their heritage AC rooms at 2500 Rs. Otherwise there are plenty of high-end resorts right along the lake shore. 

Where to eat :  Best bet is at the resort. At tharavadu I tried fired fish which was delicious. Kerelan fish curry was rather too hot, try coconut fish curry instead.

Alleppey

Must do : the house-boat experience. Be prepared to shell out 6k (may be more in peak season) but well worth it. The trip starts at 12:00 pm, includes lunch, dinner and breakfast, and gets you back at 10 am the next day. Tip : look for houseboat with upper deck sitting area.


Recommended : Take a cycle ride around Alleppey town visiting the temples.
Boat ride along the back waters.

Avoid : Alleppey beach. Uninspiring and too rough for a swim

Where to stay : Finding an accommodation along the back waters proved difficult without advance booking. Malyalam Lake Resort is heavily recommended at Trip Advisor. We stayed at Gauri Residence which was in the middle of town, not a great location but the heritage home was decent.

Getting there tip : Although Alleppey is well connected by road and rail, you can try the public ferry from Kottayam to Alleppey (2 hours) through the scenic backwaters. There is also a tourist cruise from Kollam to Alleppey but that takes 8 hours and may get boring after a while.

Varkala

Must do : Take a swim ( but be careful the sea can be a little rough ), enjoy the beach experience


Get up early morning to see villagers haul in the catch of the day ( the fishing village lies ahead of black beach)


Recommended : Enjoy lunch on the sea facing restaurants perched on the cliff

Avoid : Getting too tanned. After cool Munnar and Thekkady, you are suddenly face to face with the sun. Keep your sun screens and hats handy.

Getting there : train takes 2 and a half hour from Alleppey to Varkala. Varkala cliffs are nearly 7 kilometers from the rail station ( 70 Rs by auto)

Where to stay : We stayed in Kerela Bamboo House in huts which we liked but might be too basic for most. There are plenty of other sea facing hotels on the cliff

Where to eat : We got hooked to pizzas and pastas served by Cafe del Mar. Plenty of restaurants display catch of the day, so go for it if you are a sea food lover

Shopping tip : There is plenty of jewelry and clothes for shopping. Dont buy anything above 50% of the quoted price. Even then you might be paying more but if you like it, its worth it.


Kovalam



Supposedly Kerela's most popular beach but I would advise to give it a miss altogether. Too much construction has destroyed the natural beauty of the place and we found the place too crowded. I would rather recommend visiting Poovar which is nearby (we didnt go there). Still if you can't resist it avoid the weekends when local tourists flock the beach.

Where to stay : The sea facing restaurants charge too much premium. Look for cheaper options at the back side. The room we got at Wilson Tourist home at 500 Rs was the most spacious of all the hotels we stayed in Kerela.

If you are willing to shell out some money, it would be worth it to spend on one of the upmarket resorts with a private beach. Uday Samudra and Taj Vivanta are recommended by friends.