Known as God’s own country Kerala has been one of the most visited destinations in South India. We have covered 5 regions broadly basing ourselves in the city area and covering others through day trips
- Kasargod- Bekal, temples of Ananthapur, Maddur
- Trissur- Guruvayur temple
- Kochi- Athirapally falls, Alleppey, Kumarakom
- Thiruvananthapuram- Kovalam, Anathapadmanabhaswamy temple
Kannur, Kozhikode are other major cities. We are yet to visit Munnar, Thekkady which are popular for tea hills and spices
How to travel
You can hire Ola/ Uber point to point, however beware of poor network in some locations which can make booking difficult. In case you want the same driver across all days, you can check with tour operators like Island Getaways and Srees tours. Most drivers can understand English but might not be able to speak. You can use Google Translate and Navigate
Kochi
One of the largest cities of Kerala, Kochi (also known as Ernakulum locally) has played a prominent role in the history. It has been a prominent trading port for ancient Indians, Dutch, Portuguese and British. You will find a blend of different architecture styles as the city was passed on to different rulers
Kochi airport is an hour away from city centre. The railway centre is closer, about 20 minutes away from city centre. Fast trains connect Kochi to most cities in India
The water taxis of Kochi can ferry you from one island to another. They are cheap, efficient and used widely by locals
Fort Kochi: The central area of Kochi which is the starting point for most tourists. It has a small beach that got reduced after the 2004 Tsunami
Fishing nets: The Chinese fishing nets feature in most iconic pictures of Kochi. Some of the nets still work!
Dutch palace: Constructured by the Dutch in 15th century, this palace is still used by Maharajas of Kochi. You can find interesting murals inside depicting Ramayana and Mahabharata
Jewish Synagogue: A testament to the multicultural heritage of Kochi. There are still handful of 15-25 Jews settled in Kochi, while this number was 8000 earlier in 1940s who all migrated to Israel after creation of the country
Kumbalangi island: Popularized by the movie ‘Kumbalangi Nights’, this eco village hosts tourists and gives an authentic experience of the village including rice cultivation, fishing, boating and local way of life
Willingdon island: Artificial island which is also the boarding point for ships heading to places like Lakshadweep
Cherai beach: For beach lovers who are desperate to get onto the sea shores, at the north of Vypin island
Kakkathuruthu Island
About 17km, 40 mins away from Kochi, you will find the serene island of Kakkathuruthu amidst the backwaters. The literal translation means island of crows. This island has featured on National Geographic as one of the best sunset points in the world in the collection “Around the world in 24 hours”
You can hire a boat for INR 1000 (we were 3 people) for 1.5-2 hours taking you around the island.
Where we stayed
Le Meridien Kochi (on redemption booking)- About 30 minutes away from the city, this hotel has all the facilities you need. The service was good, rooms were excellent, and we also coincidentally got to witness local dance performances like Mohiniyattam, Theyyam from our room, thanks to a function organized at the hotel. They also have backwaters running beside the hotel with their own boats. Highly recommend this place
Athirapally Falls
Athirapally is the largest falls in Kerala. It rose to popularity after being featured in movies like ‘Bahubali’. The falls is about 2 hours/70km away from Kochi
We hired an Ola rental from Kochi railway station. Ensure you select return package. We made a mistake of selecting one way. The driver asked us to switch off the app and pay the same fare during return which turned out a bit expensive. We totally paid INR 5,800 for return trip. It was still in the similar range had we hired a day package from travel agencies
Athirapally falls is in its full splendor during monsoon, but also difficult to reach that time with slipper rocks on the way. We went during February where there was enough water, but not covering the entire rocks
The falls had an entry fee of INR 50 per person and parking fee of INR 30. We had to walk for about 30 minutes to reach the waters from the parking point. The waters were clean, with many people having a good swim in some of the smaller pools. The falls has quite some force, so be careful if you are on the main water path
On our return, we visited Vazhachal falls, Thumboormuzhi bridge and the butterfly park nearby. Vazhachal falls is a wide stepped falls about 20 minutes from Athirapally falls. While not as high as Athirapally falls, it is wider and flows along a path where you can see it at multiple places along. Thumboormuzhi bridge is 35 minutes from Vazhachal falls, with a small garden and some colorful butterflies.
Kumarakom
About 1.5-2 hrs/ 50 km away from Kochi, Kumarakom is on the shores of the largest lake of India Vembanad. The backwaters run through alleys of this beautiful town. You can take an Ola app taxi to drop you off/ hire one through local agencies like Sree travels
Take a house boat ride across lake Vembanad- it is quite vast, serene, and you can see many local birds. There is a bird sanctuary where you can take a nice walk in the morning and see water birds at the end of the trail
We got to witness the local snake boat race in November, near Thalathangady. There is a competition on the likes of IPL called Champions Boat League where you can see teams racing on the backwaters for weeks, eyeing for the final trophy
Bekal
Bekal, in the Kasargod region of Kerala is famous for its fort built by Malabar king Shivappa Nayaka in 1650s, and the beach. The nearest airport is Mangalore, about 2 hours/70km away. The fort has very good views of the sea. Kasargod , the border district has influence of Kannada, Tulu and Malayalam
On the way from Mangalore, visit the Ananthapur Lake temple. It is an authentic Kerala style temple in the middle of a lake. There is a vegetarian crocodile which lives in the lake, accepts temple offerings from the priest, and lives peacefully without causing any harm to locals. You can read more about our divine interaction with Babiya here
When we visited, the crocodile Babiya was resting on the nearby lake about 5 minutes away from the temple. We were accompanied by the temple priest who gently called out her name. She opened her eyes floating on water, saw us and went back inside again. I was overjoyed to see the crocodile live after hearing so many stories and felt that there is some uncomprehensible power beyond human power and logic. Babiya later passed away at the age of 75 in 2022. She was given police honors before burial. Another crocodile has appeared now after a year in 2023
Madur temple: Another temple dedicated to Lord Ganesha, 15 minutes from Ananthapur temple. The appa prasadams from this temple are famous and delicious
Guruvayur
Trissur is the nearest main railway station about 30 minutes away. The temple is dedicated to Lord Krishna. You can see over 60 temple elephants here who are taken care of in a camp nearby
Thiruvananthapuram
The capital of Kerala state, one of the largest cities of South India. It is only 3 hours from the southern most point of mainland Kanyakumari. The city is well connected through flights and trains to all metros of the country
Kovalam: Known for its ferocious beach. Kovalam is 40 minutes away from Trivandrum city centre. Enjoy the coastal atmosphere, food and vibes of capital city Thiruvananthapuram
Ananthapadmanabhaswamy temple: Famous for the sleeping idol of Vishnu and the hidden treasures like 3k+ tonnes of gold worth over $20 billion
Jatayu statue: About an hour away from Trivandrum. The nature park at Chadayamangalam has 800+ steps. You can also take a cable car if you don’t want to walk
Wayanad
We covered Wayanad on a KSTDC tour from Bengaluru which starts on a Friday and returns back by Sunday evening. The costs about INR 7k for triple occupancy. The hotels were clean and fit for purpose
They include Mysore palace tour on Day 1, reaching Wayanad in the evening via Gundlupet in the Bandipur Sanctuary. You can see tea gardens on the way
Day 2 includes a visit to Kanthanpara falls shaped like a fist during some months of the year and Banasura Dam. We also had a stop at a coffee plantation
Day 3 includes a strenuous hike to Edakal caves with 300+ steps. It took us an hour to climb at leisurely pace and 40 minutes down. These caves are popular in Karnataka due to an old movie ‘Edakallu Guddada Mele’ which translates to “top of Edkal caves”. The bus was comfortable, but we were a bit tired by the time we reached Bengaluru in the night
You can also hire a car for the weekend if you want to rest on the way, absorb the beauty and travel at your own pace