Kerala Trip Report
Part of the trip -
Kerala Trip
Details of an 11 day trip to Kerala with itinerary, accommodation, transport and activity recommendations.
I wanted to share some notes from a recent trip (November/December 2011) I took to Kerala in India in case it can be of any use to anybody else planning a similar trip.
Just for background information I’m from the UK and was travelling with my husband. We are both in our early 30s and have travelled quite a bit, normally on a tight budget backpacking, but in more recent years taking shorter, mid-budget trips due to work and life constraints. Where possible we like to stay in quieter, less touristy locations.
ITINERARY
We only had a limited time in India (11 days). We wanted to see as many different aspects of Kerala as possible in this time, but stay at least a couple of nights in each place. We settled on the following itinerary:
Wayanad - This hill station got great write ups for it's scenery and wildlife spotting opportunities and being at a lower altitude than Munnar (hence a little warmer). We decided to choose this as our hill station section of the break. I was keen to see tea plantations and found plenty, alongside waterfalls, good hiking and the Muthanga wildlife sanctuary.
Kannur - I'd read great things about the beach south of here. Unspoilt by mass tourism, litter and largely people free. We also read that the Theyyam performances were well worth watching.
Cochin - This sounded like a really nice city to visit with the old town offering plenty of things to see in a compact area we could explore on foot. We had seen pictures of the fishing nets and spice market and the old town sounded like an interesting place to stay for a few days.
Alleppey - You can't really visit Kerala without including the backwaters on your itinerary. Hearing good things about Vembanad Lake we decided to base ourselves here which had the bonus of being only an hour and a half from the International Airport of Cochin, our departure point.
TRANSPORT
We flew from the UK into Kozikhode (Calicut) and out of Cochin. Both airports were fine, a few people had said they wouldn’t have considered Kozikhode as it isn’t a great airport but as a transit point we had no problems. We flew with Qatar for £465 per person booked through the Flight Centre (we booked 1 week before departure). Emirates and Ethiad both had the same flights / routes available for similar prices but we went for the cheapest (even though there wasn’t much in it).
For the land transfers we largely used drivers which we arranged through Mahindra Homestays (who we booked three of our four homestays though). They were very efficient and seemed reasonably priced for the length of the journeys (400 - 1200 Rs depending on location / length of journey and number of stops we were making) . Nothing can beat the convenience of arriving in a new country and seeing a board with your name on it at the crowded airport! We took a train from Kannur to Cochin booked through cleartrip.com. The train was definitely the most convenient and easiest option for this long leg of the trip and the booking website was easy to use, accepted international credit cards and gave us e-tickets to print.
ACCOMMODATION
When possible we always try and stay in smaller places as we prefer the atmosphere and more personal approach to what you find in larger hotels. For India we were keen to stay in homestays and had heard good feedback about the hospitality they offer.
We used a company called Mahindra Homestays for three of our four homestay bookings. They have been mentioned in Wanderlust several times in the past.
For Wayanad we stayed at Glenora Homestay. This is set on a coffee plantation with guests staying in one of two self-contained cottages with large bedroom and ensuite bathroom. The room was lovely and the best feature was a large private balcony overlooking the jungle. It really was a spectacular sight to wake up to and the owner took really good care of us, arranging a bonfire dinner for our final night and taking us out for a tour around his plantation. This was booked through Mahindra Homestays.
In Kannur we stayed at the Kerala Beach House. We booked this directly through their website via email. We were glad we pre-booked as even though it was early in the season they were full every one of the three nights we stayed and turned away several visitors looking for rooms. The accommodation was fine but basic. There was a lovely sense of community with all the guests (they have five rooms) gathering for breakfast and dinner around the large table outside. The location was isolated so not good if you want bars but perfect if you are happy with a cold beer from the fridge, hammocks to laze in and a spectacular beach on your doorstep.
In Cochin we stayed at Eden Garden. This is located in the old town and was in easy walking distance of all the main attractions. The homestay was spotlessly clean and the food was really good. We were in a separate building to the main house and able to come and go as we pleased. Again we booked this one through Mahindra Homestays.
Our final homestay in Alleppey was Taamara (another booked through Mahindra Homestays). On the banks of Vembanad Lake I can’t imagine a nicer location. Our gorgeous room had private decking which went out over the lake and we could sit and watch houseboats and fishermen go by all day. Full length windows over the lake made the room very light and airy and it felt like no expense had been spared, even the lovely bathroom had a full length window (with privacy glass) overlooking the lake. An extra mention needs to be made for the food here, which was among the best we have ever eaten - anywhere!
ACTIVITIES
Wayanad
This hill station is gorgeous so lots of time here was spent just wandering around and taking photos! Particular sights included:
- Sunrise Valley: A viewpoint over some very dramatic scenery, low lying clouds in the valleys, several distant waterfalls and teak forests as far as we could see.
- Waterfalls: There were plenty of waterfalls to trek to, Kanthanpara Falls were very close to where we were staying and also had a calm pool area with a bit of a beach where you can swim although it was a bit late in the day for us to take a dip when we went!
- Tea Plantations: A particular favourite for me was walking through the tea gardens and we found plenty of them in Wayanad.
- Plantation walk: The homestay owner took us for a walk around his plantation which was really interesting and he was really enthusiastic to show us all the varieties of spices and fruits on the land, crushing leaves and digging up roots for us to smell and taste.
- Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary where you are meant to have one of the best chances to see elephants although we weren’t lucky. We did see plenty of deer and a large snake crossing in front of us though.
- Phantom Rock, a skull shaped rock in an area which offered some great views.
Kannur
Most of the activities here revolved around spending time on the spectacular, deserted beach which really lived up to expectations. I’ve been to 25 countries and have visited the coast of most of them and this really is one of my favourite beaches in the world. We had the whole place to ourselves and a large school of dolphins were playing just offshore. We walked along the beach for about an hour without seeing anyone or even any buildings.
- Theyyam performance - Our homestay host arranged for us to see a Theyyam performance in a nearby village. The performance was free to watch although the temple asked for a donation. We were offered some complimentary chai and beans with coconut scrapings while we watched. The performance was very loud and only lasted about 30 minutes although there are some which go on for much longer!
Cochin
This was a really fun town to explore on foot. There are so many sights to see and most of them are well listed in guidebooks. In particular:
- Chinese fishing nets - These are such an iconic Keralan sight that seem to be used in every tourist brochure! River Road where they were located was quite nice and very busy with lots of food cart vendors and people jostling to get the best sunset viewpoints for their photos. There was a lot of litter and debris along the shore line where the actual fishing nets are but that didn’t detract from them being a must see in Cochin.
- Santa Cruz Basilica - Again one of the main sights to see in Cochin, there were a lot of school children from the school next door on their playtime wanting to practice their English. They were all so polite and full of genuine enthusiasm to speak to us.
- Loafers Corner / Princess Street - This is a really nice area with some interesting shops
- Parade Grounds - This is a large green space surrounded by nice houses with lots of sporting activity going on. We watched locals play cricket here and everyone was really friendly.
- Spice Market - A longer walk than the other attractions this area is full of spices. Most seemed very expensive to buy but it is definitely an interesting area to window shop around and take photos of.
Grab the Cochin City Tourist Map as there is a nice walking tour printed on the back which takes in 19 historical sites of the city. Numerous rickshaw drivers will offer to take you to all the main sights but we were happy to walk and the area was fairly compact (helped by the central location of our homestay here).
Alleppey
I could literally have spent all our time here in our room watching the houseboats and fishermen on the lake, eating the amazing food served up by the homestay! We were lent some binoculars and even though we aren’t avid birdwatchers my husband turned into quite a “twitcher” with the number of species we were able to spot from our decking.
- Canoe Ride - One of the homestay owner’s neighbours took us out in his fishing canoe on the lake and this was definitely my favourite experience. The wooden canoe cut effortlessly through the thick mat of green and lilac water hyacinth just as dusk was falling.
- Backwater Boat Trip - We took a larger boat along the backwaters of Alleppey (organised by our homestay owner) passing through a whole variety of waterways, from the very wide full of houseboats to fairly narrow with local people using the rivers for everyday activities such as washing.
- Alleppey Beach - We went along to a nearby beach and were surprised by how quiet it was - a long sandy stretch. The weather wasn’t great so we headed back to the homestay for some fresh coffee and more lake watching before long though.
- Village Walk - We spent a morning walking along the road through a couple of small village areas. Again we were greeted by friendly children and saw some interesting bird life, as well as crossing over some picturesque bridges and waterways.
USEFUL LINKS
Apologies that this is so long but hopefully it will be of use to other people planning a trip to Kerala. A few links:
My India Photo album - see photos from our trip on Flickr
Mahindra Homestays - booked some lovely accommodation and they were really helpful with other aspects of the trip such as transport
Kannur Beach House - small private homestay on a stunning bit of beach
ClearTrip - great for booking your India rail journeys with international bank / credit cards
If you have any questions please sent me a message and I will do my best to help!
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