Kerala is a state where within two hours you can reach the hills from the sea. The God's own country is blessed with natural forests, green mountains, clean beaches besides the good people. If you plan a road trip in Kerala, there are chances you might witness some of the finest scenic beauties of the nature. The highways often take you past waterfalls that would land straight on your car, misty landscapes in mountains that would make you pause and unwind and roads that run by the beaches for miles.
This was the world before Covid-19 pandemic. Kerala, the God’s own country has become a sort of annual pilgrimage for us. Every year in monsoon, we make it a point to tour the state. No, we don’t travel the whole state at one go, but explore various pockets. Delhi’s flight limitation to Thiruvananthapuram is one of the reasons, that belt isn’t in my radar. Mostly I land at Cochin airport and travel to this belt.
Last year, our Indigo flight from Delhi to Cochin was at 5:35 in the morning, not a convenient time to catch a flight. Being a resident of Noida, we decided to leave for the airport at midnight and relax at the lounge. Unfortunately, the Terminal 1 Plaza Premium lounge didn’t have much options for us. It was quite packed at that odd hours. The only food available was a few salads, sandwiches and of course coffee. The seats weren’t much comfortable so the plan of taking a power nap had gone for a toss. But the excitement of seeing Kerala again made us forget everything.
At 8:15, we landed at Cochin. We had booked ourselves in Crowne Plaza Hotel to spend a day in the city. We generally stock up our spices for a year and that is one of the reasons for our Kerala pilgrimage.
Tired from the sleep-less night we slept almost till 3PM.I woke up and removed the curtains of our room and voila! The city seems to have taken a shower. It was middle of September and monsoon was still on.
The next morning had to be a great one. We would be starting our road trip from Cochin to Thekkady, a hill station in the Malabar region known for Periyar Lake and spice plantation.
The route
Since this is a new state to drive on, I had spoken to a couple of friends who belong to the state and have done this trip. They suggested we take the Kochi - Thripoonithura - Pala - Mundakayam - Kuttikanam - Peerumedu - Vandiperiyar – Thekkady route. The journey is of approximately 150 kilometres, which means it would take us around five hours to reach including a few halts.
Starting the journey
This must be the best part of the whole trip. The beginning of a road trip is always exhilarating. Morning shows the way. We began our trip at 6:15 AM after the hotel packed us our breakfast. We had also taken a flask of filter coffee, a must when you drive for long.
Deciding on the car
First Phase
Cochin in the morning is a different experience altogether. The rain has stopped yet the sky is cloudy. Around 8:30 AM we were near Pala. So, if you know the shape of the state, we have already reached towards the central nervous system.
Taking a break
We decided to stop the car by the side of the highway and stretch our legs a bit. The drizzle that we got at Pala has disappeared and the sun seems to be coming out of the cloud. We unpacked our breakfast box – there are sandwiches, idli, chutney, chicken nuggets and the piping hot filter coffee. The boot space of the car being 650 litres, we had also managed to put a mini ice box loaded with few Coke cans. We opened the trunk and hopped on it. Feels good to have a little nook of yourself during the trip. The idlis are so soft that those literally melted in my mouth.
Coming to a new place, we really didn’t have too many options. But thanks to my acquaintances, I managed to get a BMW X5. However, this wasn’t the all new X5, rather the predecessor – an xDrive 30d Design Pure Experience variant that comes with a 3.0-litre straight six single turbo diesel engine that produces 258 HP of power and 560Nm of torque. Quite great for the trip.
And this is the point from where you can start getting a glimpse of mountains. There were a few spells of showers but nothing too heavy to make us halt. We crossed the bridge over the Meenachal river, which is fuming with the prolonged monsoon.
The Ghat starts
From Pala, we are settled on the NH 183 and half an hour later we were crossing Mundakayam. This is the beginning of the ghat highway – the serpentine drive up hill.
We did a couple of photo poses with the gorgeous black car. The LED headlamps of the X5 seem to be inspired from the 3-series. There are lines rising towards the rear end building a wedge shape exuding dynamic intent and break up the taut surfaces around the front side panels, doors and rear wheel arches. Under professional guidance, I also thought of trying the acceleration. The car attains a 0-100 in a little under seven seconds! Impressive!
“Enough of appreciating her, now let’s get moving,” she screamed. And we were back on the road again.
A new lease of green
The drive now gets steeper a bit. I have driven across many mountain ranges of the world. But Nilgiri seems to be bit troublesome because of the road architecture. In many places the road isn’t wide enough to pass two cars side by side. Thanks to less traffic on the road, its not that of a hassle.
The single lane highway is lined with lush green mountains all around. I decided to enable the Sport Mode of the car to get some fun. She decided to roll down windows and roll back the sunroof. Well, this is the moment, we look forward on a hill drive. Thanks to the hill ascent control of the car, we could enjoy the drive.
When driving on the hills, I generally tend to slow down a bit and keep driving at a steady speed ranging between 45 to 60 kmph.
The Sports Mode was being underused and that’s when I resumed City Mode of drive.
She shuffled through the songs and started playing the playlist meant for the drives. The signal is steady enough, which is why we could keep playing from the streaming apps.
The Mahabharata Connection
From Murinjapuzha, the road gets narrower and some sharp curves need to be encountered. We were driving through mist that was blinding at times. Suddenly we could see a place with Christian crosses visible. Firstly it seemed straight out of some mystery movie. As the mist reveals the cross, I could hear a violin playing in mind. Whoa! This place is called Panchalimedu. Once again we got down. This place is believed to be the forest where the Pancha Pandavas of Mahabharata spent their exile in the forest. And Draupadi is believed to have built a temple of Maa Durga. It is called Panchalimedu because Drauapadi or Panchali used to take bath here.
It is believed that the Pancha Pandavas spent their years of exile in the forests of Panchalimedu and Draupadi - wife of Pandava's made a temple of Goddess Durga.
A date with a grand waterfall
On the Kottayam-Kumily state highway, about 4 km from Kuttikkanam lies Valanjanganam falls. It is a magnificent scene. This place was surprisingly less crowded without a human being in vicinity. We decided to stop. The water coming down is very clean and we drank, not a great decision though. But we don’t have any regrets.
The Magical Mist
From Kallar junction, we drove up and found a panoramic view point. The name of this place is Parunthumpara, meaning the eagle rock. From here, the Makarajyothi of Sabarimala is visible. Had we not had the plan of going to Thekkady and we didn’t have a non-refundable booking done, we would have probably drove a few extra miles from here and stayed at Vagamon. The cool breeze accompanied with a scenic green view all around can calm your senses down. It’s like nature is taming you down from your urban disruption.
We stopped at a restaurant nearby to use the toilet. In a few places in India, they often ask for money if you use the washroom. This was one of the places. The trick is to buy anything random chocolate from them. However, they didn’t had anything to eat or drink. So, on advise of a friend, we went a bit up and visited an institute of training for tobacco farmers. This place had a humble canteen serving filter coffee for Rs 2. Yes! You read that correct. We refuelled ourselves with coffee and hot pakora of something.
The view from the balcony of the institute is outstanding. You could see the clouds coming and covering the car and flowing by.
Reaching the destination
A heavy shower spoilt all our plans to pause and drive. It continued for an hour. We were already running late and now its almost 10AM. The rain has pauses for a while. One of the scientists whom were chitchatting with suggested we leave and drive fast because there is a chance of another heavy thunderstorm in an hour, which might make us stop us here till late afternoon. We didn’t stop anywhere then. Though we were lured by the beauty of Vandiperiyar. A dozen of tea estates on the both sides of the roads would make you slow down and appreciate why god chose this place to be his.
We had booked ourselves at Poetree Sarovar in Thekkady, a sprawling resort overlooking the Nilgiris with cardamom plantation all around. To reach the hotel you need to drive passed the spice market of the town, which is quite famous here.
We parked our car at the entrance and were welcomed in a traditional way with coconut water and cardamom garlands. The journey was marvelous. And so was the scenic beauty of the way.
Few things to note
Odometer distance: 157 kilometres
Cost of fuel: Rs 3500 both ways
Started at 6:15AM
Reached at 12:15 PM with stops.
Restroom usage: Mostly fuel stations
Breakfast: On car
Places to eat: Kallar junction and Vandiperiyar.
