We started from Mumbai. We had flight at 9:30 am which got cancelled and Spicejet didn't even inform us. So I would suggest prefer different airlines.
Then again the flight was at 4:30pm, for which we waited at the airport. At 6:45pm we landed at the Cochin International Airport. We had booked a SUV for our 4 days journey in Kerala. The road from Cochin to Munnar is scenic but as we were traveling at night we couldn't see anything. The journey from Cochin to Munnar is about 4hrs journey but due to bad condition of roads it takes around 6hrs. We reached to the hotel around 12am.
Munnar is all about greenery, spices, tea and coffee.
We stayed at Sterling Munnar resort and it is really good. It located on the top of the hill. The resort is in Chinnakanala which is 20km from Munnar. After breakfast we headed to Munnar. There are so many places to visit in Munnar. First we went to spice garden. The guide gave us information about each and every spices. The entry fees for the spice garden is Rs. 100 per person and i did not find it to be worth it. I recommend not to visit the spice garden. If you want to buy spices then you should go to the shop.
After visit to spice garden we headed towards flowers garden of Munnar. There are a variety of flowers here and behind the garden there is the location where the song 'Kashmir main tu Kanyakumari' from Chennai Express was shot. We went there and got some pictures clicked.
The third location for the day was echo point and followed by Mattupety dam. The scenery is really good at both the places.
We headed back to the hotel.
We went to Thekkady in the morning. The journey from Munnar to Thekkady is around 4 hrs. We reached Thekkady by 10 in the morning. Then we directly went for jungle suffari. We hired a Jeep which cost us around 2500 for 3 hrs. It was nothing but an off-road drive. On the way you will see many tea and coffee farms. There also comes a point which is 6000ft above the sea level. The road to that point is a bit dangerous. There's place for only one Jeep to pass through at a time with a steep valley on the other side. My mom was so scared that she didn't even get out of the Jeep. After the 3hrs ride we went to Thekkady and did some street shopping.
There are so many packages for jungle suffari elephant ride, elephant bathing etc.
In the evening we went for the Kathakali show. The show was fantastic. You can understand so many things by just there expressions. If you are going to Kerala you must watch Kathakali. After that we headed towards the hotel.
At Thekkady we stayed in Spice inn resort which is 7km from the main village.
We went to Periyar tiger reserve in the morning. Your bus or car is only allowed till the entry gate after that you have to book a ticket for the bus which goes to boating point in the forest. Bus ticket is Rs 15 per person. After reaching there, we bought the ticket for boating which was Rs 250. We had to wait until the seats were full. It was long and scenic ride. You will see so many types of birds. In Kerala the veriety of animals is less than birds (our driver told us). After boating we headed towards our next destination, Alleppey.
It takes approximatey 4hrs. We wanted to see sunset on the beach. Throughout the route you will backwaters. Finally Alleppey ????
The Alleppey beach was the most scenic beach I have ever seen till now. The view is breathtaking. Good time to visit this beach is after 4pm. After enjoying the beach we headed towards hotel. For dinner we had Arabic food which is famous in Kerala and is a must try.
We went to beach again in the morning. We then started our journey to visit the last city, Cochin as my dad wanted to see this city. For him "Kerala aaye aur Cochin nahi dekha toh kya dekha" , it was like that. It's an hour's journey from Alleppey to Cochin. We went for boating again. They showed us the Chinese fishing techniques. After boating we went for shopping in Cochin and then we headed towards the Airport.
Overall people in Kerala are Environment Friendly and we must learn this quality from them. I didn't see any garbage on roads of even in the villages.
P.S. Must try Kerala meal, puttu for breakfast. I really enjoyed the food there. And all the pictures credit goes to my brother Nikhil Rajput https://www.facebook.com/camcaught/