Kerala Diaries - Cochin,Munnar,Thekkady

On the first day, we decided to do local sightseeing in Cochin. We booked Zoomcar and then visited Fort Kochi, lulu mall. I will recommend everyone to take a self-drive car, you will enjoy driving in Fort Kochi area. I was amazed to see the Portuguese architecture houses and museums. One must visit Chinese fishing nets and Mattancherry Palace.

Early morning we started for Munnar from Cochin. We booked the cab from Savaari. Their cabs are well maintained and the drivers are well mannered and punctual. We started at around 7:30 in the morning. The condition of the road from Cochin to Munnar is pretty decent and there are no potholes. We enjoyed the drive. One should buy water bottles on the way to Munnar because in Munnar drinking water is a bit expensive than Cochin. Our driver told us to buy water beforehand. At around 11:30 AM we reached Munnar town and I don't have words to explain the view outside, those fresh green leaves of the tea garden. I have been to many hill stations but this view was totally different. We decided to do sightseeing first and then leave for our resort. We had booked Sterling resort in Chinnakanal ( road to Chinnakanal is closed till 6 pm). First, we visited the top station and got an amazing view from the top. Then we went to Matupetty dam. Matupetty dam is surrounded by beautiful hills from all the side and also has water activities . After this we went to Kundala dam and did boating. They have paddle boats and Shikara rides. At last, we went to the flower garden and saw a variety of colorful flowers. After a hectic day, we went to relax at our resort. Sterling has a spectacular view and also they have adventure activities inside like dirt biking, zip line, tree climbing etc. Next day we had to leave for Thekkady.

We started at around 9 in the morning to Periyar national park. They have boat rides in Periyar river. You can get the tickets both online and offline. I would recommend taking the tickets online to avoid the long queue. There are a lot of monkeys in the waiting area. They will try to take your stuff so beware. The boat ride was an hour long and it was not our lucky day we got to see only Indian bison and no other animals. There were a lot of birds. One should take the early morning or evening ride. Animals come to drink water during that time. The boat ride is scenic and if you are lucky enough you can catch the glimpse of the Periyar tiger. After Periyar, we had to return back to Cochin. we reached Cochin by 4 pm. It takes around 4 hours from Thekkady to reach Cochin. It was a beautiful trip full of greenery and breathtaking views. Kerala is truly called "God's own country".