A 7 Day Itinerary to Kerela, India

Tripoto
23rd Dec 2011
Photo of A 7 Day Itinerary to Kerela, India 1/7 by Naina Kataria
Sunset in Munnar
Photo of A 7 Day Itinerary to Kerela, India 2/7 by Naina Kataria
Sunset at the Kovalam beach
Photo of A 7 Day Itinerary to Kerela, India 3/7 by Naina Kataria
Tea gardens in Munnar
Photo of A 7 Day Itinerary to Kerela, India 4/7 by Naina Kataria
Fishing nets in Kochi
Photo of A 7 Day Itinerary to Kerela, India 5/7 by Naina Kataria
Fisherman's village
Photo of A 7 Day Itinerary to Kerela, India 6/7 by Naina Kataria
Tea Plantation
Photo of A 7 Day Itinerary to Kerela, India 7/7 by Naina Kataria
Periyar National Park

When you're from a Defence background, you get to travel often. But in the 16 years of being a hardcore north Indian defence kid, I never got a chance to visit South India. So in the winter of 2010 ,we decided to pay a visit to Kerala.

Our first stop was Kochi. Mesmerized by the austerity of the place already, we took a bit of rest and then visited the Navy museum, which had models of all ships ever used by Indian Navy till date. Later in the evening, we went to seaside to have a look at the Chinese fishing nets. Awed by the sight of the sunset in the sea already, being allowed by the fishermen to use the nets on our own (even though they did understand our language) was simply an icing on the cake.

The next morning we left for Thekkady. While the scenic beauty on Kochi was more of the ‘beach’ type, this was more of a hilly place, a beautiful one at that. Even though I’ve stayed in mountains all my life, this was different in the sense that the place is very laidback and people are very easy-going. Next day, we all took an ayurvedic spa treatment and visited the Periyar national park. Famous for its variety of birds, we supposed to use a raft to go to the other side of the Periyar lake. Along the way, we became friends with our Forest officer and guide. (He could almost be mistaken for Veerapan.) I was so busy clicking pictures of the shady trees and the lake that I did not realise that I was standing next to a tree which had a viper rolled on it. (I’m not to blame. Camouflage is. :P) I was so scared that I did not even scream!

Our next stop was Munnar. Famous for its tea gardens, the place will not only leave you spellbound by its beauty, but you will also be surprised by the magnitude of Tata tea produced in the place. (It’s MASSIVE.) Also, the Kathakali performances in the local theatres were one of a kind.

Coming up next was Alleppey. I had always known that Kerala was famous for two things: Beaches and Backwaters. Although it was an amazing experience, I’d suggest that one should visit the place during the Onam festival, which is around August to September. The fact that people actually use ferryboats to commute across the place was intriguing. The extremely laidback place it was, there was not much to the place except backwaters. A second visit the backwaters during sunset and we felt blessed.

Last destination was the capital of the state, Trivandrum. Being the capital of the state, it has, well, everything. Unlike most people I had known, we decided to stay in Kovalam instead of Trivandrum. So much for the sea side view. The next day, we visited the zoo, the museums, and the famous Padmanabhan temple. Apart from these, the hoardings of the Vodafone zoozoos in Malayalam had us breaking into splits of laughter.

Conclusively, my trip to Kerala was a joyride across all kinds of terrains. It is undoubtedly God’s own country! 

Home to 62 species of animals and 320 species of birds, it is an awesome place of you like to walk through the woods!
Photo of Periyar National Park, Vandiperiyar, Kerala, India by Naina Kataria
Photo of Periyar National Park, Vandiperiyar, Kerala, India by Naina Kataria
Photo of Periyar National Park, Vandiperiyar, Kerala, India by Naina Kataria
Photo of Periyar National Park, Vandiperiyar, Kerala, India by Naina Kataria
Photo of Periyar National Park, Vandiperiyar, Kerala, India by Naina Kataria
Breathtakingly beautiful. Would remind you of the country life as they show it in soutn Indian movies. The tea museum is one to watch out for! Also, do take out time to watch a Kathakali performance in one of the theaters. From the 'shringaar' to the 'nritya', one was one of the most spectacular things I came across on the trip.
Photo of Tata Tea Plantations, Munnar, Kerala, India by Naina Kataria
Photo of Tata Tea Plantations, Munnar, Kerala, India by Naina Kataria
Home to the Sambar deer, the park is home to a lot of rare species. Its a fun experience, as you get to walk around the tea gardens and observe wildlife.
Photo of Eravikulam National Park, India by Naina Kataria
Photo of Eravikulam National Park, India by Naina Kataria
Photo of Eravikulam National Park, India by Naina Kataria
As you obviously know, I''m not much into temples, but this one is beautiful. Not only because of the architecture,and the history, but the fact that the people there have immense respect for there culture makes you wish to respect their culture as well.
Photo of Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple, Chalai, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India by Naina Kataria
Photo of Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple, Chalai, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India by Naina Kataria
Photo of Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple, Chalai, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India by Naina Kataria
Its the perfect for street shopping, long walks along the beach, and the sea food is nothing but amazing.
Photo of Kovalam, Kerala, India by Naina Kataria
This zoo had more variety of animals and birds than I have seen in any other. It's a long walk in there, so be prepared! Adjacent to the zoo are various exhibitions, mainly those of art and sculpture, which are worth visiting.
Photo of Trivandrum Zoo, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India by Naina Kataria
Photo of Trivandrum Zoo, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India by Naina Kataria