South Kerala: A magical experience

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Kerala's backwaters lined with coconut groves are as picturesque as it gets. For a long time, it's on the world tourism map being highlighted by major Travel and Tourism promoting entities. I visited Kerala for the first time in 2009 for a dear friend’s wedding. And I turned that opportunity into a multi-destination trip including Cochin, Alleppey, Munnar, Kanyakumari and Trivandrum.

In this post, I am sharing my experience in brief, and a few tips on how to travel across south Kerala.
In another post, I have explained in great detail about my experience and the places. Please have a look at it here: https://stampedmoments.com/5-best-places-to-visit-in-south-kerala/

Kochi (previously known as Cochin):

I and Sajith took a boat ride in the Arabian sea from fort Kochi. We tried our hands at the fascinating Chinese fishing nets- in picture above (needs a separate blog on that). Then we visited St. Francis Church, where the mortal remains of Vasco da Gama was kept for a long time.  

Cherthala in Alappuzha (Alleppey): 

Houseboat is a popular tourist experience. The houseboats offer nice stays and authentic Kerala food onboard, and anchor in the middle of the backwater overnight. As my friend’s house is just by the backwaters, we took a small country-boat and rowed through the canals and backwaters. It was such an unforgettable experience.


Our next destination was Munnar, a hill station 150 kms north of Cherthala, then to Kanyakumari and Trivandrum. And from there, we returned to Cherthala for the friend’s wedding.

Munnar:

The beautiful hill station of Munnar is famous for its tea gardens. We visited Munnar in monsoon. It was lush green and scenic with clouds hovering over the hills. We also visited the Madupatty dam in Munnar. 


We visited Eravikulam national park, just 10 kms from the town. The national park offers beautiful landscapes (part of the Western Ghats), scores of wildlife, especially the endangered Nilgiri tahr (ibex). 

Kanyakumari:

Kanyakumari, the southern tip of India, falls in the state of Tamil Nadu, however, just borders Kerala. We reached there early morning, just in time to witness the beautiful sunrise.  


We took a boat ride to the Vivekananda Rock Memorial after the sunrise. The status of Thiruvalluvar (on another island) is very close to the Vivekananda rock.     

Trivandrum:

Next, we stopped at Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala. We visited the popular Kovalam beach, only 22 kms from the city center. 


The rocky- sandy beach has gained immense popularity. So, it’s crowded, but very beautiful. 

My friend’s wedding:

On the last leg of the trip, we returned to Cherthala (Alleppey) for my friend’s wedding. It was a great experience watching Sujith and Anu tying the nuptial knot in traditional style.
Sujith and Anu, solemnizing the wedding

Comments

  1. ParinaJanuary 12, 2022 at 8:23 PM

    A lot to explore and experience in Kerala....loved the post 👍

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sajith SomanJanuary 14, 2022 at 6:07 PM

    Three days power pack trip with a lot of experiences and joy. Lovely memorable moments with you Suvendu.........

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SuvenduJanuary 25, 2022 at 11:40 PM

      Absolutely memorable. Hectic, tiresome, but amazing! Thanks for everything, dude.

      Delete
  3. Santosh DebataJanuary 18, 2022 at 8:33 AM

    Wao,Keral

    ReplyDelete
  4. SuvenduJanuary 20, 2022 at 8:48 PM

    Yes! Kerala is always WOW!

    ReplyDelete

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