Christmas and New year time is a good time for a trip down to the beautiful state of Kerala, The God’s own country!!
During this time, the natural views of the valleys, tea estates, hills, sun rise becomes even more vivid and the climate would be cooler. Cochin comes to life to celebrate the Christmas eve, the fort kochi beach is all lighted up with decorative lights. Various carnival events are scheduled for the last week of December. Some of them include : dance show, rock show, angling competition, burning of big Santa Claus and fireworks for the new year night.
Trivandrum
We have first reached Trivandrum city, as it is near to our next destination Kanyakumari. In Trivandrum, we booked our stay in Ginger hotel (Ph: 04716663333), which is maintained well, but is located outside the city. In the city, you get to see Military Ganapathi's temple, who is famous among the military people and is said to be a powerful god, because of which one would visit this little temple even before going to the bigger Anantha Padmanabaswamy temple, which is located near to it. In Padmanabhaswamy temple, men are allowed to wear only a dhoti. Purse, mobile phones, shirts are not allowed inside. And women have to wear chudidhar or a saree. If you are not suitably dressed, then you can pay a little fee near the entrance, to store your clothes and to rent a dhoti. Women in jeans are made to wear a dhoti around the jeans. Temple is open for darshan only at certain timings as mentioned below. Though you may not be allowed for darshan, you can still watch around the inside of the temple, which is big enough to keep you occupied for some time.
Lord Vishnu is in sleeping position here and one would watch him through 3 different doors next to each other. The queue is not well organised and people keep pushing you from behind, just before you get a chance to have a darshan.
Next we went to the kovalam beach, which is around 30kms from the temple. There are lot of government AC buses flying between the beach and the bus station near the temple. This beach is named as one of the most beautiful beaches in India and it is also a perfect place to spend an evening with your family playing in the water. Beach is clean, waters are shallow, sun set is pleasant and very beautiful. There are a lot of restaurants on the shore line.
Places to see in Trivandrum :
- Military Ganapathi
- Kovalam Beach
- Anantha padmanabaswamy temple
Padmanabaswamy temple timings
- 03:30 AM to 04:45 AM
- 06:30 AM to 07:00 AM
- 08.30 AM to 10:00 AM
- 10:30 AM to 11:00 AM
- 11:45 AM to 12:00 PM
- 05:00 PM to 06:15 PM
- 06:45 PM to 07:20 PM
Kanya Kumari
Our next destination in the trip is the southern tip of India Kanyakumari, which is located outside the Kerala border, in Tamilnadu. Vivekanda ashrama (Ph: 04652 246250) has a 100 acre campus with its own private beach here. Place is clean, prices are less and is good for your short stay. To get an accommodation here, one has to make a booking atleast one month in advance. Details are provided at http://www.vkendra.org/accommodations. They provide breakfast and veg meals in their canteen for nominal prices.
One has to see the early morning sunrise in kanyakumari, over the tormenting indian ocean to experience a feeling that is beyond explanations. You would forget time watching the rising sun over the ocean, while cool breeze graces your face and water touching your feet on the soft slipping sand. Over the distance across the ocean, one can see the Vivekananda rock. Being a private beach, outsiders are not allowed in and is usually not so crowded. But do enquire the timings of the gate closure, because if you stay late you might have to walk a long distance to get back to the ashram. Ashram have cabs that would drop you near the vivekananda rock. The queue usually is very big though arrangements are made for seating inside the waiting room. Ticket price is around Rs 30/- and it would be advisable to start early so that you would be there before the queue gets long. Once you get on to the rock you can see Vivekananda's bronze statue, huge Thiruvallur's statue, place where vivekananda has meditated and the city shore line across the waters. There is Mahatma Gandhi museum on the beach which only has some gandhi ji's photos on the wall, but Kanya kumari temple near by is worth a visit.
Places to see in Kanyakumari :
- Sunrise at Vivekanandapuram beach
- Vivenkanda Rock
- Kanya kumari temple
Alleppey
Reached Cochin in Guruvayur express from Nagercoil junction (which is around 20kms from kanyakumari). Other tourist places like Alleppey and Munnar are near to Cochin, so we decided to stay there. Booked Hotel Excellency (9447316247) which is a decent hotel off MG Road and the staff there is cooperative. Though at the end of the trip we realized that it would be better to book stay in Munnar (than in Cochin) between the tea estates, fresh breeze and awesome natural beauty.
Buses run frequently between Cochin bus depot and Alleppey. Got down at the Alleppey bus stand and searched for Kerala tourism boat rides who have arranged a boat ride for 6 of us for a duration of 4 hrs. Charges are Rs 750/- per person. If you are interested you could book a house boat for a full day, a private cook would cook you fresh catch from the backwaters. Usually the quotes are high, you might have to bargain well to get a good deal. Good idea would be to reach Alleppey early in the morning and hire the boat for half a day, before the mid day sun starts heating up the place. Problem with night stay in house boat is mosquitoes. The boat driver would give you mosquito coils for the night and leave you alone in the boat. Alleppey to kumarakoan trip on boat takes you through pleasant locations. In this ride watch out for small villages located on the shores, the villagers doing their daily chores, the school boat and vegetables sellers on boats. You may even get to watch a few water snakes on the way.
Munnar
Next day early morning, we hired a cab and went to Munnar, which is a 3 hr journey from Cochin. There are one or two small waterfalls on the way. Climate changes once you reach Munnar town, it becomes colder as you climb up the altitude it gets even cooler. Tea estates are scenic all along the way. The "Kannan Devan" brand of Tea from the Tata is cultivated and processed here. Try boat ride at Mattupetti dam and also visit the Echo point near by.
And do not miss to go to Top Station, a very cold place with a breathtaking view of western ghats, where you would be standing above the clouds. Mist might block your valley view, but atleast it is worth a trouble. Have to pay an entrance fee to view the ghats. While the sun sets, the sky would be of varying vivid colors and would be a memorable scene to capture here.
Places to see in Munnar :
- Tea estates
- Mattupetti dam and Echo point
- Top Station
Cochin
Finally we were back to cochin. In Cochin, go to Marine Drive, from there you can walk around and find the place where you can get a boat to Vypeen. That would be a fun ride for abt 25 minutes. Also near the marine drive, there is a rainbow bridge where tourists click photos with water in the back ground. At a distance you could see the cochin harbour Evening is a good time to come and relax here, where you can walk on the broadway covered with trees, shops on one side, sounds of water splashing on the shore at the other side. From Vypeen you can take a boat to Fort Cochin. that would be about 10 minutes. These boats will only cost you Rs. 5/- per person but it will be fun and u will always remember it. In fort cochin go around seeing the Chinese nets, Jewish Synogogue, Dutch Palace. This would not take more than 2 to 3 hrs. Right from that place you can take a bus back to Cochin.
Places to see in Cochin :
- Jewish Synogogue
- Dutch Palace
- Fort kochi beach
- Marine Drive/Rainbow bridge
Overall it is a memorable trip with lot of natural beauty to take in, whether it is the water falls, or the hills, or the beaches, or the boat rides, sunsets, green trees all along. Take as many photos as you could, taste the local fish dishes, relax yourself and enjoy your trip to the God’s own Country.
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