#Places to visit in Thekkady in One Day Kumarakom To Thekkady Trip By Cab

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Kumarakom To Thekkady One Day Trip By Private Cab

Are you looking for a perfect getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city? Do you want to explore the natural beauty and cultural diversity of Kerala in a short span of time? If yes, then you should definitely consider taking a Kumarakom To Thekkady One Day Trip by private cab. Kumarakom is a serene and picturesque village on the banks of the Vembanad Lake, famous for its backwaters,…

[travelsketchbymaitri]

Kerala || God’s Own Country

Imagine, standing at the edge of the hills at dawn, enjoying the nature, the lush green. So decided, I want to visit hills this vacation as mountains are calling me !!!

Ohh.. ohkayy!! Hold on pease. My mind is sending another signal. Let’s rewind this creative ability.

Standing on a beach at dusk, getting a charge out of the breeze, the colorful canvas. Now decided, I am going to visit beaches this vacation, as beaches are drawing me to relax.

No.. no.. wait again. It’s another indication from my mind.

Let’s re-imagine!!!

Stroll in the Jungle!!! Yeah, that’s it. This sounds like doable for this vacation.

Or on the other hand boating sounds exciting too, something like a house boat.

What the heck, why m I so confused? Where to visit for this vacation??

In between all this muddle, my heart said there is one state where all the above are at one spot. Kerala it is !!! Broadly claimed as ‘God’s own Country’.

What else should be it called?

Think of coffee plantation, delightful hills, crashing surf, swaying palm trees, silent backwater, amazing national parks containing diverse species of fauna & flora, the spices, the Ayurveda retreats and so forth.

Everything you get in a single state, Kerala is indeed God’s own country. And imagine you have been teleported to this place, exploring the marvels of nature. There goes the confusion away and I decided to visit Kerala.

Kerala has multiple options to explore and is an enormous state which would require a great deal of time. I have been able to explore a few of them and will share the details here. The rest are yet to explore and will be updated as on time.

Places you can explore in Kerala:

North Kerala- Kannur & Thottada beach, Wayanad.

Central Kerala- Kochin, Munnar.

South Kerala- Thekkady, Alleppey, Kumarakom, Kollam, Varkala.

 Kochi/Cochin-

Journey- 

Kochi is one of the town in Kerala and very popular in tourism. It does have a lot to cover. You can spend evenings in exploring lanes in Fort Kochi where you will find colonial houses, cafes, art galleries, churches. Please note that Kochi town is around 25 kms away from Ernakulam where all the transport arrives and departs from. I took a flight from New Delhi to Kochi because I wanted to explore the Cherai beach, Munnar and Thekkady.

Stay-

Since Kochi is a hard-core city, so I decided to stay at Cherai. It is a beach of Kochi which is around 30 kms away from the main city. I stayed at Sea Lagoon, it hypnotizes you as the front of the resort faces the beach, in the mid it has a pool and it touches the backwaters at the end. And on top of it I experienced the amazing weather with the drizzle. There were many more resorts at Cherai but I pre booked this resort and had an wonderful time.

You can also explore the Fort Kochi area to stay where one can also find Homestays at every corner! One can stay in Kochi city, but my suggestion to stay at Cherai and just relax.

Things to do in Kochin-

As stated earlier, it is a town with an astonishing history. It has been colonized by the Portuguese, Dutch & British at different times in history. The city still conserves an interesting mix of architecture from its varying colonial past. Ernakulam is the city’s cosmopolitan part, while Fort Kochi is the tourist hub.

Fort Kochi- 

Do not get confused with the name, it’s a beach!!!

As suggested above, it is the tourist hub and you will find all the essences of the colonial culture.

You can observe the Chinese fish net at the shoreline. Interesting fact, these nets are said to be in use for last 500 years! If you stay long at the beach, you might get the chance to watch the fishermen use it.

Fort Kochi does also have Art Museums, Churches around the corner to explore. There are plenty of cafes covering the lanes of Fort Kochi.

Jew Street- 

It has some interesting antiques & gifting items. One can find a varied option from hand- made soaps, little house boats, jewellery, wooden & metal figures, carved wooden furniture, wall hangings or even a painted cow head. However, most of the items sold are not from traditionally from Kerala. I find it quite amusing that many of the artefacts sold were from Rajasthan & Kashimir. In fact, a simple stroll will sweep you back in variety of cultures.

Kerala Backwaters- 

The famous backwaters, which make Kerala a complete God’s own country. Though few people might find it’s euphoric and natures epic work. But few of you might just find it still water and nothing to get excited about. There is also an option of boating where they take you in a motor boat for an hour, gives you an option of coconut water in the way and reveals to you some fascinating articulates.

But to me, backwaters are the most snooping work by nature. Tranquil water fed by approx. 38 rivers surrounded by paddy fields and coconut trees. It is a must experience in Kochi.

Art Festival- 

There are many art galleries in Kochi but what it is most known for is Biennale. It is an international contemporary art festival, which happens every other year. This time it was from December 2018 to March 2019 and I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to explore it. This festival takes places at different art galleries planted in 7-8 different venues centered around Fort Kochi to Mattancherry. Let me be very specific, you need to be an art lover to appreciate such deep meaning & astonishing arts. And one must need another level of intellect to even understand the contemporary art. Though I could not understand the some of the Art pieces, but surely it was one of the experiences at Kochi which I relished the most.

Munnar-

Journey- 

If you are searching for more lush greens and sightseeing of nature, Munnar is the place for you. It is often presented as a one-day destination to be covered among the bunch of options in Kerala. However, this scenic hill station of central Kerala, located on the Western Ghats, in Idukki district deserves more of your time.

I took a flight from Delhi to Kochi and from there a cab to reach to Munnar. One note to take here is that private commutation is expensive in Kerala. Either you can choose to take a local bus from Kochi or you may pre book a taxi which could also be a feasible option. I booked my cab from J&J taxi services and I found them simply on Google. The cabbie was a local native of Kerala and he kept telling us the minute details of the way. Before even reaching to the resort they will show you Munnar around.

Stay- 

There are several selections of stay from homestay to luxurious resorts. We stayed at Munnar Fort which was on outskirts of the city. I pre- booked it from makemytrip however, would suggest staying in the mid of the city.

Things to do-

Tea Museum-

A swift walk through the widespread tea plantation will not do the justice to the Munnar tea legacy. Do Visit the tea museum, originally handled by Tata Tea. You will also get to know the difference variety of the tea and how to brew it properly. Browse through the curious, photographs and also the massive machinery in the tea museum.

Mattupetty Dam Lake-

It’s a delightful spot to wonder around with family. Though I heard that there are many options of boating say speed boats, pedal boats and row boats but I couldn’t spectate any. Rain could be the reason for the same, but I am sure it would have been fun on the serene water.

Eravikulam National Park-

It is being considered one of the best national parks in Kerala. Please do keep the timings in mind which is from 7:30 am to 4 pm. Consisting of the endangered species, it is must visit in Munnar.

Elephant Park- 

This park offers short rides of elephant safari of around 10-15 mins. Short bumpy path, slightly slanting at some part and descending for the rest of the path. You can actually feel the muscles moving of the elephant. They even pose along with you for a wonderful pic.

If you pay extra you even get to feed them some fruits.

Kathakali and Kalari/ Kalaripayattu-

There are several performing art theatres in Munnar which have shows of Kathakali Dance Performance which is the traditional dance form of Kerala. With fabulous colors and organic makeup, it is one of the splendid traditional dance forms of India. they also let you see the preparation of the makeup of the artists. They will translate the dance from scratch for you to decode the artists’ gestures.

The theatre has also had shows of Kalari which is a traditional Indian Martial Art form. The artists are massively strong and sound with fit bodies. You will be stunned even at looking at the performance with swords, spears, shields. They sometimes even call people from the audience to be the part of the act. At the end you even get to click the pics with the artists.

The theater is the must visit and both the shows are incredible. Do Not Miss the essence of true Kerala.

Thekkady-

Thekkady is another place in Kerala which attracts tourist mainly for its less commercialization. It’s rich in its serene beauty located in Tamil Nadu- Kerala border. It is a busy plantation town and a center of spice trading activities.

If you wish to directly reach to Thekkady, nearest airport would be Madurai or else you can combine this with one go trip of Kerala.

The Major Attraction of Thekkady is the Periyar National Park, which is the only tiger reserve in Kerala and home to many endangered species. Though it’s a tiger reserve, but it’s the best elephant sanctuary in India. Although walking tours, elephant rides and night patrols are offered through the forest by the tourism department, the best way to see the reserve is to take a boat ride on the lake. It is a huge boat and takes you for a ride along with 50 more people for around an hour in the lake. If you are lucky, you may experience sightseeing for elephant & tiger. Early morning rides are preferred as animals do visit the lake that time.

One can also explore boarder trekking, bamboo rafting and Periyar tiger trail. It also has the options of Kathakali, Kalari and elephant ride & bath like Munnar. It is a must visit especially for the Periyar National Park.