Kovalam to KanyaKumari by Road

My brother swimming at the Leela Kovalam

 Trip taken July 2009

This was the second part of our trip that started with the house boat in Alappi, as the locals call it. Since the same group of family members, between the ages of sixty and three were there, and we had never done a trip together before, it was an extravagant affair for a few days.

Kovalam is truly a beautiful beach town. Added to that was the fact that we were staying at The Leela Kovalam at The Club. The property is a beautiful one, with a private beach and beach pagodas with great food. It is close enough to the tip down south to where they say you can see the different colors of the two oceans, Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, come together. Three days there was paradise on earth. The children had never been to a beach and had a blast.

Biggest swordfish catch I ever saw!

While staying at The Leela, we took a ride in the back waters again, saw their marine life aquarium and visited the local fisherman’s docks where all the daily action is. It was an amazing sight to see how they seemed to be thriving in this modern day with their small boats full of fish. On the way back, we saw this huge swordfish some locals caught on the back of a truck! That made the trip worthwhile. One can’t miss the coconut trees all over the place as one drives up and down the hilly roads.

Local fishing docks

Trivandrum, or Thiruvananthapuram, is a short 45 minute drive from Kovalam. We moved there for the last two nights. Early the next morning, we started our trip down to KanyaKumari, or Cape Comorin. We had one stop to make on the way there, and that was to visist the Padmanabhapuram Palace in Thuckalai. The palace of the last king of Travancore, it is now within the Tamil Nadu state, although the palace is still the property of Kerala. Although it is only a 60km drive from Trivandrum, the roads here are narrow and busy, so the drive is easily 2.5hrs. The palace will easily take 1.5hrs to walk through. Again, the traditional school of Kerala architecture is obvious in the use of deep colored wood and polished granite floors. Plenty renovation is in process, as is needed.

King's court in the Padmanabhapuram Palace

As lovely as we were told it would be - sunset

The entire drive down took us four hours, not including the time in the palace or the stop for lunch. Finally, we were at the ticket counter for the boat to take us to the famed Vivekananda Rock Memorial. It is a serene and beautiful place, with a look at the main land as one won’t be able to see except from the sea. More of a day time picnic for a family, I’d say. We hurried back in time to see the famous sunset at KanyaKumari, which we were told is hard during that season. We obviously got really lucky!

I am glad we were told that this was worth only a day trip and that there was nothing more to do there beyond half a day. It was entirely true. So back we came to the hotel in Trivandrum.

The one place every one must go to is the Padmanabha Swamy temple in the East fort in Trivandrum.  To this day, the king visits the temple each morning for the morning prayers, or pays Rs52 as a fine for missing it. The history of this temple is unique and all the pain that one has to go through to walk into those doors is worth it! Women must wear sarees or the traditional Kerala long skirts, men must wear the traditional dhoti with no shirt. Don’t take anything offered to you even by the priests at the entrance. Remember, nothing is free even if they pretend not to understand you and push you forward with stuff in your hands! Check the timings and festivals at this temple as they are very strict.

Kerala is the place for spices and Trivandrum has a wonderful spice market where you can buy all kinds of fresh spices and fresh ground coffee for reasonable prices. If you cook, you’ll enjoy the smells just walking down the road.

A simple but educational trip, Kerala satisfied every kind of taste in my heart with very little hassle. The only problem is getting there and getting back from Hyderabad. It is easy enough to split the state and cover whatever interests you have most in any given four days, even if not at a stretch. If you have questions, feel free to email and I’ll do the best I can. I do feel like I belong more to that state than to Andhra Pradesh!

Hiking in Wayanad District

Banasura Sagar Dam, India’s largest Earth dam

Trip Taken June 2009

This trip to Kerala was something that materialized as I stumbled cross its Northern natural beauty from across the hills in Coorg, Karnataka.  As I sat on top of a mountain there, I asked my guide how I can get to the lush green mountains a little more south. What was I looking at? Why does it seem like dense forests and beautiful mountain ranges? He replied it was the Wayanad District of Kerala. I knew I had to go home and do my research to get there.

So, in my eagerness to go as soon as possible, I didn’t listen to the stories about how the rainy season is not the best time of the year and how the leeches are everywhere! So began my nature trip to Wayand. Its landscape is made up of the Western Ghats, numerous streams, lakes and waterfalls.

The easiest and fastest way to get there from Hyderabad was a flight into Bangalore and a 6 hour drive into Kerala. I mapped it out so I would start at the bottom of Wayanad district and work my way around to the north and back to Bangalore. It was a four nights, five day trip.

The drive itself is beautiful and through the remote villages and jungles of Nagarhole and Bandipur in Karnataka, then further south through Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary to the little town of Vythiri. As it was off season, we did get a 20% discount on the stay; I would have willingly paid the entire amount to stay in a dream tree house, all inclusive with a living room, bedroom and a well equipped bathroom. The best way to find these is to search for Vythiri Resorts. There are a few resorts in a small jungle area. The one I choose was Stream Valley Cottages because it had the tree house I was looking for.

Pookot Lake, Vythiri

Within a couple of kilometers of it was the Pookot Lake. Although not a great attraction for many, it is a beautiful lake in the middle of mountain ranges. They have done well to keep on paddle boats on hand so as to not disturb the wild life and add unnecessary pollution. There is a walk path all the way around the lake, and the peace and quiet added to the experience. Since we had a little bit of a late start, we spent until lunch there.

We stopped for lunch in a village so small, you will go through it if you blink for a minute. The people are very friendly, always smiling and welcoming. It is not as crowded as any part of India that I have seen, and the roads so far were amazing!

After lunch, we decided it was time to burn the food, so we drove to Meenmutty waterfalls. Even though there is a sign that says 2km to the waterfalls at the turn, be ready for a difficult and dangerous hike! Our guide was a tribal who spoke no English and who also walked the path as gracefully and effortlessly as if he were walking on a footpath in the city. I, on the other hand, wondered how to ask him to turn back around and get me to safety a couple of times. The mud was slippery, the slope was steep and there was a rope along most of the way to help me not slip down the side of the mountain, to a bottom I could not see! It took about an hour down to the falls. Once you see them, it is a breath taking view, so close to Mother nature I almost screamed with joy. That may have also been because I got there alive! No one but the guide and we were there. Then, I realized, I have to hike up the steep slope to get out! That took 1.5 hours, a lot of sweat and prayers. It’s a good work out, one hell of a way to burn lunch. Distance from Vythiri: 26km

Meenmutty Waterfalls, a dangerous hike during rains!

It was about 4:30pm by now. We were tired and hungry again, but decided, since we have to start finding our way north the next day, we couldn’t waste the whole evening. So, on the advice of a couple of people, we drove to the Banasura Sagar Dam, considered the largest earth dam in India. The drive was up a mountain, coffee and tea plantations on both sides of it, and small villages spread through it. Again, the roads are great; painted and proper signs all along the way and at curves. The dam was a unique sight. The color of the mud was bright, the tress were very green and the water so blue. It was straight out of a postcard. The tiredness in the body was replaced by joy and fascination. Distance from Vythiri; 28km

By the time we reached our cozy tree house, it was 7:30pm. Time for a shower and food. Then we relaxed and fell asleep to the noises of the forest and the monkeys running on top of the tree house.

Next morning, we started out to the Edakkal Caves. It interested me because I had read that the etchings were from 500 years ago, and it has gained serious attention of archeologists and historians worldwide.  It is quite a hike up to the caves; not tiresome as much but just a little slippery and dangerous at times. Again, I was very impressed at how clean and well preserved they were. Distance from Vythiri: 27km

Then we made our way to the next place of stay, Begur Wildlife Sanctuary near Tholpetty. As we drove down, we stopped to take in the signs of what was to me the best part of India yet. We followed a sign for a Jain Temple, not having come across anything about it in my research, and found an abandoned, dilapidated temple, which I could see was very old and ornate, now in the middle of a private coffee plantation!

Finally, we got to our guest house there around 5pm. The one temple that is very popular and pilgrims come from all over too visit and pray is the Thirunelly Temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It sits on a hill, surrounded by some of the more dense forests in India, untouched and unknown. It also boasts classical Kerala architecture in a classical and traditional way. Distance from Vythiri to Tholpetty: around 80km

Day three down, night three down.

Day four, we decided to spend discovering the Kuruva Islands. Basically, they are islands in the middle of Kabini River. Depending on the water level, there  may be a few more or a few less at any given time. The two main islands are more or less quiet nature sanctuaries. Nothing exciting or happening if that’s what you are looking for. Just trails to take you through the island and a log boat to take you from one island to another. You can spend about three to four hours, maybe pack some sandwiches like we did and just sit by the river.

In the middle of the Tholpetty forest was this sacred place...

The rest of the day was spent just driving aimlessly through the forest, stumbling across some old chariot looking temples and a weird sort of alter which I guessed is to pray to Goddess Kali or Durga. Here’s a picture, maybe you can tell me what it is.

My foot, tiger's foot

Day five, we just arranged for a 15km hike into the Tholpetty forest that lasts about five hours starting at 7am. Along with us came a forest guide and a guy with a gun. It was lush, thick green jungle. We followed the tracks of a tiger and its cubs for a long time, but never got a glimpse of it. We did, however, see elephants, wild boar, deer, plenty birds and monkeys. A couple of leeches on us proved someone was right that they were around. (The thing to do with leeches is: rub wet tobacco leaves all over your shoes. They don’t like the smell. If you get one higher on your leg like I did, put salt on it. They just let go). The fresh air and exercise felt good, if nothing else!

We finally left to head home to Bangalore at 4pm. The drive back was just as scenic and took us through the forest with just enough day light until we got back to the human civilization close to Mysore.