Colonial Calls, Green Waters and Cloud Nine

It is a land of rice and fish curry, banana chips, coconut plantations, green backwaters, Chinese fishing nets and the Kathakali. A land of centuries old temples, churches and Colonial settlements. Of tiger infested jungles, raging waterfalls, golden beaches, misty hill stations and endless tea gardens. It’s a land of football, cartoonists, and Communism. Welcome, my dear readers, to Kerala!


The Trip
Whenever I travel long distances, I prefer traveling at night. It helps me avoiding the daytime traffic and you can always step on the gas. So on the journey day we left Mysore after ten o’clock and within an hour, we were darting down the darkness of interstate highway. Crossing the jungle under the cover of the night is always exciting. The smell of the forest and the dancing fireflies give you an eerie feeling. My last trip to Bandipur National Park was quite exciting with a number of sightings of the wild tuskers at night but this time around, the pachyderms disappointed me! We crossed the Thamarassery Ghat Pass and reached Kozhikode on the west coast after three o’clock in the morning.
During my last trip to Kerala we took the route via Thrissur and Angamali to go down south. But this time our first destination was the port city of Kochi or Ernakulam, so we took the highway along the west coast bypassing the famous temple town of Guruvayur.

Day One
The dawn was breaking as everyone, except our driver Krishna and me, were deep asleep inside the car. The cool morning breeze with a hint of salt from the Arabian Sea was blowing across the paddy fields and banana plantations. The distant hills wrapped under the cloud curtains were blushing with the crimson of morning sun. At around eight o’clock, we pulled over to a roadside tea shop on the busy highway and by nine we were amidst the hustle and bustle of the city streets of Ernakulam. Kochi and Ernakulam are more like twin cities with Kochi port and the backwater separating the two. The older town of Kochi boasts most of the Colonial hangovers and Ernakulam is more like any other modern Kerala city with visible evidence of cash flow from the Gulf.
We checked into a hotel near North Ernakulam railway station and soon headed for the Cherrai beach in the Vypeen Island, located 20 kilometers from the city via North Paravur. The gorgeous looking St. John's Basilica painted in bright yellow and white and the old lighthouse en route are worth a few snaps. Vypeen Island is a popular beach destination near Kochi and can be accessed either by the regular ferry service or by road way through the newly built bridge across the backwaters. Cherrai beach is quite narrow but you can spend time in the water as well as on the sand. On the way back, famous Chinese fishing nets at the backwaters reminded us of the trademark picture postcards from Kochi.
In the afternoon we went out to see the Old Kochi after a modest lunch. The Kochi Fort, Jewish cemetery and Synagogue, MattanChery Palace, Colonial Kochi offers a lot! Do not miss the old world feel at the Jewish Street, the milieu of cultures is truly amazing. Try to spend some time at the antique shops and cafés down the narrow alleys of the old town. Go for a ferry ride at the Kochi port in the evening. The neon lit city line and the reflections of the huge ships harbored on the dark water look quite amazing! The ferry ride brought the day's end at Kochi as we retreated to bed with dreams of green water cruise in our eyes!

Day Two
Alleppy or Alappuzha was the next destination! Green backwaters, narrow canals with endless coconut trees lined up along the banks, lush green paddy fields, Kettuvallom, Ayurveda and traditional spas, boat races, fried prawns and cool todi shops - that's Alleppy for you. Once we reached Alleppy, we hired a motor boat to cruise down the backwaters. But for a more leisurely and comfortable ride you can always go for Kettuvallom or the traditional rice boats, which cost a pretty penny but offer an experience of a life time!
The backwater is host to a huge variety of flora and fauna. Even if you are not a serious bird watcher you won't like to miss the herons, egrets and kingfishers busy fishing. The waterways are the lifelines of the people living in the backwaters. The boatwallahs are usually very informative, talking about people, boat races, their families, their traditions and festivals, fresh and sea water cycles in the backwaters, crop patterns and the utility of cool todi on a hot and sultry day! Sipping some coconut water under the hot tropical sun will always keep you cool!
When our boat reached the vast expanse of the Vembanad Kayal, it was an awesome sight. The kayal happens to be the second largest backwater lake in India after Chilka in Orissa. It is surrounded by the backwaters of Kochi, Alleppy, Kollam and Kumarakom from all four sides. Locales say experiencing the vista of the sunset over the kayal with thousands of birds returning to their nests is something you would always like to carry back from Alleppy.
Now that we had experienced the sea, sand and the green water, it was time for 'Munnar' …!

Day Three
Nestled amidst the Western Ghats and the greenest of tea plantations; this quaint little plantation town is Kerala’s best-kept secret until recent times. Located at an altitude of 5250 feet, it makes for an ideal tea county.
Today it is quickly emerging as a hot-spot hill station; full of starry/ moony eyed honeymooners, planters and the backpackers! The mist covered hills, the verdant slopes, the old feel of Raj are being taken over by weekenders from Trivandrum and Bangalore. Yet it retains an almost tangible aura of serenity and ‘serendipity’ is one word you can feel at every turn of the road.
Waking up early on a leisure holiday is strictly a matter of choice. But how many times have you lived in a place where you wake up to see a Malabar whistling thrush or a spotted dove in your own courtyard? How many times have you sipped on early morning sun while walking through abundance of hydrangeas? Our cottage on the Mattupetty road offered them all and lots of tranquility that could not be broken even by the shrill of cicadas!
In Munnar during the day, travel all the way to Eravikulam or Rajamalai to catch glimpses of the endangered Nilgiri Tahrs and the amazing valley views across the tea gardens. We started with a bright morning but as the day progressed it got cloudy. By the time we reached the waterfall, where the road takes a sharp left turn towards Rajamalai it started raining.
The fog and low clouds were approaching very fast and we lost our way. The range of visibility came down to barely ten-fifteen feet and the subterranean chilly wind with mists soaked us to the heels. After traveling for quite some time with fog lights on, a truck going towards Chinnar showed us the way and we retraced our way back towards Munnar. The clear view of the huge rock face beyond the tea plantations helped us find our way to Eravikulam.
The Eravikulam National Park is home to the endangered Nilgiri Tahrs, thanks to the aggressive protection of forest officials. The park is divided into three different zones; core, buffer and the tourist zone. You are only allowed to roam around in the tourist zone, while the core zone of the park is inhabited by elephants, giant Malabar squirrels and tigers.
The road that takes you back to the lower hills of Munnar is narrow and winding. It goes through endless tiers of tea plantations. Have a walk through the tea gardens on the slopes of Rajamalai. It will give you some unforgettable memories to cherish for a lifetime.
Small trek routes are aplenty around Munnar. Trips to Top Station, Lockheart gap or to Kundala Lake can offer you some fascinating vistas and ‘good life’. For serious trekkers Anaimudi (8842 feet), south India’s highest peak, could be a challenging option. While you are in Munnar it is always advisable to visit the tea factories and purchase some fresh leaves. A walk through spice and rubber plantations can also give you some more oxygen. But before visiting any plantation, try to get the required permissions. Usually hotels arrange for the permissions upon prior notice. The Mattupetty Lake and the nearby Indo-Swiss Cattle Firm are reasons good enough to visit old Munnar.




Day Four
The next day we woke up to a bright morning after a chilly winter night. A trip to Devikulam, 7 Km off Munnar on the Munnar-Madurai Road, was scheduled. The Sita Devi Lake is situated inside an estate that belongs to Tata Tea and it requires prior permission to enter the estate. We didn’t have any and decided to travel a few kilometers further on the Thekkady Road. What we got back; was an experience of a life time.
The vast expanse of snow white cloud enveloped us! It was literally ‘Cloud Nine’ and the resort nearby could really justify its name. The endless green, tanned high hills, soft white clouds and the turquoise blue water of the lake - the word ‘panorama’ was re-defined just before our eyes. Before such splendor you are bound to get spellbound. Go down the slopes of plantations to reach the edge of the water and do whatever! The only problem with such a place is that you hate to leave it and you keep on thinking, “Wish I could live here forever!” But it will not remain a surprise for long, my wit told me. With a new day and a new road, ‘panorama’ gets refined again!

Epilogue

The shadows of distant hills and the countless rows of windmills are our companions now as we race along the Coimbatore high way. The homemade chocolates of Munnar, the sandal wood forest at Chinnar, the eerie jungles of Indira Gandhi NP are well settled in my memory. The journey that began four days ago from Mysore is coming full circle, with some content and more than happy souls!

Where to Log in: http://www.keralatourism.org/, http://www.ktdc.com/
Photo-Link:http://www.flickr.com/photos/neelnirjan/

Copyright: Abhishek Mitra, Jan 2007