Travel » Kerala India

KERALA- GOD OWN COUNTRY
Kerala. The serene beauty of the backwaters, the beaches, the pleasure islands, and the mountain slopes with tea plantations. Planned visit to Central Kerala, as it would cover the main features of Kerala: the plains (Kochi), the backwaters (Alappuzha), island resorts (Kumarakom) forest and wildlife (Thekkady and the Periyar region), the tea estates (Munnar), and the beach (Cherai, near Kochi). Start your sightseeing by visiting the Jew Town, the Synagogue, and the Dutch Palace on our way to Alappuzha and the backwaters.

The scenic beauty of the backwaters, with the greenery and beautiful houses, was heartwarming. On reaching the houseboat, you really flabbergasted with the beauty of its setting in the serene waters, amid plantations of coconut groves on small islands. We traversed the vast expanse of the backwaters, saw small secluded villages, and anchored in the middle of nowhere, with only the water around us and long stretches of coconut plantations at a distance. After sunset, we were the only people enjoying the beautiful clear skies with the stars twinkling, beckoning us to enjoy the night something beyond our imagination in the hustle-bustle of our cities.

The beautiful night gave way to an even more beautiful early morning sunrise, with the chirping of the birds in the nearby plantations audible to us because of the quiet ambience around us. You headed back to the mainland, to visit yet another beautiful place: an island resort in Kumarakom. To reach the resort, by boat through a small canal. This was when one realised why Kerala is described as "The Venice of the East".

We stayed on an island in a lake, which was so vast that it appeared to be a sea, with nothing in sight but for the houseboats or fishing boats, floating plants and seagulls. The floating plants, which were scattered in the middle of the lake by twilight, were pushed by the small waves and ripples to the shore of our hotel, making one believe that, just as a flock of birds returns home before the night falls, so had the floating plants. The sun setting across the horizon over the lake, with its changing colours, was a mind blowing experience. Again, like the previous night, the beautiful skies with the shining stars were beckoning us to stare at them, lying in the hammock. But within minutes, the clear skies were covered with black clouds, which condensed into a heavy downpour, and we had to rush indoors.

Next day was yet another beautiful day, and, after breakfast, is the island resort and travelled for nearly 31/2 hours up to, wildlife and bird sanctuary on the river Periyar. We reached Thekkady, where we stayed with the beautiful mountains and coffee and spice plantations around us. After a nap in the afternoon, we visited the spice gardens to see spectacular bunches of pepper creepers, cardamom, cinnamon, clove (which flowers in mid-January and February), and lots of other spices and herbs used in Ayurvedic medicine. We not only saw how the spices grew, but also how they were dried in furnaces to get the end products we are familiar with.

After our tour to the spice plantations, Also had an Ayurvedic massage to soothe ourselves. The next morning, we went for a boat ride on the Periyar. But because it was winter, we could only sight a few birds on the treetops, and wild buffaloes grazing in the clearings amidst the wild growth of various trees. After the ride on the boat and a good Kerala lunch, we left for Munnar, which was another 4-hour journey up in the mountains.

As we drove up, the change in the vegetation was spectacular. In the plains, because of the sandy soil, we could see palms of different types everywhere; this gradually changed to coffee plantation spice plantations, and, eventually, tea plantations. The soil changed from sandy to rich red. With the ascent, the air started getting cooler and the vegetation thicker. The tea shrubs were so meticulously trimmed, one thought it was done by machines. But when we actually saw the pickers, we found that they only used a pair of scissors attached to a collecting bag.

The final destination of Kerala is in the mountains, overlooking a lake amidst the Tata Tea Estate : the Club Mahindra Lake View Resort. The resort was located on the highest point, with a beautiful layout.

Munnar town is about 24 km from the resort. Among things to see around is the Mattupetty Dam, from where the water and the green mountains are so spectacular that one would like to capture it on camera and keep it as a screensaver on the computer Screen. Along the same lake is the Echo Point. Stand on the bank of the lake and shout, and the mountain on the apposite site echoes your shout three times with fantastic clarity. elephant rides available on the way. At Rajamala,we saw the Nilgiri tahr and, of course, the ubiquitous tea plantations, acres and acres of them.

Another spectacular spot is the highest tea garden in the world, Kolukkumalai; it is at the border of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. On the way up to the highest point, which is about 2,400 in above sea level, we had the highest, steepest tea gardens of Tamil Nadu to our right, and the gradual slopes of the tea gardens of Kerala to our left. Only special jeeps can reach this spot, as the roads are stony, rough and narrow. On the Tamil Nadu side, at this spot, the breeze was icy cold, and so strong that it could lift off a fragile person; and just 3 steps away, on the Kerala side, there was no breeze at all! Of course, the breeze was travelling straight up, and, therefore, we could not feel it a few steps away, but the creation of the cuts in the mountains which created the cool breeze was an amazing experience, which we never even felt while crossing the English Channel. From here, we went to the tea factory, and got to learn about the process of making the tea we consume.

One could spent the evening lazing in the waters or lying on the beach watching the horizon, the seagulls, the ships and the sunset. In the morning, the sea was very calm, like a big lake. Lying there on the beach, as the sun rose higher, we saw the calm sea change into a rough one. The waves started becoming bigger and the waters started gushing on to the beach.

To sum it up, our tour of Kerala helped us see the gradual changes in the nature of the winds, the clouds, the different types of terrain, and to meet different people. We found that most of the people of Kerala had good communication skills, and were very loving and helpful. It really is God's Own Country,