Kerala · 15 days
The length of Kerala
Trivandrum to Kochi the slow way, taking in every landscape the state has.
The journey
Kerala is six hundred kilometres of coast with mountains behind it, and most visitors see about a fifth of that. This runs the whole thing from the bottom up: the beaches below Trivandrum, the island canals at Munroe, the backwaters, the tea and cardamom of the high range, a stretch of coast almost nobody stops on, and Fort Kochi at the end. Nothing is more than a half day's drive from the last thing.
Route
- Trivandrum
- Kovalam
- Munroe Island
- The backwaters
- Mararikulam
- Thekkady
- Munnar
- Arattupuzha
- Fort Kochi
What stays with you
- 01Munroe Island, where the canals are too small for anything but a canoe
- 02A night on a houseboat, and several more beside the water rather than on it
- 03Periyar at Thekkady, and the cardamom the hills there are named for
- 04Munnar, and the estates that made it
- 05Arattupuzha, which is a beach with a village on it and nothing else
- 06Fort Kochi at the end — the Jewish quarter, the Chinese nets, the godowns
Day by day
A shape rather than a timetable. Days move, and most people move one or two of them.
1
Into Trivandrum, and straight down to the coast.
2
Kovalam. The morning at the lighthouse beach, the afternoon at whatever pace the journey in has left you.
3 – 4
North to Munroe Island. Two days of canals, coir making, and canoes at the hours the water is worth seeing.
5
Onto a houseboat and into the backwaters proper.
6 – 7
Off at Mararikulam. A fishing village, a long beach, and nothing asked of you.
8 – 9
Up into the hills to Thekkady. Periyar on the water at dawn; the spice plantations after.
10 – 11
Along the ridge to Munnar. Eravikulam early on one of the two mornings, the estates on the other.
12 – 13
Down to the coast at Arattupuzha, which is the quietest stop on the whole route.
14
Fort Kochi. The old town on foot, and Kathakali in the evening.
15
The morning free, and out through Kochi.
Shall we plan it?
Tell us roughly when, and how many of you, and we will come back with dates, a price and anything we would change about the route.
Or write to us at info@scenicescapesindia.com
Kerala