Our first destination was Thekkady. It is a 180Km drive from Cochin airport on decent roads and the hired car went winding past small towns,rubber plantations,churches and schools.The route also caters to Sabarimalai pilgrims who make their arduous journey by bus and foot to visit the Ayyappa temple in the hills.The drive was on single lane roads and entailed constant honking by the overtaking cars and buses who are always in some senseless hurry on Indian roads.Our driver was cool and showed his patience and skill honed by many years of careful driving in Dubai.
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Churches on the way |
Later, at an elevation,we could see tea gardens and cardamom plantations abound.The road twisted and rose further until it reached Kumily the frontier town of Kerala before Tamil Nad. It was nearing 5Hrs on the road. Thekkady was reached shortly (2Kms) and so our destination- Woods and Spice Resort nestled in a thickly wooded area.
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| Nilgiri Langur at Resort |
Day 2 Parunthupara - "Eagle rock" at 25 Kms was a good place to visit after a sumptuous, leisurely breakfast. Amidst green hills all around and away from the bustle of the towns and honking of cars,it was a nice getaway.
Thekkady is the location of the Periyar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary. It is a protected area and is spread across 300sq.mi half of which is thick evergreen forest.It was declared a Tiger Reserve in 1978.Heard reliably that there are 44 tigers here and the good news is that their population is going up. The artificial lake formed by the Mullaiperiyar dam across the Periyar River adds to the charm of the park. The greatest attraction here are the herds of wild elephants that come down to drink in the lakes.
Sounds Good. Let us see.
We went for a boat ride on the lake under cool overcast conditions and hoped to catch a Tiger or two and some elephant herds by the side of the lake...
Rewind to 2009 and the terrible boat tragedy that befell drowning 45 people.The boat capsized with an overload on one side due to a stampede on hearing "Elephants at 11'o clock".
Little wonder then that our boat had spanking new life vests and plenty of attendants to supervise while we chugged slowly along the lake training a keen eye or binoculars for spotting the stray animal or herd.
In the 90 minutes that we traveled there was hardly anything to see. Conditions were far from those necessary for the biggies to seek water.On the boat there were false alarms followed by repartee and peels of laughter.Even this died after a while.I was busy photographing some birds and... there was an excited cry for a few Sambars and a maddening rush to capture them on camera.Poor Deers, they must have been blinded with all the Flash that was thrown at them. 
We left the boat behind and found a shop with this facade...an interesting backdrop for a picture.
Our next stop was a Kalaripayattu show. The mother of all martial arts, and Jackie Chan agrees, dates back 3000 years. The Arena was a pit (Kuzhi) 42' long and 6' deep. The focus was on kicking, striking,grappling and the best of them were those maneuvers in flight, wielding swords, shields, bamboo sticks and daggers.For the benefit of the packed house,there were jumps through hoops of fire which got the oohs and aahs and claps galore.On the whole it was time spent well. is performed in hlyesigned
Day 3
It started raining at night and a soggy weather ensued in the morning with rain pitter pattering about. Travel desk suggested an Elephant ride and so we went driving into Kumily town and then to Elephant Junction.We took a 1/2 hour ride through the plantation listening to how they trained the elephants to do their bidding for tourists.Elephants and Kerala have a special relationship
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| Fig and Pineapple |
After a nice cup of tea we proceeded to a Spice plantation,where the guide showed us spices, fruits, herbal plants,root vegetables,artificial paddy field,pet animals like Dug,Gini pig,Rabbid,Turgy and even a Kerala branded Cow! This was agri-tourism at its best? I can't be sure.
In the evening we attended a tribal dance show which was very monotonous
Day 4
We boarded the Jeep at 5:30 for a journey of 40 Kms to GAVI.
The air is crisp and cool as we take the road out of Thekkady and Kumili, pass through Vandiperiyar and reach the Periyar Tiger reserve gate before 7AM. It is dawning as we purchase our tickets observing many other Jeeps around us with similar intention.
As we leave the gate behind us the driver slows down to follow the speed limit and also keeps an eye open for animals that may cross our path.Sure enough he spots the great Malabar squirrel and wants to photograph it in the poor light.It was underexposed.
On a clear bright day if he remains still you may get a shot like this.Courtesy treknature.com. He/She looks good enough for a cuddle..Right?
Spent an idle 30 min on the road listening to noises being made by an elephant in the woods close to us.The drivers of the 6 Jeeps kept hush hushing the tourists.Everyone was as serious as if attending a funeral Wake and the cameras were on the ready. But the elephant did not show up.
Came to the end of our ride as it neared 9AM and were signing the forms at the Gavi R'desk where Guides are assigned to the tourists for the day's activity. Iyyadurai was our man,an experienced campaigner, and he showed us the open D'hall for breakfast and later gave us each a pair of loose leggings to cover the feet completely upto the knees to keep the leeches away.
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| Ayyappan Temple precinct at Sabarimalai |
This is the wedding season in our country and honeymooners throng south India and Kerala in particular.A number of young couples could be seen everywhere and so it was in Gavi.We saw the girls posing and the guys patiently capturing them on their cameras or cell phones.
We took a boat ride on the serene Pampa reservoir and went across to the waterfall there.
At the culmination of the of boat ride we were requested to proceed for lunch.We demurred and spent time at the lake side enjoying the pleasant breeze and taking 40 winks at the well laid out park by the side of the lake.Lunch and departure followed.The tour was enjoyable.Organisors have done a good job in turning the failing plantation tourism and redeploying the 400 odd labour force to advantage.Smart thinking
Day 5
Time to say G'Bye to the hills and look towards the plains and the sea.Checked out before BF having decided to try an outside restaurant.On the way out took these pics of Churches we were passing by everyday.Being a Sunday, the Pews were packed and the church was overflowing.
Shopped for spices in Kumily and set off on our route to Aleppey. In about 3 1/2 hours the car was speeding on the Chenganacherry - Aleppey highway showing lush paddy fields on either side.
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| Traditional Kerala architecture of Venice Castle |
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| Mathew's son with Julie |
Later,Joseph, pleasant-to-the-core guy, served us tea and recommended a visit to the beach nearby.
Random shots
Day 6
Backwaters goes by the name Kuttanad in Aleppey district.So said the boatman as he steered the motor-boat clear of the Jetty into the large waterway at the start of our memorable day.All the farms that we had noticed on the way from Chenganacherry was this rice bowl noted for farming 4-10 feet below sea level.Today we were to see them at close quarters.
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| Returning houseboat |
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| starting out |
Excitement gripped us as we sat in the boat listening to him and seeing many different boats around us in the Punnamada lake.
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| Charming houseboat. Farm house below |
The water grid comprising canals both large and small,rivers and lakes is said to be 970 Kms long spread amongst 5 districts of Kerala.
These canal stretches were abuzz with vendors on boat selling vegetables, grocery and fish to households.Others selling plastic wares.Country boats (Kettu Vallams) that were transporting bulk cargo..rice grain,coconut husk etc.Row boats with couples on a short fun voyage.
Moved into a larger canal/river lined with coconut and banana trees gently swaying in the breeze.And there were bigger farms here. Ferries were seen stopping at Piers and taking aboard passengers
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| Passenger Ferry |
We moored the boat to the embankment of a farm and I disembarked with the camera.I have never seen such large,green rice plantations before.What a beautiful sight and a wonderful job these farmers are doing.Looking up I could see toddy pots on coconut trees fringing the farm.
Another sight on the backwaters was that of the ducks,swarming and quacking in high decibels
It was now time for the return journey after spending in excess of 6 hrs on the backwaters. I leave you with these pics
After publishing the Blog, have received the following pictures, fantastic aerial shots of the Backwaters from Kerala tourism which I append here for your viewing pleasure
Day 7
An extra day that was added to the itin just in case.....
Got up late, lingered over tea,relaxed some more and gorged on Idiyappam, Omlette, Toast and more tea.
Visited a very ancient Krishna temple at Ambalapuzha,15 Kms away, which is renowned for its Palpayasam and Guruvayur ambalam,the story being that the Krishna idol from G was brought here for safe keeping during the raids of Tipu Sultan.Also visited the Karumadikuttan Buddha statue nearby.This is a very old statue dating back to 10th century and salvaged by a Britisher some 100 years ago in this broken condition.
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| Karumadikuttan |
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| Krishna Temple |
Next ....St.Mary's Catholic Church.... consecrated in 5th century and one of the oldest Christian churches in India and the mother church of all Catholic Syrian churches in Alleppey District.It is located picturesquely on the bank of Pampa river in Champakulam (Kuttanad) and the murals and artifacts inside are worth a look.
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| impressive grotto |
Day 8
Puttu and veg curry for breakfast.Quite tasteless. Relaxed till mid-day and bid Fwell to Mathew and Co.Traffic was light on the way to Eranakulam.Saw a diversion to Fort Kochi and decided to go there.Strolled the water front and walked by the Dutch cemetery and drove to St.Francis church originally built in 1503 by the Portuguese. It is the oldest European church in India
End of 1524 Vasco Da Gama returned to Kochi,for the third time,where he died on the Christmas eve and was buried in this Church. Fourteen years later, his remains were shipped to Portugal.
Puttu and veg curry for breakfast.Quite tasteless. Relaxed till mid-day and bid Fwell to Mathew and Co.Traffic was light on the way to Eranakulam.Saw a diversion to Fort Kochi and decided to go there.Strolled the water front and walked by the Dutch cemetery and drove to St.Francis church originally built in 1503 by the Portuguese. It is the oldest European church in India
End of 1524 Vasco Da Gama returned to Kochi,for the third time,where he died on the Christmas eve and was buried in this Church. Fourteen years later, his remains were shipped to Portugal.
After a very tasty veg lunch at Roti Dal we completed our tour of Ft Kochi with a visit to the palace museum.. .great murals... and the old Synagogue.
Later visited our Mumbai neighbor,now in a Eranakulam Condo and left for the airport to catch our flight.
A Very Happy New Year to all of you
