About Kerala – Kerala is a socially, culturally, and economically well-developed state of India or you can say that the state is the light side of India. Weather is hot and humid throughout the year in the west side of its coastal area but eastern part of Kerala is full of mountains of Western Ghats where temperature is cold like hill area which makes this state diverse. Might be possible you will be surprised to be there because usually the southern part of India is hot and humid except for a few places. Both sides of Kerala are beautiful and you can have different experiences there. Earlier name of Kerala is Keralam which means the land of coconuts. Coconuts and palms are visible throughout from north to south after entering Kerala.
Kochi Tour & Personal Experience – 1st time I have visited Kerala in 2006 and from the beginning I had excellent experience. Very clean places, different tourist destinations including sea beaches and hill stations, excellent people with bright smiles and helping mind which make a good image of Kerala and their people. Usually you can start your travel from Kochi which is the 2nd largest city of Kerala after Thiruvananthapuram (Historical name is Trivandrum). The city is well connected through air and by surface with the major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, and Bangalore and you can easily reach Kochi from these cities. The total population of Kochi Metropolitan is around 2.5 million people. Kochi is divided into two parts; first part is Ernakulam and second part is fort Kochi which is the oldest part of the city. If you want to reach fort Kochi quickly then you have to get ferry service which is easily accessible from Ernakulam. You can go via roads also but it takes longer. Ernakulam is the main town of Kochi and most of the people live in this area. Fort Kochi is like a tourist place where you can find many tourist attractions, old views of Kochi, hotels, markets, and good restaurants. If you want to enjoy the city as a tourist then you should stay in fort Kochi because this is like heaven for tourists. The best restaurants, famous and historical places like Chinese fishing net, Dutch Palace, Jews Town, Synagogue, and old spice market you can see in this area. If you are staying in Fort Kochi then definitely you should try fish, prawns, and other things which come from the sea.
Getting Houseboat – After visiting Kochi, I have visited Alappuzha or Alleppey which is around 65 Km from Kochi and it takes around one and half hour by surface. The city is famous for Kerala style houseboats and there are different ranges of houseboats which are available according to your budget. After boarding in the houseboat, they provide Kerala style foods in lunch, dinner and breakfast but this is upon your choice. If you will inform them about North Indian style foods then they can prepare accordingly. But I will recommend you to try local foods as much as possible because they use fresh spices. If you want to carry fish, prawns, lobsters, fruits, foods, and drinks from the outside then prepare in advance for a houseboat and that is possible which can make a more interesting entire houseboat trip. Houseboats move in a 20-30 kilometers area in Vembanad Lake and in the evening, they stop because boating is prohibited there in the night. If you want to get the houseboat only for 3-4 hours it is possible but you have to pay the same amount for a few hours boat riding either if you go for one night. They start boarding in the houseboat at 12 afternoons and you have to checkout from there by morning 9-10 am after breakfast. Vembanad lake length is around 95 Km long and maximum width is 14 km which connects Alappuzha – Kollam. If you want to go to Kollam from Alappuzha by boat that’s possible but these boats are simple with chairs and it takes around 8 hours. Getting the houseboat is very interesting in the entire Kerala trip and makes the journey memorable and different. After getting a houseboat, you can see many beautiful views of the lake and different landscapes of Kerala. You can get the boat from Kumarakom side also but it depends where you want to go next. If you want to go to Thiruvananthapuram side then you should get a boat in Alleppey side but if you want to go Thekkady then you should get a boat in Kumarakom side.
Trip to Varkala – After the houseboat trip, I started to move Varkala which is around 110 Km from Alappuzha which takes around 3-4 hours and to the North from Thiruvananthapuram which is around 50 km by surface which takes around one and half hours. Varkala is a well known tourist destination in Kerala and very famous for sea beaches, Ayurveda massage, different types of seafoods, Janardan Swami Temple which is around 2000 years old, and beautiful exotic views. Varkala is only the place where cliffs are found near to the Arabian sea. If you stay in Varkala for a few days, it will not upset you because places are very clean with nice weather. During your stay, you can get Ayurveda massage treatment also which is available in different options. You can get a massage for a few hours and for a few days as Ayurveda treatment. The main Varkala is located nearby Papanasam beach which is the main sea beach also. If you are going in the sea, you must be careful while swimming in the sea because waves are very strong here and it’s deep also. Nearby Papanasam beach you can find different restaurants for foods and there are many cafes as well. Varkala is well connected by surface and you can easily reach here by train and roads both.
After finish houseboat trip, I started to move Varkala which is around 110 Km from Alappuzha which takes around 3-4 hours and to the North from Thiruvananthapuram which is around 50 km by surface which take around one and half hour. Varkala is well known tourist destination in Kerala and very famous for sea beaches, Ayurveda massage, different types of seafoods, Janardan Swamy Temple which is around 2000 years old, and beautiful exotic view. Varkala is only the place where cliffs are found near to the Arabian sea. If you stay in Varkala for few days, it will not upset you because places are very clean with nice weather. During your stay, you can get Ayurveda massage treatment also which is available in different options. You can get massage for few hours and for few days as Ayurveda treatment. The main Varkala is located nearby Papnasam beach which is the main sea beach also. If you are going in the sea, you must be careful during swim in the sea because waves are very strong here and its deep also. Nearby Papnasam beach you can find different restaurant for foods and there are many cafes as well. Varkala is well connected by surface and you can easily reach here by train and roads both.
After awesome stay in Varkala I moved to Thiruvananthapuram which is around 50 km by road and it is well connected with the major cities of India by surface and air. The city is the biggest in state and the most populous city as well as the capital of Kerala. City is very famous for better living, the richest temple of India – Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple, and Napier museum which is the oldest in Asia. If you want you can go to Kovalam beach which is also very famous for beautiful sea beaches and this is not so far from Thiruvananthapuram.
Until now I have visited only coastal and western part of Kerala so now I have decided why not to visit eastern part of Kerala which is like hills. So, after visit Thiruvananthapuram I have decided to go Thekkady which is around 200 km by surface. This is hill station in Kerala and located on Cardamom and Pandalam hills of the South-Western Ghats and compare to other parts of Kerala Thekkady is cold. The city is well known for Periyar National Park, tea, different types of spice production in the state. If you visit this city then you must visit tea and spice gardens which is unique here. Many things you can find in spice garden such as cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coffee, and different flowers which is unusual and you can’t find those things in another part of India. You should visit Periyar National Park through the boating in Periyar Lake which interesting and you can see different animals in the park. If you want to boating here then you should go here in the morning time.
I heard that Munnar is very famous and beautiful place to visit in Kerala but after visit Thekkadi I decided to end my trip and come back to Kochi and after come back to Delhi. In the future, definitely I would love to visit Munnar because there mountains and scenery is very beautiful over there. Overall, I can say that Kerala is the best place to visit in India and as a tourist you can find everything there. Kerala is also very nice place to live as well because It’s very safe, easy and cheap to travel also there in terms of many things.