5 days in kerala

Hello Deva and welcome to the Forum!

Cruising the backwaters is essential - very relaxing and it is usually accompanied by a lot of food.

Wandering around the old city of Cochin - namely Fort Cochin and Mattancherry - is worthy of a couple of days of relaxation. Walking through the old part of the city and pottering around the shops to see the spice stores and warehouses (such as ginger) is really interesting. Also, whilst there, visit the Kerala Kathakali Centre to see some traditional dancing.

By the time you have completed a backwater tour, visited Cochin and headed to Munnar, your five days will be complete. Reply to this

Hi Deva.
Fort Kochi is interesting but a bit 'touristy'. The Kalaripayattu and Kathakali performances are worth seeing though, and inexpensive. Munnar is just terrific. The backwaters are even better - but pricey, unless you take the bacpackers' ferry trip. But, for me, the highlight is Hornbill Camp at Thattekkad and the nearby Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary (even if you're not all that interested in birds!). My blogs from last month should give you some ideas. Keep smiling!
Mike Reply to this

Hello again Deva.
Yes, Chinnar is about 50 or 60 kms (probably around 1.5 to 2 hours by road) from Munnar. It adjoins the Erivakulam National Park, which we found to be largely a waste of time and effort, partly because of the weather, partly because of the hoards of children on field trips and partly because of the almost total lack of any visible wildlife - maybe it's okay at other times of the year. In any case, we were advised that Lake Periyar and Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary were as good or better than Chinnar. Of these two, Salim Ali was my favourite because it was quite different (it also has elephants by the way, but you're generally unlikely to see them in most places unless you're very, very lucky), Hornbill Camp was quiet and eco-friendly, and it wasn't too pricey. I'd give Lake Periyar a miss at the moment because of the lack of boating - and the masses of leeches in the forest. Hope this helps.
Mike

PS Thanks for the offer but no plans for Mauritius at present - main holiday next year in Canada (probably) and the year after in India again (certainly)! Keep smiling/garde le sourire! Reply to this

Cochin is a group of islands on the huge expanse of the Vembanad Lake. For backwater options I suggest you for Bolgatty, Vypeen, Gundu and Vallarpadam to enchant and refresh yourself. Vembanad Lake is also famous for one of the finest natural harbours in the world.

If you are interested in historical tour then i suggest to visit 1. Santhanagopala-Krishnaswamy Temple It is believe that this temple was laid in 947 AD. 2 Vamanamoorthy Temple 10th to the 13th century old.
Reply to this