Photo Essay – Backwaters of Poovar

I had been to Kerala and done the complete touristy trail, but somehow some corners are still left. Hence I was super excited when earlier this year I found myself in Kovalam, Kerala for a quick 2 day office offsite. Since we had some free time on the first day, we all went for a half a day backwater cruise to Poovar. Now, Poovar is a small coastal fishing village situated at southern tip of Trivandrum, and is still a relatively unknown and unspoilt island. It is particularly known for  its serene backwaters, pristine golden beaches, beautiful estuaries and some resorts. It is just in Poovar  that you see a river, a lake, the sea and the gold sand beaches all converging in an estuary. While I have traveled extensively within Kerala, I found this boat ride to be a completely different and a fantastic experience. I am sharing the same with you today through a  photo essay.

Our boats for the journey

We started a trip with a short ride from Kovalam to Poovar (about 17 kms) and reached the boat station. From here we boarded our boat (in groups of 6) and set out for the journey.

Kerala Continued – Route 5 – Trivandrum – Kanyakumari, Kovalam, Poovar, Varkala, Ponmudi

In continuation of my earlier post – Kerala Solved http://wp.me/p29z7S-4h , I am now writing on my personal experiences and recommendations for the region 5 – Trivandrum – Kanyakumari, Kovalam, Poovar, Varkala, Ponmudi.

Alleppey to Trivandrum was the last leg of our journey on this holiday and we decided to take a train for the same, but if you want you can drive down as well (the travel time is about 2 – 3 hours).

Trivandrum is the capital city of Kerala and the feel of this place is like that of any other city. When we reached Trivandrum, we had been in Kerala for 5 – 6 days already and had gotten used to the beautiful lush green landscapes. Trivandrum, in a way, kind of prepared us for our return back home. 😦

Going Bananas???

When we visited Kerala, besides the beautiful green landscapes, what I found to be the most fascinating – were the local bananas. In Kerala bananas comes in different colors, varieties and sizes and each variety has a different taste. In fact the taste of these bananas is very different from the bananas that I have had even in other parts of India.

Kerala Continued – Route 4 – Cochin – Alleppey (Alappuzha)- Kumarakom

In continuation to my earlier post – Kerala Solved http://wp.me/p29z7S-4h , I am now writing on my personal experiences and recommendations for the region route 4 i.e. Cochin (Kochi) –Alleppey (Alappuzha) – Kumarakom.

Alleppey and Kumarakom are 2 places which are pretty much alike and just separated by a huge lake (one is on the eastern side and one is on the western side of the lake). You can visit either of the places and don’t necessarily need to visit both of them. For our trip, we decided to take a one night tour on the houseboat from Alleppey and then booked a one night home-stay in a traditional Kerala farm-house by the lake  (over looking Kumarakom bird sanctuary).

Alleppey Backwaters

Lone Deity

While looking out for the Nilgiri Thar during one of our jungle walking trails in the Eravikulam National Park, Kerala we came across this beautiful sight / shrine.

Kerala Continued – Route 3 – Cochin – Munnar – Thekkady – Sabarimala

In continuation of my earlier post – Kerala Solved http://wp.me/p29z7S-4h, I am now writing about my personal experiences and recommendations for the region/route 3 i.e. Cochin (Kochi) – Munnar – Thekkady – Sabarimala .  Beware – its one long post. 🙂

We started our Kerala trip with Kochi. In case you have time you should spend at least 2 days here as it has some beautiful temples, churches, palaces and ecotourism villages to see. The sight of the fishing nets hung in the sea here is also a must photograph scene.

Kerala – Truly God’s Own Country

Thekkady

Ever since I have started blogging, I have been writing only about my Europe trip and have completely neglected the beautiful places in my own country, India.  So today I decided to rectify this and start writing about India as well. And what better place to start this then from the southern state of India – Kerala.

Kerala is a land of riveting diversity and the more you start reading about it the more you realise that it has a lot to offer to anyone who wants to visit.

It is a narrow strip of coastal territory in the southern part of India, that starts from the Western Ghats and ends with the Arabian sea. The topography also changes in between with hills, valleys, backwaters, spice, rubber and tea plantations, beaches, national parks and small islands.

Alleppey – Backwaters

In terms of art, it is known for its beautiful dance forms like Kathakali and Mohini Attam and the famous martial art form of Kalaripayattu.

It is a completely literate state in India and you can find religious places for all communities – Hindu temples, mosques, churches, and even synagogues. It is also the land of ayurveda and is known for some of the best centres for specific treatments.

Munnar – Tea Plantations

Since there is a lot to be written on this I have decided to break this into a couple of sections / individual posts and write region / topography wise.

So follow this space for my take on a budget trip to Kerala.

Tips for Trips –

1) There is a lot to see here,  so first short list on what your interests are and then decide on what is it that you want to see / do.

Beaches

2) Decide on the duration of the trip because you can do either short trips of 3 – 4 days to a long trip of 1 – 2 months.

3) On a budget trip, be open to the idea of homestays. Homestays are when you decide to rent a place to stay with local families. There are all kinds of options available and they are clean and safe. Also since you stay with a local family, you get a lot of insights into the local cuisine, customs and to do / see things which are not necessarily tourit’y’.

4) Rent a car and you can drive all over Kerala.