“Gods Own Country” is probably the first words that come to your mind when I say Kerala. The state has been a pioneer in branding and attracting tourism dating as far back as the 2000s. That time when traveling was not this happening.
The state welcomes over 1.5 crore visitors year after year. The communications have been so convincing now that Kerala remains synonymous with the term “Gods Own Country” even after a decade. But, despite the massive influxes of tourism, the balance of culture, tradition, and the untouched natural beauty that Kerala stands for still remains.
You can read more about the fabulous campaign Gods Own Country here.
Growing up in Chennai, traveling to Kerala was almost a summer ritual for us as a family. Not to mention that this made it easy to club it with our annual visit back to our native Palakkad. But I have not had the chance to visit this beautiful state in the past 4-5 years as a tourist. So, when the occasion rose to plan another family trip, our first choice was to travel to Kerala.
How many days should you spend traveling to Kerala?
An ideal visit to Kerala should be at least 7-8 days to be able to cover most parts of the state. However, since we had just 4 days with us, we decided to do only one part of Kerala keeping Cochin (Ernakulam) as our base.
Itinerary for 4-day travel to Kerala
An easy itinerary that works for all age groups with a relaxed pace of travel. Something Saswat and I are slowly getting attuned to after years of adrenaline packed trips jumping from one destination to the other.
Day 01: Arrive at Cochin, Drive to Munnar
We all met at the Cochin airport from our respective destinations. The best part I love is the vibes you get from Kochi Airport the minute you land. The airport with its sloped red-clay tiled roofing, massive wooden beams, and open spaces welcomes you like no other. And the cherry on top is that solar energy powers the entire airport.
We had booked a cab from and to Cochin airport, for our entire duration of the trip. The cab cost was 12,000/-. Soon we were ready to hit the road, and the drive was 3 hours to Munnar.
Enroute or slightly closer to the midpoint between Cochin and Munnar, there are beautiful falls (Cheeyappara and Valara Falls) that you can stop by especially in monsoon season. We stopped at the gorgeous Valara Falls to take in the view and breathe in some fresh air.
There are also multiple spice gardens on the way where you can have a tour of the gardens in Kerala where they grow natural spices and herbs. We stopped at Periyar Spice Garden, and for me more than the spices, the flowers were absolutely stunning.
Flowers at Periyar Spice Garden 
Flowers at Periyar Spice Garden
After the short drive with multiple stops arrive at your hotel in Munnar and watch a lovely sunset. We stayed at The Leaf, Munnar, which absolutely stunning views, best-in-class hospitality, and fantastic service. (This is not sponsored). We took the silver rooms with the balcony, and they were worth the price.
Day 02: Local sightseeing in Munnar
As comfortable as the bed felt in the morning, I woke up at 6 AM mainly to catch up on work. But, the stellar sunrise from the balcony derailed my plans completely. The silver rooms with the balcony are worth it just for the opportunity to watch that glorious sunrise.
It is hard to beat that sunrise, but with a heavy heart, I moved on, and we left for our local sightseeing. Munnar being a typical hill station has multiple viewpoints and tourist hotspots. We started with a drive to Eravikulam National Park, but the line for the bus to take you inside the National Park stretched for over a kilometer, and we decided to give it a skip. Eravikulam National Park is famous for its Neelakurunji (A flower that blooms once every 12 years) and the Nilgiris Tahr, an endangered species found in the hills of Western Ghats.
From Eravikulam National Park’s parking spot, we drove straight to the Tata Tea Museum, which was a huge letdown. I would recommend giving this a skip.
We then went to the Flower Garden, which was gorgeous, the variety of flowers and their diverse colors was nothing short of breathtaking. From there, we headed towards the Wild Elephants Crossing and it was remarkable. Nothing but a mere stop at the side of the road, but if you look below, you can watch elephants playing with each other, throwing dust or just walking around with no agenda. I simply loved this spot and decided to stop and have a look twice.
After this, we went straight to the Echo Point, which looked beautiful but barely echoed. We tried a couple of times and pretty much gave up. On our way from echo point back, however, I spotted a tiny door unmanned and opening up to a tea garden and forced the car to a halt. We ran back to the spot and went inside to find the prettiest tea gardens and walking around them has to be the highlight of my day (After the sunrise, of course!).
We then stopped to get Ayurveda Oil Massages that felt so brilliantly good. The only dampener is the amount of oil that remains in your skin and hair even after a shower, but the messages are worth it. With oil dripping from our heads, we headed back to the hotel, exhilarated and exhausted from the events of the day.
Day 03: Drive to Alappuzha, Experience the famous Houseboat
We bid farewell to the excellent services of The Leaf and made our way to Alappuzha. We had arranged the houseboat in such a manner that we would reach Alappuzha and get on to the houseboat immediately. The House Boat is a fully functional boat with rooms, bathrooms, kitchen, and of course a balcony on the top with a view of the backwaters. While you can choose to stay in the houseboat overnight as well, they have to dock at a point by 5 PM, after which they remain still till morning which we felt was a dampener. So we chose to book the houseboat for 4 hours from 12 Noon to 4 PM, and I think that was a fair decision.
The Hotel we were staying in Alappuzha arranged the houseboat for us and was nothing short of spectacular. Slowly cruising across the backwaters is calming in its own way. It almost did not even matter that the afternoon sun was upon us. We conversed endlessly amidst the serene backdrop and even found an ice cream vendor selling ice creams on a boat, as enterprising as it can get. We immediately regretted relishing those ice creams as it was time for lunch right after and the menu was vast. The food was tasty and not bad even for vegetarians while the non-vegetarians feasted on traditional Kerala fish preparations. We cruised for a couple more hours and did not even realize it was time to head back.
Our hotel, Lake Canopy was right on the backwaters and little did we know that there was so much one could do within their property itself. I am always the one to do more in my travels and spending an evening in a hotel sounded almost absurd in my head. All I could think of was the things we could have been doing like watching sunsets at the Alappuzha beaches. But it has to be the best decision we ever made.
We played badminton, basketball and tried our hands at paddle boating within the resort for close to three hours. Probably the best time we spent together on the whole trip.
Day 4: Leave for Cochin, Local sightseeing and fly back home
Alas, all good things had to end, and we had to leave after a great morning at the backwaters where the rains just poured and poured for 3 hours continuously. But, we still had one more day left. So we left for Cochin and headed straight to my favorite part of Cochin – Fort Kochi! We started with the fishing nets and onto the oldest church and then went to the Jewish Synagogue and Mattancherry Palace. Exhausted after ticking off all the touristy destinations, we stopped for lunch at the beautiful restaurant by the backwaters called Ginger House. A tad bit overpriced but beautiful overall.
We then spent a couple of hours at Lulu Mall, which was a thorough disappointment for it was no different than any other shopping mall, and it was time for us to head to the airport.
Traveling to Kerala is refreshing as always. The greenery, the tall lined coconut and palm trees, and the therapeutic effect of the ayurvedic massages are the perfect ingredients for a delectable escape from bustling cities. Kerala would always remain on the top for long weekend destinations
How would you describe your experience traveling to Kerala?