Munnar : Kerala

In June first week, I was again able to get a weekend off to the nature's lap. And this time it was in God's own country, Kerala. We choose to go to Munnar,As we have heard a lot about it. So here is my experience:

How to go: As there is no raliway station in Munnar, you have to take a bus or cab, Still I will suggest go by train as much as possible. So from Bangalore we took Kanyakumari express which took us to Aluva. From here you can take cab or bus to reach Munnar. But here is a tip, it will be good if you can take a cab from here for your whole stay, as the cab driver charge for both ways even if you want to go for Munnar only. It cost us 2000 for one side.

Where to stay: As Munnar is a major tourist attraction, you will find plenty of hotels, resorts or home stays. But if you are planning in some long weekend, I will suggest you to book in advance, otherwise you might end up in paying a lot for very nominal accomodation. We stayed in WoodPecker Resort, and it was really good. Service, food all were good, the only thing is don't depend on them for your local sight seeing or booking cab.

What places to visit: There are many small places in Munnar, but we cover only 6 places. First day we covered Top Station(really awesome place), Mattupetty Dam, Echo point, Kundala Dam, these all are on same way.
Next day we went to Rajamalai National Park (Eravikulam National Park)[Awesome view],Lakkom waterfalls. On the way to munnar also you will find many small waterfalls, apart from that the spread of green valley and the mist of mountain will always bound you to stop you car for a minute and enjoy the view.
One more place we went was Tata Tea Museum, if you want to be Tea-educated, I think you should go there for sure, and I can assure you that you will love the Tea which they serve in the last..

What else to do: Apart from enjoying the view and major places, you can try trekking over there. And if interested you can go for shopping for different kind of Tea(Kandann devan specially), Home Made chocolate,different Spices, Herbal oils and handicrafts.

Misc: For a foodie, you can try many local items there but mainly for non-veggie, although veggies will always have their usual options. Language will also not be a big issue, as many ppl will be able to understand english.

As it was very short trip, I covered only few places, but there are many other places too. So if you have time go for those also. 

Wayanad, Kerala

Hi guys,

Here I am with the new travel blog entry, Last weekend I visited the Wayanad, Kerala. As the Kerala tourism's punch line "God's own Country", I am completely agree with them. Kerala have so much greenery and natural views that you will completely enjoyed. So here are the details if you have any plan to visit this place in future.

How to Reach : If you are going from Bangalore, you can go by Bus. It is on NH 212 and around 270 KMs from Bangalore. As after Mysore, you have to cross the Forest. It is advisable that you plan your journey accordingly as Forest Department closes the door from both side (from mysore side and from sulthan bathery side) around 8 PM. Other way is you can come through Calicut which is around 65 KMs from Wayanad.

When to go : Although you can visit this place anytime in year, but I will suggest you should go in rainy season. As the color of nature will be at its maximum during that period.

What to visit: As I mentioned its the place of Nature View. There are many Water falls, Dam, Peaks, Temples etc. Here I will mention few of the major attractions.

Chembra Peak : This is the Highest point in Wayanad. you have to take the tickets from the Forest depatment, which will cost you 500 bucks(for group). When you start you will think that its no good because you will find a proper road. But after 1.5 Kms walking, you will reach the point from where you will find the main treking, Its very steap and slippery. So be sure you have proper shoes for it and try to take as less thing

as possible. Take water bottles with you, and if you are ok with drinking water falls, then no need to carry bottles. Main view point will be two lakes over there which I find worth going. One of those lakes is in

Heart Shape which have many small fishes in it, in shrt it is awesome thing to do.

Kuruwa Dweep : This is also major attraction. I am not able to write about it as due to rains it was closed or drowned in the water. But if you are lucky you can go there too. Its around 35 Kms from Kalpetta.

Edakkal Caves : This is 27kms from kalpetta which opens 9 AM to 4:30 PM. This place have lots of caves, so you are interested in it, Here is the mystery is waiting for you.

Soochipara Waterfalls : This is 25 Kms from Kalpetta. Nice place to go, you have to trek a little bit to reach the place. But the water flow and the view is good from there.

Banasura Sagar Dam : Distance from Kalpetta 21 Kms. This place is also good. This is Asia's 2nd Largest Natural Dam. Awesome place, View is great from there, you will get some nice snaps from there. Also Speed boat is also available there.

Pookot Lake : This place I didn't like much. As a very small lake is there, in which they have pedal boats and a small Aquarium. The problem with this place is, it is not well maintained at all.

Apart from these places there are few others waterfalls and 2-3 Sanctuary. In this Sanctuary you can find deers, elephants, and lucky then tigers too.

Food : If you are vegeterian, than you can face some problem. As there are only few restaurants. So better you go with some packed stuff with you, so that you wont run out of food. Although you can find Kerala paratha, Dosa with little bit of effort.

Hotels : Guys, book your hotels atleast 1 week before. As we faced a lot of problem to find good hotels as we went in the peak season.

I think this place is worth going once. So go and visit the God's own Country.