[navsjab]

Christmas - New Year season was around the corner and it was time to plan for a road trip. The plan was to have a family get together at Kerala, and what place better than Munnar. Since we wanted to drive to the destination we also wanted to cover a few more places. So we included Varkala, a beautiful beach, and Allepey, for a stay at the famous house boat.

The plan:

Dec 25th: Day 1 - Bangalore to Munnar
Dec 26th: Day 2 - Around Munnar
Dec 27th: Day 3 - Munnar to Varkala
Dec 28th: Day 4 - Varkala to Allepey
Dec 29th: Day 5 - Allepey to Bangalore

My Uncles, Aunties, Mum and Dad were already on their Kerala trip and we (My wife and I) were to join them at Munnar on our Day 1.

Before we started

A few days before we started, I was texting my friend and bhpian Aditya, we learnt about each other's plans to drive to Munnar on the same day, 25th Dec. So we planned to do it together. He would be driving with his wife, in his Linea T-Jet. We decided to meet at Outer Ring Road and start at 3:30 AM. The day before, we packed our luggage and were all set for an early morning start.

Day 1 - Bangalore to Munnar

We were a bit late and were ready to leave by 3:30 AM when we got a call from Aditya saying that they would take some time to leave since Arpita, his wife was not feeling well. He asked us to start by 4 AM in case they were still not in a position to start by then. We called them at around 4 and decided to start, they would take some more time and probably catch up with us on the way.

Pic on start


Route to Munnar


It was a smooth run with low traffic in the early hours of the day. Our pace was reduced a little due to the short ghat section before Thoppur where the road was reduced to a single lane, probably to keep the traffic slow at night. Aditya and his wife, finally moved at 5 AM and catching up with us was a little difficult. We stayed in touch on calls and kept updating them about the route conditions as we moved. We stopped for breakfast at Omalur for a good 30 to 40 minutes and continued via Salem towards Avinashi. The weather was pretty gloomy at some sections en-route. We took the SH after Avinashi towards Palladam and Udumalpet. This is a single road but pretty wide. Before Palladam, the road quality is slightly poor, only for short sections, there are also a good number of speed breakers since the road goes through villages. We took a short tea break at Udumalpet.

The road


A tea stop


The State Highway after Avinashi


Stop at Udumalpet


We went through the Anamali Tiger Reserve and entered Kerala at around 12 PM. There are check posts on the way where one needs to make an entry before driving through the forest. We then went though the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary and took a break few kilometers before Marayoor for tea, landed up having the huge coconut water. While getting back to the car we realized that we were actually near Karimutty Waterfalls. The falls are not visible to traffic going towards Kerala.

Forest roads, beautiful






Karimutty Waterfalls


Foggy route



This huge Tortoise outside some Eco Shops enroute


We went to the Marayoor Dolmens before we headed to Munnar. It is a slight detour off the main road to Munnar.

One of many boards, promoting a visit to the dolmens


The road going towards the Dolmens


The structures on the left are the dolmens


Just some posing before we left



Next stop was at Lakkam Waterfalls - Not too much walking to be done for this waterfall. It was 2:15 PM by the time we were at the waterfalls.

Lakkam Waterfalls




Then, Eravikulam National Park - There was a lot of traffic here and many people to visit this place. Based on the estimated time taken to visit the park and the description by a local, we decided to skip the park. We had some maggi, egg and bread and started driving again.

The single pic of this huge rush at the National park


We reached Munnar and met the rest of the gang at around 4 PM.

We all meet


We attended the kathakali and martial arts shows at Thirumeny Cultural Centre. That was from 5 PM to 7 PM. We then headed to our place of stay for the next two nights, Sterling Munnar.

The Kathakali show

Some of the Martial Art forms on display

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKhJsxyz74c&t=36s

The route we took to Sterling


And we reach Sterling


Resting Red Rhino


Since the road work was on, on the road that directly connects to Sterling via Lockhart, we had to take a longer route, via Kunchithanny - Ellackal - Rajakkad - Pooppara. This took us 2 hours and we were at Sterling by around 9:30 PM. We did the check-in formality and rushed to the dinning hall before the kitchen closed. Had a great dinner and spent a good time with family, playing cards, dumb charades etc, before we slept.

Aditya and his wife reached later in the evening to their place of stay, we got an update from them late that night as the network is poor once one enters the forest area. They carried on with their trip and returned to Bangalore after a couple of days.

[navsjab]

Day 2 - Around Munnar

The elders had planned to stay back at the resort while Bhavneet and I decided to explore places around Munnar. All of us had breakfast and while Bhavneet and I set off at around 10:30, the elders enjoyed the sport activities back in Sterling. A stay in Sterling is an entire package for a family outing as there are a number of activities for the guests to indulge in. My folks are extremely active and tried on every sport they could; badminton, throwball, football to name a few.

At the resort


The route taken to Munnar - It was actually via the red dotted line while going and the route as given below on the return journey


To the various destinations


View point - We started driving from Sterling and could not but stop at the green we saw by the road side. We missed this during the night's drive so we made a quick stop before proceeding.




Chinnakanel Waterfall and Lockhart Gap View - We took the short route from the resort to Munnar. This road had been closed and was opened for a week and only during the day as road work was still in progress. We saw the waterfall, but did not stop. We stopped at the Lockhart gap viewpoint which overlooks the Lockhart Tea Estate.








Mattupetty Dam - Due to the peak season time, there was a lot of traffic. The jam on the road to the dam gave me a feel-home feeling (Bangalore). Due to the narrow width of the road and buses plying on both sides, the traffic needed to stop, time and again for the buses to negotiate the turns. This caused a long queue of cars. We took some quick shots without stopping at the dam, as the traffic was moving at a snails pace. We left the dam and later got a call from Aditya, we had apparently crossed each other somewhere near the dam as he noticed the Thar from the opposite direction while they were driving to Munnar from Top Station side. However, due to lack of network coverage we could not meet at that time.

Enroute


The traffic


The Dam


Water sports at the dam


Echo point - Nice little place by the side of the road. Park anywhere you can, a nominal entry fee, boating is an option here. As the name suggests you can hear your voice echo if you shout at this place.

The number of jeeps at this place


At the echo point



Kundala Dam - An entry gate on the left of the road side, there is a parking fee for this place. Another beautiful dam but smaller than Mattupetty.

On the way to Kundala dam


The dam


Top Station - We reached this point and there was disappointment as we could only see clouds. Top station is at a higher elevation and one can ideally see the scenic view of the hills from here. What we could see was only a whole lot of cars and people. We initially thought of having lunch at one of the restaurants here, but due to the shortage of time and the rush, we decided to have our lunch at Munnar.

This is what we saw at Top Station


We drove back to Munnar and had lunch at Maharani, a small restaurant in Munnar, at around 4:30 PM.

On the way back to Munnar


Pothamedu View point - We stopped by Blossom International Park and decided to move on without getting into the park. We reached Pothamedu view point and again, most of it was only clouds. We packed the idea of going to Attukad Waterfalls as one of our Uncle-Aunt were leaving Munnar at that time, heading to Kochi. We decided to cross paths on the way to bid them good bye. We met outside Blossom International Park after which we headed back to Sterling. It was around 6 PM by then.

At the view point


On the way to Blossom International park - The road on the other side


View from a short bridge


Bidding good bye to Uncle-Aunty


We took the shorter route but on reaching just 6 kilometers to the resort, the road was closed. We had to take a detour, making our path a good 18 kilometers long. There was a short patch of dense fog as we reached the resort. The LED+filters came handy. We reached Sterling at 8 PM and joined Uncle, Aunt, Mum and Dad in activities like board games, table tennis etc.

This is how the road was closed - just 6 kms to destination


We had early dinner at 9:30 PM and called it as day.

[navsjab]

Day 3 - Munnar to Varkala

We had breakfast and bid good byes as Mum, Dad, Bhavneet and I were going to continue our trip to Varkala while Uncle and Aunty were going to head to Kochi for their flight back home.

Breakfast


Few snaps before leaving




Good bye pic


The drive was long, we started a little before 10 AM and reached our stay at Varkala - La Exotica homestay at 6 PM. We had made a tea stop and a long lunch stop on the way to Varkala.

The drive for the day


Few pictures on the way






Without wasting much time we headed to the Varkala Cliff, from where one could see the entire beach. We then walked down to the beach to feel the water at our feet. We snacked for a while after which we walked along the beach once again, in search of a suitable place to have dinner. We picked one and had a lovely meal. Fish fries, chicken drumstick, Chicken and prawn steak along with beer. We would be better off walking back to the homestay after such a heavy meal but we had got the Thar close to the beach for the ease of my parents. We chit chatted once we were back and finally slept.

Varkala beach from the cliff




The beach



The display of fish outside the restaurants at the beach side


Dinning at one of the restaurants - lovely setup



Dinner time


Cheers


The food

[navsjab]

Day 4 - Varkala to Allepey

The drive for the day was not too long, only 3 to 3.5 hours. We made a quick visit to the Varkala cliff before leaving starting for Allepey. The cliff side parking which is also the helipad was closed since there was a VIP to land at Varkala in the morning. They were setting up the helipad area.

La Exotica - Our stay at Varkala



At the breakfast table


Helipad setup in progress



The beach from the cliff




The barricade for the restricted entry at the cliff


We started at 9:45 AM and made a short halt at Kappil beach. We had booked our stay at Allepey via booking.com but this time, I was not too sure of the booking, since the details on their site were less than adequate and the contact mentioned, would never receive the call. Anyway, we were suppose to reach there before 1 PM as the boat ride starts at that time. Our booking was from the afternoon up to next morning.

The drive for the day


Kappil beach



We reached at 1 PM and did not find any boat with the name that we were looking for (Warmth Boat House). The contact in booking.com finally picked our call and shared another number. The person was not able to find our booking and through locals I also got to know that the number shared was of a resort (Warmth Lake Haven) and not a boat house. We therefore asked other boat house owners for stay options, they were all booked for the day as it was peak season. There were a few offering at high tariffs. Luckily, my dad and uncles were at Allepey a few days back and we decided to contact the same boat house broker. We got an excellent deal and knowing our circumstances we took it. The boat would start at 5-6 PM.

In the meantime we parked Red Rhino at one of the parking spots (Achayan Parking) and went to Ramada Hotel for lunch. We went to the 7th floor, at the Chinese restaurant and could see the back waters with a number of boats. It looked great. We had a good meal and then waited at the lobby until the pickup for the boat arrived.

Parked Red Rhino for the night


From the 7th floor of Ramada


Look at the art, it is biscuit and rusk used to make this; at Ramada lobby


Our boat guy came a little after 5 PM. We were briefed about our boat ride once we reached the boat before it started at around 6 PM. We saw the sunset from the boat house. We were taken to the fish market in the boat where we could pick any fish we like, the cook at the boat would prepare the same for us. We bought the famous karimeen fish. The boat docked at around 7:15 PM at a village (Vattakayal House Boat Terminal - On Gmaps) where they sourced electrical supply to power the ACs in the rooms. We dinned at 8 PM after which we enjoyed some music on the boat (they had a 2.1 music system). The dinner included the fish we bought, chicken, rice, rotis, daal and two types of vegetables; it was delicious. We finally retired at around 9:30 PM.

Our boat house for the night


Few shots before we started



Captain at work


Another boat, returning after a ride


Sunset shots




Mom and Bhavneet, just for a click


The stop at this fish market


Look at the variety, starting from the top right, karimeen, two types of crab, lobster and fish


Our room - Does it look like it is in a boat?



The dinner; karimmen, chicken and the entire platter


We had parked across a resort (Paloma backwater resort), this is how it looked at night

[navsjab]

Day 5 - Allepey to Bangalore

We were up by 6:30 AM and witnessed a lovely sunrise. We were initially skeptical about a night stay at the boat since we heard from a few friends that the mosquitoes and stink make life miserable. However, these were myths, or it was unlucky timing for them. We enjoyed our stay thoroughly. A feature I noticed in our boat house which were not there in all, was that they were sliding windows in the cabin that were closed the moment the boat docked in the village the previous night, also the captain asked us to keep the lights off until absolutely necessary/till the windows were closed. This helped in keeping the mosquitoes away. The ACs were switched on from 9 PM - 6 AM. We therefore had a comfortable sleep.

The same resort at day


Pictures of the sun rise









At around 8, we were served breakfast and reached the shore by 9 AM. We were taken to the parking and our journey to Bangalore started at 9:30 AM. The drive was good, after Kochi the divided road started. We missed a left after Kupnoor, a shorter route to Omalur. We took the same route via Kakapayam instead. We stopped for lunch, short tea breaks and then dinner. We reached home by 11PM.

Breakfast


Our dining room, and a boat passing by


The aisle, the room doors on the right separated by a wash basin



We move towards the shore





The drive for the day


The trip meter at the end of it all

[BlackPearl]

Thread moved out of the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing navsjab!

[AJ-got-BHP]

Happy faces and good to see you guys spending quality time with family. The God's own country has some charm of it's own. I have a plan drafted since a very long time, but unfortunately Kerela is yet to call me. Waiting for the invite. The Red Rhino looks stunning than ever

[GTO]

. Thanks for sharing! Will be going to our homepage very shortly.

Cruising on an Indian highway in a Jeep is a special feeling. If you don't own a Jeep, you won't know what I'm talking about. Well, it's a Jeep thing . Have done many road-trips in my Classic, including Bombay - Goa.

A road-trip in a Thar is on my bucket list.

[Fordlover88]

Beautiful crisp travelogue & lovely pictures. Thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Thank's a lot for sharing.

[PapaBravo]

Superb. A short & crisp travelogue to the God's own Country. It is lovely to see Red Rhino covering the Southern states after having its fare share of the Himalayas.

The pictures are lovely. Looks like you had a great time.

Cheers,

Pawan

[GTB]

Thank you for sharing.

The more I see Thar's on this forum, the more I want to buy. I had read on this forum that it is not very easy/comfortable owning a Jeep/Thar. Maybe someone here writes a detailed ownership experience explaining the odds/inconvenience could help who is willing to buy one. After seeing a few spy shots of next-generation Thar, I believe it will be more comfortable.

[spd_tkt]

Originally Posted by GTO

. Thanks for sharing! Will be going to our homepage very shortly.

Cruising on an Indian highway in a Jeep is a special feeling. If you don't own a Jeep, you won't know what I'm talking about. Well, it's a Jeep thing . Have done many road-trips in my Classic, including Bombay - Goa.

A road-trip in a Thar is on my bucket list.

This is so true, we did several long drives on the Thar and it was a different experience! Several Blr - Tvm drives and twice to Mumbai from Trivandrum with the whole family. You drive much slower taking in the scenery and feel much relaxed. You also feel more exposed to the elements with all the sound coming in and still, the AC is good enough to keep you cool. Also the view out in the plains with the thin a-pillar and the higher seating position - you get a different perspective of the world :-)

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Sold her a few months for a Swift where you feel more cocooned and cruise much faster but it does not feel as much fun.

[gururajrv]

While I enjoyed the scenery, I just kept scrolling through the post finding pics of your cherry red Thar

Thar / Gypsy has always been my favorite and mostly if everything clicks in the coming years, I’ll try to get hold of a pre owned thar or gypsy and enjoy it once in a while atleast for a brief period of time I shall try and own one.

Rest aside, nice capture of overall.

Keep Jeep’ing.

[Samba]

You have so many nice places to visit during the weekends from Bangalore! My old memories got refreshed!

Great to see, both of you cherishing the beauty of South India.

A lovely travelogue with some lively & close to nature pics. Keep traveling & keep gifting us such awesome travelogue's.

Photo bombing a couple of decade old pics from Munnar & Alleppey!

[Sukanta73]

Great travelogue.

Good to see a WB registered car in Kerala. Did you face any difficulties specially in crowded parking with WB car?