Kerala - "Gods Own Country"

Kerala is known as “God’s own country” and rightly so. This stretch of land known for its lush green plantations ,for its back waters, its culture and a long heritage. It’s a well known destination among non Indian visitors too. It had been beckoning me for long

I had been to kerala many times, mostly to Wayanad, Kannur and Kovalam but this time I wanted to see lot more of the state, hence started the journey from Bangalore and entered Munnar.

 

Munnar to my knowledge was over hyped and too popular for my liking. I was in for a surprise the place was astounding, large gigantic white clouds welcomed us into this land of wonder. 

The best memory of Munnar for me was sitting by the Mattupetty dam , it felt like I had entered another country and another realm, the never ending hill ranges reflecting n the sparkling water and humungous white glowing clouds.

 It’s a blissful experience to sip chai under an asbestos sheet chai kada while it gushes wind and water outside. The horticulture centre is also worth a visit, with its splendid spread of blossoming flowers a wide variety of cacti.

Then we headed to Top station, the view is breath taking, one can walk through tea estates and drink great flavoured chai, I took the cinnamon chai and as I sat there sipping it, it rained in torrents. Having gone to some more awesome spots in Munnar and having eaten some delicious home made chocolates we headed towards Allapuzha or popularly known as Allepey. Its the Backwater heaven of India and a very popular tourist destination. Its filled with a network of backwaters, its also rightfully called India's Venice, not only because of its beauty but also because life depends on these water ways. Everything is transported on water. Children go to schools, people to offices and do their daily activities on ferries. One must travel in these local ferries once to feel the real local life. The house boats are aplenty, with luxury and comfort taken to the extreme. They provide a chef who will cook some Keralite delicacies on board, there are balcony seats for the better view of the sun set, luxurious room, comfortable furniture and loads more. One can chose the ride of their interest, chose to see choir making or any other such cultural activity.


After having thus feasted on naturally rich destinations we headed to "Mattancherry Palace" which is known for its Murals. This palace built in the 1557 hosts some of the best murals in India. This distinctive painting style has been adopted by many contemporary Indian painters and is called "the Kerala Mural" style of painting. So we immersed ourselves in these murals and had our mind's and eye's fill.

So there ended our endearing Kerala trip, oh I almost forgot to mention Alleppey might be known for its backwaters but the really awesome destination would be the barely crowded Alleppey Beach and what would make it even more splendid ? having a hot cup of coffee and a masala dosa in the India Coffee house which overlooks the beach and the never ending sea...

Parinitha Konanur

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