01/09/2011 With the rain season discounts on, we planned a sightseeing trip to Kerala with colleagues at office who were waiting to visit ‘God’s Own Country”. We had all the bookings done earlier and our first stay was at my ancestral home in Alleppey. That was something everyone in the group enjoyed, each evening we went to the beach and the sunsets in the cloudy skies were awesome. With the continuous rains, we decided on a day cruise in the houseboat… but that turned out wonderful. Only a slight drizzle off and on and the cruise was soothing and the lunch was savored by all. We saw the island of Pathiramanal during the cruise but the rain stopped us from alighting there. The lake and canals were brimming with water and the crew on the boat were very particular to make sure we all kept in with the safety rules. After a delightful cruise and two days rest at home, we started the next part of our trip.
This time it was Thekkady and Munnar. From Alleppey, we started early morning as our driver informed us that there was less traffic during these hours and within 3 and ½ hours we reached Kuttikanam, a mist clad small hill station. We had good photo sessions here as the mist played hide and seek. After breakfast we resumed our journey and en route halted at many picturesque points to click some great photographs.By noon we reached our resort at Thekkady. We sure needed refreshing and rest. So, it was only evening we strolled out of our resort. We decided on the boating next morning and went to the nearby markets and Kumily to shop for spices. We also booked our tickets for the early morning boat ride, but alas, it was raining and as the downpour increased the ride was cut down and we returned sooner to the boat landing. To cheer our dampened spirits, our driver took us for a plantation visit and we even happened to visit the Mangaladevi temple. After a quick lunch in Kumily, we started for Munnar. The rains had made the roads quite bad and driving was slow. And it had turned evening by the time we reached Munnar. This time our accommodation was arranged at a farmhouse and our hosts were warm and fed us with a lovely dinner. Next morning, we had a grand time walking through the tea plantations and it was lovely to see women deftly plucking the tender leaves. We also visited the cardamom estate and also saw the method of drying cardamom. The farm also had a stream running through it, and we all enjoyed ourselves in the farm for the whol day. Next day, we went for Munnar sightseeing. Visited all the tourist spots and the latter part of the day was spent the whole evening at Mattupetty lake. Next day was a memorable visit to Marayoor. Driving out of Munnar on the Udumalappettai Road, it seemed that Munnar’s landscape just stretched ahead.There were numerous streams and small waterfalls en route. After the tea estates, then started sandal wood forests. In fact, if you walk around in Marayoor and move interior towards the forest surrounded by fields, you get the distinct smell of sandalwood. The Marayoor Reserve Forests have 65,000 naturally growing sandalwood trees spread over 93 sq.km. Permission of the Forest Department is required to go deep into these forests. But at the entrance, there is a “Sandalwood Regeneration Experimental Plot,” which is open to all for an excursion. Adjacent to it is a sandalwood depot, run by the Forest Department where one can see how a sandalwood tree is treated and separated into heartwood, sapwood, branchwood, chips and powder.
Indeed, Marayoor is a place where history and culture meet adventure and tourism, given its proximity to the ancient dolmen rocks and Stone Age caves and the vegetable and fruit gardens (written about in the previous RLT columns). It is a repository of over 1,000 medicinal plants. It is also a place where the colourful phenomenon of butterfly migration can be witnessed between the monsoons. It offers ample opportunities for forest treks. After a lovely day at the Childrens park and nearby waterfalls, we started our return journey with some good memories.