Kerala- Munnar and Thekkady

Author: Aarabhi 

Photographer: Vasistha

The day I realized why Kerala was called “God’s Own Country”, I was travelling from Munnar to Thekaddy amidst gorgeous valleys.

I craned my neck up, up and up out of the Tempo’s window till my poor neck cramped on me. Centuries old trees with girths bigger than anything I’d seen before were interspersed with lush carpets of emerald green which form the heart of this tea growing area. We encountered countless waterfalls big and small, flashy and subdued around every corner.

A lazy river meandering beside the road was a scene right out of a Hallmark card.

Bright oranges grew bountifully on the slender trees scattered in between the seemingly trimmed tea bushes.

Flaky clouds and smoky mists curled around the hilltops giving tantalizing peeks of the green valley below.  

Passing through cardamom valley filled with cardamom plants and pepper creepers we reached the beautiful jungle lodge of KTDC, Periyar House. It’s a charming stone building shaped like an ‘I’ with the dining and recreational rooms at the back. It sits inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve and is close enough to the actual forest to be considered as a wildlife thrill.

We checked-in to our room and Vashu closed the door. He started chuckling and pointed out the sign on the door’s back. It read: “Caution! Monkey’s crossing!” Apparently, the jungle’s monkeys were quite a menace. They climbed-in through the doors and windows if you were foolish enough to leave the unbarred ones open and cause havoc in the rooms.

After freshening up and making sure the windows were all securely latched, we all decided to go on a small stroll around the lodge. As we stepped out, the guard called out a warning:” Not too far sir! It’s almost dark and it’s not safe out there. What with the elephants wandering around and all! Just keep to the road and don’t wander-off!” Heeding his words, we kept our walk short and hurried back inside to avoid the giant mosquitoes hell bent on sucking us dry.

Having some time on hand and not interested in being cooped up in front of the TV, we decided to check out the recreation room. Much to my disgust I discovered how poor a carom player I was. All in my family were pros, compared to me. My husband won a rousting game of chess against my dad mainly because; everyone (including my five year old niece) was helping my dad.

A restful night later we were up and about early, on our way to the boat ride on Periyar lake right in the middle of the Periyar reserve’s thick forest. We walked to the water’s edge and climbed up to the upper deck and settled into our seats with the bulky life jackets tightly secured.

We began the ride over the calm lake, our eerily silent boat causing barely any ripple on its mirror like surface. The fresh and nippy air blended with my sense of immense peace and awe about the untouched forest around me.

 

We saw a variety of wild birds sunning themselves; perched precariously at the very tips of the skeletal remains of old trees rising like specters from the black water. The guides kept pointing out various animals like otters, tortoises and wild bisons. A few were quite far off and it was hard to spot them. A herd of Sambar deer were grazing on a small island, a floppy eared elephant was lumbering up the tall, grassy slope of a hill and wild boars were chasing after each other on the bank of the lake. It was kerala at its wildest and it was enchanting.

 Supremely satisfied with the experience I decided it was well worth the R.110/- per head cost. All in all, a must do for all nature lovers.











Click here for more pictures on Munnar.

Click here for more pictures on Thekkady.