God's own Country

We recently visited God’s own country, Kerala, India. It is a state on India’s Malabar coast. It is bordered by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep. Kerala is known for its majestic beaches and backwaters, Canals, Mountains and wildlife. Not only that, it also has Coffee, Tea and Spices plantation. Our personal experience was that crime in general seemed low compared to other parts of India and seemed quite safe for tourists.

The locals are respectful and hospitable.

There are many ways to explore Kerala. I am sharing some sample cities below and then will share our actual itinerary:

Option 1 - Cover one of the main cities, Coffee/Tea Plantation and the hill district of Kerala (Kochi - Wayanad - Munnar - Thekaddy)
Option 2 - Cover one of the main cities, visit spice, Coffee/Tea Plantation and Backwaters (Kochi - Munnar - Thekaddy - Alleppey)
Option 3 - Cover one of the main cities, Backwaters and beautiful beaches (Kochi - Alleppey - Kovalam)

These are just a few examples, there are many beautiful places to visit within Kerala. We really wanted to cover backwaters and had only 5 days to visit, option 2 worked best for us.

We covered - Kochi - Munnar - Thekaddy - Alleppey

There is so much to write here that I am actually going to split this article in 2 sections - one for Munnar and one for rest. We spent 3 nights in Munnar which includes travel time from Kochi to Munnar and Munnar to Thekaddy.

Day 1 - Landed in Kochi from Delhi

The best way to reach Kerala from Delhi is to take a flight. All the major airports offer flights to Kochi, for local deals on flights and tickets, visit - makemytrip.com. Our flight from Delhi to Kochi was about 3 hours. Note, Kerala is in the Southern part of India and Delhi is the center of India so the distance is quite far for any potential road trips but its doable for those who want to explore India by road.

After landing, we took a quick tea break and enjoyed some delicious stuffed parathas my mom had packed. The weather was so lovely that our short break turned into a longer one! From there, we headed straight to Munnar—a scenic 4-hour drive from Kochi and the best way to reach this hill station.

We had hired a driver with private car who picked us up and stayed with us until the end of our trip.

Important Note:

Drivers sometimes will ask for more money in favor to show you more sightseeing like many waterfalls that Kerala has. For your information, Kerala has about 30+ waterfalls. My suggestion is that you don’t need to visit all the waterfalls if you don’t have enough time, cover the top 1-2 of your choice and spend your day on other activities and places. We went to see the Pandikuzhi Waterfalls, the waterfall did not have a lot of water as we visited in March and it’s supposed to be lush during Monsoon season.

Another major waterfall is on the way from Kochi to Munnar and generally should be included in your itinerary.

Feel free to negotiate and do your research before signing on the final amount.

Munnar

| Spice Garden | Beautiful Plants all around the plantation |

On our way to Munnar, we stopped by to enjoy the views of waterfall and to take a short tour of the Spice plantation that offers spices and Ayurvedic medicines.

The tour was actually very nice, there is no fee to enter the place however it helps if you buy something from their shop. The local person will give you the tour of the plantation and show you various plants and also talk about various medicines and herbs they use to make local medicines. You should know that Kerala is renowned for its traditional Ayurvedic treatments and has several renowned Ayurvedic institutions and hospitals. We actually did buy a few medicines like - Muscle Pain Oil and treatment for my Mother and hair oil for hair fall.

To report on the medicine :) - My mother said it actually helped her a lot. She has severe back ache and knees pain and it seemed to relieve some of that pain. My hair oil was good though I did not see any drastic improvement.

Important Note:

Feel free to take a look at everything they have to offer and purchase what you like. Don’t feel pressurized in any way though. They don’t negotiate a lot but try as much as you can.

After the little detour, we reached our hotel and were too tired to step out. We ordered some local delicacies for room service and devoured everything. We ordered - Kerala Malabar style Paratha, Prawns Ularthiyathu cooked with dried Coconut and curry leaves and simple chopped salad of Cucumber, Onion and Carrots.

Do not get me started on Prawns Ularthiyathu, this is the best Prawns curry I have ever eaten, soft, mildly spicy with soft and layered malabar paratha, we were in heaven and slept peacefully.

Next day, we had an early morning, we were booked for a little off-roading trip in a Jeep along with some more sightseeing.

The off-roading part is only about 20mins but fun and the driver took us to see Sunrise and amazing spots for breathtaking views. It took us about 3hours to cover everything but it was worth it.

Hanging Bridge near Ponmudi Dam

We were told that this Bridge was originally built to transport materials during dam construction, it was later strengthened with iron planks and rope supports. The area surrounding the bridge and is absolutely beautiful. You can enjoy lush forest views, the river flowing beneath, and panoramic glimpses of the Western Ghats. The surrounding trails and viewpoints make it a lovely stop on a journey through Ponmudi’s misty hills—ideal for photography, a light trek, or simply to soak in nature’s calm.

After the trip, our driver dropped us back at the hotel, where we dove into a delicious, piping hot breakfast—washed down with two cups of tea each! They had a live counter for made-to-order dosas, and I went for a ghee roast dosa… absolute heaven.

| Sweetened Banana Fritter (Gooey from the inside, crispy from the outside) | My delicious plate with yummies | Freshly made Ghee Roast Dosa (Clarified butter Dosa) |

After our food trip, we took a little nap and then we were back in the car in evening for some shopping.

Munnar is home to fantastic cotton handloom shops offering high-quality clothing at great prices. You can find Kerala-style sarees, cotton shirts for men, and traditional mundu (lungi)—perfect souvenirs for friends and family.

We picked up some cotton shirts and mundus for our friends. (You can even see the weaving process in the photo here.)

Munnar is also known for its delicious chocolates, thanks to the many cocoa trees growing everywhere. We grabbed a few small boxes to take home as well.

The next day, we planned to do a tea tasting at a local plantation, but unfortunately, the estates were closed for a holiday. I’ll definitely cover that experience next time! Instead, we drove around the tea gardens—which is allowed—and enjoyed a peaceful walk through the plantations.

We were hoping to find Darjeeling-style dried tea leaves but couldn’t locate any. Instead, we came across tea leaf powder—what they call “dust.” Surprisingly, it brewed into a delicious traditional Indian tea that we really enjoyed.

That day, we relaxed with some shopping, leisurely strolls, and topped it off with an Ayurvedic massage. A quick heads-up: many Ayurvedic centers aren’t the modern spas you might expect. They offer basic but clean treatment rooms, and showers—if available—are often bucket-style baths, so it helps to be comfortable with that. It is also recommended to not take bath immediately after a treatment. So I would recommend, experience the massage and come back to your hotel, shower there. The recommended time to shower is at least 60mins +.

We opted for an oil massage combined with Shirodhara and Potli therapies. This included a gentle full-body oil massage, followed by Shirodhara—a traditional Ayurvedic treatment where medicated oil is slowly dripped onto the forehead. Finally, Potli involves tapping the body with a heated cloth bundle stuffed with herbs, believed to balance the doshas and ease chronic pain and soreness.

The treatment was wrapped up with steam in a traditional steam wooden box. We ate our final dinner in Munnar and got ready to leave for Thekaddy the next day.

Cheers!