A refreshing trip to Kottayam

A refreshing trip to Kottayam with my family

My family-not yet complete. This is just a sample 

Kottayam is the land of latex and literature in Kerala. Last year we were literally stuck in Kottayam for a week and fortunately had a lot of fun visiting some amazing locations here. We had come on Kerala tour packages and had planned to visit Munnar, Allepey, Kochi and Kannur during our visit. But we had to cancel everything and stay in Kottayam which happens to be my maternal native place. My maternal grandparents live in a beautiful old bungalow amidst a rubber estate in Kottayam. We used to visit this place quite often when we were young. It’s been more than 10 years since I last came here and it has changed a lot.

Grandpa with my sisies.....  

There are high-rise buildings and shopping arcades where there used to be open grounds where we would play! I guess, Kottayam, being the educational hub of Kerala, wants to establish its improvements that are at par with Kochi city. We had landed in Trivandrum and came straight to Kottayam from there to see our grandparents. Our Kerala tourism packages plans were to visit them, stay with them for a day and then leave to the other places in the itinerary. But it all went in vain as we had to cancel our entire tour. The next day early morning as my mother was trying to switch roles as a cook come nurse to her parents, she slipped and hurt her ankle and was asked to take a week’s rest!

My uncle and Ammukutty 

Since we did not want to enjoy Kerala packages without her, we decided to make the most of the situation and roamed around Kottayam which was quite interesting too. Here’s an account of the places we visited during our week-long stay in Kottayam.

Elaveezhapoonjira

Of course me and my cousins.... bu ha ha ha ha 

We booked a car on hire for a week and took off to our first destination in Kottayam which was Elaveezhapoonjira. The name in Malayalam means a valley where no leaves will fall! Indeed, it was such a valley as there were no trees at all. A rather strange thing in Kerala as one tends to stumble upon a coconut or mango tree in every nook and corner of the state! The place was quite green though with shrubs and creepers along the ground. When we reached it was quite a clear view from the place. It is the catchment area of the Malankara dam and a very beautiful place. Within 10 minutes, it started drizzling and the entire place was covered with mist. There were a few cottages in the area which provided cheap accommodation for the tourists. We had never heard of this beautiful place earlier and this rather made up for the Munnar trip we missed during our Kerala holiday packages with personalized features.

Thangal Hill

A pic from my photo grid

You need a jeep to reach this place. Perfect for trekking though we were not prepared for it. The place reminded us of Mahabhaleswar, a hill station near Pune, we visited a couple of years back. From the top of the hill, all around you will see the mountain ranges only. Some rocky mountains and some others are green. It was a beautiful sight. We spent some time there just gazing at the mountains and soon it was the sunset. One of the best sunsets I have experienced in my life! It was amazing, I had seen sunsets in many beaches, but to see the sun hide behind the majestic mountains was a totally humbling experience. We helped a family on Kerala tour packages from Mumbai to take their pictures against the sunset and they were very happy!

Illikkal Kallu

My brother, he is always very funny... 

It’s truly surprising to see such places near the city of Kottayam! I mean you visit this place during your Kerala tour packages from Delhi and stay amazed that such a gorgeous place is located adjacent to the city. Illikkal Kallu is the perfect trekking spot and we went prepared this time. Though it can get very dangerous, ascending and descending the rock formations through the misty hilltops, we were used to bigger challenges and hence enjoyed this trek thoroughly. The road to the top is very good and the view from the top is breathtaking! A must-visit place during your Kerala trip if you are near Kottayam district.

Houseboat Cruise

Nothing to say about the setting sun!!! 

We didn’t want to miss the quintessential backwater cruise during our Kerala tour and Kottayam had plenty of options for that too. In fact, here it was more close to nature as the place was not yet popular as a tourist destination as Allepey was. We enjoyed our journey through the Kumarakom backwaters and even got a glimpse of Kuttanad’s paddy fields during the trip. Since we went by a private canoe instead of a huge houseboat, we could pass by smaller water channels that let us explore the stunning village beauty of Kerala. We stopped at one place and enjoyed a walk through the paddy fields bordered by coconut groves. It was one of the best experiences during our Kerala travel. We only hoped my mom too could have joined us! But she was used to all these and hence it was a stunner for us only!!!

Bay Island Driftwood Museum

Bay Island Driftwood musuem

Did you know that this was the only museum in the world which had a huge collection of painstakingly collected driftwood from the seashores of Andaman and Nicobar islands? Even we didn’t and it was a humbling experience to see the efforts paid off well with the entry into the Limca Book of World Records! You must not miss this amazing collection during your Kerala tours, and it’s available only in Kottayam.

Poonjar Palace

Poonjar Palace 

Now we were starting to feel good about our actual trip plans getting cancelled. Being our native and having come here many times, we had never seen so much in Kottayam anytime before. And the best part was that all these places were even more exciting than what we would have seen in our planned tour otherwise. Poonjar palace was a popular destination on Kerala honeymoon packages and we did see a group of tourists with a guide exploring the beautiful place. The palace had an exorbitant collection of wood-crafted furniture and stone lamps that attracted many tourists here. The royal collection of lamps, handicrafts, jewel boxes, weapons, chandeliers, measuring tools and palm leaf engravings were quite enticing. We also visited a temple which looked exactly like the Meenakshi Temple in Madurai. We never knew such a replica existed! Our driver-cum-guide told us that the exotic Chuttuvilakku or stone cut lamp in the Sastha temple we visited nearby is a rare sight in India.

Mozart Art Gallery

Here we saw many foreigners on their honeymoon packages exploring the paintings and artifacts on display. It is an interesting place for those visiting Kerala for the first time as it showcases more about the culture and tradition of the state. As for us, we did not find it as interesting.

Wagamon

My cousins; pretty girls 

Wagamon was a beauty and there’s no other word to explain it. It was not very far from where we were staying. Since my mom was already feeling much better and had started moving around slowly, we decided to take her along and good we did. It was very refreshing for her, the perfect place to step out after a week’s house arrest! We had taken a foldable chair along so that she could sit comfortably and the driver was really helpful carrying our things so that we could concentrate on our mom. There were many young couples that made us realize it was a popular destination for honeymoon packages in Kerala. The green meadows were surrounded by the mighty mountains on 3 sides and there was a beautiful lake on the 4^th side which made the place looks heavenly.

Ha ha ha my selfie with friends 

 My mom was very happy she made it to this place to breathe in the fresh air and enjoy the greenery all around. We spent a few hours chitchatting and also enjoyed boating though my mom could not! We had our food at a resort nearby and found out that they offered good Ayurvedic massages which were very popular here. We took their number as the place was beautifully maintained and the rates were not too exorbitant. Next time we visit Kerala we have to spend a couple of days here relaxing for sure.

Our next family photo; yet incomplete 

Every time we would be back home after the day’s exploration we would be so excitedly telling our mom what we saw and certain places even amazed her! Good that we managed to take her to Wagamon or else she would have missed the most beautiful place we saw in Kerala this time. She got better in a week’s time and we managed to spend a couple of days exploring Kochi since our return flight was from Kochi. The next time, my mother has told that we have to take her to all these places without fail and also have to travel to those places we missed out this time!!!  See you soon Kerala!