When you are in Kerala.......

1. Kumarakom Lake Resort- Kottayam.   

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Location.

2. Emrald Hotels- Allepey.

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Location:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMxoLtzMlro

3. Abad Turtle Beach Resort - Allepey.

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Location

4. Poovar island Resort -Thiruvananthapuram.

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Location.


5. Leela Backwaters - Thiruvananthapuram.

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Location.


6. Coconut Palms, Pallana 

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Location

Equidistant from Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram

30 kms from Allapuzha

3 kms from Haripad Railway station.

This is an 150 year old mansion built or renovated exactly as a typical house in Kerala. As all houses in Kerala this too is made of wood stone and tiles.It is surrounded by sacred grooves ponds and plantations of all kinds. Situated close to the backwaters. As in most parts of Southern Kerala the ground you walk on is sandy.


7. Thattekadu Bird Sanctuary. Also known as Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary.

Images.

Location.  74 kms from Kochi.

Wayanad- Wayanad comprises of four regions viz : Vythiri, Kalpetta, Sulthan Bathery and Mananthavady.

Vythiri

Distance from Kozhikode     

Kalpetta
Distance from Kozhikode

Sulthan Bathery

Sultan Bathery is about 25 kms. from Kalpetta.It is associated with Hyder Ali and Tipu Sulthan. There is a  Jain temple nearby whith interesting stone carvings. 

Sulthan Bathery can be seen on a drive from Kalpetta to Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, .

Edakkal caves-12 kms from Sulthan Bathery  located at a height of 1000 mts. The caves can be accessed only by a 1Km trekking trail from Edakkal. Morning hours are the best time to visit these caves.

The new stone age pictorial writings on the walls of these natural caves at Edakkal are the evidence of the civilizations that existed in the regions in the pre-historic times. The caves can be accessed only by a 1Km trekking trail from Edakkal.  

A trek up of the Ambukuthi Hill near Ambalavayal town takes you to another interesting neolithic cave site. Etchings can be found on the walls.  

IMPORTANT TOURIST PLACES IN WAYANAD DISTRICT AND DISTANCES



Places                                               Distance from Kalpetta         Nearest Town


Wildlife Sanctuary - Muthanga          42 kms                                 Sulthan Bathery

Wildlife Sanctuary - Tholpetty           59 kms                                 Kartikulam

Chembra Peak

(Highest Peak in Wayanad)               17 kms                                  Meppadi 

Chembra Peak Trek

Neelimala View Point                        27 kms                                 Vaduvanchal

Meenmutty Falls
(Trekking)                                        29 kms.                                 Vaduvanchal

Banasura Sagar Dam                      
(Largest Earth Dam)                         24 kms.                                  Padijnarathara

Jain Temple                                      24 kms.                                  Sulthan Bathery

Ambalavayal
(Wayanad Heritage Museum)           25 kms.                                 Ambalavayal

Muniyara                                          27 kms.                                Ambalavayal

Uravu                                               12 kms                                 Muttil

Chain Tree                                        16 kms                                 Lakkidi

Pallikkunnu Church                           19 kms.                                 Kabalakkad

Korome Mosque                               47 kms                                 Padijnarathara

Pazhassi Raja's Tomb                        35 kms.                                Mananthavady

Valliyoorkav Bhagavathi Temple        24 kms                                 Mananthavady

Source: Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary

Wayanad has some of the most beautiful falls in Kerala.

Meenmutty falls is the biggest and most beautiful fall in Wayanad Kalpetta. It is a 3 tired 300 metre high fall reach the fall requires a 2 km hike through the forest from the Ooty road

The others are Kanthampuram Falls, and the Suchipara Falls. 


Eravikulam National Park - the home of Nilgiri Tahr Munnar

Distance from Munnar


Silent Valley National Park

Homestays in Wayanad
www.tropicalforest.in

Homestays in Allepey
www.nelpura.com

Walking along Mararikulam beach

Rhythm of the rain in Kerala

Lake Palace Hotel, Allepey

Far from the cacophonous sounds of the busy Allepey town, a 10 minute ride in a motor boat, brings you to Lake Palace Hotel. It is situated on the banks of the Vemanad lake on the backwaters.

The single storied rooms, spread across the vast water body is  propped up on stilts. As you look down from your balcony you can see the marine world of fishes, turtles, squiggly tadpoles, sea weeds and an occasional water snake! The swimming pool is located in the center of  a water body, in the precincts of the resort, complete with sun decks and chairs.

The dining hall is on an elevated level over-looking the lake. A picture perfect scene unfolds before you; house-boats carrying  tourists sail past; fisherman in dugout canoes determinedly row across; teens in speed boats cut and swerve through water leaving behind a widening V of frothing water. At dusk you can see the silhouettes of fishing boats dimly lit with kerosene lanterns hung on the deck, silently sailing by. Night time is fishing time. Fishing nets are cast and movement of boats are restricted.  Its time for the fisherman to consolidate their catch of fishes, before dawn breaks again.

Location and route
From Cochin Airport: 60 km;
Alappuzha Bus Stand: 4 km;
Alappuzha Railway Station: 4 km

to reach this place we had to take a boat ride from Allepey town.

A day in a House-boat in the Back water of Kerala

Our boat cleaved its way through the thick growth of water Lillies which grow in abundance in the backwaters of Kerala. Overhead the coconut trees arched on to the canal from both sides of the bank in a silent tribute to us. I was near Alapuzha (Alleppey) town and was heading towards the Vemanaud lake.

As I sailed down the canal through sleepy hamlets, I could see the life style  of the folks living on the edge of the canal. The houses were small and compact with tiled roofs. Each house was enclosed with a neat little fence, made from coconut leaves enclosing a small garden and a patch for vegetables. The women come to the canal to wash utensils and clothes. In some places the canal was so narrow that I could spy right into the living rooms of the houses.

For people living on the banks, the canal is their main mode of transportation; it is their life line.

I saw children going to school in small boats very much like kids packed in a rickshaw in the city.

I spotted a moving grocery and a vegetable boat. A 'general store boat' was selling plastic wares, soaps, knives and ropes. A government-run boat would pick up and drop passengers, moving diagonally from bank to bank.

I was sitting on a cane chair on the deck of the boat and  I could see the paddy fields stretching away far into the distant horizon. We were in Kuttanaud or the land of small people. The labourers working knee deep in paddy fields gave the impression of short statured people. Kuttanaud is reputed to be 3 metres below sea level. The sea water has been kept away by dykes and dams.

Our boat lazed along quietly on the canal which after a point opened out to the wide expanse of the Vemanaud lake bordered by gilded coconut trees swaying in the gentle breeze, at the distant end.

In Gods own country, the pace of life has a different rhythm. It is slow and measured without a trace of haste. I looked across to the bank. There, under the shade of a mango tree, a father and son were lying on a mat. It was quiet and peaceful save for an occasional knocking` of a woodpecker. It was mid afternoon and siesta time for the inhabitants of Gods own country.

Facts:

One of the places where you can board a house-boat is from the Allepey town-also known as the Gateway to the backwaters of Kerala.

You can hire a boat for 24 hours starting from morning at 10 AM. At dusk because the fisherman cast their fishing nets in the canal, nocturnal movements of the boats are prohibited. The boats have to be moored for the night. Time can hang heavy on your hands if you are travelling alone. A better option would be hire the boat till evening and then check into one of the many riverside resorts that dot the canal, which can be more fun.

Some of the resorts to stay when you spending your time in the backwaters of Kerala.

Coconut lagoon

Lake Palace Hotel 

Homestays in Allepey
www.nelpura.com