After a lot of discussions, budgeting, answering questions like why we did not go on a honeymoon trip even after 4 months of our marriage (Sometimes I felt as if we committed a crime by not doing so ;)) , finally we decided to visit some place that could provide us some fresh air and the time to rejuvenate ourselves. After going through many reviews and some pre-travel research over the Internet (thanks to Google, Trip Advisor and some active bloggers), we decided to go for a package trip through Travel Planners for 5 nights and 6 days which included Kochi, Munnar, Thekkady and Alleppy.We decided to go in the beginning of December as the weather would be good and the places would not be much crowded. Because me and my husband strongly believe that the serenity of a place can truly be felt when there are less people around.
Since it is very difficult for me to accommodate all the information in one single blog, you will see it in 5 different parts, one for each day of the trip. So here goes the 1st part. But before you start reading, let me tell you that I am not a very good writer, but my intention of writing this blog is to help some people plan their trip as someone else's blog helped me plan mine. So happy reading :-)
Day 1 - Kochi
The long awaited trip started on 30th of November from Kolkata (as we got the flight tickets in a cheaper rate on this day ;)). It was 1pm by the time we reached kochi Airport and as soon as we came out of the Airport I felt like burning in the blistering heat. Kochi was really hot even in the beginning of December. So I would suggest to carry some light cotton clothes if you are keeping Kochi in your itinerary (Which I did not carry thinking that it was the beginning of Winter :(). Thankfully the cab provided by the travel agent was an AC vehicle and it provided great relief from the searing heat. I had heard it from many people even from some of my Keralite friends that it is difficult to find a Hindi speaking person in kerla even though many of the people speak very good English. But luckily our driver Mr Subbin was good both in English and Hindi making us more comfortable the very moment we started talking to him. We had to visit 2 waterfalls on the same day and Mr Subbin suggested us to start for the waterfalls early Since both the waterfalls are located on the edge of Sholayar forest range and entry is restricted to the area after 6 PM for the safety of people. It was obvious that an early start would save us some time to spend near the waterfalls. So We went to our hotel which was quite near to the airport, dumped our bags and started for our 1st destination for the day that was Arthripally Waterfalls. It was almost 2:30 pm by then and we were starving, so we stopped at Saravana Bhavan to have our lunch. I was very happy as I had already read somewhere that this hotel provides nice vegetarian food at reasonable price and even some people suggested to have lunch in this place while visiting Kerala. We ordered for Veg Biriyani and believe me, the food was really yummy. So I would suggest (like few other bloggers whose suggestion helped me choose the right restaurant) to have food in this restaurant once if you are visiting Kerala. They have a branch in Munnar too even though we did not have a chance to try the food there. After gratifying our stomachs with the delicious food, we moved forward towards our destination with more vigour and I was a little more excited than my husband as I was going to see the waterfall where the famous song "Barsho re megha" from the Bollywood film Guru was shot (U know this Bollywood Mania of Girls :-)).
Arthripally waterfall is approximately 55 kms from Kochi Airport and it took us around 1 and half hours to reach there. The drive through the Forest Area was really amazing with both sides of the road covered with various kinds of trees and the cool breeze sweeping us off our feet. We could hear the sound of the water fall from a long distance and as we moved forward the sound became more and more louder increasing my heartbeat in exhilaration. Finally we reached the place around 4 o' clock and after a walk of around 5 mins with continuous sweating, we had the 1st sight of the Majestic waterfall and trust me the sight was worth all the sweat. We forgot the tiredness and just stood there relishing the wild yet enticing beauty. It was the scorching heat and the sweat flowing out of our body that got us back to our senses and reminded us to go back before falling prey to the burning sun.
Arthripally Waterfall is the largest waterfall of Kerala (that is what Wikipedia says, but if you ask me this is the biggest waterfall among the few I have seen yet :-)) and it is approximate 80 feet in height (again from Wikipedia as I did not have any way to measure the height :-)). In one place of the fall, large volume of water falling from a great height creates a mist like effect which I loved the most. There is a steep path leading to the bottom of the falls where you can get drenched in water. But I would suggest to avoid it as the walk through this way is very tiresome and dangerous. So try it only if you are physically fit and do not have problems like asthma or arthritis. We got tired after going half the way, so we dropped the idea and came back to the upper side to have a little rest.
There were notice boards as well as rope barricades on the upper side of the fall restricting people from getting in to the water as this waterfall has been a witness to few unfortunate incidents. But I saw many people who did not care for it and crossed the rope boundary to have bath in the fall with a very slippery surface. I would request all of you to kindly obey the rules and not cross the boundaries as these rules are made for our own safety.
Pics of Arthripally Waterfall
Just one word of caution, there are plenty of monkeys at both the waterfalls who are very fond of chips and cold drinks :-). So do not carry any food items when you visit these places.
To visit both the waterfalls you need to buy entry tickets from a counter that comes on the way to the falls. But you need to reach there before 5 pm as the ticket counters get closed at 5 pm.
Pics of Vazachal Waterfall
