Backpacking around Kerala

I had visited Kerala for 8 nights in January 2019 on an organised tour and had been very impressed with the area, its January climate, its lush vegetation, and its friendly people. There are no major historical sites, as there are in nearby Sri Lanka, but – to my surprise – I found I preferred Kerala. However, my tour was very rushed, with just the one night in Thekkady/Periyar, for example. A few people from my tour stayed on independently afterwards and I was very envious. Hence, when a travel “window” appeared in early January 2020 I decided I would return for longer and this time I would travel around independently using only public transport. Having been to Cochin before, I decided to head first for Kottayam, a useful transport hub, and then head up into the Western Ghats and Thekkady/Periyar again.

Costs. Flights £500. Visa £20. UK trains £23. Kottayam hotel (B&B) £25 per night. Thekkady guesthouse (B&B) £17 per night. Varkala guesthouse (B&B) £35 per night. Marari Beach homestay (B&B) £18 per night. Cochin airport hotel £15. Kumarakom bird sanctuary £1.50. Periyar National Park permit £5 per day. Periyar guide (shared with two others) £5 for three hours. Typical train fare (sleeper class) £1.35. Kottayam–Kumarakom bus £0.15. Kottayam–Kumily/Thekkady bus £1.00. Beer (650 ml bottle) £2-£3. Typical evening meal without drinks £2-£3. Total cost of trip £980.

Places I stayed and was happy with. Hotel Aida, Kottayam (Days 2–3, Read my review); Green View, Thekkady (Days 4–6, Read my review); Mad About Coco, Varkala (Days 7–9, Read my review); Marari Raju Villa, Marari Beach (Days 10–12, Read my review); Gems 9 Airport Hotel, Cochin (Day 13, Read my review).

Books. South India & Kerala (Lonely Planet, 10th edition).

Day 1: Travel to Doha. I started out from Lancaster where I was working. Caught 10.28 am train to Manchester Airport. Flight departed at 2 pm and landed in Doha at 11.45 pm (local time). I breezed through security in an instant.

Days 2-3: Fly on to Cochin; train to Kottayam; visit Kumarakom bird sanctuary. Boarded flight to Cochin at 12.45 am. The plane waited for some late transfer passengers and we took off at 2.00 am. The flight was more than half empty, perhaps because of events unfolding in nearby Iran. Landed in Cochin at 8.40 am (local time) and moved smoothly through immigration and baggage collection. I then discovered that Kerala was in the middle of a 24-hour general strike! After much faffing, I eventually found an airport taxi to take me to Aluva railway station, where I waited three long hours for my train to Kottayam. I arrived in Kottayam at 3.35 pm and got an auto-rickshaw to my hotel (pre-booked), where I showered and slept for a bit. I went out to look for some dinner at 7.30 pm but could not find anywhere open in the town. The next day, after a much needed hotel breakfast, I caught the 10 am bus from the bus station to the Kumarakom bird sanctuary, arriving 10.50 am. Walked around for about 2.5 h, mostly in the company of two friendly Indian guys, seeing very few birds but encountering three smooth-coated otters and a monitor lizard. Caught the bus back to Kottayam, arriving 2.20 pm and had lunch in a town centre bakery. Got back to the hotel at 3.15 pm and showered and slept. Went out for an excellent dinner (with beer) at 6.35 pm in “The Outhouse” bar attached to the hotel, which was now open.

Days 4-6: Bus to Thekkady; walk around Periyar National Park; relax in the garden. After breakfast, left the hotel at 10 am and caught the 10.40 am bus from the bus station to Kumily/Thekkady up in the mountains of the Western Ghats, arriving at 2.40 pm, four long hours later. Found my lovely guesthouse (pre-booked) at 3.10 pm. Had a chat with the owner, Suresh, about what activities I could do while in the area and he suggested that I team up with a French couple, also staying in the guesthouse, for two guided walks in the Periyar National Park the next day. Had a beer on my balcony and then watched the flocks of fruit bats heading for their nocturnal roosts. Went out for dinner (pizza) at 7.30 pm. The next day, at 6 am, Suresh drove François, Brigitte and myself to the Park entrance from where we took a bus into the Park. At about 7 am, we located our guide for the morning and walked until about 9.45 am. We then returned by bus to the guesthouse and had breakfast at about 10.15 am. I met up with François and Brigitte again at 1.50 pm and we walked to the Park entrance ready for our afternoon walk. We found our guide and started the walk, with all of us wearing lower leg protection against leeches (I had brought my gaiters from home!), at 2.15 pm. This walk was in a different part of the Park and we saw a bit more wildlife than we did in the morning. The walk finished at 4.55 pm and we came back to the guesthouse. The fruit bats appeared again and I courted unpopularity with my fellow guests by suggesting that they, in fact, have excellent eyesight and do not use echo location! Went out for dinner at 7 pm. The next day I did... nothing. For the most part, I sat on my balcony, booked rooms for the rest of my trip, and watched and photographed the birds and monkeys in the guesthouse garden. Went out for dinner at 6.45 pm, meeting up with a few of the other people from the guesthouse.

Days 7-9: Bus and train to Varkala; walk and relax. Left the guesthouse at 9.20 am and caught the 9.40 am bus to Kottayam, arriving 12.50 pm (it is downhill in this direction). Walked to the train station. Chatted with a couple from London heading in the same direction as me. Train arrived precisely one hour late at 3.40 pm. Arrived in Varkala at 6.05 pm and got a taxi to my very nice guesthouse (pre-booked from Thekkady). Went out for dinner at 7.30 pm. The next day, after breakfast, I walked north along the coast for a bit, taking lots of photos, then rested in my guesthouse, and then explored south along the coast, which was less successful owing to the absence of a coastal path. Went out for beer followed by dinner at 5.50 pm. I got up at 7.10 am the following day and visited the main Varkala temple, which I found only mildly interesting having visited several much larger Hindu temples before, on Bali for example. Came back to the guesthouse, showered, and went for breakfast at 9.30 am. Walked north along the coast again, this time continuing much further, reaching Kappil Beach and the lagoon. Arrived back at the guesthouse at 1.40 pm and spent most of the afternoon sitting in the garden. Went out for dinner at 6 pm.

Days 10-12: Train to Alleppey; auto-rickshaw to Marari Beach; relax. My auto-rickshaw came at 9.30 am and I was at Varkala train station 10 min later. My train arrived at 10.15 am – astonishingly, only 4 min late! But of course there was a hold-up along the way and I arrived in Alleppey 30 min late. I took an auto-rickshaw out to Marari Beach. But then things got a bit difficult. I walked the final yards to my homestay (pre-booked from Thekkady), following the instructions I had been given, only to be told that, no, I was booked into their other property. I was given a lift there but the owner had no record of my booking (although I had it on my iPad) and he wanted to charge me more than I was expecting. An uneasy truce was reached. There are very few places to eat in the evenings in Marari Beach (which is just a beach – everything shuts at dusk apart from the homestays). I went out for dinner at 6.45 pm and eventually found somewhere that would serve me a modest meal. The next day, after breakfast, I was ready to go for a walk when the owner indicated that he wished to talk to me. It seemed that he had located my booking and, to cut a long story short, this led to a major thaw in our relations; in fact, I would say that from that point onwards I was the target of a serious charm offensive! I went for my walk, photographing dragonflies in the litter-filled pools behind the beach and sitting in a cafe on the beach for a good long while. At 6.45 pm I went for dinner in the owner’s other homestay (this was his suggestion) where they served good food and cold beer. Over dinner, I got talking to two German girls, Marie and Anne-Katrin from Berlin, and afterwards we played a dice game (Qwixx?) that they had brought with them. The next day, my final full day in Marari Beach, followed exactly the same plan: breakfast, dragonflies, beach cafe, and then dinner and beer with Marie and Anne-Katrin in the evening.

Day 13: Travel to Cochin Airport. Breakfast at 9.30 am. I was allowed to stay in my room until the 12 noon arrival of my auto-rickshaw (more of the charm offensive). I arrived at Cherthala train station at 12.20 pm. Astonishingly, my very busy train arrived on time at 1.10 pm – and it arrived in Aluva on time too! Auto-rickshaw out to my convenient airport hotel (pre-booked from Thekkady), arriving about 3.05 pm. Went for dinner at about 6.25 pm.

Day 14: Travel home. Left hotel at 7.15 am and walked to the airport, arriving 7.30 am. The bag drop was easy but then came the horror of passport control (I am afraid I cheated and went in the “families with children” queue) and the even greater horror of security. Boarded flight about 9 am. Took off about 9.40 am. Landed in Doha at 12 noon (local time). Through security instantly. Boarded next flight at about 3 pm but waited a good while for connecting passengers. Took off at about 3.45 pm. Landed in Manchester at 7.35 pm (local time). Passport control and baggage collection were both very easy. Caught 9.06 pm train to Lancaster as planned. Caught 10.35 pm bus to the university, collected a key, and was in my room for the night at about 11 pm.

Kit notes. I took my 65+10 litre rucksack and put it in the aircraft hold, and carried a cheap 30 litre rucksack as hand luggage and for daily use on the tour. My idea was that, if necessary, I could pack the empty 30 litre rucksack inside the larger one but this did not prove necessary. For a camera, I took my Nikon DSLR + Sigma 18-250 mm travel lens + Sigma 70-300 mm telephoto lens (non-stabilised).

Wildlife seen. Smooth-coated Otter, Wild Boar, Sambar deer, Nilgiri Langur, Malabar Giant Squirrel, Bengal Monitor, Asian Koel, Common Kingfisher, White-throated Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher, Scarlet Minivet, Malabar Grey Hornbill, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Malabar Parakeet, Woolly-necked Stork, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Asian Fairy-bluebird, Brahminy Kite, Indian Pond Heron, Variegated Flutterer, Pied Paddy Skimmer, Greater Crimson Glider, Slender Skimmer, Clear-winged Forest Glory, Carpenter Bee.

Reflections. This was a very successful trip and I am quite proud of myself that I managed to travel around using only public transport. The trains were quite easy to use, with station announcements in English, although painfully slow and often late. Buses were harder to use, with everything written in the local Malayalam script, but there always seemed to be a friendly English-speaking local around to point me in the right direct. And finally, for shorter journeys, there were taxis and auto-rickshaws which were reliable and cheap. The visit to Varkala and the return visit to Thekkady were very much the right decisions; I really liked both places. Kottayam was much less attractive but served its functional purpose as a starting point. The most problematic of my choices was Marari Beach, which was recommended to me by the guesthouse owner in Thekkady. It was simply not my sort of place. It is just a beach, with nowhere to walk, and much too quiet for the solo traveller. But I was lucky to meet some nice people there and that saved the day.

© 2020 The Untravelled World