Help- Suggestions for 20 days in kerala in May

tstfs

this is good info. thanks

tstfs

14 days to go...........

tstfs

any suggestions folks?

snonymous

Hi TSTFS
We are all now eagerly awaiting your suggestions and feedback from your trip !!!
Have a wonderful vacation, Im sure your kids will have something to boast about to their friends.

tstfs

june- second week

tstfs

Is it safe to travel to thekkady from Cochin airport, at night?
how long will it take?
how much will it cost?
does anybody know of any good cab- service?

pundabee

It is only as safe as the driver and his car are. The route is straight forward, and any experienced taxi driver will have experience on this route. The drive, at night, should take between 4 and 5 hours depending on the driver. The cost will be between Rs. 2300 and Rs. 3200 depending on type of car and where you book it.

My recommendation is to not use the airport taxis for long distance travelling. It is usually the worst drivers that do the prepaid taxi service. And when I say worst I mean very dangerous. Additionally, the airport taxis are more expensive.

Your best bet is to arrange for a pick-up through your accommodation. This will also limit the risk that the taxi driver attempts to fleece the accommodation owner for commission (common practice).

tstfs

thanks

snonymous

Another member on one of these forums had strongly recommended http://keralataxi.com/ if you want to check it out.

A word of caution: At the best of times private taxi drivers tend to go too fast, which could be all the more dangerous when its pitch dark on country roads.

pundabee

To highlight the great variation in taxi charges. The linked taxi company charges the following for a Toyota Qualis:

Rs. 1450 per day including 100km. Each additional km is Rs. 9.

The distance from the airport to Kumily is approximately 360km (180 one way, but the driver has to return to Kochi). The total price is therefore:

1450 + (260*9) = Rs. 3790

The Qualis driver, from Kumily, that we occasionally use would charge Rs. 2500 for the same trip.

Edit: the linked company has got the pricing of the Innova completely wrong. It should be the same as the price of a Qualis.

snonymous

Greetings Pundabee

Since you live in the Kumily area [how lucky] you will be the best person to ask. What is there to see in Chellarkovil and Pandikuzhi? Ive been told that these places are very scenic.

Also could you please post some phone numbers of local taxi drivers. This would be most useful.
Thanks.

pundabee

Chellarkovil Viewpoint, as it is commonly known as here, is located near Anakara village on the Munnar road circa 14km from Kumily. Essentially, it is the end of a side road to the Munnar road with a view over Tamil Nadu. Part of the view is a waterfall that is infamous for being the place where locals commit suicide. Not very uplifting. There is a tree house where I believe refreshments can be had, and that is about it. If you have been to Kodaikanal you are likely to be disappointed with the view on offer. Yes, it is nice, but by no means breathtaking. I don't know Pandikuzhi.

Concerning taxis, this is a slightly tricky request. Obviously, I can't put private phone numbers on the Internet, and I would not really want to recommend a particular taxi driver to someone I don't know. If the occupant turned out to be an unpleasant character, it would reflect badly on me.

I still think the solution to getting a good driver in Kerala is to ask the accommodation to send one. If the accommodation sends a bad driver in a bad car at an unreasonable price it will reflect badly on the accommodation, which gives them an incentive to not do so.

snonymous

Thanks Pundabee. My car is already fixed for my entire 10 days trip, I just thought it would be handy to have more contact details for future use. Chellarkovil sounds over rated. Have you heard of a place called Murrikady? Thanks again.

pundabee

Comparatively, Chellarkovil is overrated, but I would still recommended it to many people for an afternoon/early evening trip. It is easy to get a bus from Kumily to 8th mile, and walk to the viewpoint through the village.

I have never been to Murrikady. It is about 5km west of Kumily and is known for being the location of Shalimar Hotel. The hotel used to be run by an Italian woman, but has now been taken over by a Mumbai (or similar) group. Murrikady is now also the dumping and burning place for waste collected in Kumily (travellers in the area will find that Kumily is an exceptionally clean town compared to other cities and towns in Kerala for this exact reason).

One activity to consider whilst in Kumily is to walk to and through the tribal villages located when you exit Kumily on the Kottayam road. These can be found by turning left at Holiday Home, and continue up the hill.

Continuing out of the Kottayam road for 5km to Spring Valley, Village Office (66th mile) there is a sign for Cardamom Club (tourist accommodation). This is a nice little 3km walk to one of the nicest, reasonably priced accommodations in the area. It is set among the hills in total peace. It is relatively new and therefore completely unknown.

snonymous

Thanks for the info Pundabee. We will be staying inside the sanctuary for 3 days so I expect we will do most of our walking inside with the odd trip into Kumily to make the mandatory purchase of spices. When I was there last, we walked around spice plantations. I believe there are a lot of nice places for short walks on the road going to Munnar.