Munnar - Kumarkom Trip

Sampath

Me and my wife are planning to visit Munnar, thekaddy and Kumarakom during the last week of december. Kindly suggest me an itenary and places to stay. Would like to stay one night in a houseboat.

Was thinking, from bangalore reach munnar by overnight bus and stay there for 2 days, then move to thekaddy and spend one day and finally go to Kumarakom and stay for 2 days and return back to bangalore.

Kindly provide me ur valuable suggestions.. me like to keep the budget reasonable. Will munnar be very cold during this time. At thekady other than periyar wild life sancutary, anything else to see. Some friends were suggesting to skip thekady and do just munnar-kumarakom. What do u suggest..

Regards
Sampath
Bangalore

vandy

Good Day Sampath,

I also suggest Skipping Thekady with the limited time you have and use the extra time relaxing in
Kumarakom.

Happy travels.

vandy

Sampath

Thanks Vandy, As u suggested i have skipped thekady and have booked my accomodation in munnar and kumarakom for 2 days each and lots of search due to peak chrishtmas/new year eve demand. over night stay in House boat at kumarakom was very costly and hence couldnt afford it.

Now kindly request you to suggest which places of importance should we cover in sightseeing in munnar and kumarakom. We will be staying for 2 full days in each location.

In-between we are needed to travel from munnar to kumarakom, how far is it, is it better to hire a taxi and go or catch a local bus. Which do you suggest.

Regards
Sampath

santos_g15

hey Sampath ,
You have made a wrong decision man.thekkady is one hell of a place if you do the right program.do the tiger trail costs 5000 per person for 3 days or 2000 for 2 days .its just great .boating in periyar is waste because there are less chances you see animals in outer outer(to emphasize you are in outermost region of jungle) periphery.tiger trail is bit inside the forest and offers you a lot more.ok. 2 days in munnar is enough and kumarkom has only a bird sanctuary and vembanad lake.i dont think there is enough to do for 2 days in kumarakom. catch at taxi between munnar and kumarakom.it will take 6 hrs i guess we travelled munnar-thekkady-kumarakom.you first plan is ideal as it breaks up journey munnar-thekkady(3 hrs) and in afternoon you can do treks into forest and if you want to relax boat ride.then move to kumarakom.enjoy the afternoon in an boat (price 1hr=350 2hr =700 ).if you travel munnar-kumarakom you will lose one day in travel(even if you take taxi) which is a waste of time.just my humble opinion.

Sampath

Hi Santos,

Thanks for the suggestion. I agree that tiger trial is very good. But unfortunately my wife is not interested in trekking. Hence i cancelled thekady. I dint know munnar to kumarakom would take a good 6 hrs... thats too long

Any other places you suggest to visit, other than thekady enroute from munnar to kumarakom.?

Regards
Sampath

santos_g15

peermedu an hill station is an option.wagamon,vagamon is another hill station.these are not as quite popular as munnar but it have its own unique beauty and it may offer you some.

happy journey

Sampath

THanks santos for the options, will look into them.

From Blore to Munnar, as there are no KSRTC direct buses. Somebody suggested that catch the blore-kottayam KSRTC bus and get down at Perumbavoor, from there many buses ply to munnar, which is 96 kms... Is this true?

How is the frequency of buses from Perumbavoor to Munnar.
How much is the distance and travel time.

There is a KPN travels direct bus to munnar, say they depart at 9.30 pm, when will it reach munnar the next day.

Regards
Sampath

pmvelu

Sampath,

Hope you tried out Bangalore -Kanyakumari Express which goes via Ernakulam Jn already..If you could find vacancy, this is the most comfortable option and you could get down at coimbatore and get a bus to Munnar[4 1/2 hours ] .If you could afford, hiring a Taxi is best bet as there are many a scenic points enroute in this circuit Coimbatore-Udumalaipettai-Chinnar-Munnar !

Or else

There is intercity express in the day time from Bangalore. You could make the train journey from Bangalore upto coimbatore and from there you can get a bus to Munnar [ around 4 1/2 hours travelling time]. Even you could board any of the night trains from Bangalore to coimbatore and get a bus in the morning[This way you could enjoy the enroute too]

Keep 100% bus journey as last option as it could get uncomfortable considering the distance we are talking about !

Anyways there are frequent Private / KerSRTC buses between Perumbavoor / Kothamangalam / Aluva to Munnar .. No issues !

In short, Coimbatore is shortest to get to Munnar from Bangalore !

Hope this helps
Velu

Sampath

Hi Velu, Thanks for ur suggestion for train journey.
I enquired all the trains to coimbatore, ernakulam, etc and due to holiday season (chirstmas/new year eve) its full and all are waiting list. Hence i was trying to go via bus and wanted to know the best options.

1) By Bus, which is better location to get down to catch bus to munnar, is it coimbatore or perumbavoor.
2) from coimbatore u said it takes 4.5 hrs to reach munnar, similarly from perumbavoor how much time does it take.
3) If we decide to hire a taxi, how much does it cost from coimbatore and perumbavoor.

Kindly help.

Regards
Sampath

santos_g15

U dont have to go to Coimbatore. you can get down at udalmalpet.lots of buses ply between udumalpet and munnar.cuts costs for taxi or bus.but better suggestion is as pm velu said trains. u just cant bear the trip from bangalore-coimbatore it takes lot of time.6+hrs for sure.try tatkal.hope you get a ticket all the best.

Sampath

yes Santos, anyday trains are best option. Will give a try through tatkal. But if suppose i dont get the train, and by then if even all the buses are booked, then it will tough time. Better to book a bus and cancel it if train gets confirmed

Also found a direct bus from blore to munnar by KPN travels, they say it departs from blore at 9.30 pm, any idea when it will reach munnar.

Can you tell me know far is munnar from perumbavoor and journey time.

Regards
Sampath

pmvelu

@Sampath,

From Perumbavoor also it will be around 4 hours by bus..

And regarding KPN travels, I think it will take nearer to 12 hours to cover the distance .. Not Sure which route they are taking as For Chennai to Munnar they take a circuitous route of Chennai-tiruchi-palani-Udumalpet-Munnar !..

Have a Fantastic Journey !!

Cheers
Velu

pmvelu

You can't get down at udumalpet in "Bangalore to coimbatore trains" as it will not pass through udumalpet Sampath !.. So if at all if it's train , get to coimbatore and then continue your onward journey !!

Velu

Sampath

hi velu, thanx for the info. Will finalise the route soon and keep u all posted. Now coming to the next part, as this is my first visit to munnar and kumarakom, kindly suggest me important places to see..

My schedule is like this
Day 1 - at Munnar after lunch, have half a day time
Day 2 - have full day time for sightseeing
Day 3 - morning checkout and travel towards kumarakom (6 hrs) if i reach before 3-4pm, may be can do a sunset boat ride, etc
Day 4 - kumarakom full day what to see
Day 5 - half a day in kumarakom, then checkout and catch bus at kottayam to blore

In Munnar - Matupety Dam, Echo Point, Top Station, how about Kundala, Rajamala, Kodanadu, Devikulam, Chinnar wild life sanctuary, Marayoor and Eravikulam National Park....

In Kumarakom - sunset ride, boat/canal ride, canoe ride through bird sanctuary, bay island drift wood museum, vembanad lake...

Kindly suggest the not to miss places.

Regards
Sampath

dipydoo

Eravikulam is good. Try and schedule so that you see things one after the other. Some of the places that you mention are on different sides of town.
I personally did not find Top Station too appealing...