Places to see in Kerala/Cochin/Trivindram

riya

Hi everyone,

Could you please suggest places to see & things to do for 2 60 year olds(my parents). They want to go to Kerala & asked me to help set their itinerary. I'm not sure if Cochin or Trivandram are good places to go but that's the only 2 places they can connect via Jet Airways. They are interested in seeing village life, water falls, beach & temples. Would Cochin or Trivandram fit their criteria? Also do they have any nice house cottages in either of these places? Thank you!

Riya

audigraph

We were just in Kerala and loved both Trivandrum and Cochin. We are a 26 year old and a 40 year old. But, the places we stayed at had more older people.

In Trivandrum we stayed at the extremely beautiful and pricey Surya Sumadra. We had a private cottage overlooking the Sea. From there, easy ride to Kovalam Beach for other restaurants and shops. In Trivandrum there is a palace to tour, next to a temple built in the Tamil Nadu style (can't go in, but great to just see the outside. There are museums there too, but we didn't do that.

Cochin was great - stayed at the incredibley nice Malabar House in the old Fort Cochin area. Nice change there, not so conjested - but we dealt with more touts there than anywhere else. The only synagogue is beautiful from the 1300s.

When we were there, lots of festivals going on so the temples were alive and fun - elephants, music, drums, dancing and people who seem to appreciate a westerner's interest in the temples - we were the only one's we ever saw.

We had a couple of great drivers in each place will forward the info if interested.

iqbal

We just returned from a month in India of which about 1/3 was spent in Kerala. We loved Kerala.

The SB Regency in Varkala was a good find and has a fine view of the sea and a great chef. The owner, Mr. Ravi, will take care of you. There are other terrific loding options on the cliff as well.

Varkala has an ancient hindu temple.

Munnar is outstanding. If I had to chose one place to visit in Kerala, it would be Munnar. I call it India's equivalent of the California Wine Country: the Tea Country. The drive up is a long and winding road. Keep this in mind if you are prone to car sickness. There are lots of waterfalls, but they were dry during our visit.

Fort Cochin has a tourist ghetto and is a great place to visit. The Malabar House is a terrific upscale choice for lodging. However we were not impressed with the food and bar selection. There are other wonderful places to eat in Fort Cochin.

Another interesting activity is the overnight houseboat from Kollam to Allepey. This was one of our favorite trips.

The city of Trivandrum is interesting. I would rank it towards the bottom of the to-do list given the other options.

The Kerala state tourism dept. has informative brochures available that you can probably request by mail. We picked them up at the Trivandrum airport and found them to be useful if only for the very detailed map.

Good luck!

Iqbal

moosone

If it's beaches, temples and village life you are looking for, then Trivandrum and Kochi should be good choices:

Things to do in Trivandrum:
1. Kovalam: This beach evokes mixed responses, but i feel that if you go South of Kovalam towards Vizhinjam the beaches improve dramatically. Surya Samudra Beach Resort, which has been mentioned earlier offers a mix of the modern and traditional. There's also a place called Karikkathi Beach house right next to Surya Samudar. IT's a small homestay facility, with no TV or air conditioning though. They have only 2 rooms so if you are the only guests staying there it's almost like having your own beachside vacation home. And the views from there are fantastic. The only drawback is that it has no road access - you need to walk through Surya Samudra or another nearby coconut grove to get there.
2. The Kuthiramalika Palace Museum: it's also been mentioned before. It's right next to the famous Padmanabhaswamy Temple and is a good place to visit. Some of the guides are not too great though.
3. The Padmanabhaswamy Temple: in the heart of the city's Fort area. Entry is restricted to hindus only, but non-hindus can go right up to the front entrance.

4. Padmanabhapuram: it's about 60 kilometers South of Trivandrum - a little more than an hour's drive away - in Tamil Nadu. Is the old capital of the former princely state of Travancore. is a must see if the Kerala style of archtecture interests you. will take half a day if done at a leisurely pace. This visit could be combined with a visit to Kanyakumari - the Southernmost part of mainland India.

5. The Museum and Art Gallery: both in a state of some disrepair, but still worth a visit, especially the Art Gallery.

In KOCHI
1. Fort Cochin: the synagogue, the 'antique' shops, the Chinese fishing nets, the seaside cafes where you get to eat fresh fish and so on.
2. Kumbalangi: this is a village close to Kochi that is being developed as a heritage village. It offers some insights into village life. Not too sure if tourist accomdation is available there...
3. If temples intersest you a visit to TRICHUR about 70 kilometers south of Kochi is a possible option. IT would take about 2 hours by road. Trichur is full of temples including the famous Guruvayur temple about 30 kilometers away from Trichur town. also check out the elephant stables at Punnathoor Kota about 3 kilometers from Guruvayur. it has over 60 elephants of different ages there.

Lynn K

I am just back from a month in India - 2 weeks each in Goa and Kerala. I mostly agree with what has been said.

I am 51 and my partner is over 60. We found Cochin, Munnar, Trivandrum, Kovalam all interesting, a varied mix and not at all exhausting because of shorter distances.

We flew into Cochin where the airport is well setup &efficient & left via Trivandrum which is not & best avoided if possible.

Munnar is great to look at and a nice change from the heat and buzz of the cities but a bit ... err ... dull, not much to do but look at tea and views, which it has to be said are GREAT... but I would recommend a shortish stay unless rest is rquired. Most of the better hotels are outside the village so some transport is needed.

We organised a driver through KTDC, a very nice young man who drove us from Cochin to Munnar and through the Caradmom Hills to Periyar then down to Kottayam for Kumarakom and finally down the coast to Kovalam and Trivandrum via Kollam and Allepy.

I didn't enjoy Periyar but the drive across the hills was very scenic, lots of villages, tea plantations and spice gardens. At Periyar we stayed inside the park which I don't recommend as you can't leave after 6pm The food wasn't good and the hotel not comfortable enough to want to hang out there but there are lots of options in Kumily.

In Cochin we stayed at the Taj Malabar for some luxury before moving to something cheaper. A place with a pool is a good idea - Cochin can be hot & as the shops are great as well as the sights they will probably arrive back at the hotel hot, footsore & tired.

I was disappointed by Kovalam - the beach is beautiful and I can see that a few years back, in its more natural state, it would have been just gorgeous - but there is too much development too close to the beach for my taste. Nonetheless we enjoyed it & I didn't feel vulnerable to drowning there, which I sometimes did on the bigger Goan beaches. I missed Varkala but it sounds a better option.

I can recommend Kumarakom on Lake Vembanad - we stayed at Waterscapes - they have thatched cabins in a garden setting some with views of the lake. Very comfortable although the bar & restaurant are a bit of a hike away because the widely spaced cabins result in a large overall area for the hotel. Good place to relax - big pool, fabulous sunsets & about 8 kms from Kottayam which is not TOO big but big enough to have good shopping & interesting things to see. There is a Taj next door & there are other options but mostly 4 & 5 star not much in the budget league. The lake & the backwaters means mosquitos so visitors must be prepared.

Trivandrum is interesting in different ways and worth a look, great buildings and some interesting museums, v.good craft shopping. Good hotels seemed hard to come by. I wouldn't recommend the place we stayed. If you want something comfortable the newish Muthoot looked inviting - we ate there a couple of time - very pleasant staff.

Trivandrum though is busy & noisy & a challenge on foot - so keep the driver or use taxi/rickshaws.

Hope they enjoy the trip