After living in Bangalore for almost 8 long years if someone says that he has not been to Kerala, getting weird looks from others would be the most obvious thing to expect. Kerala is one of the first places that comes to one’s mind when you are planning a trip to South India, if you are from the North. And for those like us who live/d in the southern part of the country, it is one of the most popular destinations. From culture & history to food and from delightful backwaters & house-boats to beautiful beaches, Kerala has everything to please your soul. And yes, not to forget the centuries’ old lush green tea gardens with the rustic colonial touch about them.

Bangalore To Munnar By Road

While all these were enough reasons to head to Kerala on one of the so many weekends and holidays I had when I was in Bangalore, I somehow, always found myself postponing to some other time. This was part because I was not really keen on visiting a place over-crowded with people from the cities and it was also because Kerala to me seemed a little expensive for a solo biker. But as they say, we don’t make the plans, we just follow it.

Barely a couple of weeks before I left Bangalore (Life 2.0: Bye Bye Bangalore), one fine day as the first rays of the sun slowly peeped out from behind the skyscrapers of Bangalore, I found myself driving to the green hills of Munnar. Even a day before, I had no idea that I was doing this trip and the next morning, by the time the sun was bright and shiny, we were almost at our destination.

Now those who have been following this blog since a while or have known me personally, know that I love mountains. Be it the mighty Himalayas of the North or the ghats of South, mountains never fail to delight me. So, even though this trip to Munnar was a very unplanned one and because I was traveling with family (which meant that I cannot plan anything out of nowhere), I was actually looking forward to it since the night before. And why not. Ask any rider or driver about the meandering mountain roads and how delightful they are and the smile on their face will tell you the answer. You don’t have to wait for them to actually tell you and I was (I still am) no different.

In the almost two days were in Munnar, a trip which was cut short because of unexpected developments in a neighboring state, we experienced the different facets the small hill town and the places around it. From the hues of dusk as the sun slowly descended behind the green mountains at a distance to beautiful waterfalls which could only be accessed through super narrow roads running through densely vegetated mountain slopes.

From following locals and ending up at small villages at the tucked between acres of lush tea plantations all around to sipping locally grown tea and watching nature unfold its magical self as the smell of cardamom plantations around us seemed to refresh us from inside.

“Truly God’s own country“, I thought to myself as I got up to leave the only home cum eatery there, after finishing my late lunch.

So, what do you think? Would you want to head to Kerala on your own or take choose from many Kerala Tour Packages out there?

Have you been to Kerala? What did you like the most?