Discovering the Beauty of Kerala: A 6-Day Itinerary
When talking about India, few people think of Kerala as a main destination. And after visiting, we don’t understand why. In this itinerary of 6 days in Kerala, we will tell you the reasons why we believe it is a very good destination within this great country that is India.
Like any region of India, it has a lot to see because it is very extensive, so the first tip we would give is that 6 days are not enough. On our trip to India, we wanted to make a route through two zones, Kerala and the Golden Triangle, so we also did not have much more time and we were able to see the basics. Our recommendation is to spend a week-10 days in Kerala in order to be able to reach as many places as possible and other distant but interesting areas.
We also want to mention that we think that, if you are short on time, you should hire a private driver who will accompany you on your entire trip and will allow you not to lose time looking for connections, since they are very complex. Driving in India by yourself is unimaginable so we used the service of J and J taxi services, with very good rating and service at all times (our driver Mahesh was a great person!).
With that being said, let’s discover this area of India that inspired the writer of “The Jungle Book” with this itinerary of 6 days in Kerala.
Below we leave you with a list of the essentials of Kerala:
- Kochi Town
- Munnar and its tea fields
- Periyar Tiger Reserve
- Allepey and its Backwaters
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ToggleDay 1 of the route of 6 days in Kerala: Kochi
![6 días en Kerala, Espectáculo Kathakali](https://tomandounrespiro.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Espectaculo-Kathakali-1024x792.jpg)
Day 1 of this itinerary of 6 days in Kerala starts with a visit to Kochi, one of the main airports and cities in the region. Unlike other cities in India, Kochi has a more laid-back atmosphere with areas such as Port Kochi being less crowded compared to other parts of the country. This is a common trait in Kerala, which is known for its natural beauty and not the intense and sometimes overwhelming experience that can be found in other parts of India such as the Golden Triangle.
We stayed in Fort Kochi, as it has the main attractions of the city. To be honest, Kochi didn’t impress us much, and we even thought that if you have limited time, it’s a place that can be skipped. As we flew into its airport, we dedicated a day to visit some of its main points of interest.
The first stop we made was at the Cathedral of Santa Cruz, a Baroque-style Christian church built by the Portuguese during their stay in the area for the spice route. It’s a beautiful and recommended church to visit, as it stands out in contrast to the buildings around it.
Next, we headed to another church, the Church of San Francisco. This church is known for housing the remains of the famous Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama, who died in Kochi. It’s not an overly spectacular church architecturally, but you can visit it for the interesting history of Vasco da Gama.
A few meters from this church, is the most famous area of the city, the port and its Chinese fishing nets. These are large wooden structures made of wood and ropes, used for a unique method of fishing. It’s very interesting to go and see how they use this method of fishing and how they activate the mechanism.
![Catedral de Santa Cruz de Kochi](https://tomandounrespiro.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Catedral-de-Santa-Cruz-de-Kochi-819x1024.jpg)
![6 días en Kerala, Redes pescadoras de Kochi](https://tomandounrespiro.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Redes-pescadoras-de-Kochi-820x1024.jpg)
In the afternoon, we were recommended to do one of the attractions of the area, see a Kathakali show at Kathakali Center. This dance aims to tell a story or tale of Hindu deities, through facial gestures and dance. It is spectacular to see, as they have incredible control of all the muscles of the face and expressions and gestures. Actors are trained for 6 years in specialized schools to be accepted as actors in dance centers. Our rating of the experience is very good. The show lasts two hours, with the first part watching how they make-up themselves, until they achieve the characterization of the deities, while the second one is the performance itself, with a brief explanation of the history of this dance.
The approximate price of a ticket is 500 Rp per person (6 €).
After the show, we went to have dinner and rest to make the second day, the way to Munnar.
Day 2: Road to Munnar and surroundings
![6 días en Kerala, Cascadas zona de Kerala](https://tomandounrespiro.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Cascadas-zona-de-Kerala-819x1024.jpg)
![](https://tomandounrespiro.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Ripple-Waterfall-819x1024.jpg)
We started day two of this itinerary of 6 days in Kerala with a long drive that took us to the mountainous region of Munnar, famous for its high mountains and vast tea fields. The journey from Kochi to Munnar is approximately 4 hours, but we took longer as we made stops to visit various points along the way.
The first stop on the journey was to see one of the hundreds of waterfalls that are in the region during the rainy season. It’s very typical to drive and come across a large waterfall with many tourists taking photos.
After this stop, we decided to stop at a spice garden, in this case the Indian Spices Munnar. This entry came with the contract of the driver, so it was already included in the price. Honestly, we didn’t expect too much from the visit and it was not bad. The guy explained to us very kindly all the spices and plants and their processes of elaboration and uses. Many of them are famous in Ayurvedic medicine, very important in India. After finishing the visit, we bought spices as souvenirs for our families.
Then, after the lunch stop, we decided to do two consecutive activities. One of them was a jeep tour through the mountains near the Munnar area, with the company Jungle Jeep Safari Munnar, which charged us 4000Rs. The truth is that this activity was super interesting, as it took us through little-traveled roads and we were able to see one of the largest waterfalls in the area, Ripple Waterfalls. On this route, we were also able to visit a high bridge over a large river, the Ponmudi dam, and a viewpoint with views of the entire Munnar region.
![6 días en Kerala, Montañas cercanas a Munnar](https://tomandounrespiro.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Montanas-cercanas-a-Munnar-1024x732.jpg)
After completing this activity, we decided to try Ayurvedic medicine and got a 2 and a half hour full massage at Angel’s Ayurspa. We don’t know how to describe this activity, but it is definitely worth it as an experience and anecdote. It is a massage performed with essential oils and is intended to be a sensory experience to balance the body and mind. It has been practiced for over 5000 years and is very popular in the country. The experience we hired consisted of 4 parts. Firstly, we had a full body massage with essential oil. The second one was a massage with bags with which the body is gently beaten. After, there is an Ayurvedic bell treatment, which throws oil on your forehead for a long time. Finally, the steam bath, which introduces you into a somewhat claustrophobic cabinet to take a steam bath.
With the day finished, we just had to head to the K-Mansion hotel, located near the area where we would make the next day’s visit to Munnar.
Day 3: Tea fields trekking in Munnar
![6 días en Kerala, Trekking por los campos de te de Munnar](https://tomandounrespiro.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Trekking-por-los-campos-de-te-de-Munnar-1024x732.jpg)
The third day of our itinerary of 6 days in Kerala was in Munnar and it was our favorite one. We planned with the Trekking Adventure company of Munnar and their fantastic guide Sri, a 5-hour trek through the mountains and tea fields of the area. It was a wonderful day, as everything went well. The weather was perfect for seeing the views from the top of the mountains, the guide was very nice and gave a lot of conversation, he brought us a very tasty breakfast that we ate with views of the whole valley…
We highly recommend doing this activity if you like trekking and are in the area, as it allows you to see a more mountainous part and then a walk through the extensive tea fields that the English set up during their occupation in this area and that give work to so many people in Munnar. We’ll let the pictures speak for themselves at this point 😉
After the 5 hours of trekking, it was time to stop for lunch and head to our next stop on the itinerary, Periyar. The journey is about 4 hours again, so we arrived in the late afternoon. We first headed to the Periyar National Park to purchase the tickets we wanted for the next day. They have quite a few activities that you can check out here. We did the half-day bamboo rafting, which consists of 3 hours of trekking + 30 minutes of breakfast + 1 hour of bamboo rafting on the lake. After buying the tickets, we decided to follow our driver’s advice and go see a martial arts show in Kerala. It turned out to be quite entertaining, although very touristy and not essential. They were boys who performed wrestling and shows with spears and shields and finished with some fire.
Day 4: Periyar National Park
![Rio en Parque Nacional en Periyar](https://tomandounrespiro.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Rio-en-Parque-Nacional-en-Periyar-1024x732.jpg)
Our day started with a visit to the Periyar National Park, famous for having a reserve of about 40-50 tigers and hundreds of elephants. Although this is the case, the park has an area of 350 square kilometers, so you can imagine how extremely complicated it is to see one of these animals. Our recommendation is that you enjoy the walk and the jungle, and don’t get frustrated if you don’t see much animal!
This excursion starts with a 1 hour 30 minute walk through the jungle to the lake where the rafting will take place. This route is very pleasant and you can spot several species of birds and other curious animals. In our case, we were very lucky, as we were able to see several black monkeys and a herd of bison standing on the road, which made us have to wait until they left, but which made us admire them for a good while!
Following our arrival at the lake and the breakfast break, the bamboo activity was carried out by two guys. This walk was relaxed and they take you along the edge of the jungle in case you can spot new animals. After that, you make the return trip on the same path.
It was a good experience, and a very pleasant walk. The only advice we would give is to watch out for leeches or bloodsuckers if you go during the rainy season, because there are millions and they get in everywhere. We each got 2 bites of blood 🙂
In the afternoon, we decided to do a jeep tour with the same company that sells you the tickets for the martial arts show in the park area to see it from above, but just as we were starting to climb the mountain, a downpour started. Our advice is to never take one of these vehicles with this rain, because they drive at full speed and don’t take into account safety measures, so we had to ask them to turn back because we didn’t see our safety guaranteed on the excursion. For this reason and because they did not return our money, we do not recommend doing any activities with them.
After this intense 4th day of our route of 6 days in Kerala, we headed to our hotel, the Kalpavanam Heritage Resort.
Day 5: Allepey Backwaters
Our last day of our tour of 6 days in Kerala was reserved for the most famous activity in the area, the Allepey backwaters. This area consists of many channels and stagnant waters surrounded by spectacular nature. The main activity is to take a very characteristic boat and walk peacefully through the channels admiring the entire landscape.
It was one of the activities that we most wanted to do and we had booked a high-quality backwater in Xandari Riverscapes, but everything was canceled due to a rainstorm that made it impossible to go sailing.
It was a shame as it was an activity marked in our calendar, but looking on the positive side, we now have a reason to return to Kerala.
Day 6: Flight to New Delhi
The Allepey area is a relaxing area with some interesting beaches, so if you have time, it’s worth staying there for a day of tranquility. It’s a good way to end an intense 6-day tour of Kerala.
Really, we used this day to fly to the north of India, specifically to New Delhi (our flight was changed to the morning). If you’re interested check our experience in the Golden Triangle and Varanasi area.
Maps
Without any doubt, it was a great choice to include this incredible and different part of India in our itinerary. It was a few days of pure nature, tradition, and a very authentic India. The perfect combination with the chaotic India that we are so used to hearing about. We hope you liked this post and that it helps you if you decide to visit Kerala.
Feel free to leave any comments below!