After arriving in Munnar yesterday, we all woke up early to have our breakfast and then head to DTPC‘s office for our full day tour. DTPC is the District Tourism Promotion Council. You can call a day before to reserve your seats for the tour or just show up on the day of the tour at their office by 8am to get your seats.
After having breakfast, we took an auto-rickshaw to the DTPC office.
This is the DTPC tourism officeWe were the first to arrive. We paid up while waiting for the other tourists joining us today.The main tour DTPC offers includes a stop over at Eravikulam National Park. Unfortunately, Eravikulam National Park was closed to the public as it was breeding season for the Nilgiri Tahr, a deer commonly found in Munnar and the Nilgiri Hills.It was time for us to board our Tempo Traveller van and begin our tourI know I’ll be seeing sights like this every minute of the journey but tea plantations never stop being beautiful to look at
Some flowers were in bloom along the wayThe driver (cum guide) would stop along the way to show us sights like this — massive beehivesOur first stop was at the Carmelagiri Elephant park
I’ve been meaning to visit Munnar for quite some time. Although I’d been to Periyar back in 2009, I didn’t have the chance to visit the more popular town of Munnar, even though both are in the same district. My mother has been talking about visiting Munnar for a few years now. So in early March, I decided to take my parents to the famed hill station of Kerala.
There wasn’t too much planned. It was going to be two nights in Munnar and then one night in Kochi before heading back to Kannur.
Getting to Munnar
From Kannur, I assumed you had to get to Ernakulam first and then take a bus to Munnar. But upon doing some more research, turns out when coming from Kannur (or north Kerala), one can also get down at Aluva station and then take a KSRTC (Kerala State Road & Transport Corporation) bus from the Aluva bus depot which is very close to the railway station.
The train I booked from Kannur to Aluva was the NETRAVATI EXPRESS, which arrives (if no delays) into Kannur at 6:45AM and stops at Aluva 12:13pm.
On the day of our journey, our train was delayed :/
Since I woke up early to catch the train, I slept through most of the journey and missed most of the sights.
By the time I woke up, we were already nearing Aluva.
I’ve been meaning to visit Ayikkara for a while now. It’s a harbour and one of the main fishing ports in Kannur district. Fishing boats bring in their daily catch and often the fishermen sell the fish right on the beach.
After I got down at the government hospital bus stop (in Kannur city), one needs to walk through a fishermen’s housing colony to get to the beachLaying salted fish out to dry
I had a picture of what I thought Ayikkara beach would look like. Brown sandy shores, fishermen’s boats all coming in fresh catch and a chance for the public to buy fresh fish cheap right off the boat.
The reality?
This. Just look at the amount of trash on the beach :/ And of course this being India, there’s a cow here too!Although there was variety on offer, a lot of it wasn’t very fresh to be honestWe bought some crab and some fish. Prices weren’t that low either.
I also saw trucks being loaded with fish. I guess all the good stuff gets sold at higher prices for exporters and suppliers to the big hotels & restaurants. And we locals get left with the stuff the big guys didn’t want.
There were people selling from the boats tooBirds and a pot-bellied man — both waiting for fishMe and my father walked around the area after buying the fish
What was surprising is how here too, most of the workers are not Keralites but Bengalis and others from the Eastern states The boats were done for the day I guess
I wanted to explore the area a bit moreSeemed like a good place to sit & relaxEagles were flying above… or they could have been Kites
I guess that’s the actual beach for AyikkaraI saw some people walking on the jettyWant your own catch but too afraid to go out to sea? Come here and fishThis open field was full of these pink flowersDon’t know the name of this flowerBut it was a pretty sightThis is Ayikkara Muhyidheen masjid, just opposite the harbour
After this we left Ayikkara. Mappila Bay could be turned into a tourist attraction if the authorities wanted to make it one. But first, the whole beach and the area needs a massive clean up. Then they need to establish a line of small eateries serving fresh seafood to visitors. It can be done but as is the case with our politicians… they couldn’t care.
