Most weekends end quickly with us staying at home and catching up with chores, watching TV, and napping a lot too. I work on Saturdays and in the blink of an eye, Sunday is over, and here comes Monday. So we decided to take a little trip with the time we had.
There was no clear plan in the beginning. However, we knew there should be a good distance covered on the road, with good food stops in between and it should be easy enough for us to reach back home by night. The route was initially planned through Alappuzha and the destination was decided - Varkala Beach cliff, which was almost a 5 hour's drive from Kochi. We looked over our saved spots and saw that ‘Jatayu Earth’s Center’ was on the list. It was not a must-visit site, however, we did want to see it at least once. So this was added to the list. It was when we began planning for this trip that we came across an article that listed a place in Kottayam as a ‘must visit village in Kerala’ and also planned our return journey to Kochi through a different route. This way we could see more sights along the way.
We started our morning early at 5 am, when it was still misty outside, to get ready and go for breakfast at Kunjunni Nair Café which opens at 6:30 am. Dating back to the 1960s, this is a lovely little old-school restaurant located at Tripunithura, at Alliance junction, opposite Royal Bakers. They serve one of the best masala dosas in Kochi. Dosa was pretty good too. While they are famous for the Bonda-Chutney combination, we haven’t tried it yet. The two times we went there, it was either over or not ready. It is served in the evenings and finishes really quickly. So if you want to try it, I suggest going at around 5 or 6 in the evening.
After breakfast, the next stop on the route was Aymanam - featured on a Conde Nast Traveller as one of the ‘30 best places to visit in 2022’, with many rivers and canals and beautiful scenic green landscapes. Aymanam is also where Arundhati Roy’s book ‘The God of Small Things’ was based and one of the reasons why we were drawn towards it as we both had read and enjoyed it.
A well-known tourist spot nearby is the Ambal viewpoint, where you can see numerous water lilies blooming if it were the right season. We, however, didn’t come at the right time, and instead were greeted with long stretches of water and water plants. Nevertheless, even without the water lilies, we had a slow and silent walk by the waters, soaking in the view and sounds of nature which we realise we missed because we live in a city.
After Aymanam, the next stop was Jatayu Earth’s centre. This is located at Chadayamanagalam in Kollam, and is a good two hours from Aymanam. We spent this time talking and eating snacks all the way as Nandu drove. On reaching the location, we had to pay for parking in cash only. At first view, we saw how well-organised everything was. The entrance was well-maintained with proper parking and there was a lot of greenery surrounding it. We purchased two tickets at the entrance and had to leave our backpacks with the security as no bags were allowed inside. They had drinking water available, so we filled up our bottles and carried our umbrellas with us. We were then led inside with a group of people who arrived along with us. There was a waiting area inside with enough seating for at least 20 to 30 people. A coffee shop with snacks was also arranged within this area. After a while, we as a group was taken to a spot where cable cars were lined up to take us up. Every cable car was designed to fit possibly 4 to 5 individuals at a time. As the cable cars began to move, we alighted it and began the slow ascend.
We reached about 1230 pm, so it was very sunny. Thankfully we had an umbrella and as we stepped out of the cable cars and climbed a flight of steps, we saw the mighty grey stone structure of Jatayu spread across the entire stretch. The entire adventure park is about 65 acres. The story of Jatayu was put on display for all visitors to read. We were in awe of how expansive it was, with each intricate detail so carefully put in. Under the structure was a museum that wasn’t yet open. After a walk around it and taking photos, we had lemon juice from a small café open for snacks and refreshments. There was even a small area that appeared to be like a stage set up for a cultural event. We even mentioned how Cercle could hold a concert here. Little did we know that plans for this were already in motion because a few weeks later, we read that the Cercle event was going to take place at Jatayu. At this height, we could see how the surrounding area was covered with sand, shrubs and trees stretching into the distance. As it is an adventure park originally, there are a number of adventure activities such as ziplining, paintball zone, etc, for visitors. None of this had started at the time of our visit.
Opinion: It's okay for a one-time visit.
Ticket charges are very expensive for what they provide. The whole lounge looks a bit like an airport, but feels unnecessary? Because there's nothing much inside. There are few gaming stations like we see in the malls. It was ₹290 per person for a 200m cable car ride and they provided us with no other options. We can see a usable road when we're up too. They also charge ₹30 extra for parking on top of all this and accept ONLY CASH for the entrance fees! Even roadside fish stalls have UPI these days. The sculpture looks beautiful, but here also you have a small snacks stall which charges you ₹25 for an already-made vaatta lemon juice and again CASH ONLY.
They also have a temple on top and ISKON franchise stalls.
After taking it all in and getting tired of the scorching afternoon sun, we descended back with the group, got into our car, and drove off to our next stop. We put the location to Little Tibet, a lovely little restaurant at Varkala beach cliff; because we TravelToEat ;). It wasn’t too far off and we hoped to reach it in about 1 and half hours. On reaching the location as per the map, we struggled quite a bit here. While Google Maps showed us the way, it led us to the wrong entry point. Only after talking to the local people, did they tell us that it is better to go to the helipad area, which is a wide space with ample parking arranged for those visiting Varkala.
Getting out of the car, the sea spread out before us as we stood at the edge of the cliff, at a height of 24m (as per our reading). As it was already close to 3 pm, with hunger creeping in, we rushed to eat lunch. Little Tibet was within walking distance and served lovely Tibetan/north eastern food. It is located on the top floor and overlooks the beach below. We could see the outlines of people basking in the sun and playing in the waters by the shore. The sea glistened brightly with the rays of the sun. It was a brilliant blue and the view could be easily enjoyed from where we sat. A light breeze was ever present, keeping us cool, as we ordered the Seafood Thukpa, Chicken Mohtuk, and Momos. We ordered the momos to be half steamed and half fried.
The rich, hot aroma of the broth had us drooling the whole time, and boy, it did not disappoint. The broth was super rich in flavour – you could taste the hints of ginger and the lovely blend of spices that I couldn't pinpoint. We mixed it with the hot chilli oil as well and it took the dish to a whole other level.
We stuffed ourselves and walked out of Little Tibet with our hearts and stomachs full. We took a small stroll across the beach, let our feet get wet, and decided to head for the next stop on our list- Sambranikodi via Mayyanad, which is a small village located in Kollam. Its position is such that one can look across to one side to see the Paravur lake and on to the other side to find the Arabian Sea. This was a unique place to visit because you’ll be in between a lake and a sea at the same time! We could only pass by this lovely place and didn’t have time to stop as we were running late to reach Sambranikodi.
You could either plan for Sambranikodi or Thangassery Light House according to your liking. There's also Salim Hotel and Fayalwan Hotel nearby, recommended for Mutton dishes.
Sambrani kodi is a beautiful, picturesque island located within the Ashtamudi Lake at Kollam. The District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) organised for the island to be a tourist spot and facilitates boat rides and other facilities for tourists visiting the island. At around 5.30 pm we arrived at the spot and parked our car. Being a Sunday, the place was packed and we had to slowly walk our way to the point where we could pay and take a boat ride to the island. However, to our disappointment, they had stopped taking boat rides to the mangrove island at 5 pm. Google Maps indicated that it was open till 6 pm, which is why we planned our arrival before it closed. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the view.
The sun was setting on our day and we decided to head back to Kochi right after 6 pm in the evening. We had stopped for tea and snacks on the route, shortly before reaching Alappuzha and met a nice chaya kada chettan who had strong tea and lovely cauliflower snacks. Unfortunately, we don’t have their location details.
Just as we were nearing Kochi, via Alappuzha NH, through Kumbalam we looked through Google Maps and decided on dinner.
Shibu’s Kumbalam Puttukada is a long-established hotel that serves customers only after 8:30 pm and closes at 3 am the next morning. We parked our car and in the silence of the night when half the town was asleep, we ordered Puttu, mutton, chicken curry, and fried chicken. The place had tons of visitors and was crowded for the most part of the night.
Opinion: It's decent, nothing to rave about. We went in at about 09:30, and had puttu, mutton curry which was a bit chewy(₹175), chicken curry, and chicken fry. The chicken fry was cold, and the curries were super spicy but I liked it. They could put up a fan in the room though, shouldn't hurt the charm. Expect this place to be always busy, it might be difficult to get a seat outside and enjoy the lakeside breeze
The time was around 11:30 pm and we were back at our home with Kaapi and Moosa, our cats. After a shower and feeling warm and fuzzy - the after-effects of a good day - we dozed off.
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