top of page

Kickstarting Trip To Kerala By Road

When the time for our Diwali vacation arrived, we were already organizing our travel plans and decided to take our gorgeous red car to Kerala. We took this trip a few years back but the memories are still fresh with me. My dad made the decision to take our car and drive himself across the state of Kerala, from Valsad to Thiruvananthapuram, the last city of India. To make adventures more exciting and enjoyable than trips that are prearranged, we often refuse to make bookings. He created our itinerary and took snapshots of the whole path we planned to travel. We packed our things and left for Kerala. For any travel, my dad, mum, and I make the perfect trio three.

I sat down next to my dad so that I could use a Google Map to illustrate the route. Those were the days when cars did not have maps. We relied completely on our phones and the people around us. Maps were nonexistent in cars back then. We fully relied on our phones and the locals. We left Gujarat behind, entered Maharashtra, and soon after that, we entered Karnataka. We stopped for washroom breaks, spent a night in Kolhapur, and then continued to Mysuru.

Our first stop on the journey to Kerala was Mysuru, Karnataka. We were confused by the route shown by the map as it does not clearly show the route. After contacting a local, we were able to access Mysuru Palace. After obtaining the tickets, we went onto the campus. Huge gardens filled with roses and cannas in shades of red, yellow, and pink, among other flowers, surrounded the area. The lawn and garden were kept in excellent shape. Made in the Indo-Saracenic style, the palace We went into the enormous, magnificently designed Palace.

Mysuru Palace

Known by another name, the Amba Vilas Palace, it is still the official house of the Mysuru royal dynasty. One of the largest palaces in the nation, Mysuru Palace was constructed in 1912 for the Wodeyar Dynasty's twenty-fourth ruler. The palace had gardens, pavilions, darbars, and paintings. The palace exuded a fully royal appearance and was incredibly colorful. Throughout the grounds proper, there were a few temples close to the palace. The palace is illuminated at night on special occasions. We also performed worship in the temples, and then we left the palace after admiring its magnificence. Our distance from home was already 1,246 km.

Mysuru Palace

We crossed into Kerala and went through the Bandipur National Park, which was a wildlife reserve. It links Ooty in the Western Ghats with Mysuru. While traveling through the national park, we got to see deers and elephants. I still remeber this deer which kept on glancing at us and this elephant parent-child duo on our way.


The national park has tigers as well, and there is a dedicated tiger safari for them. After exiting the state and entering Tamil Nadu, we traveled to Ooty, one of the most well-known hill towns in India, which is perched atop the Nilgiri Mountains.

The temperature dropped as we arrived at Ooty, and the roads there were quite adventurous due to their steep inclines. The trip from Mysuru to Ooty, which was around 125 km away, took about three hours. We visited Pykara Lake, one of Ooty's lovely lakes. To get to the lake, we parked our car and strolled down the hill among the towering trees. Near the lake, there were horses as well. Despite the size of the lake, the area was quite serene. We spent some time at the lake, sitting on the rocks along the water's edge. We took some nice photos in the woods and had our meal from a nearby stall after unwinding. I had never tried an egg dish like this before, which was made with bread, eggs, and Indian spices. The flavor and aroma of the food I had there are still vivid in my memory.

Pykara lake

After that, we went to the Chocolate Museum, which doubled as a chocolate factory, where we were able to sample and observe the production of white and dark chocolate. We also purchased some of the chocolates to bring home, but we ate them all during the trip since they were so delicious. We also went to the tea museum in addition to the chocolate museum, where I learned more about the history, processing, and cultivation of tea as well as how the leaves were made into tea.

Packaging in chocolate factory

We went to the botanical garden after that. The garden included a variety of floral and plant settings. I saw a variety of plant and flower species, including petunias, roses, sunflowers, chrysanthemums, and many more.

Botanical Garden

We needed a considerable amount of time to explore the vast garden. Additionally, a lawn-made landscape that represented the global map was present.

World map landscape at Botanical Garden

One amazing location from which we could see the stunning Niligiri highlands was the dolphin's nose. Because of its structure, which resembled the nose of a dolphin, the name was given to it. Without a doubt, the panoramic views it provides are exquisite. Telescopes were also available to observe the nearby hills and landscape. By now we could feel the clouds on our skin and were really in them.

Scenary from Dolphin's nose

Overall, Ooty was peaceful, and we moved on, approaching "God's own country—Kerala." Follow along with me as I take you on a road trip in Kerala.

229 views1 comment

Recent Posts

See All

1 Comment


Asha Gohil
Asha Gohil
Mar 26

Wow 😲

Mast 👌

Like
bottom of page