Periyar Lake boat ride was more like a bird watching expedition
This limited seat boat ride is one of the most sought after activities in Thekkady. We went there quite early, so getting a ticket wasn’t an issue. The Periyar Forest Reserve operates four boats simultaneously, for one and half hours, at about two hour intervals. They also release 30 tickets for online booking. These are often bought by the local hotels for their customers. As a result, getting a confirmed booking is near to impossible (IRCTC tatkal might still beat it). For the first boat ride at 7.30 AM, reaching there at 6.30 is sufficient.
Boats at the Periyar Lake
The entire lake has dead tree trunks peeking out of the waters, suggesting that the water body was formed after a forest in the valley was submerged. We were lucky enough to see a few bisons and a lot of birds. However, the camera we had wasn’t that great to take world-class pictures.
Dead tree trunks jutting out of the water.
A dead tree trunk houses the nest of a bird.
Statutory Warning
Travelling to Munnar
There is one direct KSRTC bus at 12.25 PM that reaches Munnar at 5.00 PM. There are a few private buses in the morning. If you miss them, a break journey is the only option. The station master at KSRTC bus stop suggested us breaking at Theni. There are a lot of buses between Kumally and Theni and between Theni and Munnar. The distance would have been quite a lot in that case. Since the buses can hardly go beyond 25 kmph, it would take about 7 hours or more.
Resting at Munnar
Munnar hotel prices were quite high. This could be because of the long weekend.
The view of Munnar from our Hotel.
Roadside, mobile eateries, that operate after evening, are abundant in Munnar. I have seen similar mobile eateries in Shillong.
Munnar has a nice chill in the air. I had to put on a windcheater.