Today we leave the ancient historic port city of Fort Kochi and head east, inland towards the Sahyadri Mountains,. It is a long but beautiful drive. It takes about 6 to 7 hours to drive up to the small town of Thekkady or Periyar and we took the less common route via Mavady Hills. This particular route is extremely scenic as we wind our way up the hills passing gorgeous valleys and waterfalls.
We make a stop to visit a friend of mine, Colonel Jose. Colonel runs a lovely retreat home in the Mavady Hills of Kerala. Hidden in the forest his home is perched on a small cliff with windows staring out onto the tree tops. Surrounding his home is a collection of tropical evergreen trees, a small rubber plantation and a gorgeous river with a crystal clear pool to dip in on a hot Indian summer’s day. If you are looking for a place to getaway you should seriously consider Colonel’s Retreat.
Peter and his mother enjoy a glass of fresh home grown pineapple juice at Colonel’s Retreat.
Looking into the forest below from Colonel’s home.
Colonel Jose shares with our travelers a little history about the place.
Chris at the entrance to Colonel’s home.
Colonel takes us on a tour of his property.
The gorgeous river that flows part Colonel’s property.
Rubber has been tapped from trees on his property and made into sheets ready to be sold.
One of the residents on the property.
Anne enjoys looking out of the window onto the tree tops seeing the variety of birds at eye level.
Peter and Chris pose with the stunning Mavady Hills in the backgorund.
As we get closer to Thekkady the sceneray changes and the rolling hills are now covered with tea plantations.
The drive is breathtaking and perhaps the most beautiful in South India for sure.
