Kerala: The Malabar Coast
posted on 2 April, 2025 by Dan Vonk in personal, travel
After having experienced the hustle and bustle of Bangalore, the next plan was to explore Kerala, a state which is located on the tropical south-western tip of the subcontinent. On its coast it is home to vast stretches of palm tree adorned beaches, which are flanked by rice fields criss-crossed by small canals, just as in Venice. Going further inland, one meets the mighty Western Ghats mountain range, a high-altitude rainforest, home to elephants and tigers, which is ideal for escaping the oppressive humidity on the coast. Politically, it is also well-known within India for its high degree of development–it has the highest literacy rates, life expectancy and lowest impoverishment rates in the country. All great things. And they also love a bit of communism too it turns out.
Yes, it was quite jarring to see the communists flags everywhere and when travelling on a dusty road through the jungle, one might easily mistake the place for Cuba. However, the topic of communism in Kerala is complex. Though they never went for “true” communism, they did carry out extensive land reform and institute a generous welfare state. This clearly did have some positive outcomes: the place felt a lot more “civilised”, less chaotic and far more orderly than Karnataka. However, when speaking to locals, many of them weren’t that contented with the economic situation and indeed it was common for them still toeleave for the more dynamic city of Bangalore (or even to work as labour in the Gulf) while the economy of Kerala at home remains sluggish and highly indebted.
As a tourist, I’m not qualified to talk much more about the politics of the place. Instead, for me, one of the main draws was the history of the state. It is located on the Malabar Coast of India and has been connected to the Silk Road and Spice Trade since at least the first millennium BC, when Arab and Phoenician traders would sail from the Red Sea and Persian Gulf to the coast to trade for the spices. Later on, the Portuguese, Dutch and even French would setup base there too and major cities such as Cochin and Calicut have interesting relics from this early colonial past. No wonder too as the list of spices native to the area is impressive: black pepper, cardamom, turmeric, cinnamon and ginger to name a few. Nowadays, there are plantations in the mountainous uplands for tea, coffee and cocoa too. If you visit, you’ll surely make a tour of one of these places.
Indeed, escaping the coast and going into the mountains was my favourite part of the trip. Whilst the tropical beaches look nice on photos, being there also has its downsides! It was 35c without fail every day (and not much cooler in the evenings) with 100% humidity and frequent thunderstorms. Also, the backwaters (the canals) provide the ideal conditions for mosquitoes so the place is just teeming with them.
The closest major hill station reachable from Kochi is Munnar. It’s easily and cheaply accessible by coach from Ernakulum bus station, though getting a comfortable ride is far from guaranteed! Expect a packed bus with no ventilation other than the open windows.
Munnar itself is touristy and you’ll be swamped by auto drivers trying to sell you voyages around the tea fields as you walk through the town. However, it’s still worth doing all of this least as you get a very scenic ride through the rainforests and tea fields. Our driver also took us to a well-known spot for seeing elephants and we just found them hanging out by a creek, cooling themselves off!
Sunrise hikes are another popular tourist activity here and it’s another money-maker for the local town: one can’t just enter the national park by themselves, one needs a guide. So with our guide, we set off at 5AM to Eravikulam National Park to climb the second highest mountain in the Ghats. It wasn’t a particularly challenging climb as the mountain was only about 2000m high and some locals were even doing it in crocs. Nevertheless, it was worth the early wake-up as the views were spectacular and it was a far-cry from the mountain views at home.
