This Is An Important Indian Rubber Centre, And It Is The Jumping Off Place For The Periyar National Park, And For The Backwaters. Its Not Really Worth Stopping Over In Kottayam. It Is Better To Go Straight On With The Boat To Alleppey. The Trip By Scooter From The Bus Terminal To The Boat
Related Travel Information
The Hotel We Stayed At In Kottayam Was Probably The Best One On The Whole Of Our Trip Through India. Cost Isorsfor A Double Room In The Absolutely Clean Hotel Anjali. // Also Has A Fantastic Restaurant. (CU-S) We Can Recommend The Hotel Ambassador. Doubles Approx. s. (Monica Hilgers) Ooty Lodge Can Be Recommended - Doubles With Bath (Petra Z.)
Periyar National Park: Two Direct Bus Services Daily At 6.30am And 2.45pm To The Main Town In The Park, Thekkady.
If You Want To Stay At The Budget Hotels, Get Out In Kumily. It Costs 26Rs For The 185km (115 Miles) Trip And It Takes About 7hrs. Reservations Recommended. You Can Also Take A Train Or Bus To Kottayam And Then Catch A Bus.
There Are Also Direct Services To Madurai, Kannyakumari And Pon-Dicherry (615km-382 Miles).
The Trip To Alleppey Takes Around 2.5 Hours Andcosts 5rs. The Amenities Are Good: Toilets And Snacks Available On Board And, Wonder Of Wonders, The Boat Was Full But Not Overcrowded. Warning: Don't Sit Near The Very Noisy Engine. Fourteen Boats Leave Daily From The Stinking Canal End Of Kottayam But Sometimes One Or Other Drops Out For Repairs. The Timetable: Lam, 6.30am, 7.30am, 9am, 10am, Ham 12noon, Lpm, 2pm, 3pm, 4.30pm, 5.30pm, 7.30pm And 8.30pm. Disembark At The Last Stop In Alleppey.
Is A Nearby Reserve. It Was Declared In 1976 And Has An Area Of 70 Sq Km (27 Sq Miles). The Area Around Periyar Park Is Not Famous For Its Animal Life But For Its Tea Plantations, E.G. Vandiperiyar On The Road To Kottayam. In The Mountains Around Iddiki (Sometimes Written Idduki), 50km (31 Miles) From Kumily, The Kerala 'Grass' Is Grown. Like In Manali There Is A (Drug) Smokers And Trekker Cene. They Visit And Sometimes Live In The Outlying Villages. Buses From Kumily To Iddiki Run Between 6.15am And 9.45am And 1.15 And 6pm.
Connections
Some Buses Leave From The Hotel Aranya Niva Or Periyar House, And For Some You Have To Go To Kumily.
Kottayam (115km-71 Miles): Around 8 Services Between 4.45am And 6.30pm.
Quilon (185km-115 Miles): At 5.30am.
Ernakulam (176km-109 Miles): At 5.45am, 9.30am 12.45pm And 2.30pm.
Madurai(135km-84 Miles): At6.15atn, 10.30am, 12.30am And 4.30pm. Trivandrum (286km-178 Miles);-At 8am And 1.30pm.
Kovalam: At 930am. There Is Also A Direct Servipe To Kodaikanal (141km-88 Miles) At 6.30pm But It Leaves From Kumily Behind The Tamil Nadu Checkpost.
