Kochi - Athirappilly - Munnar - Best and shortest route for a scenic drive
Are you planning to visit Munnar and Athirappally and like to know which is the best route to cover Athirappilly while travelling from Kochi to Munnar? Check this article for some insights into a travel plan that covers Athirappilly and Munnar.
Athirappilly waterfalls is one of the most attractive tourist destinations in Kerala but are often skipped by tourists since it doesn't lie in the regular tourist routes to Munnar, Alleppey, Thekkady etc. Also, the public bus access from Kochi to Athirappilly is not so easy. If you are visiting Kerala to enjoy the best of its natural beauty, I would strongly recommend you include Athirappilly also in your itinerary.Is it possible to include Athirappilly in your 1-day itinerary in Kerala
Athirappilly is about 36 km from the Kochi airport (via some short routes) and 45km if you take the national highways. Considering the road conditions and traffic, it will take an average of 1.5 hours to reach Athirappilly from Kochi Airport by a car. If you are going to depend on public buses, it may take 2-3 hours depending on how fast you can get connection buses.
If you want to include Athirappilly in your trip to Munnar or Alleppey, you should plan for an extra 5-6 hours for Athirappiily. Considering 3 hours for travelling to Athirappilly and returning, plus an additional 2 hours of stay there for sightseeing, it will be hard to include Athirappilly in a single day along with your other plans for the day. While you can rush and see everything in 2 hours if you really want to enjoy Athirappilly and Vazhachal, plan for a minimum of 5 hours at the waterfalls.
Here are a few options to include Athirappilly in your Kochi - Munnar itinerary:
1. Visit Athirappilly on the first day, return to Kochi and stay in Kochi. Travel to Munnar next day morning. This will allow you to spend some quality time in Athirappilly and relax in your hotel in Kochi.
2. Visit Athirappilly by morning or noon, enjoy the waterfalls, stay in Athirappilly (or in one of the small towns en route to Munnar). You can save some travel since you don't have to travel back to Kochi.
3. Visit Athirappilly as early as 10am in the morning and drive to Munnar before it is too late. If you can leave Athirappilly by 4pm, you can reach Munnar by 8pm or so. Since Munnar is a hill station, it is recommended to reach Munnar before night. You can find a good number of resorts in Munnar, which offer a pleasant night stay for you.
Kochi - Athirappilly - Munnar Route
Kochi Airport - Athirappilly route
There are 2 routes to travel from Kochi to Athirappilly:
1. Travel from Kochi to Athirappilly via the National Highway through Angamaly - Chalakudy (45 km)
2. Travel via Angamaly - Mukkannoor - Ezhattumugham (36km). This is a shorter route but goes through village and forest roads. You may not save much time by taking this short route since it is a village road and some parts of the roads may not be in good condition. Athirappilly - Munnar route
While returning from Athirappilly, if you are travelling back to Kochi, you can take either one of the above routes. But if your next destination is Munnar, you have a shorter route. It is a forest road via Athirappilly - Malayattoor - Kodanad - Kuruppampadi - Kothamangalam - Munnar. This is a very scenic forest route but the Athirappilly - Malayattoor route require permission from Forest officials (which is available on the route) and travel is allowed only during daytime. Where to stay while visiting Athirappilly
Athirappilly is a beautiful forest location but there is only a limited number of premium hotels. You will find a lot of low-cost budget hotels en route to Athirappilly.
Here are a few options:
1. If you have other plans in Kochi, you can visit Athirappilly and return to Kochi on the same day and stay in Kochi. You will find plenty of hotels in Kochi.
2. You are travelling to Munnar, you can stay in Athirappilly overnight and travel directly from Athirappilly to Munnar the next day.
Hotel options in Athirappilly:
- Silverstorm Resort, Athirappilly (https://silverstormresorts.com/)
3. You can visit Athirappilly and start your journey towards Munnar and stay on one of the places on the way.
Hotel options on the way from Athirappilly to Munnar:
- Stay in Chalakudy town (If you are taking the longer, national highway route)
- Stay in Malayattoor (if you are taking the shortest, forest route via Malayattoor) - Hotel Malayattoor Residency (3-star) (http://malayattoorresidency.com/)
- Stay in Kodanad (budget-friendly 5-star hotel - http://dewland.in/)
- Stay in Perumbavoor, Kuruppampadi, Kothamangam (all these are towns on the route to Munnar).
