An adventurous trip to Kannur, Kerela
We all love to soak ourselves in the sea, just sitting by and the waves just playing with us. Yes, our trip to Kannur, Kerela from Bangalore was to admire serenity as well as to do some adventure.
My extended family from Delhi was coming over and we planned a 3 days trip from Bangalore to Kannur. It was indeed a wonderful experience of exploring the unknowns.
KANNUR, KERALA
Kannur in Kerela is a coastal city with beautiful and serene beaches. A recently opened International Airport has truly given it a boost in the tourism sector.
Kannur was well connected to rail and bus services and now it is even very well connected to air as well.
Kannur is located in North Kerela
- 310 kms from Bangalore(Karnataka)(via Mysore)
- 150 kms from Mangalore(Karnataka)
- 300 kms from Kochi(Kerela)
- 520 kms from Thiruvananthapuram(Kerela)
Kannur has a railway station as well but if anyone is traveling from Bangalore, then buses are recommended. There are regular night bus services to Kannur from Bangalore, Mangalore, and Kochi.
Kannur even has nonstop flights from Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ernakulam(Kochi) and Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai, etc.
LET’S EXPLORE KANNUR
Kannur is still an untouched coastal city in Kerela and indeed a very beautiful city to be in. If we go deep in the history of the city, it was an important port town and an important trading center for the spice trade. It was also a British Military headquarters on India’s west coast. Kannur was earlier known as Cannanore.
Kannur is a great combination of beaches, temples, historical importance, art, and culture. As the city is progressing and seeing a huge rise in tourism and development, it is now a combined duty of the government, people and the visitors to conserve its art, culture, and integrity.
Although too much to explore but with our time constrain Kannur has given us the reason to admire it and come back again.
FEEL THE EXPERIENCE
Let’s have a lively view of our experience through our video
OUR JOURNEY, OUR WAY
Our journey started late with a few ups and downs (that is another story which gave us another lesson), We could start from Bangalore at 9 AM only. Google was showing 7.30 hrs means ETA at Kannur is 4.30 PM. We packed a few sandwiches and other stuff to avoid stopping in between.
We stopped for a quick breakfast at ….., the highway was also very good. We didn’t stop for lunch as we had whatever we were carrying handy. We wanted to reach Kannur before sunset as we didn’t want to miss that. En route to Kannur, we enjoyed our drive through coffee estates of Coorg area. Since we have already been to Coorg we didn’t stop, moreover, we were already running late so we were in a hurry.
We reached our destination just in time so to enjoy the sun setting by and kids to enjoy the most awaited time to just get into the sea. After kids had their gala time with the waves we just sat ashore and enjoyed the sun setting by.
All our fatigue and tiredness just vanished as soon as the waves touched us. We were relaxed and rejuvenated. Since all of us were tired we enjoyed our dinner and drinks and retired in our rooms. The only sound we could hear while sleeping was the sound of waves dashing the rocks. So soothing it was.
Every one of us got up early in the morning which was not expected since all of us were tired for the past two days. Our early morning beach walk and tea by the beachside helped us to forget our struggle for the last two days. After breakfast, we were ready for our upcoming adventurous activities.
KAYAKING AT DHARMADOM BEACH AND ISLAND
Kayaking which is a very adventurous sport and is becoming very popular nowadays and the most important thing is that is sustainable and eco-friendly.
Kannur DTPC (District Promotion Tourism Council) in association with Xtreme Adventures has set us a camp at Dharmadom Island to promote eco-tourism through Kayaking and Rafting. The camp has a beachside tent accommodation which can accommodate around a group of 10 to 15 people. A trained and professional team taught us the basics of Rafting and Kayaking. The rafts/kayaks/jackets were all of a very high grade.
The camp is ideal for people who want to explore and enjoy staying very close to nature and no luxury. A bonfire beside the sea adds a cherry on the cake. This place is not ideal for families with small kids as it is created in the natural surroundings with the least concrete.
Many activities enjoyed at this camp are
- Kayaking to Dharmadom Island which is around 800 mts in the sea.
- Kayaking to Margrooves of Malabar
- Rafting in Tejaswini river.
- Kayaking in Tejaswini river
- Jeep Safari/Trekking to the nearby hill
- Island walk to Dharmadom Island
One can choose from many options depending upon the season, time you have, number of people, etc.
OUR KAYAKING EXPERIENCE
We reached the camp at around 11 AM. After filling up the forms and gearing up with the life jackets we were at the beach for a quick detailing about Kayaking. After learning about the techniques we started Kayaking. Our instructor was Santosh and believe me he was very good and professional.
With our few falls in the sea, we have become more experienced. Once we crossed the waves it was easier to kayak and balance. It took around half an hour to reach the island. We got down at the Island and spent around 15 minutes to half an hour there.
Then started the bigger challenge which was to take the round of the island and then reach the shore. Since we were a group of 8 people and we enjoyed our time at the pristine island we were in high spirits. Learning kayaking techniques throughout, balancing our kayaks and coordinating with our partner was fun. It took us around 45 min to 1 hr to reach back ashore and by that time we were all tanned and exhausted.
With our experience, we learned it would have been more adventurous and better if done during the early morning or late evening hours because more waves make it more adventurous and sun also not so harsh. We had a bath and had a few snacks and tea. And enjoyed some more time sitting beneath the coconut trees before moving back.
ASIA’S LONGEST DRIVING BEACH-MUZHAPPILANGAD BEACH
Muzhappilangad beach which is more popularly known as the driving beach is Asia’s longest driving beach. It lies between Thalassery and Kannur and is around 5.5 Km in length. It’s a jewel to the Malabar coastline of India. Vehicles are allowed to drive in there with a government fee of Rs 30 per vehicle. It gets open early morning but closes at 8 PM. Few small eateries and snacks are available with many ice cream sellers attracting kids towards them.
OUR DRIVE ON THE DRIVE-IN BEACH
We reached the drive-in-beach around 2.30 noon and showed our heroics by taking our car right in the sea and enjoyed the never before experienced. Being Sunday it was rush.
After doing Kayaking and searched all possible options to eat but couldn’t get any. But we enjoyed the most was the fruits and vegetables dipped in chilly brine water called “uppilitta” in Malayalam and ice cream above it. You get many small snack shops and lots of ice cream vendors on the beach.
We headed back to our resort, right in time to see the sunset and enjoy a special occasion celebrated right on the beach. Everything for that was organized by the resort on our special request. Though the day was tiring adventure and fun was more.
THEYYAM- A LOCAL CULTURAL FEAST
A popular ritual and spectacular form of worship and art most popular in North Kerela. Theyyam brings about great stories to life through music, mime, and dance. Temples across the state have these performances from November to April(Depending on the dates as per Malayalam calendar). There are different forms of Theyyams performed at different temples. It is advisable to enquire from local people because they know the best.
Theyyam is generally performed early morning or late at night. In layman’s language it’s a traditional dance form depicting stories with Pooja and dance wearing very very heavy makeup, dress, and jewelry.
In our words, Theyyam was a treat to our eyes because witnessing such an art form is difficult these days. We were fortunate enough that we could plan our visit to Kannur during the ongoing Theyyam festival. As we have already shown our interest in Theyyam, Roshan the homestay owner arranged our visit to the specific temple. It was truly an amazing experience.
OUR FINAL DAY- BACK TO BANGALORE
No one feels like sleeping when you that playing with the waves will make you a child again. Yes morning we just soaked ourselves in the sea. After the late breakfast, we decided to see a few more places.
We headed for St Angelo’s Fort, being the Christmas holidays there was a huge rush, so much so that even the parking was a kilometer again. We went inside but due to overcrowdedness, we came back. Next was the Light House on the list but being Monday it was closed (weekly off).
Then we headed for Payyambalam beach: a nice, long beach. It is very near to the main city. Nothing much to be done as lots of construction was going on for the development of the beach. We planned to do some more water sports activities there but couldn’t find any. Overall the experience was ok, had it been evening time the view and feeling would have been better.
As it was already 2 PM we decided to start our journey back towards Bangalore. Instead of the Mysuru route, we took the Hassan route which we find comparatively better in terms of road quality and congestion. Good hotels and public convenience options are very less till the time you touch NH. Since we didn’t have our lunch we stopped for some food at around 7.30 It was a small but very good restaurant. He made fresh tomato/onion sabzi with Kerala paranthas and believe me it was heaven.
We finally reached home at 10 PM with the accomplishments we did and the plans to visit Kannur again.
OUR STAY AT HARRIS BEACH HOMESTAY
Harris Beach Homestay is a beachside property located on a small cliff. It has 2 buildings with rooms on the ground as well as the first floors. All the rooms are sea-facing. Few rooms have a private balcony whereas few have a glass ceiling to admire the stars at night.
They also have a restaurant, with an in house kitchen and all the ingredients are either grown in the adjacent ancestral property or sourced locally. This place is also good for business meetups and small destination weddings as well. It is not a luxurious resort but gives a feeling of warmth and relaxation.
Sea facing rooms, easy access to the beach, the coziness of a home and their sustainable activities and attempts for community building were the reasons why we chose this.
Mr. Harris and his son Roshan were great hosts and helped us in whatever way we asked for arranging for Theyyam visit for us, cake cutting ceremony on the beachfront are few to mention. Due to the scarcity of time, we could not visit the local village and their organic farm but surely would like to visit again.
To conclude: It was a short trip started with few ups and downs, took us high with the adventures and calmed us with the waves, with mostly good memories and still craving for some more time we could have spent there.