How to experience the monsoon in Kerala

Experience the beauty of Kerala monsoon through treks, kayaking, and herping tours with experienced guides and breathtaking views.

The Kerala monsoon has a reputation that precedes it. Of beauty, romance, poetry and post 2018 flood, terror. But to a traveller, the monsoon in Kerala is still fascinating. Everything looks better during the season — the trees are greener, the rivers fuller, the skies grey and atop the hills, one can almost touch the clouds. 

After a particularly harsh summer, this monsoon was eagerly awaited. Apart from the ‘red alert’ days, the season has been good so far, say travel companies, with enquiries pouring in on monsoon-related treks and activities. From kayaking to leisurely tea trails to an adventurous river trek, here is how you can experience the monsoon in different ways in Kerala.

For instance, on an overcast day, a walk through the emerald tea plantations of Munnar is rejuvenating, especially for city people, says Anagha Biju, of Munnarinfo.com that organises a tea trail with a factory visit. The three-hour trail that culminates at the Lockhart Tea Museum at Devikulam is a popular to-do thing on the list of a monsoon traveller.

(Munnarinfo: 9400143111)

 Hadlee Renjith, a naturalist and Kerala Tourism guide in Munnar, has been getting a steady stream of calls this monsoon from trekkers who want to catch a glimpse of the “viral” frog in Western Ghats. And Hadlee has been guiding small groups of trekkers through the fringes of the evergreen forests in Marayur and Mathikettan Shola National Park in search of these little speckled beauties.

The frog especially gained traction on social media after it was declared a flagship species of the Mathikettan Shola National Park. Hadlee, who also runs Resplendent Experiences, a personalised travel and tourism company in Munnar, says this year, trekkers are asking if they can spot specific species such as the Galaxy frog and the tree fern. The rise of a breed of herping and nature enthusiasts, who share photographs on social media, has led to the popularity of these species,” he adds. In addition to enjoying the mist that envelopes Munnar during the rainy season, people now prefer to pack in a herping tour. 

The endangered Galaxy frogs are tiny (one to one-and-a-half inches in size) and are extremely difficult to spot. Usually found among leaf litter and on rocky surfaces, they could be mistaken for a tiny piece of charcoal. “They are very photogenic. Through the lens, they appear like a blob of the inky blue sky sprinkled with stars and orange patterns,” adds Hadlee. Though his company does personalised nature tours, treks, birdwatching, cycling tours and camps, monsoon is devoted to herping tours.