Muvattupuzha

Muvattupuzha is a town and municipality in Ernakulam District of Kerala, India. This town is bordered by Idukki District on the eastern side and Kottayam District on the southern side approximately 15 km from the town. It is famous as the meeting point of three rivers;hence the name Muvattupuzha in Malayalam.

Understand
It is famous for being a town with three rivers joining to form Muvattupuzha. It lies at almost sea level, with small hills across the region,common characteristics of midland. It is an important town in central Kerala, India. It lies between the cities of Thrissur in North and Kottayam in South on the Main Central (MC) Road which runs along the length of the old Travancore, from Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) to Angamaly. The town is full of greenery and decorated by the smooth-flowing Thodupuzha and Muvattupuzha rivers through the centre of the town. It was part of Vadakkumkoor Kingdom until it was captured by Travancore King.

Many non-Keralites cannot pronounce "Muvattupuzha", so commonly "Muvattupusha" is better understandable to others if you cannot pronounce "zha".

The town is separated by the Old Bridge which was supposedly the first concrete bridge in India. The main attraction for Muvattupuzha is the Muvattupuzhayaar or Muvattupuzha river which is very calm and cleanly flowing. In fact, the town is named after the river Muvattupuzha which flows through it. The name is made up of three Malayalam words 'Moo' which stands for 'three', 'aaru' - river, and 'puzha' - which also means a river. 'Aaru' is a word that is usually used to mention rivers in the southern half of Kerala, while 'puzha's are used to mention northern rivers. The three rivers in this case are the Kothamangalam river, Kaliyar and Thodupuzha, which merge to form a single river. This attribute is called Thriveni Sangamam' in Malayalam language. If you are coming to Kochi (Cochin), it is easy to and definitely worth visiting this town, as it is the major route to eastern parts of Kerala like Munnar via NH49 and towards various tourist attractions at Idukki District.

By plane
Kochi International Airport is located in Nedumbassery - approx 35 km from the town. There are flights to and from Colombo, Dubai, AbuDhabi, Singapore, Sharjah, Jeddah, Muscat, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore. Take a prepaid/normal taxi to Muvattupuzha.

By train
You can reach Muvattupuzha from other cities Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Kozhikode (Calicut), Chennai, Bangalore, Bombay, New Delhi, Kolkata by train up to the nearby town Aluva,Kochi or Kottayam. There are two major railway stations in Kochi (Ernakulam Town and Ernakulam Junction, locally known as North and South railway stations). The Indian Railways (http://www.indianrail.gov.in) serves Cochin with a number of train services connecting it to other parts of the state and the country. From Kochi in a little over an hour by bus or in 45 minutes by car you can reach Muvattupuzha.

Another option is to get down at Aluva Railway station and catch a bus to Muvattupuzha which is 34 km. This is closer than Cochin and since the bus station is next to the railway station you can save some money and time to reach get to the bus.

If you are coming from southern end of state,get down at Kottayam Railway Station which is 42 km away. KSTRC buses are available from Nagambadom or Kottayam bus station around the clock.It takes around 1½ hours to reach by bus via M.C. Road.

By bus
Muvattupuzha is accessible from all parts of the state via road. National Highway(NH) 49 and MC road passes through the town besides many important roads. State run Kerala Road Transport Corporation (K.S.R.T.C.) bus services and Private buses ply between towns.Ernakulam city is approximately 42 km away. There are tourist buses connecting Muvattupuzha from Mumbai,Bangalore,Chennai,Mangalore,Coimbatore etc.K.S.R.T.C runs chain services between Thrissur  and Kottayam  via  Muvattupuzha. also, between  Ernakulam  and Thodupuzha via Muvattupuzha besides other long-distance services passes through the town.

If travelling as part of a large group (14+) it is better to book a tourist coach that would take you to your destination. They also would take you sightseeing and is available in most of the cities. The full rates for the trips should be negotiated prior to departure to Kochi or anywhere else for that matter.

By car and truck
There are also "parallel services" running between cities in Kerala. These are normally run parallel to the KSRTC service by private operators on the same routes and is normally a car-share or sharing a mini SUV. A tout would walk around a bus station informing people about the service. These are a bit more expensive than the normal bus service, but is marginally faster and is considered an option if you miss your bus. These are unauthorised, but it is the driver's responsibility to pay the relevant bribes.

Get around
Nearby towns are also calm and safe for a traveller, with lots of things to explore for yourself. You can hire an auto rickshaw - the three-wheeled bug like vehicle-taxi for travel. But talk and fix the fare with the driver before the ride. It seems to me like most western travellers are much curious about Auto Rickshaws!

Surrounding area

 * Veegaland Amusement Park lies 24 km away.

Do

 * Ferry through the river by country boat known as Vallom.
 * Have a bath at smooth flowing Muvattupuzha or Thodupuzha rivers! From there you can walk parallel to the river, in some parts of the town there are casual fishing guys who can fetch you good fishes for cheap.
 * Touring the town and suburbs using Royal Enfield Bullet - a classic British thumper (motorcycle) still manufactured in Madras. You can tour to Munnar Hill station and beyond (Kodaikanal).

Buy
In Muvattupuzha you can get basic shopping amenities for e.g. like white goods and other things. There are 2 or 3 shopping malls. A few curio palaces are in the town, where you can collect Kerala style curios mostly models of various houses, country boats, etc.

Eat
In most hotels and restaurants, you can get Kerala meals which consist of lots of curries. Local specialities change with places, but you can find fish fry/curry items in almost all areas in Kerala. Unlike other parts of India, Kerala people are habitually more inclined to non-vegetarian foods. Beware of very cheap class hotels for hygienic reasons, as is with any other place.

You can also have ethnic toddy called 'Kallu' from 'Kallushops' or Toddy shops where you can find wide varieties of non-veg dishes like chicken, mutton, beef. The menu goes all the way through birds fry, mongoose fry, frogs, and ends up in many varieties of fish.

Drink

 * Kallu / Toddy is available in the city near 130 junction
 * Karikku / ilaneer (tender coconut).
 * Sambhaaram (buttermilk), especially on hot summer days.

If you don't mind a light alcoholic drink, you can try kallu or toddy, a country liquor made from the coconut tree. There are lots of government licensed toddy bars throughout Kerala. For non-drinkers there is limewater, lime-soda or sarbath along with all sorts of milkshakes, colas, etc.

Sleep
There are few hotels giving high class lodging. But cheaper lodges are a plenty.

Go next
There are a lot of tourist attractions in the eastern border of Muvattupuzha Taluka Which is Idukki District like Thekkadi, Periyar Wildlife Reserve.

There are a number of waterfalls in reach from the city. The Thomman Kuth waterfalls in Idukki district is 40 km away, another set of waterfalls is the Vazhachall-Athirapilly waterfalls, one the biggest in Kerala in both height and the volume of water, 48 km away from Muvattupuzha and is easily accessible by road. A waterfall Thomman Kutthu lies 37 km east in Idukki district.


 * Kallil - Kallil Temple, an ancient cave temple of Southern India (the cave is of neolithic era) is just about 15 km away near Perumbavoor (via Paipra-Methala route)

Hill stations

 * Munnar - A hill station which lies 90 km east, beyond Munnar
 * You can reach another hill station in the state of Tamilnadu called Kodaikanal which is 240 km from Muvattupuzha
 * Wagamon -,another Hillstation is 72 km via Thodupuzha,Erattupetta towns. It is an untampered, less crowded virgin hill station in Kottayam district.
 * Elaveezha Poonchira - (valley where leaves don't fall) - a hill station near Melukavu Mattom via Thodupuzha, with gigantic hills around 1000 m high. Famous for the legend that says the pool here was a bathing place for Panchali the legendary heroine of the Mahabharata.
 * Nadukani - yet another serene hill station which is 60 km south.