Suitcase Tales

Munroe Island is one of the hidden gems in Kerala which I visited this December for a couple of days. It’s probably the parts that stuck with me and are most memorable in my entire trip to Kerala. And that was because it brought back a lot of my memories of growing up in a small village, cycling through the fields, and talking to people who are blissfully happy in this quaint little town.

We reached Munroe around 2 PM from Varkala. We had booked our stay at the GreenChromide Homestay which was the best decision ever. The hosts Sunaina and Midhun are just awesome and this is one of the key reasons our stay at Munroe turned out to be so memorable.

We arrived in Munroe Island around 2 PM and checked into our room. It’s like a private chalet that has a comfy bed, a clean toilet, and cute plants in all corners. The chalet faces the river with a hammock under the trees and a shade to dine by the river.

Lunch

Sunaina treated us to home-cooked delicious Kerala-style lunch. I had been wanting to eat authentic Kerala food during this trip and I was glad to find it here. The lunch is chargeable at a very nominal rate. If you are non-veg, you should ask for the Green Chromide fish which is a specialty here.

We rested for an hour and then decided to go on a bicycle tour around the island. We got the bicycles and the directions from our hosts and off we went on a roughly 5 KM ride around the island.

Key Points of Interest

Munroe Mocktail

This is a small place that has over 25 varieties of mocktails. Their best is the lemon soda – I asked him to make his most special lemon soda and man, it was good. It was pinkish and had lemon, grapes, and chia seeds. A good start to the bicycle ride!

S Curve Point

This is the place where you can find all the boats to take you on a 2-3 hours canoe tour around the island. You will find a lot of people pitching you for the boat ride – We didn’t take it in the evening since we were recommended by Sunaina to take the morning ride.

Dutch Church AD 1878

This is a really old church and one of the hidden and less-visited spots in Munroe Island. Watching the sunset with feet dipped in Ashtamudi Lake was a blissful experience. There was no one here except the church caretaker and the serene silence with the pink skies was a sight to cherish for a lifetime. It’s not straightforward to reach here – you need to enter the small alley by the store at the location shown on the map, cross the railway tracks, and then go around the houses to finally see the sight as shown below in the picture. It’s difficult to get here, but so so worth it! You can see a few boats sailing far away, a few fishermen casting their nets, and the sky colors slowly changing as the waves brush away your feet and make you think again if anything else in life is worth this peace!

As it grew dark, we decided to return to the homestay. The roads were pitch dark and it was indeed a bit difficult to bike our way back. So I would suggest leaving a bit earlier to reach the homestay before it gets pitch dark.

Dinner

We got back, got freshened up, and had a hearty conversation with Sunaina’s father-in-law. Such a lovely person to talk to – he told us about his experience of staying in different parts of the country. Then we had Appam, vegetable stew, and grilled prawns in the dinner – all homemade again and super satisfying. There is not much to do at night, so we decided to call it an early day. We anyways had to get up early the next day for the canoe ride.

Canoe ride

The canoe ride is one of the top must-do things in Munroe Island. This is around a 2-hour ride where the boatsman rows the canoe through Ashtamudi Lake, Mangrove Arch and the narrow canals lined with coconut trees on both sides. This will cost you around 1200 for a 2-hour ride for 2 people. We got to see fishing nets, the village life around the canals and drank the coconut water from a coconut plucked in front of our eyes. The sunrise tour is more recommended compared to the sunset one since it’s less crowded, and you get to see more birds along the way. If you have time, you can go for both the sunrise and the sunset tour.

After getting back from the Canoe ride, we had breakfast and then packed our bags to move on to our next destination Kumarakom. We had booked our stay for only 1 night, but in hindsight, 2 nights would have been a better choice. It’s also a nice place to work from home for a week if you want to escape the hustle of city life. For me, it was going back to my childhood memories since this was very similar to the village I grew up in – except the backwaters. If you stay here for longer, you can also probably try fishing and kayaking. And if you enjoy swimming, you can also swim in the river in front of the homestay. A few other hotels / homestays that one can consider at Munroe Island are:

1. Vini’s Farm – private island luxury experience.
2. Munroe Island Lake Resort
3. Lake N river Resort Munroe Island

Munroe Island is one place where I felt closer to myself after a long time and was indeed a very beautiful experience. If you are ever planning a trip to Kerala, I would strongly suggest squeezing in at least a couple of days for Munroe Island.