Muvattupuzha

The inland market town where three rivers meet, 40 km east of Kochi — the cheapest beds anywhere near the city, on the road to Munnar.

Muvattupuzha is a working town about 40 km east of Kochi, where the Thodupuzha and Kaliyar rivers join and become the Muvattupuzha river — moovu-attu-puzha, the three-river confluence. It sits on the junction of the MC Road and the highway that climbs east towards Kothamangalam, Neriamangalam and eventually Munnar, which is why it exists commercially and why a traveller might use it. Almost nobody stays here as a destination. Plenty of people should stay here as a stopover, because a good clean double is ₹1,100 to ₹2,400 and the same money buys a windowless box in the city.

The town is rubber-and-spice money, church spires, textile shops and a bus stand that never stops. It is set in genuinely lovely country: low hills, rubber sheets drying on wire, the river running clear and green under the bridge, and small ferries and footbridges linking hamlets on either bank. Walk down to the water in the late afternoon and you will see men fishing with cast nets and boys jumping off the ghats. That is the whole spectacle and it is enough for an evening.

At 9pm the shutters come down along Market Road, the tea shops keep pouring until about 10, and the fried-chicken and parotta counters near the KSRTC stand do brisk trade until 11. There is no bar culture beyond one or two hotel bars and a state beverages outlet with a queue. Sundays and dry days catch people out. If you need coffee at midnight or a restaurant with a menu in English, go back to Kochi.

The honest case for Muvattupuzha: it is the sensible last stop before the hills, it is 30 km from Thattekkad bird sanctuary and 25 km from Bhoothathankettu, and it is one of the few places in this guide where the prices in the local shops are the same for you as for everyone else.

Where to stay in Muvattupuzha

Stay within walking distance of the KSRTC bus stand and Market Road if you are moving on by bus at dawn — the small hotels there run ₹1,100 to ₹2,400 with air conditioning and a hot-water geyser, which is all you need for a night. The slightly better business hotels on the MC Road bypass and towards Vazhappilly charge ₹2,200 to ₹3,800 and have parking, which matters if you are driving to Munnar. Riverside guesthouses on the Kothamangalam side are quieter and greener. Avoid the very cheapest lodges facing directly onto the bus stand forecourt: buses idle from 4.30am and the horn noise is constant. Also check that hot water and the generator both work, because power cuts in the monsoon are routine here and a ₹1,200 room does not always have a backup.