A one day trek from Braemore estate to Ponmudi peak

“Write when your muscles are still sore and the experiences still raw”

My trekking experience with a wonderful group of 13, two lady guards and a lead.

Kerala has an enthralling wildlife most of which is now not a pleasant sight in the summer with all the deforestation, lack of measures to protect natural resources and not to mention the summer’s heat. I remember many years ago while trekking at Chadayamangalam’s Jadayu para, Nelliambathy, Vagamon, Silent valley and even Neelakuringi at Munnar; I got the opportunity to experience lush green forests, bright flowers and of course, the wildlife.

Trekking gear and preparations

Getting hyped for the trip

For almost a week ahead of the trek I was rattling over a lack of information about what to expect out of this day squeezed between a wildly sad Good Friday and a Merry Easter. A friend of mine (who was also participating in the trek) and I had added a three-kilometre walk every alternate day to our routine as preparation for the trek. We wanted to ensure we were in the right shape before we just went ahead trekking.

5 am on 26/06/2016

Waking up early! Excitement! Fellow travellers!

I often wonder what inspires others to drive themselves to do something like this.

Could it be for the love of nature? Are they interested in protecting the environment? Trying to make new friends? Could they be professional hikers, avid travelers or simply going through a mid-life crisis?

We reached the pickup point 10 minutes prior to the reporting time. Met the group and journeyed to the second pick up point and reached the Braemore estate by 9am. Breakfast was organised at Nadan Bhakshana shala (a local food joint). As we started our journey uphill we did not know each other but when we reached the same point by the end of the day we knew ourselves and each other much better.

As our city-bred legs and unused muscles flexed, I knew it was that of day where pampering myself to a foot spa, cleaning my palm with sanitizer every hour were not on my to-do list. The jungle has its own rules and it does teach you a lesson or two, but at the same time, it is hospitable, welcoming and nurturing. City-bred individuals will get an opportunity to broaden their perspective of things: The color green is not always associated with envy, silence can always be the sound of crickets, clean drinking water could always have sediments of clay.

Signing the consent Letter

When I broke a tree trunk instead

The drive from the city to the base camp, where the trek starts, went by listening to Devotional songs (I love listening to these in the morning), gyrating heads, hairpin bends, narrow roads, power naps and signing the consent letter. The consent letter was merely them saying ‘Break your neck, not our problem’ in a politically correct way, plus collecting details like emergency contact information. One thing I fail to understand is the need for them to ask irrelevant questions like marital status/age and date of birth. I might as well expect a call on my birthday for them having asked me that.

Crossing the Bridge

The first kilometre felt exceptionally long, where you had to read the foreword to what you signed up for. The hot humid summer wasn't helping either. The climb uphill is strenuous and you are looking more at the ground than anything else. We take a pause to catch a breath rather than enjoy the beauty of nature. Our fellow travellers introduce themselves and it gives me immense pride to know these wonderful married/working men and women, taking a day off for themselves to follow their passion.

Temple

Our first notable halt was at a resting point, where we cross a wooden trunk acting as a bridge. I couldn't even look down. To me, at the time, it looked an even more massive step than doing the 12 km trek itself. After drinking some water and getting the shade, we photograph nature and a temple tucked neatly in the jungle. There is definitely an eerie feel to the whole set up. If I were the creative type I would say it felt like invisible jungle Gods were watching over our alien selves, almost like we were trespassing.

The Bear effect

Trekkers going uphill

Things got easier as we went along, I got distracted by stories and travel experiences of men who’ve pretty much been there and done that. I get a flashback of what I defined as holidays staying in 5/7 star rated hotels with fine dining, lovely linens, gambling, swimming or getting a massage summing up to a perfect getaway. These people, however, have been in the wild, eaten the wild, drank from the springs, confronted the wildlife and lived the life.

A Pause to Pose

The biggest decisions made during the whole day of the trek was whether to choose a long and easy terrain or a short but hard terrain to reach the destination. The answer to that was always the SHORT hard terrain. We discipline ourselves behind the leader and play our part in helping each other to make the trek easier. Conversations and stories were the best way to go about this.

I remember vividly having asked the leader:

“So, what do we do if we see a leopard in the wild?”

To which the leader replies “We don’t have to do much, the leopard will do what needs to be done!”

It is not as humid as you go further into the jungle, the crickets engage in a sing-song, there is always a spring to get some icy cold face wash, the dry leaf is a perfect red carpet to the rare alien visitors. We also analyse the ageing animal droppings also to access if there is danger close by.

The tough terrain on the short trail was abruptly stopped by a deep throated growl which was getting more louder and vehemently.

Stunned and nearly facing death someone silently cracks a joke about how bears use their claws to scratch out the face and leave behind an unidentifiable pile of flesh.

We turned silently and starts the trek downhill to now be back on the LONG easy terrain. A close call indeed.

The last 1km

We are so near our destination now. We stand there and crave getting to sit and remove our shoes. We see the top of the mountain, some of the group members are already up there. We left the avenue of tall lofty trees to open grasslands. The clouds contouring the mountains. It was a point of almost giving up. Between wanting to give up and motivation to just do it. We were all helping each other and motivating each other. Also considering taking a bus to reach downhill to Vithura. Muscles were sore, backs sweaty not to mention the intense hunger and thirst that kicked in. The view, however, was simply alluring. The “Varayattu mottai” mountain contouring the skies were seducing us to come back to her.

At 12.15pm, we hear the good news that our destination is just a kilometre away. We buck up and trek. Backpacks seem heavier, legs seem like giving up.

We reached ponmudi and walked downhill to the restaurant for food, water, barefoot walk, volini sprays , sunscreen touch-ups and our much-awaited group photo.

Tilted timer photo

The Yoga Session

Post lunch as my friend sat down to stretch her hamstring muscles she was soon joined by the rest of them doing their own style stretches and meditation. It was funny how we started our day washing our hands to eat the meal to sit on the dirty floors of a restaurant. The rapport of strangers coming together for a day of fun was unbelievable.

Ladies of the group

Cashew Apple Plucking

En route to Mankayam Falls was a lot of short steep roads and in most cases no roads at all. Thorny and itchy plants scraped through our skin. We never stopped for a break and treated ourselves to amazing fresh cashew apples.

We picked up the first red ripe cashew apple and bit into the juicy resinous flesh. Joked on how a snake would have tried this delectable dessert and left it halfway. Little did the others know, the story was just to get more of it between the few of us who liked it more. Thankfully it was a love-hate relationship between the cashew apple and us. Later plucking them became a sport for the next ten minutes.

Sita Kulicha Stalam (Sita’s bathing pond)

This was one place everybody wanted to see unanimously or should I say just the men in the group were excited to see this spot?

They say there are different ways to motivate different people. This motivated the men.

Once we reach the destination they were promised that they would be shown Sita’s bathing point. Well, as it turned out we didn’t get to see it. I wasn’t surprised that we didn’t, because Sita is not expected to be bathing in a spot anyone and everyone could walk into. I’m okay with that remaining a mystery.

 The Environmentalist

Prior to action, the best thing one can gain is awareness. It’s great that we share pictures/videos and show our concern for mother earth, but going into the wild and experiencing something first hand is another feeling altogether.

Trek back to the base with no defined road

This has been the hottest decade we have all faced in our lifetime. This has also been the hottest recorded decade mother earth has faced in her lifetime! Yet it is also the most developed we have been as a progressive civilisation.

But are we really a progressive society?

What do we want to leave behind for the next generation? Is our progress actually sending us backwards?

Our forests are now cities, a large segment of our wildlife is headed for extinction, the leftover forests are no longer lush and dense as they were a decade ago!

Where are we headed?

I understand that major steps may not be possible for us as individuals, but small steps are the key to going forward. I was in awe of how the fellow trekkers ensured that we did not litter the place and insisted we carry the waste back to the base from where we started. We were equally concerned about the future of our planet and felt the pain wholly.

As much as we wanted to remain safe and sound, deep-down I really wanted to see a wild animal in its natural habitat. Despite walking 12 km in total all we heard was one bear in the vicinity.

Here’s a few things we can do to play our part in helping:-

- Do not litter. The mark we should leave on our trail is flowers and butterflies, not plastic and waste!

- Use both sides of the paper. Do not print unless it is absolutely necessary.

- Support farm produce and natives who live in and around the forests. Drive into these areas for your monthly supply of honey, vegetables, coffee, tea and several other items. As a bonus, these naturally grown crops will also benefit you health wise.

- Say no to housing exotic pets. Exotic is something that’s exclusive to the jungle.

- Have a home garden. Plant a lot of trees. Try and produce your own vegetables.

I can only hope that we might get to experience what our ancestors experienced of nature and I hope that we’re able to show our future generations what we’re able to see now at the very least.

A little something about Mankayam Falls / Braemore Estate

Tucked in 40kms away from the city is this small waterfall/river near Palode in Nedumangad. A one day trek to the peak would lead to ponmudi through the braemore estate. One can seek guide assistance from the check post and it is mandatory to take female guides for female trekkers.

Waterfall

How to get there?

Buses from Trivandrum are frequent. The KTDC restaurant is the boarding point for the buses and time schedule is written there.

Alternatively, you can also drive down to Braemore estate and take a jeep ride to take you around the forest and water falls if you are not a trekker.

Best time to visit

November – December.

But beware of leeches!

Prerequisites of a trek

1)     Water and empty bottles to fill up from small streams en route

2)     Sunscreen, calamine lotion, tablets for sore throat/headache

3)     Band-aid for cuts and bandages for sprains with volini

4)     Light snacks and dry fruits

5)     Glucose/energy drinks

6)     Umbrella

7)     Hats/scarves

8)     Pen/note, only if you want to take notes of course

9)     Socks and comfortable shoes with strong grip.

10) Tissues and wet wipes

11) Camera/phone/power banks

12) Towel and change of clothes

13) Sunglasses

14) Salt to kill leeches 

Pack up!

                               Carrying a “things to do” diary is one of my habits which I am very proud of. It keeps you organised and helps you prioritize your duties and chores. A very similar practise is making check lists before travelling. I save the list as a digital note and refer to to it as and when there is a trip coming up. I often share it with my friends who hate packing before travel, you know, the ones who always knock on your door for tissues and hair brush as they conveniently forget theirs.

I strongly believe in the travel ‘light’ concept. It is quite contrary to the concept of “women take the world in their suitcase”. Sometimes heavy baggage can come at a price, and not just literally. You may not always be able to charm a security officer at the airport to give you a hand with your luggage or imagine trying to handle a broken wheel of your heavy suitcase all by yourself.

Clothes:

 

These take up to 60 percent of your suitcase. Depending on the number of days, you may consider taking at least one ensemble each day and add a few extra tops which can be repeated with your bottom wear. On a holiday one hardly spends time at the hotel so you may carry night clothes for every second day that you are away.

Neat folding and optimum utilization of space also play an important role in packing.

Tips:

-    If you choose dresses over tops and denims you’ll carrying one piece of clothing for one day instead of two.

-    Choose tops which can be repeated with bottom wear(a denim/skirt) with a scarf or a jacket.

-    You could also repeat your dresses with a jacket or overcoat.

-    Undergarments should be carried in excess as you’ll most likely not be doing laundry on holiday. Even if you are willing, it’s definitely not a pleasant sight hanging underwear above the bathtub or hanger rods and shower curtains.

-    Neatly pack undergarments in lingerie bags (Imagine the embarrassment when a pink bra pops right out as soon as your bag is being opened!)

Accessories:

Accessorize well. I have read somewhere that accessories to clothing is what punctuation is to a sentence.

Carry earrings, neck pieces, trinkets - In a small box saving it from tangling, dents and shock of being thrown around at airports. Hair bands, clips, pins and other hair accessories can be clubbed with this. When it comes to belts, always carry a neutral color or something to go with your shoes.

Make-up:

A compact, blush on, applicator brushes, eyeliner, eye shadow palette, mascara, lip liner and lip stick. A couple of shades of lip sticks can be dropped in to the kit. Ensure that this is in a “compact” pouch/kit.

Toiletries:

Shampoo, Conditioner, Toothpaste, Brush, Body lotion, Face wash, Face Creams, Body Wash, Combs and Hair Brushes are what you need. You may pour out smaller quantities of the mentioned liquids into little bottles to reduce the weight.

Note: Most of the hotels have samplers hence do not carry large bottles of body washes and shampoos unless your hair doesn’t respond well to a new shampoo.

Footwear:

Women can never carry enough footwear.

While airline and baggage restrictions will never align with the array of footwear you want to carry on your trip; a comfortable pair of everyday shoes or moccasins, one pair of flip-flops and one fancy set of stilettos for that inevitable fancy dinner are all you really need.

Electronics:

Phone -  Mostly used as a camera, so remember to keep the memory of the phone empty for the thousands of pictures to be taken!

Electric adaptor - Do a ground check on which one you’ll use at the country you’re visiting.

Power bank - These are simply a must considering smartphone batteries nowadays.

SLR -  If you still want to click good pictures.

Chargers - For your phone, for batteries if you use recharge batteries for your camera.

Extra memory - USB drives, memory cards for your SLR.

iPad or other tablet - Loaded with movies if you do not get sleep in hotel rooms. Also assuming that the flights may not have inflight entertainment.

Note: Do not carry hair-dryers as they are available in almost all hotels but you could consider taking a curling iron or straightener.

Handbag:

Choose the handbag for the trip wisely. It will house your most important things like your passport and wallet. Carry a medium to large sized tote.

Things that should be packed into the handbag:

-    A pen+notepad - I usually keep my details and important addresses in this notepad. I also use it as reference for my details instead of looking at the passport each time to fill out immigration forms.

-    Hand sanitizer.

-    Chewing gums unless there is a ban in the country you are visiting.

-    Wet tissues, tissue papers must always have a place.

Note: Do not carry liquids in your handbag, if they leak, it can get really messy.

Everything Else:

Various situations may arise like drawstring of your pants deciding not to co-operate, sole of your shoes licking your toes, half eaten chocolate boxes which did not survive your temptations, bad hair day. The answer to those situations is this “everything else” section.

-    Fasteners are things I have seen people run around looking for during their holidays - slides, safety pins, small tubes of glue, cellophane tapes.

-    Ear buds are such things too. If you get back from the swimming session it is a must to have ear buds. I carry my own even if the hotel provides it. I am obsessively worried if the hotel staff poked his nose with it and felt their tongue just out of frustration of a bad day at work.

-    Garbage bags - Always carry extra garbage bags to bring wet swim wear, towels. Also you may require if you want to dispose trash while you are outside sightseeing.

  

Precautions:

-    For avid readers, carry the thinnest of books and ensure it is light reading. It should elevate your mood.

-    Ensure all bookings are confirmed with print-outs in place.

-    First aid kit apart from your day to day routine medicines for diabetes, blood pressure or thyroid(if any) do carry medicines for cold, cough, stomach upset, indigestion, gastritis, band aids, muscle relaxants, bandages, cotton, disinfectant like ‘Dettol’(non-spill bottle).

-    Carry spectacles and sunglasses in a protective case.

-    Locks for your suitcases and hand carriages are mandatory.

-    Invest in a good luggage tag rather than depending on fluorescent pink ribbons to identify your luggage on the conveyor belt.

Enjoy and Happy Travelling!

A Maldivian Dream

Probably the most underrated destination of the world - Maldives.

So less is said about it in comparison to the islands of Thailand, Seychelles and Mauritius. But my friends, I tell you this is nothing short of paradise. Ironically we stayed at Paradise Island Resort 20 minutes away by speedboat from Ibrahim Nasir International Airport.

Day One

International Airport, Speedboat Ride and Arrival at Paradise Island:

The Ibrahim Nasir International Airport is also called Hulhule and is situated on the North Atoll.

A ring shaped island or cluster of corals are more often referred to as an ‘atoll’. Paradise island resort was also called Lankanfinolhu.

Speedboats 

The visa is on arrival and free of cost for SAARC countries. Officers at the immigration were the most pleasing here than in any other country, I’ve traveled to. As we exit the airport you can see an array of counters with resort names. Tourists are expected to proceed to their respective counter as per their booking and the airport staff guide you to a speedboat.

Our baggage is taken care of and a huge leap sucks you into the airy speedboat. We find comfortable seating on the deck of the boat. The sun is scorching and penetrating the skin but the breeze forces a smile on your face. The color of water changes from sky blue to turquoise to deep blue. On our way to the resort we get a glimpse of the Male city, some smaller boats, other inhabited islands and people parasailing around us.

Crystal clear waters at Maldives

A bridge connects the docking area to the reception. We walk to the reception as our baggage is transferred by them to the lobby. We are given cold towels and a most needed welcome drink. The island is so beautiful that you start taking pictures of it till you get exhausted in a few minutes of trying to capture the beauty.

I wish I could capture everything my eyes saw.

Our Room and Day 1 at Paradise Island:

I was initially very disappointed that we had opted for the Beach view bungalow over the water villa as we needed two rooms at easy access and also the humongous price difference, however I fell in love with it instantaneously. It had an entry and exit. Entry was through a guided pathway with trees and creepers on one side walking you into the spacious room.

Pathway to rooms

It had a bathroom so big I could easily hear my own echo. There was an open air shower in a square room with ceiling opening to the skies, chirping of birds, few birdie visitors peeping in while you enjoy your shower. If you are more of a luxurious private person then a tub with shower curtain is also available. The room has a huge glass window overlooking the sea and heavy drapes which can be pulled to the side whenever you what to see the sun and waters.

Step out to chairs and a small private area where you can read and have a cup of coffee. Few more steps outside there are private sun bathing chairs.  And then again another few steps then you can bathe and snorkel in the pleasantly cold water

s.We ordered in a lunch of noodles and Nasi Goreng and had a lovely, much deserved afternoon nap.

By evening when the sun decided to cool off so I decided to snorkel in the waters outside my bungalow. Good quality snorkeling equipment was the best investment I’ve made this year. I waddled almost 500 meters into the sea to see the various wonders of the sea life.

Friendly baby blue fishes, the indifferent big flat ones with yellow tail, a school of synchronized swimmers in stripes and to my luck a lion fish who made my swim worthwhile by spreading its fins.

Crabs and crustaceans are not scared at all, they are always curious. They have bright eyes and look at you in awe.

The corals are everywhere and there in no landing space in the ocean. If you do then you scrape your skin against these corals. This is the most satisfying pain that you can get. As the sun sets we take a shower and walk around on the corpse white sands with crushed corals. You will be tempted to rub a few smooth shells on your face and a few rough corals on your palms.

This was heaven.

Dinner was elaborate. The walk to the ‘Bageeecha' restaurant helped us work up an appetite and there was an array of foods from salads to Indian, Italian, Maldivian, Chinese and European cuisine, water can be bought at 3.45 dollars after taxes and tastes the best. (I guess it is psychological to value something which is not easily available!)

Post dinner we walk back and decide to do some star gazing. The moon is up and shining and while we watch the stars in the night sky, the moon light gave us a view of the entire island. The water villas line into the sea with dim lighting. It’s not very breezy and it's humid, heavy and silent. You are conscious of every breath and you are the only person on the entire beach side gazing at the stars and listening to the winds and ocean.

A small drizzle and we are tucked up in the luxury of a comfortable bedding and next thing you know is dawn breaking.

Day Two

I wake up as early as 5.30 am for a walk by the shore and later to meditate under the rising sun. It is quite tricky. On one hand you are trying to concentrate, on the other the sun tries to bake your skin. Keeping my eyes tightly closed I can feel the freshness of the morning cleansing my soul.

Breakfast is baffling with a confused spread of croissants, breads, cold cuts, Indian, Chinese Japanese and European cuisines. We roam around clicking pictures of the island and find a hiding spot from the Sun under the short coconut trees. I decide to take a half way walk around the island walk on my own. The water life is definitely a wonder with cute conchs with life and color of the ocean changes from shallow to deep.

Water sports is probably the only physical activity available on the island with colorful catamarans breaking the monotony of different hues of blue. Today I decide to snorkel on a different part of the island. The better part of doing this in the blazing sun is to get a darker skin tone and go back to our country where skin whitening products sell more than anything else.

I gather confidence to wear a bikini (not yet the first preferred swim wear in India) and dive into the sea bed. Friendly fishes, angry puffed up puffer fish, and hey wait a minute who is the unwelcome visitor an arm distance. It's a baby shark. With immense flexibility it decided to not come in my way. If only I could explain how it feels to be snorkeling away in the clear water. It is a liberating feeling as your body feels light floating away (without life jackets of course), the magnifying lens of your eye guard magnifying the tiniest of fishes swimming by.

I feel drained out and exhausted still gleaming with the cheer of having swam with a shark. I soak myself in a tub of cold water and foam to realise that I have nearly burnt my skin to itchy patches of sun burn. Any regrets? Nothing at all.

I sleep as the sun takes revenge on the earth. By evening I regain my energy and is  hydrated with electrolyte drinks and lie on the beach reading a book. Evening is when everybody gathers on the bridge for shark feeding, I was expecting baby sharks but these were teenagers soon to be adults. They are agile and fighting for food being thrown into the ocean. A spotlight improves the view. You can see a lot of marlin fish trying to get hold of the leftovers. After the feeding is done for the day the sharks still roam under the floating restaurant, but this is the same place where we were snorkeling this morning. I still don't understand that they come only for their food by evening and vanish during the day.

We head for dinner and go for sting ray feeding by the sea shore. Sting ray is a docile underwater being till you stamp on its tail or try to grab them. You are allowed to feed it and they roam around for some more food. Surprisingly the sharks and sting rays come up to the shore for food. They didn’t seem scared, didn't seem friendly either.

Day 3

Knowing that this is the last day of the trip I decide to make the most of the day light for prefect pictures. The sea is as beautiful as ever and the skies giving competition. I wake up as early as 5.20 am and walk to the other side of water villas to capture the sunrise. The clouds make way and skies clear up for the magnificent sun. It takes it time to rise up and shine.

The sky changes color from grey to orange to peach to clear blue. After sunrise the atmosphere is rather humid and all the walking is making me sweat. It’s thanks to the occasional breeze and waves touching your feet that cools you out. I take the long bridge with water villas on either side, I walk straight to come face to face with the sun. On either side you can see coral reefs and various aquatic fishes some solo and some in schools.

Walkway with Water Villas on either side

Post the elaborate breakfast I sleep for a while and also watch a movie on my iPad. After lunch I walked (with my umbrella, fearing being set ablaze by the sun) to a point where the seas join above a sand bed. You can feel the strong currents in the water but I still did manage to click a picture there.

Once the tide was higher than it was in the morning I snorkeled to the other end of the sea to the reef line. The feeling is amazing as you breathe through your mouth to complete content, blocking water away from the eyes and nose.

The reef area is now in front of me. Corals shine like led lights, yellow stripes fishes give me a curious look, a green fish rubbed against my skin repeatedly, a schools of black babies look for food. I now swim above the reef with the entire sea life under me. As I push the water forward I feel a score of pain. I scrape my knee on one of the corals and bleed. The redness of blood diluting in sea water infuses a fear in me if I would attract a few sharks or eels.

I swim back to the shore in total dismay that I had to end the swim and proceed to shark feeding.

Shark feeding:

The end of the bridge leads to the restaurant. The restaurant is perched up on pillars from the ocean. By 6 pm you start spotting baby to large sharks swimming around waiting for their daily portion of fish. 10 kilos of tuna is fed to the sharks every evening.

The tourists also start coming together standing near the railings. The spotlight focuses on the ocean bed and the chef from the restaurant comes with a tray of fish. They jump and slide over each other to get a bite of the fish. It's clearly a survival of the fittest amongst the Sharks. If you keep focusing on one shark out of the 25-30 of them you cannot say that all of them get a bite of the fishes. Then they come back at the same time the next day to try their luck.

I guess today is full moon day.

The dim lighting doesn't seem all that dim today.

After dinner we head to sting ray feeding.
Unlike the Sharks these are just about 5 of them and one being a shy baby.

The adults like to be petted and are quite friendly, one by one we can walk to the shore get your share of fish in your hand and slowly entice the fish to come to you. Getting close to the tail could be fatal.

Day 4 

Today we are checking out in a while there is still one side of the island unexplored. We walk from the beach villa to the right till we reach a dead end. There are short trees, rough sands, water with strong currents, the topography is different from the other part of the island. We walk to end of it click a few pictures and come back and check out to the airport by Speedboat again.

Map of the Island

Outside the room

Friendly life on the Island

Shallow waters meeting the deep from where the sharks come in

Restaurant near Shark Feeding area

Low tide

Evenings

Maldives is one country where there is least possibility for a tourist to experience its Capital city Male and Currency Maldivian Rufiyaa. As beautiful as this country is it is best recommended that you give its crowded city a miss.

The biggest decision before visiting Maldives will be to decide which island to stay on as there are about 1000 islands which are part of 26 Atolls in Maldives. Very rarely do you meet a Local or hear them speak their local language but if you have your dollar and you speak English then you are qualified for  a Maldivian Tour

How to get there: Spice Jet, Air India and Maldivian Airlines connects you to the city from where you can take a speed boat or Sea Plane to the resorts. For Indians, it is recommeded that you take a flight from Trivandrum or Kochi for cheapest and closest options.

What to do while you are there:

Day tours like dolphin watching, Snorkelling, Scuba diving on the reefs, Fishing, water sports  and Island Hopping can be organised on Package basis.

Food: Local Maldivian cuisine is Rice and Tuna in abundance. Resorts serve all cuisines possible but do alot a day for Local Male Cuisine.Taro and Cassava is also boiled and served with spicy Curry. Coconut based Puddings and Gravy's are also an important element in their Local cuisine.

Dressing: The temperature is Moderately hot to hot and allows you to wear crisp cottons and linens. In the resort you are allowed to wear swim wear and bikinis in the waters but it is advised to dress conservatively in the City with your shoulder and ankles covered. Don't even bother packing your heels. there is no place on the island where you can skip walking on the sands.

Special Note: Alcohol, Water, Dining and Water Sports activity is very expensive on the islands.
Carry Slippers, Snorkel Equipment and Swimwear.
High SPF Suncreen and after care lotions are a must.
Keep yourself highly hydrated.

Maldives is definitely a must visit haven for family and honey mooners equally. It gives you time to introspect and unwind and sometimes also make you wish for a castaway life on a far off island.