Kerala – God’s Own Country
Keralam or Kerala nickname as God’s Own Country, is a state on Malabar Coast of India. The state famous for ecotourism,beautiful backwaters and ranked one of the top ten paradises on earth by Walk Through India Traveler, Kailash Kumbhkar.
Thenmala town in Kollam district of Kerala is first planned Eco Tourism destination in India and the Thenmala Dam has largest reservoir in Kerala.
Top 15 Reasons to Visit Kerala in India
Kerala is listed as ten paradises of the world by National Geographic Traveler and a must see destinations of a lifetime in India. Major tourist attractions of Kerala for both domestic and international tourist are beaches, backwaters, lakes, mountain ranges, waterfalls and temples.
Backwaters
The scenic backwaters of Kerala are the interconnected network of lakes and canals waterways and main tourist attractions of houseboat and backwater resort tourism.
Kettuvallam
Kettuvallam are traditional houseboats used for promoting tourism on backwaters and estuaries in Kerala. Alappuzha is the best place for house boats tourism in Kerala and known as citadel of house boats.
Beaches
The 550 km long Arabian Sea coastline in the Indian state of Kerala is dotted with large numbers of beaches such as Varkala Beach with clif,Muzhappilangad drive-in beach and Kovalam Lighthouse Beach.
Popular Beaches in Kerala are Alappuzha Beach,Bekal Fort sea beach,Cherai Beach,Kozhikode Beach,Kannur Beach and Shankumugham Beach with a beautiful sculpture of Sagarakanyaka or Jalakanyaka – Mermaid by Kanayi Kunhiraman.
Hill Stations
The beautiful land of Kerala has list of charming hill stations with tea and coffee plantations, surrounded by the Western Ghat ranges.
The most popular hill stations of Kerala also include Peermade,Nelliampathi hill Station,Kalpetta in Wayanad, Ponmudi, Devikulam, Vythiri and Thekkady in Periyar.
– Munnar Tea Garden
Munnar hill station in Idukki is the major tourist spots in Kerala, known for Western Ghats range, tea and coffee plantations and Eravikulam National Park.
Wildlife
There are 12 wildlife sanctuaries and two national parks in Kerala, the evergreen rainforests of the state offers wilderness for Asian elephant,Lion tailed macaque,King Cobra, Nilgiri tahr in Eravikulam National Park.
Paravur Estuaries
Estuaries of Paravur are group of backwaters and estuaries, near the coast of Kollam district. The backwaters and estuaries of Paravur are known for its natural beauties, backwater and white sand beaches.
Vembanad Lake
Vembanad lake is the largest lagoon lake in Kerala and known by different names as Kochi Lake and Punnamada Lake. The Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary is the major tourist attraction of Vembanad Lake with hundreds of kettuvallams or houseboats to boost Kerala Backwaters tourism.
Vallam Kali
Vallam kali or snake boat race is the major tourist attractions of Kerala during the harvest festival Onam. Traditional boat race held in the Punnamada Lake of Alappuzha, Aranmula Boat Race and President’s Trophy Boat Race in Ashtamudi lake at Kollam.
Athirappilly Falls
Athirappilly Falls is the largest waterfall in Kerala in Thrissur district and the forest area is home to unique wildlife like great hornbill, Malabar pied hornbill and lion-tailed macaque.
Onam
Onam is the most popular Hindu festival of Kerala and the celebrations include Vallam Kali, Pulikali and Kummattikali.
– Temple Festivals
God’s Own Country has a large number of Hindu temples, most famous of these being the Thrissur Pooram.
Thrissur Pooram temple festival held at the Vadakkunnathan Temple in Thrissur and is the largest and most famous of all Poorams.
– Art Forms
Kerala is also known for diiferent performing arts such as Kathakali, Mohiniyattam,Thirayattam, Theyyattam and the most famous Kalaripayattu. Kalaripayattu is a martial art and oldest surviving fighting systems in India.
Spices
The state is also known as land of spices, Some of the most popular spices of Kerala are Ginger, Cardamom, Clove, Turmeric, Kudampuli, Tamarind and Nutmeg.
Malabar Pepper has a geographical Indications tag from the Malabar region of Kerala along with Alleppey Green Cardamom. Kerala is known for production natural rubber, black pepper along with coconut, tea, coffee and cashew.
