Tourist Places in Kerala

Kerala - The Beauty of God’s Own Country

Tourism in India has grown tremendously over the years for its unique vistas and landscapes. Be it evergreen and snow-capped Himalayan mountains, Central Highlands, Ghats, Peninsular Plateau, Coastal Plains, Islands, Deserts, India does have a complex mixture of topography. Exploring and witnessing the raw beauty of these landscapes will be a reviving, rejuvenating and refreshing experience. One such perfect destination tourists from across the country have hots for is Kerala!

Overview

A famous tourist destination for people from all parts of the world, Kerala is the land of magic. With sanctuaries, temples, backwaters, hill-stations, commercial cities, hamlets, and beaches, Kerala boasts its eternal bliss and a tropical Eden. Kerala is fondly called God’s Own Country for various reasons. With golden seashores edged with coconut trees and rugged terrains of the Western Ghats dotted with plantations and paddy fields, Kerala is an extraordinary destination to spend your summer vacation! Bountiful rivers with cascading waterfalls and biodiversity of its flora and fauna of Kerala gorgeous and flawless to gaze at. Apart from being a natural habitat, Kerala is rich in cultures and age-old heritage and tradition. Festivals and elating boat races are prime attractions of Kerala. There are as many as 60+ hand-picked tourist hotspots in Kerala, a few of which are listed out for you! 

The Reasons why Kerala should Top your destinations list - Unique and Interesting topographies!

The diversity in the landscape of Kerala is the sole reason for being an attractive destination across the globe.

A sequence of Rocky Mountains 

Kerala is bordered by the Western Ghats on its east. These lofty peaks rise to a whopping height of 2,500 m and are enormously huge and thick. The Midland Plains lie in the central part of Kerala and they are located in the west of the hills and mountains.

 Hill and Rivers

 Kerala has abundantly perished with precipitous hills, deep valleys, and gorges in dense forests. They are close to the Western Ghats and notably the place where all the rivers of the state originated. There are as many as 49 rivers in total. 46 flows to the west and, 3 flows to the east.

Stunning Backwaters 

The reason why Kerala is called the South Western state of the Indian Peninsula is rightly proved! The land beholds splendid water bodies with countless majestic waterfalls and tranquil backwaters. There are 34 sparkling lakes with copious tributaries flowing through the land. Sasthamkotta Lake, Vembanad Lake, Ashtamudi Lake, Pookot Lake, and Akkulam Lake are few notable ones. The lakes are superb destinations for backwater tours in Kerala. The largest backwater is the Vembanad Lake and, it stretches out to the Arabian Sea at Cochin Port.

Vegetation 

28 percent of the surface of this State is forest! Let’s start there. Kerala is called the Land of Coconut Trees! Coconut trees are literally on all sides you turn your head to! Mahogany, teak and rosewood plantations, rubber, tea wattle, and coffee plantations rule the hills. Thick tangled under-growth of climbers and epiphytes rule the tropical wet evergreen forest region. These forests comprise 3,872 flowering plants including 900 medicinal plants. 

The forested regions are mostly tropical wet evergreen forests and partly-evergreen forests with thick undergrowth, shola forests in the precipitous hills, and arid deciduous forests in the middle latitudes. You could picture vast fields of crops like paddy, coconut, pepper, cashew, cassava, and cash crops of tea and coffee, spices, nutmeg, vanilla, and cashew nut. The black pepper grown in Kerala has brought its name as Spice Garden of India! 

Other perks of visiting Kerala!

Festivals!

No one could not know about Onam, the traditional festival celebrated by all Keralites every year. As per legends, the Great King Mahabali visits everyone’s home on this day and, people put Pookalam in front of their houses to welcome him. The second most important festival in Kerala is Vishu which is all about fireworks, gifts, and the future! Celebrated in Vadakkunnathan Temple in Thrissur, Thrissur Pooram is attended by more than 3,00,000 people every year. Thiruvathira festival is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is celebrated in December or January. Surely, you might have known those painted and people masked faces dancing to beautiful rhythms! Well, you get the opportunity to witness an 800 years old tradition called Theyyam Festival. And the season begins in November and ends in May. The vibe here is nowhere in the World! Women of Kerala hold a record in the Guinness Book of World records. 1.5 million women participated in the Attukal Pongala festival on February 23, 1997. Since then the festival grabs everyone’s attention. 

Thanks to all the Christian communities of Kerala, Christmas too is grandly celebrated. Makaravilakku celebrated in Sabarimala temple, Arattu at Trivandrum, the Ambalapuzha Arattu festival at the Sree Krishnaswamy Temple at Alappuzha, The Aranmula boat race on the occasion of Aranmula Uthrattathi, Adoor Gajamela in the Parthasarathy Temple, and then the list is never going to end!

Goldsand beaches, cascading waterfalls and, wildlife sanctuaries Alappuzha Beach, Cherai Beach, Kovalam, Kozhikode Beach, Muzhappilangad Beach, Thirumullavaram Beach, Payyambalam Beach, Kannur Beach are some hand-picked beaches to hit during your vacay to Kerala. 

There are 22 best waterfalls like Athirapally Waterfalls, Vazhachal Waterfalls, Soochipara Waterfalls, Thommankuthu Waterfalls, Banasura Sagar Dam, Palaruvi Waterfalls, Thusharagiri Falls, Meenvallam Waterfalls, Nyayamakad Waterfalls, Arippara Waterfalls, and the others are no less than exceptional beauties nestles amidst dense forests and at whopping heights. All the popular waterfalls are in tourist hotspots like Wayanad, Idukki, Kollam, Pallakad, Munnar, Trivandrum, Pathanamthitta, and, Kottayam. With a little less effort in making the right plans for the day, your trip to Kerala is going to be a blast!

Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary is home to 171 grass species, 143 species of orchids, 35 species of mammals, 265 species of birds, and Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary houses 9 species of mammals, 16 species of amphibians, 268 varieties of birds, 61 species of reptiles, 124 types of butterflies. Catch a glimpse of Sambhars, Wild Dogs, Jungle Cats, and Tigers in Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary. There are more than 11 famous wildlife sanctuaries and parks in Kerala you can spend time exploring and admiring!