Kerala:
Kerala is known as Gods own country. Every where you will see greenery. Kerala is all about nature and natural beauty.
Kerala is one of the best tourist destinations of India, with backwaters, beaches, Ayurvedic tourism and tropical greenery as its major attractions. People in Kerala speaks Malayalam and English.
Kerala is situated on the southwestern coast of India, a country in South Asia. This tropical paradise enjoys a unique topography with Arabian sea, a part of the Indian Ocean on the west and the Western Ghats on the east.
Major highlights of Kerala tourism:
-In 2012, National Geographic’s Traveler magazine named Kerala as one of the “ten paradises of the world” and “50 must see destinations of a lifetime”.
-In 2012, it overtook the Taj Mahal to be the number one travel destination in Google’s search trends for India.
-Kerala’s beaches, backwaters, lakes, mountain ranges, waterfalls, ancient ports, palaces, religious institutions and wildlife sanctuaries are major attractions for both domestic and international
tourists.
-The city of Kochi ranks first in the total number of international and domestic tourists in Kerala.
-Kerala not known until early 1980’s and in 1986 the government of Kerala declared tourism an important industry and it was the first state in India to do so.
-Asia’s largest, and the world’s third-largest, Naval Academy-Ezhimala Naval Academy-at Kannur is in Kerala.
-Idukki arch dam, the world’s second arch dam, and Asia’s first, is in Kerala.
Popular hill stations:
Popular hill stations are at Munnar, Wayanad, Wagamon, Peermade, Paithalmala, Nelliampathi and Ponmudi.
Wildlife sanctuaries and two national parks
Kerala’s ecotourism destinations include 12 wildlife sanctuaries and two national parks: Periyar Tiger Reserve, Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Thattekad Bird Sanctuary, Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary, Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary, Eravikulam National Park, and Silent Valley National Park are the most popular among them.
Kerala backwaters
The Kerala backwaters are an extensive network of interlocking rivers (41 west-flowing rivers), lakes, and canals that centre around Alleppey, Kumarakom and Punnamada (where the annual Nehru Trophy Boat Race is held in August), Kollam, Ashtamudi, Chithari, Payyanur, Valiyaparamba
Beaches:
Kochi beaches, Kovalam beaches, Kasaragod, Kappil Beach, Kannur beach, Kolavi Palam beach, Kollam beach, Ernakulam beach, thrissur beach, Thiruvananthapuram beaches, Malappuram beach and varkala Beach are few of popular beaches in Kerala.
Waterfalls:
Below are list of waterfalls in Kerala:
Keezharkuth waterfalls, Idukki
Madammakkulam waterfalls, Idukki
Chethalayam Falls, Wayanad
Dhoni in Palakkad
Kalakkayam waterfalls at Thiruvananthapuram
Kanthanpara Waterfalls, Wayanad
Adyanpara Waterfalls, Malappuram
Aruvikkuzhi Waterfalls, Kottayam
Aruvikuzhy Waterfalls, Pathanamthitta
Athirappalli and Vazhachal Waterfalls, Thrissur
Attukad waterfalls, Munnar
Cheeyappara and Valara waterfalls, Idukki
Heritage places:
Padmanabhapuram Palace and the Mattancherry Palace are two notable heritage places in Kerala
Airports in Kerala:
Thiruvananthapuram International Airport
Cochin International Airport (CIAL), Nedumbassery
Calicut International Airport, Karipur