Kerala Info

Thekkady - Kerala tourist place

Thekkady is an important tourist place of kerala located at an altitude of 900 to 1800 meters above sea level.

Main tourist attractions of Thekkady are Periyar National Park, Thekkady Lake, Boating, The evergreen forests, Wild animals etc.

Periyar wildlife sanctuary is very dense evergreen forest spread 777 squire kms area declared as Tiger reserve in 1978.

Periyar wildlife sanctuary is famous for its evergreen forests, savannah grass lands and wild animals elephants, sambar, gaur, Nilgiri langurs, tigers, wild boars, lion tailed macaques....

The sanctuary is situated around an artificial lake formed by Mullaperiyar Dam accross the Periyar River.

The herds of elephants playing in Lake is a wonderful sight while boating through the Periyar lake.

Thekkady is also known for plantations of various natural spices like black pepper,clove,cardamom,cinnamon,chilly,tamarind etc.

Forest department,Kerala tourism development corporation(KTDC) and many private agencies offers many programs to promote adventure tourism in Thekkady.

Nearest railway station: Kottayam (114 km)

Nearest airport : Madhurai (140 km), Kochi(180 km)

See the pictures of Thekkady below...

Munnar

Munnar is one of the most popular tourist places in Kerala, a mesmerising Hill station, located 1600m above sea level in southern “Western Ghats” (A mountain range in the west of India).

Munnar is situated at the confluence of Mudrapuzha, Nallathanni and Kundala rivers. The speciality of Munnar is its cool climate and greenery. A vast area of Munnar is occupied by tea plantations and evergreen jungles.

The Whole hill area is known as "High range" and rarely “Kannan Devan Hills”. In the age of British empire they developed this area to cultivate tea plants. The Bungalows built by them are still there in use.

Several Protected Wildlife areas in Munnar attract many tourists. You can see several threatened and native species like Nilgiri Tahr (Hemitragus hylocrius), Grizzled Giant Squirrel, Nilgiri Wood Pigeon, Gaur, Sambar and Neelakurinji here.

Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana) is a rare kind of plant blooms once in 12 years. Eravikulam National park is known for Neelakurinji, Nilgiri Tahr and a few other protected species. Neelakurinji last bloomed in 2006. A vast area of mountain covered with Neelakurinji, giving the whole area a blue shade is an amazing spectacle for the visitors…

Many residents of here are employed in Tourism business. In Munnar there are above 3000 small and big resorts and several small hotels and restaurants.

Didn't visited Munnar yet.... Plan your next trip to Munnar......

Nearest airports: Madurai (140 km), Cochin (190 km)
Nearest railway stations: Theni (60 km), Changanacherry (93 km)

Kerala is one of the 50 greatest places of a lifetime and one of the 10 paradise found for National Geographic Traveler.

More Flood pictures

Boats replaces motor cycles when the roads submerged........
Generally the people here rely more on motor bikes to travel....

The shutters of the dam opened when the river overflowed....

Monsoon fishing in rural areas of Kerala

In monsoon season, due to heavey rainfall rivers will overflow and the agriculture lands of the rural areas will be under water. At that time certain species of fishes from river and sea will arrive in the flooded agriculture lands.

That's the time for fishing in the paddy fields......

You can see the pictures....

Most of them are not fishermen.....

A good spare-time activity with good revenue. They uses average sized fishing nets(See the picture) to catch fish.

Monsoon flood in Kerala

Water water everywhere...........

Record rainfall in Kerala... Paddy fields, roads everything under water. Many peoples lost their lives, crops and houses.

Only travel option in the flooded area is small boats.

You can see people waiting for boats to reach their houses...

Kerala Tourism

Kerala - The god's own country...

Visit kerala.... One of the most beautiful places in the world...

Want to know more about kerala?

check the links below...

Welcome to the official website of Kerala Tourism
This is the official website of Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala, India which provides comprehensive details on Kerala's festivals and fairs, ...
www.keralatourism.org/

Kerala Tourism Development Corporation
With an array of prime properties set in the finest spots of Kerala's theme destinations, Kerala Tourism Development Corporation, the largest hotel chain in ...
www.ktdc.com/

Kerala arts and culture, tourism, travel guide, Tourist places ...
Kerala arts and culture, Kerala news, Kerala tourism, Travel guide, Pictures, Articles ..... Kerala Top Stories....
keralatopstories.blogspot.com/

Kerala Tourism, Kerala Tour, Tourism of Kerala, Tourism in Kerala ...
Site offes info about Tourism of Kerala,Kerala Tourism,Kerala Tour,Kerala India,Tourism in Kerala,Tourism of Kerala India,Kerala Tourism India,Tourism in ...
www.tourismofkerala.com/

Kerala Tourism - Kerala Tour Packages, Travel in Kerela
Information and photographic guide to tourism in Kerala. Offers tour packages.
www.keralagreenery.org/

Sarppam thullal

Kalamezhuthu pattu

"Kalamezhuthu" is a ritual art of Hindus in Kerala. Kalamezhuthu is performed inside and outside the Temple to worship the deity. In Kalamezhuthu the amazing thing to see is the colourful and artistic portrait of the deity made on the floor using natural powders in different colours. The style of Kalamezhuthu may vary depending upon different communities, the Deity which they worship and the purpose of the Kalamezhuthu. In malayalam Kalamezhuthu means drawing.

After the completion of Kalamezhuthu a song praising god would be performed accompanied with traditional musical instruments of Kerala.

I have collection of more than 70 pictures of Kalamezhuthu...

Below I'm showing a few of them..

Nanthuni - A musical instrument using in "Kalamezhuthu paattu"

Kathakali

Kathakali is an Indian classical dance-drama, originated in Kerala. Kathakali is one of the most famous performing arts of India and has popularity all over the world.

Kathakali originated from Ramanattam and Krishnanattam(Classical arts of Kerala) in 17th century and several folk, ritual and classical arts forms of Kerala have exerted influence in the development of Kathakali.

The speciality of Kathakali is, the Kathakali actor enacts different characters in Kathakali using stylised hand gusters, facial expressions and body movements accompanied with vocal and instrumental music. The make-up and elaborate costumes of Kathakali are unique and marvellous.

Traditional Kathakali stories are from the Hindu epics, Mahabharatham and Ramayanam. Recently stories from other cultures like story of Mary Magdalene from Bible, Homer's The Iliad and Shakespeare's King Lear have also been adapted into Kathakali scripts. Kathakali stories are written to play a whole night. But nowadays 2-4 hour lasting shorten versions are more popular.
Characters in Kathakali are categorized according to their nature. This decides the colours used in the make-up of the artist.

To attain the high flexibility and muscle control required for this art form, a Kathakali dancer undergoes a special course of training and special types of body massage.

Language used in Kathakali music is a mix of Sanskrit and Malayalam called Manipravalam. The Kathakali songs are composed in Carnatic Music. Percussion Instruments like Chenda, chengala, Idakka, Maddalam and ilathalam are used in Kathakali.

Kathakali is usually performed in front of Kalivilakku(lamp) and the traditional Thiraseela(curtain) is used during Kathakali play.