Welcome to Kerala – the tropical paradise and often referred as the ‘God’s own country’. Travel to Kerala, located in the southwestern tip of the Indian peninsula is one of the most rewarding experiences of your life. Kerala is bound by the Arabian Sea on the west, Karnataka on the North and Northeast, and Tamil Nadu on the east. The Malabar Coast of India is the site of Kerala location. Geographical Kerala is a part of the coastal belt with the hill ranges known as the Western Ghats running along the length of Kerala. Kerala has a coastal belt with sandy beaches and palm fringed shores. The seaside Kerala location, makes it a pleasant holiday destination, with sunny beaches and serene backwaters. The hill ranges of Kerala have hill stations, wildlife sanctuaries, tea estates and spice plantations. Geographical Kerala exhibits diversity in climate within the compact Kerala location on the Malabar Coast of India.

Geographical Kerala is a tropical region, with weather being pleasant for most of the year. Humidity increases during the monsoon season. The location of Kerala gives it an unique climatic and geographic features.

On your tour Kerala, take up a travel ride to the tranquil Kerala backwaters or take a tour of Kerala’s palm-fringed beaches. Serene yet enjoyable, the emerald backwaters of Kerala are best explored on the traditional thatch-roofed houseboats. Travel to the panoramic cities of Kerala or visit the lush green tea gardens or wildlife sanctuaries of Kerala and discover the true colours of nature’s beauty. Travel to nature-bounty land of Kerala for an experience to savour for lifetime.

The truly magical Kerala is also the best destination to undergo Ayurveda treatments. Travel to Kerala to rejuvenate and relax yourself and make your tourism in Kerala a complete satisfaction. Tour the captivating cities of Kerala with Kerala tour packages on your tourism to Kerala.

Rejuvenate your senses and indulge in natural therapy treatments on your tour to Kerala. Explore the nature’s wonders with tour packages of Kerala.

Travel to magnificent wildlife sanctuaries and parks in Kerala. Characterized by rich flora and fauna, Kerala wildlife sanctuaries and parks are nature lover’s paradise. Watch some rare animals and migratory birds while touring Kerala’s wildlife sanctuaries and parks. Periyar, Idukki, Thekkady or Kumarakom, each wildlife sanctuary is unique in its own sense and all are worth visiting while travelling Kerala.

A trip to Kerala will offer you breathtaking surroundings, pristine backwaters and beaches of immense natural beauty. Travel to the fascinating Kerala, experience the pampering Ayurveda health treatment in Kerala and explore the tranquil Kerala backwaters and other cultural attractions of Kerala. Kerala tour packages offer tourists a range of tour packages and guides them in their quest to delve the nature’s wonders.

Kerala is a state on the tropical Malabar Coast of southwestern India. To its east and northeast, Kerala borders Tamil Nadu and Karnataka; to its west and south lie the Indian Ocean islands of Lakshadweep and the Maldives, respectively. Kerala envelops Mahé, a coastal exclave of Pondicherry. Kerala is one of four states that comprise the linguistic-cultural region known as South India.

According to legend, Kerala was saved from the aggressing sea by an act of Parasurama, an avatar of Mahavishnu.[2][3] During prehistoric times, Kerala's rainforests and wetlands — then thick with malaria-bearing mosquitoes and man-eating tigers — were largely avoided by Neolithic humans. The first evidence of habitation dates to the 10th century BCE, when pottery and granite burial monuments (resembling those of Western Europe and the rest of Asia) were left behind.[2] These were produced by speakers of a proto-Tamil language from northwestern India, suggesting that Kerala and Tamil Nadu once shared a common language, ethnicity and culture; this common area is known as Tamilakam. Kerala then became a linguistically separate region by the early 14th century. The ancient Chera empire, whose court language was Tamil, ruled Kerala from their capital at Vanchi and was the first major recorded kingdom. Allied with the Pallavas, they continually warred against the neighbouring Chola and Pandya kingdoms. A Keralite identity — distinct from the Tamils and associated with the second Chera empire and the development of Malayalam — evolved during the 8th–14th centuries. In written records, Kerala was first mentioned in the Sanskrit epic Aitareya Aranyaka. Later, figures such as Katyayana, Patanjali, Pliny the Elder[4], and the unknown author of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea all displayed familiarity with Kerala.

The dependence of the Chera kings on trade with West Asia meant merchants from these regions were allowed to establish trading outposts and settlements on Kerala's shores.[5] Many of them - especially the Jews and early Christians - arrived here to escape religious persecution. The constant contact, settling and patronizing over millennia of these peoples resulted in the thriving Nasrani Mappila[6] and Muslim Mappila communities of the Malabar Coast. According to several scholars, the Jews first arrived in Kerala in 573 BCE, thirteen years before the destruction of the first temple of King Solomon of Israel.[7][8] The works of scholars and several Eastern Christianity writings states that Thomas the Apostle visited Muziris or kodungallur in Kerala in 52 CE to proselytize amongst the Jewish settlements and trading posts of the Malabar coast. [9] However, the first verifiable migration of Jewish-Nasrani families to Kerala is of the arrival of Knai Thoma in 345 CE. Muslim merchants settled in Kerala by the 8th century CE. With Vasco Da Gama's arrival in (May 20)1498, the Portuguese sought to control the lucrative pepper trade by harassing the Mappila communities, attacking West Asian shipping to Kerala's shores and forcing the Nasrani community into obedience to Europe.

The modern day Kerala historically largely isolated from India. The Mauryans & Great Mughals empires reached only upto the borders of present day Kerala.

Conflicts between the cities of Kozhikode (Calicut) and Kochi (Cochin) provided an opportunity for the Dutch to oust the Portuguese. In turn, the Dutch were ousted at the 1741 Battle of Colachel by Marthanda Varma of Travancore (Thiruvathaamkoor). The Dutch commander Captain Eustance De Lenoy was captured, and Marthanda Varma agreed to spare the Dutch captain's life on condition that he joined his army and trained his soldiers on modern lines. Meanwhile, Mysore’s Hyder Ali conquered northern Kerala, capturing Kozhikode in 1766. In the late 18th century, Tipu Sultan — Ali’s son and successor — launched campaigns against the growing British East India Company; these resulted in two of the four Anglo-Mysore Wars. However, Tipu Sultan was ultimately forced to cede Malabar District and South Kanara, (including today’s Kasargod district) to the Company in 1792 and 1799, respectively. The Company then forged tributary alliances with Kochi (1791) and Travancore (1795). Meanwhile, Malabar and South Kanara became part of the Madras Presidency.

Kerala saw little mass defiance against the British Raj— nevertheless, several rebellions occurred, including the October 1946 Punnapra-Vayalar revolt.[10] Many mass actions — spurred by such leaders as Narayana Guru and Chattampi Swamikal — instead protested such social mores as untouchability; these included the 1924 Vaikom Satyagraham, and the Guruvayoor Satyagraha (1931-32). On November 12, 1936, the Maharaja of Travancore, Chitra Thirunal Bala Rama Varma, issued his famous Temple Entry Proclamation which opened the doors of Hindu temples to Hindus of all castes. Ten years later. Cochin and Malabar also enacted their versions of laws on temple entry for Dalits.

After India's independence in 1947, the princely states of Travancore and Cochin were merged to form the province of Travancore-Cochin on July 1, 1949. The King of Travancore, His Highness Chitra Thirunal Bala Rama Varma served as the Rajpramukh of the Travancore-Cochin Union from July 1, 1949 until October 31, 1956. On 1950-01-26 (the date India became a republic), Travancore-Cochin was recognised as a state. In the same time, the Madras Presidency became Madras State in 1947. Finally, the Government of India's November 1, 1956 States Reorganisation Act inaugurated a new state — Kerala — incorporating Malabar District, Travancore-Cochin (excluding 4 southern Taluks which was merged with Tamil Nadu), and the taluk of Kasargod, South Kanara.[11] A new Legislative Assembly was also created, for which elections were held in 1957. These resulted in a communist-led government[11] — one of the world's earliest[12] — headed by E.M.S. Namboodiripad. Subsequent social reforms introduced by Namboodiripad's administration — and continued by subsequent governments — favoured tenants and labourers.[13][14] This facilitated, among other things, improvements in living standards, education, and life expectancies.

Kerala’s 38, 863 km² landmass (1.18% of India) is wedged between the Arabian Sea to the west and the Western Ghats — identified as one of the world's twenty-five biodiversity hotspots[15] — to the east. Lying between north latitudes 8°18' and 12°48' and east longitudes 74°52' and 72°22',[16] Kerala is well within the humid equatorial tropics. Kerala’s coast runs for some 580 km, while the state itself varies between 35–120 km in width. Geographically, Kerala can be divided into three climatically distinct regions: the eastern highlands (rugged and cool mountainous terrain), the central midlands (rolling hills), and the western lowlands (coastal plains). Located at the extreme southern tip of the Indian subcontinent, Kerala lies near the centre of the Indian tectonic plate; as such, most of the state (notwithstanding isolated regions) is subject to comparatively little seismic and volcanic activity.[17] Geologically, pre-Cambrian and Pleistocene formations comprise the bulk of Kerala’s terrain.

Eastern Kerala lies immediately west of the Western Ghats's rain shadow; it consists of high mountains, gorges and deep-cut valleys. Forty-one of Kerala’s west-flowing rivers — and three of its east-flowing ones — originate in this region. Here, the Western Ghats form a wall of mountains interrupted only near Palakkad, where a pass known as the Palakkad Gap breaks through to provide access to the rest of India.

The Western Ghats rises on average to 1,500 m above sea level, while the highest peaks may reach to 2,500 m. Just west of the mountains lie the midland plains, comprising a swathe of land running along central Kerala. Here, rolling hills and valleys dominate.[16] Generally ranging between elevations of 250–1,000 m, the eastern portions of the Nilgiri and Palni Hills include such formations as Agastyamalai and Anamalai.

Kerala’s western coastal belt is relatively flat, and is crisscrossed by a network of interconnected brackish canals, lakes, estuaries, and rivers known as the Kerala Backwaters. Lake Vembanad — Kerala’s largest body of water — dominates the Backwaters; it lies between Alappuzha and Kochi and is more than 200 km² in area. Around 8% of India's waterways (measured by length) are found in Kerala.[18] The most important of Kerala’s forty-four rivers include the Periyar (244 km), the Bharathapuzha (209 km), the Pamba (176 km), the Chaliyar (169 km), the Kadalundipuzha (130 km) and the Achankovil (128 km). Most of the remainder are small and entirely fed by monsoon rains.[16] These conditions result in the nearly year-round waterlogging of such western regions as Kuttanad, 500 km² of which lies below sea level.Agroecology of Kerala

Kerala's climate is mainly wet and maritime tropical,[19] heavily influenced by the seasonal heavy rains brought by the Southwest Summer Monsoon. In eastern Kerala, a drier tropical wet and dry climate prevails. Kerala receives an average annual rainfall of 3,107 mm — some 70.3 km3 of water. This compares with the all-India average of 1,197 mm. Parts of Kerala's lowlands may average only 1,250 mm annually, while the cool mountainous eastern highlands of Idukki district — comprising Kerala's wettest region — receive more than 5,000 mm of orographic precipitation (4,200 mm of which are available for human use) annually. Kerala's rains are mostly the result of seasonal monsoons; meanwhile, more anomalous factors resulted in the 2001 red rains. As a result, Kerala averages some 120–140 rainy days a year. In summers, most of Kerala is prone to gale-force winds, storm surges, and torrential downpours accompanying dangerous cyclones coming in off the Indian Ocean. It is also vulnerable to occasional droughts[20] and rises in sea level and cyclonic activity resulting from global warming.[21][22] Kerala’s average maximum daily temperature is around 36.7 °C; the minimum is 19.8 °C.[16] Mean annual temperatures range from between 25.0–27.5 °C in the coastal lowlands to between 20.0–22.5 °C in the highlands.[23]

Kerala's culture is mainly Dravidian in origin, deriving from a greater Tamil-heritage region known as Tamilakam. Later, Kerala's culture was elaborated on through centuries of contact with overseas cultures.[89] Native performing arts include koodiyattom, kathakali – from katha ("story") and kali ("performance") – and its offshoot Kerala natanam, koothu (akin to stand-up comedy), mohiniaattam ("dance of the enchantress"), thullal, padayani, and theyyam. Other arts are more religion- and tribal-themed. These include oppana (originally from Malabar), which combines dance, rhythmic hand clapping, and ishal vocalisations. However, many of these artforms largely play to tourists or at youth festivals, and are not as popular among most ordinary Keralites. These people look to more contemporary art and performance styles, including those employing mimicry and parody. Additionally, a substantial Malayalam film industry effectively competes against both Bollywood and Hollywood.

Malayalam literature is ancient in origin, and includes such figures as the 14th-century Niranam poets (Madhava Panikkar, Sankara Panikkar and Rama Panikkar), whose works mark the dawn of both modern Malayalam language and indigenous Keralite poetry. The "triumvirate of poets" (Kavithrayam: Kumaran Asan, Vallathol Narayana Menon, and Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer) are recognised for moving Keralite poetry away from archaic sophistry and metaphysics, and towards a more lyrical mode. In the second half of the 20th century, Jnanpith awardees like G Sankara Kurup, S. K. Pottakkat, and M. T. Vasudevan Nair have added to Malayalam literature. Later, such Keralite writers as O. V. Vijayan, M. Mukundan, and Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy — whose 1996 semi-autobiographical bestseller The God of Small Things is set in the Kottayam town of Ayemenem — have gained international recognition.

Kerala's music also has ancient roots. Carnatic music dominates Keralite traditional music; this was the result of Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma's popularisation of the genre in the 19th century.[90][91] Raga-based renditions known as sopanam accompany kathakali performances. Melam (including the paandi and panchari variants) is a more percussive style of music; it is performed at Kshetram-centered festivals using the chenda. Melam ensembles comprise up to 150 musicians, and performances may last up to four hours. Panchavadyam is a different form of percussion ensemble, in which up to 100 artists use five types of percussion instrument. Kerala has various styles of folk and tribal music. The popular music of Kerala — as in the rest of India — is dominated by the filmi music of Indian cinema.

Kerala has its own Malayalam calendar, which is used to plan agricultural and religious activities. Kerala's cuisine is typically served as a sadhya on green banana leaves; such spicy dishes as idli, payasam, pulisherry, puttucuddla, puzhukku, rasam, and sambar are typical. Keralites — both men and women alike — traditionally don flowing and unstitched garments. These include the mundu, a loose piece of cloth wrapped around men's waists. Women typically wear the sari, a long and elaborately wrapped banner of cloth, wearable in various styles.

Several ancient ritualised arts are Keralite in origin; these include kalaripayattu (kalari ("place", "threshing floor", or "battlefield") and payattu ("exercise" or "practice")). Among the world's oldest martial arts, oral tradition attributes kalaripayattu's emergence to Parasurama. Other ritual arts include theyyam and poorakkali. However, Keralites are increasingly turning to more modern activities like cricket, kabaddi, soccer, and badminton. Dozens of large stadiums — including Kochi's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and Thiruvananthapuram's Chandrashekaran Nair Stadium — attest to the mass appeal of such sports among Keralites. Television (especially "mega serials" and cartoons) and the Internet have impacted Keralite culture.[92] Yet Keralites maintain high rates of newspaper & magazine subscriptions— 50%[93] — spend an average of about seven hours a week reading novels and other books,[92] host a sizeable "people's science" movement, and participate in such activities as writers' cooperatives.[79]

In respect of Fine Arts, the State has an abounding tradition of both ancient and contemporary art and artists.The traditional Kerala murals are found in ancient temples, churches and palaces across the State. These paintings, mostly dating back between the 9th to 12th centuries AD, display a distinct style, and a colour code which is predominantly ochre and green. Mural art is being revived by a new genre of artists actively involved in researching and teaching mural art at the Sree Sankara Sanskrit College in Kalady and also at a mural art school associated with the Guruvayoor temple.

Historically fine arts enjoyed Royal patronage in the erstwhile state of Travancore, where the palace itself produced India’s most renowned painter and prince Raja Ravi Varma. Painting, sculpture and applied art are now taught at the Government College of Fine Arts in Thiruvanathapuram, the Ravi Varma Painting School at Mavelikara and other centres that have trained a vast number of accomplished artists and sculptors.

Thiruvananthpuram ( Trivandrum), Kochi (Cochin), Thekkedy, Periyar (Wildlife sanctuary), Munnar, Alleppey (Alappuzha), Kovalam, Kollam( Quilon), Calicut (Kozhikode)