South India Holidays
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Kerala
is truly the undiscovered India. It is God's own country and an enchantingly
beautiful, emerald-green sliver of land. It is a tropical paradise far from
the tourist trial at the southwestern peninsular tip, sandwiched between the
tall mountains and the deep sea. Kerala is a long stretch of enchanting greenery.
The tall exotic coconut palm dominates the landscape. There is a persistent legend which says that Parasuram, the 6th incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the preserver of the Hindu Trinity, stood on a high place in the mountains, threw an axe far in to the sea, and commanded the sea to retreat. And the land that emerged all from the waters became Kerala, the land of plenty and prosperity.
Kerala is a 560-km long narrow stretch of land. At the widest, Kerala is a mere 120-km from the sea to the mountains. Gracing one side of Kerala, are the lofty mountains ranging high to kiss the sky. And on the other side the land is washed by the blue Arabian Sea waters.
The land is covered with dense tropical forest, fertile plains, beautiful beaches, cliffs, rocky coasts, an intricate maze of backwaters, still bays and an astounding 44 glimmering rivers. Kerala's exotic spices have lured foreigners to her coast from time immemorial.
Earlier,
Kerala was made up of three distinct areas. Malabar as far up the coast as Tellicherry,
Cannanore and Kasargode with the tiny pocket-handkerchief French possession
of Mahe nearby (it was returned to India in the early 1950 's and is now administratively
part of Pondicherry).This area belonged to what was once called the Madras Presidency under the British. The middle section is formed by the princely State of Cochin; the third comprises Travancore, another princely State.
Kerala Backwaters :- It's an intricate network of innumerable lagoons, lakes, canals, estuaries and the deltas of forty-four rivers that drain into the Arabian Sea. Over 900 km of this labyrinthine waterworld is navigable. The largest backwater stretch in Kerala is the Vembanad lake which flows through three districts and opens out into the sea at the Kochi port.
The Ashtamudi Lake (literally, having eight arms), which covers a major portion of Kollam district in the south, is the second largest and is considered the gateway to the backwaters.
The Ketturvallom: Showcasing a unique heritage The kettuvalloms (houseboats) of Kerala are giant country crafts, measuring up to 80 feet in length. It took great skill and meticulousness to construct these giants by tying huge planks of jack wood together, without the use of a single nail.
Today, these goods carriers have been adapted to make the most exciting tourism product in India, the luxurious furnished houseboat. A kettuvallom usually has one or two bath attached bedrooms, an open lounge, deck, kitchenette and a crew comprising oarsmen, a cook and guide.
