Kerala Tourism: Things to do in Kollam

Kollam is one of Kerala’s most divine destinations. Every inch of it exudes pristine, natural beauty. We discover eight things to do in Kollam that make it a captivating destination.

1.Follow the Light

Thangasseri is a quiet seaside village which is home to many historically invaluable remnants. Here, one can find the remains of an intriguing Portuguese fort and many churches that were built in the 18 century. Also located in Thangasseri is the Thangasseri Lighthouse. The lighthouse stands at a height of almost 150 feet and offers lovely vistas of the surrounding area.

Follow-the-light-Kollam

2.Divine Landscapes

Less than 30 kilometers from Kollam is the important pilgrim center at Sasthamkotta. The town’s Sastha Temple is an ancient temple, which draws people in large numbers. The other reason people find their way towards this hidden gem is because of the natural beauty surrounding it. Here you will find Kerala’s largest freshwater lake, embraced by hills on three sides. The town is connected to Kollam by frequent buses but a more convenient option is hiring a private taxi which can be easily arranged by hosts.

3.Picnic at the Palaruvi

Approximately 75 kilometers from Kollam are the Palaruvi Falls. The majestic falls cascade from a height of over 300 feet. Splashing around in the river is safe and fun for the entire family. The lush woods, surrounding the waterfalls, are a great place to host a picnic. Taking a homemade picnic freshly prepared at your homestay will be a great idea and the homestay owners would be happy to pack you a feast. Undertaking a trek through the woods is a great way to explore the area and to work up an appetite.

4.Holy Holiday

Mayyanad is the most popular tourist destination around Kollam. Just 10 kilometers from the city, Mayyanad is famous for its nine temples and the Sree Sankaracharya shrine. The Subramanya Temple is the most revered holy destination of Mayyanad.

Mayyanad-holy-holiday

5.Family fun

The hub of recreational activities in Kollam is a charming village in Ashramam. Here, one can enjoy many activities offered by the village like its small adventure park, a quaint boat club and a special children’s park. A lot of locals are seen here enjoying the weekends with their family and spending some down time while the kids are happily distracted by the parks.

6.The laidback Backwaters

Almost one-third of Kollam is covered by Lake Ashtamudi, which is named after its eight channels. The lake is known as the doorway to the backwaters. The 16 kilometer long lake is Kerala’s second largest lake and a great alternative to the more congested Lake Vembanad. Other than enjoying cruises and houseboat stays on the Ashtamundi one can also take a four-hour trip to the Munroe island village through Kollam’s canals.

The-Laidback-Backwaters-Kerala

7.Take the scenic way

The most fascinating and unique experience that Kerala has to offer is a cruise on the backwaters. And from Kollam you can take a rare and luxurious cruise to reach the bigger town of Alleppey. This cruise lasts for about eight hours and is the longest cruise you can take on the backwaters.

Backwaters-take-the-scenic-way

8.Dig in

Kerala is known as God’s own country and perhaps its most divine offering is its food. The dishes are at their best when they are made at home with the love and care of a typical Keralite family. The homestays in Kerala ensure you enjoy a culinary experience that no hotel or restaurant could ever match. The recipes, which your homestay hosts would be happy to share with you, are perhaps the best souvenirs to take home.

Kerala-food

Kerala Tourism - Things to do in Alleppey

The old trading port of Alleppey – or Alappuzha as it’s also known – is well known as the capital of backwater country. This is where many of the boat tours of Kerala’s “Venice of the East” begin or end.

It goes without saying that a slow crawl around the canals and lakes of backwater Kerala is the main ‘thing to do’ when you visit Alleppey.

But here we give you nine extra items and ideas that add more to your visit.

These are activities you can either enjoy on your backwater journey or find elsewhere in Alleppey town or nearby villages.

1. Go night fishing

There’s something particularly enchanting about floating in a vallam, the traditional paddled longboat familiar to Kerala, under the moonlight, on a warm Indian evening, and hanging a fishing line into the glimmering waters. Other forms of fishing to look out for include the incredibly hard spear fishing, and fishing using a trapping pond.

Alleppey Night Finishing

2. Shop the Mullackal Road

The bazaars of Mullackal Road provide a delightful afternoon’s browsing. Here you’ll find everything from fine gold jewellery to umbrella emporiums and coir products.

Shop at the Mullackal Bazar Road

3. Eat a banana leaf lunch

Use your fingers as cutlery and a large green banana leaf as a plate and you’re half way to eating ‘Kerala style’. Add some pickles to your plate and a ball of steamed rice, flavoured with grated coconut, and you’re nearly there. Finish off the look with main dishes of rasam or sambar or perhaps a delicious fish molee, all mopped up with a pathiri pancake, and you’re enjoying an authentic Keralan lunch. Still hungry? Order some crispy banana chips and a bowl of sweet payasam for pudding.

Kerala style banana leaf lunch

4. Hire a bicycle

While guided tours give you a wealth of trivia and background information, sometimes it’s nice to abandon them and let instinct direct you instead. Bicycle is a great way to explore both the streets of Alleppey and the surrounding countryside. Buy a good map and take off early, enjoying the freedom of travel on Alappuzha’s quieter roads.

Bicycle hire in Alleppey

5. Swim in the holy river

The River Pampa is a holy river, treated with reverence by garland-wearing pilgrims who visit it to bathe. If you are staying in a homestay, ask your host to suggest a good spot where you can enjoy a leisurely swim.

Swim in the holy river Pampa

6. Get an Ayurvedic massage

Ayurveda is an important Indian medicine system, thought to be influenced by Buddhism. It focuses on meditation, yoga and massage. Massage uses herbs and oils coupled with a variety of hand techniques, including kneading, tapping and squeezing. A full body, relaxing Ayurvedic massage in one of the quality treatment rooms of Alleppey fits ideally with the overall laid back theme of Kerala life.

Ayurvedic massage

7. Explore the surrounding villages

There’s plenty on offer in the small villages dotted outside of Alleppey. Especially worth a visit is Champakulam, a peaceful place sat on the River Pampa and home of India’s oldest Christian church (built in AD 427). It also stages the famous ‘snake boat race’ held in June or July.

Christian church Alleppey

8. Spot unusual birds

Take a short trip out of Alleppey to Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary and you’ll enjoy one of the world’s most popular bird-watching locations. You’ll see migratory birds that travel from as far as Siberia and the Himalayas, including the stork, egret, darter, heron and teal.

Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary

Things to do in Cochin (Kerala’s Capital City)

We want our guests to get an authentic view of India, where the sights, smells, tastes and traditions of our diverse and incredible country are lived rather than observed.

So here we’ve put together a guide to the key ingredients that make up beautiful Cochin. Be sure you include them all in your visit to this remarkable city of islands sat on Kerala’s lush coast.

1. Water

The city itself is a cluster of islands connected by canals, lakes and lagoons, so Cochin is the ideal place to start a backwater trip. City tours take in the colonial treasures of Fort Cochin and the hubbub of charming Willingdon Island. Longer trips take you on routes to Alleppey and beyond, and into lands of lush tranquillity and laid back river-village life.

In-the-backwaters-cochin

2. Mud

Mud rejuvenates the body, opens the skin’s pores and is thought to relieve a variety of ailments, from arthritis to heat burn. Cochin is very big on holistic therapy. There are several spas where you can let your mind drift while your body is embalmed in thick brown clay.

Mud holistic therapy

3. Fish

There are two reasons the Chinese fishing nets of Cochin are of such appeal. Fixed permanently to the shore, they represent fishing at its most unusual. Cast out during dawn or a sunset, they are a curiously beautiful sight. The hauls are cooked up within minutes by street vendors. Tuck in.

White-snapper-cochin

4. Sand

Cherai Beach, with its calm, clean, shallow sea and supple golden sand, is rightly known as Kerala’s best beach. Stretching north for nine long miles, it’s never a problem to find a quiet spot. At only 20 minutes drive from central Cochin, it’s no surprise that Cherai is the popular choice of the city’s sunseekers.

sand-and-sea-cochin

5. Paint

You can not leave Cochin without experiencing the blaze of colour and intensity that ignites during a Kathakali performance. This historical dance-drama demands so much from its actors that they use martial arts to prepare themselves and spend ten years learning the art. At Fort Cochin’s highly-regarded Kathakali Centre you can watch a show and also take lessons.

Kathakali-painting

6. Spice

Cochin was built on the spice trade. It acted as a port for the Arabs, Chinese, Jews and Romans who sailed to Kerala to sniff out the best of its plantation produce. Everything from pepper, chilli and turmeric, to nutmeg, vanilla and ginger thrives on the hills of ‘God’s Own Country’. And for thousands of years it’s been shipped out of Cochin across the world. Get down to Mattancherry spice market and inhale the powders of Cochin’s history.

Jew-Town-Cochin

7. Rubber

Although Kerala also has an abundance of rubber plantations, you’ll need strong rubber soles on your feet to walk and appreciate the breadth of Cochin’s attractions. With the winding streets of relaxed Fort Cochin to explore, the curios shops and sights of Jew Town to enjoy, and the bustle of downtown Ernakulam to experience, you may want to stop, put your feet up and sup a cold glass of the local Sandpiper beer.

8. Time

The Portuguese of the 15th century. The Dutch of the 17th. The British after 1795. Before all of them the Chinese and the Romans. They all left their influence on this cosmopolitan, melting pot of a city – particularly on its architecture. Must-sees include the church of Santa Cruz Basilica and Paradesi Synagogue. Just make sure you give yourself enough time to appreciate the full, exotic flavour of this complex blend. Then you will taste the global infusion of Cochin, ‘Queen of the Arabian Sea’.

Cochin-fort

KERALA - Major tourist attraction as well as the best honeymoon destination in India

The god’s own country is one of the major tourist attraction as well as the best honeymoon destination in India. The land of God, Kerala is believed to be a gift of the Arabian Sea. The pride of Kerala are Gorgeous and Exotic Beaches, Breathtaking hill Stations, Enchanting waterfalls, Beautiful lagoons, Meandering rivers and Amazing natural scenarios. These colors are made Kerala as a land of beauty and paradise on earth. Kerala is also famous for its Ayurvedic treatments, high mountains, gorges and deep-cut valley, lush and evergreen rain forest and coconuts water and oil and foods items. Kerala houseboats are first and best preference of the tourist to enjoy their moments in beautiful lakes of Kerala. The Idukki dam is the first Indian arch dam in Periyar river Kerala and the largest arch dam in Asia. Shopping, museums and markets are also best way to explore Kerala. Follow to visit some of the Best Place in Kerala.

Culture: 

Kerala’s culture is an integral part of Indian culture. The cultural heritage of Kerala are its arts, festivals and dresses. Hindu, Christian and Islam religion found in Kerala and Malayalam is the local language of Kerala. Indian elephants are given a prestigious place in the state culture of Kerala. kathakali and mohiniyaattam are the traditional art of dance in Kerala.

Kathakali Dance Kerala

Lifestyle: 

The people of Kerala are very simple and down to earth people, they love to live in their own world. The Keralites also are very progressive in terms of cleanliness, healthcare and physical quality of life. The elephants are an integral part of the daily life in Kerala. Kerala people are very protective about their religion and ancient practices, rituals and traditions.

Kerala Lifestyle

Villages: 

The villages in Kerala offer a feast to the eyes of the travellers by way of its panoramic view of the fields, farms, hillsides, rivers and lakes. The locals engage in fishing, farming, pottery, jute making and handicrafts. These villages with paddy fields all around and coconut trees are perfect to spend a relaxed holiday. Some of the popular villages are Vavannoor, Udayagiri, Aranmula, Cheppad, Teekoy,etc.

Kerala Paddy fields

Cuisines: 

After the enjoyments, foods are the next thing in mind. Kerala has a rich and unique flavor of foods like Sea foods, malayali cuisines and banana dishes. Kerala is famous for its spices and its spicy recipes of vegetarian and non vegetation food. Best cuisine of Kerala is Meen Curry – Kerala style fish curry made in fried coconut.

Food from Kerala

Festivals: 

Kerala has many colorful festivals and every festival has its own importance. Onam, the annual harvest festival and it is the largest festival celebrated in Kerala. Vallamkali or Snake Boat Races is the traditional boat race in Kerala. This famous water sport marks the end of Onam festival. Pooram Festival, the The main features of the pooram are the decorated elephants. Peoples of Kerala worship elephants and snakes on different festival occasions.

Pooram-Festival-Thrissur

Beaches: 

Sea, Sand and Sun are the gifts given by the god, which makes Kerala the land of most delightful beaches in the world. Kerala Backwaters offers a series of beaches that are perfect for a relaxing time with your love one. Some of the best beaches in Kerala are Kovalam, Cherai, Varkala, Kappad, Muzhappilangad and Bekal. Watch the sunset along with the blue water beaches of Kerala is the best way to end your day and start a romantic night.

Beaches in Kerala

Sports: 

The Exotic Beaches of Kerala are best for surfing, rafting and many more adventures ocean water sports. Kerala is the one of the best place for scuba diving and snorkeling in India. Kerala is also known for its kind of Martial Arts called Kalarippayattu – A new insight into the traditional martial art of Kerala. Mountains climbing, Trekking, camping and kayaking in rippling rivers of kerala are some different types of sport that any one can enjoy. Ayurvedic treatments in Kerala are best way to relax and feel fresh after these sports.

Ayurvedic treatment in Kerala

Wildlife: 

The Land of God, Kerala has a rich culture in Flora and Fauna. Kerala is the only state in India where highest number of Indian Elephants are found. The best place for wild animals are Silent Valley, Periyar national park and Tiger Reserve,which is situated high in the ranges of the Western Ghat. The land of elephants share their habitat with Panthera, King Cobra and other wild animals.

Periyar-Natioanl-park-Thekkady

Natural beauty: 

Kerala the land of beauty is describes as the favorite child of nature, and famous for its breath-taking natural beauty. Major attraction are includes long coconuts tree, the blue mountain and rivers makes Kerala one of the greenest places ever seen. The beautiful milky falls of water splashing through the rocks should not be miss. Other attraction are Vembanad Lake India’s longest lake, Sasthamkotta lake and Cheruthoni Dam.

Athirappilli waterfalls Kerala

Hill Stations: 

There are many hill stations in Kerala which offers the best spectacular views of the nature. Munnar one of best hill destination in kerala and one of the famous hill station in India. The other beautiful hill stations are Ponmudi,Nelliampathi, Ponmudi and Wayanad Hill Station. These hill stations of Western ghats are one of the best place for trekking in India.

Munnar Hill Station - Kerala

Best Places to Visit in Kerala

Though every region of Kerala is full with attractions and beautiful scenery and all the places are counted as must to visit. Some of the best Places to Visit in Kerala are Kovalam,Kottayam,Pallivasal and Kundala. The places can by divided as per the seasons like Trivandrum during the monsoons,Munnar in Winter and Wayanad in summer. Here is the list of top 10 best places to visit in Kerala.

Thiruvananthapuram 

The capital of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram is situated west coast of India and bordered by Tiruneveli,Kollam and Kanyakumari. Thiruvananthapuram is a Evergreen city of India and also considered as one of the 10 greenest cities in India. The largest city of Kerala is an IT hub and home to several educational institutes,Napier Museum and Research Laboratory.

Padmanabha-swamy-Temple-Thiruvananthapuram

Thrissur 

Thrissur is known as cultural capital of Kerala situated at the central of in Thrissur District. The city host many cultural, spiritual and religious festival of the state, Thrissur Pooram festival is the most colorful and spectacular among them. Puli Kali also known as Tiger dance is one of the most popular folk art performed here during Onam festival.

Pooram-Festival-Thrissur

Kannur

Kannur or Cannanore means the land of Lord Krishna, is a city located in the District of Kannur on the North Malabar region of Kerala. The city is famous for its Theyyam art,pristine beaches and Adventure Tourism. Muzhappilangad Drive-in Beach is the most popular beach here and only one Drive-in Beach in Asia, other beaches are Payyamballam, Meenkunnu and Ezhara beaches.

Payamballam-beach-kunnur

Thekkady 

Thekkady is important tourist destination in Kerala located in the famous the Periyar National Park. The Periyar National Park is home to a large number of Indian elephants,lion-tailed Macaques,Nilgiri Langurs, Indian bison and Bengal Tigers. Mullaperiyar Dam is situated around the area on the Periyar River and formed an artificial lake for Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary.

Periyar-Natioanl-park-Thekkady

Kumarakom 

Kumarakom is most popular tourist spot located near the Kottayam city and famous for its houseboat in backwaters of Vembanad Lake. Vembanad Lake is the largest freshwater lake of Kerala and longest lake in India. Kumarakom is a famous Bird Sanctuary and home to a wide variety of local and migratory birds.

Kumarakom-backwaters

Alleppey

Alleppey is situated along with the Arabian coast of Alappuzha District and offers backwaters, beaches and lagoons tourism. Alappuzha District is one of the major tourist destination apart from backwaters it offers long paddy fields. The paddy fields are grown every year below the sea level and its one of the major attractions in Kuttanad along with backwaters and Boat services.

Alleppey

Munnar

Munnar is the famous hill station in Kerala situated at the confluence of the three rivers Madhurapuzha, Nallathanni and Kundaly. It is located on the western ghats range in the Idukki district and famous as the major tea plantations region. Tea plantations,Dense forests, valleys,green mountains and flora and fauna makes Munnar as one of the best romantic honeymoon destination in India.

Munnar-tea-Gardens

Wayanad 

The district of Wayanad is located in the north-east of Kerala on the on the high altitudes of majestic Western Ghats. Wayanad is one of the least explore area of Kerala and major portion are tribal habitat. District of Wayanad is full of attractions with Mountains Peaks, Rivers, lakes and waterfall. Meenmutty Falls a three-tiered waterfall with a height of 300 metres is located in Kalpetta.

Meenmutty falls-Wayanad

Kochi

Kochi earlier known as Cochin is a port city of Kerala located at west coast of India in the Arabian Sea. Kochi is the part of district of Ernakulam, the eastern part of the mainland of Kochi and they both are called as twin cities. The city of Kochi is home to Port of Kochi,Indian Navy,Indian Coast Guard and other major chemical industries. City of Kochi is the best tourist destination in Kerala and sixth best in India. Kochi Marine Drive and Kochi Harbour,Jain temple in Mattancherry are few famous Spot to visit around the city.

Kochi

Kozhikode 

Kozhikode is known as Calicut located in the southwest coast of Kerala and bordered by Kannur, Wayanad,Malappuram and Arabian Sea. Calicut is the place where Vasco da Gama lands and among the territories ceded to the British East India Company by Tipu Sultan of Mysore. The city known as City of Spices and famous for its many temples and mosques along with other attractions like Thusharagiri Falls, Kuttiyadi Dam and Sea port.

Kozhikode Beach