Kerala

Kerala is an Indian state located on the South West corner of Indian peninsula, sharing the southern tip with the state of Tamil Nadu. Indians refer to Kerala as ‘God’s Own country’. It was introduced by us as a must-see destination in National Geographic which has Kerala (actually the “backwaters”) on its places everyone should visit in their lifetimes. It is an enchantingly beautiful, emerald green land, flanked by the Western Ghats (low mountains) on one side, the Arabian Sea on the other, and strewn with rivers, lagoons, backwaters and rich vegetation. Vasco da Gama discovered the sea route to India from Europe when he landed near Calicut in 1498 AD and eventually built a home in Cochin. It is a tropical state with green and lush vegetation and has a 550 km coastline on the Arabian Sea. Kerala is the most densely populated state in India with 38,863 sq km area with around 33 million population. Kerala is also one of the richest states in India with forests and plantations of rubber, cashew, and coconuts everywhere. It has a particularly rich heritage of dance and drama (Kathalkali, Koothu, Mohiniattam) and people here are among the most industrious and well educated (100% literacy late) in the country. Kerala is renowned all over the world for its backwaters, natural beauty, health resorts and beaches.