kerala tourism places to visit - Districts|Destinations

Alappuzha	Ernakulam	Idukki	Kannur	Kasaragod	Kollam	Kottayam
Kozhikode	Malappuram	Palakkad	Pathanamthitta	Thiruvananthapuram	Thrissur	Wayanad

Alappuzha

Alappuzha, the '' Venice of the East '' is famous for its boat races, houseboats, coir products, fish and lakes. Alappuzha is interlocked with a large number of canals and bridges. This water locked district has immense untapped potential for backwater tourism, preserved through the ages and completely hidden from the road is an enchanting experience to any visitor. Gliding along the calm and serene backwaters flanked by green leaves and palms seeing a rural more, so while sailing a slow-moving spacious Kettuvallam.

Attractions -- Alappuzha Beach, Ambalapuzha Temple, Arthunkal Chruch, Krishnapuram Palace, Pathiramanal

Activities -- Houseboat cruises, Village Tours, Experience Public Ferries, Nehru Trophi Boat Race - Second Saturday of August.

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Ernakulam

Ernakulam presents the modern face of kerala. It is one of the commercial capitals and the most cosmopolitan heart of Kerala . Most of the commercial centers and shops are located here.

Attractions -- Fort Cochin is the oldest European settlement in India, recording a history of visitors who came, saw and stayed for hundreds of years. Mattanchery, Malayatoor, Kalady, Kodanad, Cheraibeach, Jewish Synagogue and Jew Town, St. Francis Church, The Dutch Cemetery, Museum of Kerala History, Thrikkakara Temple, Chottanikkara Temple, Hill Palace Museum, Mattancherry Palace, St.Thomas Church, Chinese fishing nets, Indo-Portuguese museum

Activities -- Kathakali show, Village Tours, Finest Bech and backwater Experience and Shopping.

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Idukki

Idukki is the most gifted district of Kerala, with high ranges of altitude varying from 2500 feet above sea level. Idukki is the district where forest and wildlife around. Streams, valleys and hills combine to make Idukki and ideal year round tourist destination.

Attractions -- Munnar, Periyar (Thekkady), Mattupetty, Devikulam, Rajamala, Thattekad, Idukki arch dam

Activities -- Wild life and Bird Sanctuary visits, Wildlife trekking and tours, Experience Mountain highking, Spice Plantation visit

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Kannur

The unexploited beaches around kannur are spectacular enough, but most visitors come to the town to search out Theyyam-dramatic spirit-possession rituals held in scores of village across the region. It is popularly known as the city of Looms and Lores

Attractions --Fort St. Angelos, Thalassery Fort, Muzhappilangad Beach, Ezhimala, Pythal Mala, Parassinikkadavu temple, Payyambalam beach, meankunnubeach, Gundert Bungalow, Neltur Hill Church, Arackal Kottaram, Odathil Palli

Activities --The Theyyam perfromance can be observed from Oct to March at various Kavu (small temples) spread over the district.

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Kasaragod

Lying on the north western coast of the State, Kasaragod was famous from time immemorial. Many Arab travellers, who came to Kerala between ninth and 14th centuries AD, visited Kasaragod as it was then an important trade centre. The district has water, forest and mineral resources.

Attractions -- Bekal, Manjeshwaram, Nileswaram, Hosdurg, Chandragiri, Kottancheri hills, Kappil beach, Edneer mutt, Maipady palace, Povval fort, Veeramala hills, Anantheswara temple, Bela church

Activities -- Village Tours, virgin beach, fort visit, Experience Yakshagana

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Kollam

Kollam is an old sea port town on the Arabian coast stands on the Ashtamudi Lake and is the centre of the country’s cashew trading and processing industry. Fed by the Chinese trade, it was regarded by Ibn Khurdadhibh, as one of the five ports, which he had seen in the course of his travels during a period of twenty four years, in the 14th century . Kollam District which is a veritable Kerala in miniature is gifted with unique representative features - sea, backwaters,lakes, rivers, plains, mountains, streams, forest, vast green fields and tropical crop of every variety both food crop and cash crop.

Attractions -- Thenmala, Palaruvi, Alumkadavu, Thangassery, Amritapuri

Activities -- Village Tours, Backwater boat cruises, Village Tours, Experience Public Ferries

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Kottayam

Kottayam provides some of the kerala’s finest natural scenes, sandwiched as it is between serene palm fringed backwaters on the west and the western Ghat’s on the east.Kottayam is the ideal take-off point for visits to Peermede, Munnar, Idukki, Thekkady, Ernakulam and the temple city of Madurai.

Attractions -- Kumarakom,Vembanad lake, Pathiramanal, Vagamon, Vaikaom Mahadeva Temple, Ettumannur siva temple, St.Thomas chruch Cheerpungal, Bharananganam.

Activities -- House boat cruises, Village Tours, Experience the real kerala Homestays

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Kozhikode

Kozhikode District found a place in the World History with the discovery of Sea Route to India in 1498 by the Portuguese Navigator Vasco Da Gama. Vasco Da Gama landed at the Kappad sea shore. A monument is constructed here to commemorate the historical landing. Basking in the idyllic setting of the serene Arabian Sea on the west and the proud peaks of the Wayanad hills on the east, this district with the serene beaches, lush green countryside, historic sites, all combine to make Kozhikode a popular tourist destination filled with a warm ambience to fascinate a visitor.

Attractions -- Kappad beach, Kuttiadi, Kallai, Baypore Thusharagiri, Badagara, Pazhassirajah Museum, Krishna Menon Museum,Dolphins Points, Kadalundi Bird Sanctury, Thali Temple .

Activities -- Village Tours, Experience Kakkad Eco Tourism Centre,Beach experience

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Malappuram

Malappurarm literlly means a terraced place stop the hills. The area covered by the district was carved out of Kozhikode and Palakkad districts in 1969.Malappuram was the head quarters of European and British troops and later it became the head quarters of the Malabar Special Police. The place has also contributed much to the cultural heritage of Kerala. It was a famous centre for Hindu-Vedic learning and Islamic philosophy.

Attractions -- Thirunavaya, Kottakkal, Angadipuram, Triparangode, Navamukundan Temple - This is an ancient temple of Kerala Thunchan Smarakam Memorial, Kadampuzha Bhagavathi Temple, Tanur, Padinjarekkara Beach, kadalundi bird sanctuary.

Activities -- Village Tours, Experience Ayurvda, Beach and sanctuary experience

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Palakkad

Palakkad is a land of palm trees and paddy fields. Palakkad has probably the biggest mountain pass in the world (30-40 Kms) separating the two folds of the Western Ghats on the border of Kerala with Tamil Nadu. Palakkad lies at the foot of the gigantic Western ghats on the border of Kerala. Palakkad is known for its historical background and the remnants of Tippu Sulthan’s Fort. This district with mountains, forests, and fertile valleys, rivers and mountain streams are rich in flora and fauna.

Attractions -- Palakkad Fort,Malampuzha Garden, Dhoni, Nelliyampathy, Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, Silent Valley National Park, Thiruvalathoor, Meenvallam Siruvani

Activities -- Tribal Village Tours, Experience wildlife and sanctuary experience

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Pathanamthitta

Pathanamthitta district is situated near the Western Ghats and bordered by the hills, a treat to the eyes with its vast unending stretches of forests, rivers and rural landscapes. Blessed by nature, the district is famous for its scenic beauty, fairs and festivals. Pathanamthiita, a true tropical diversity adorned with fertile agricultural land where plantations, Paddy, tapioca, varieties of vegetables and spices like cardamom, pepper etc. are extensively cultivated.

Attractions -- Konni, Sabarimala , Pandalam, Maramon, Aranmula Boat Race - during Onam (August - September).

Activities -- Tribal Village Tours, Experience wildlife and sanctuary experience

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Thiruvananthapuram

Kerala’s Capital,the costal city Thiruvananthapuram is set on seven hills . A long shoreline, with internationally renowned beaches, historic monuments, backwater stretches and a rich cultural heritage make it a much sought after tourist destination .It is a peaceful attractive city, the city's old quarter clusters around the temple, while along the busy Mahatma Gandhi Road are colonial mansions, churches and modern high-rises. Thiruvananthapuram had managed to retain some of the ambience characteristics of Kerala such as red tiled roofs, narrow winding lanes and intimate corner cafes.The wooded highlands on the Western Ghats in the eastern and northeastern borders give Thiruvananthapuram some of the most enchanting picnic spots.

Attractions -- Kovalam Beach, Ponmudi, Agasthyakoodam, Govt. Observatory, Aruvi Waterfalls, Neyyar Dam & Lion Safari Park, Peppara Wildlife, Sankhumugham Beach, Varkala Beach, Akkulam Lake, Veli Tourist Village, Aanchunthenghu Fort, Padmanabhapuram Palace, Kuthiramalika Palace, Kanakakkunnu Palace, Koyikkal Palace, Napier Museum,The National History Museum, Sree Chithira Art Gallery Padmanabha Swamy Temple

Activities -- Historical sight seeing tours, wildlife and sanctuary experience, Enchanting and Ayurvedic beach holiday experience

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Thrissur

Thrissur, the name derived from 'Tiru-Shiva-Perur' (the town with the name of Lord Shiva) is the cultural capital of Kerala. The town is built around a hillock top. Thrissur is a great place to shop for Kerala handicrafts such as carved wooden elephants, miniature medallion-fringed colorful umbrellas akin to those used for pooram, snake boats and kathakali figurines. The abode of several prominent culture centres including the Kerala Kalamandalam, Sahitya Academy and Sangeetha Nataka Academy, Thrissur has an extraordinarily rich past as well as a vibrant present.

Attractions -- Anakkayam, Art Museum, Athirapally and Vazhachal Waterfalls, GuruvayurTemple, Cheruthuruthy (Kerala Kalamandalam), Punnathur Kotta, Vadakkumnathan Temple

Activities -- Thrissur Pooram -The most colourful temple festival of Kerala, Village Tours, Experience waterfall experience

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Wayanad

The Hill district of wayanad- the green paradise, situated 70 km inland from kozhikode at the southern limits of Deccan Plateau is one of the beautiful region of Kerala. Clean and pristine, enchanting and hypnotising this land has a history and mystery, culture and social epistemology yet to be discovered. Wayanad hills are contiguous to Mudumala in Tamil Nadu and Bandhipur in Karnataka, thus forming a vast land mass for the wild life to move about in its most natural abode. It is a quiet place where scenic beauty wild life and traditional matter, simplicity is a virtue and beauty still blossoms from the mountainous horizon and from the green glaze of alluring vegetation.

Attractions -- Chembra Peak,Thirunelli Temple, Sulthan Bathery Jain Temple, Edakkal Cave, Kuruva Island, Lakkidi, Muthanga Wild Life Sanctuary, Pakshipathalam, Pazhassi Raja Tomb, Meenmutty Water Fall, Pookot Lake Banasura sagar Dam.

Activities -- Tribal Village Tours, Experience adventure tourism and wildlife

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