Legend has it that Kerala was created when Parasuram, the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the preserver of the Hindu Trinity, stood on a mountain top and lunged his axe far into the sea, commanding the waters to retreat. The land that emerged is said to be Kerala.

Kerala being in the southwestern part of India is the most verdant of all the Indian states, and is an extremely popular destination for adventure and health-related tourism, with pure air, dense tropical forests, impressive beaches and lagoons, rich vegetarian and, of course, renowned backwaters. Tourists from all flocks visit choose to spend their vacations in Kerala and take tours of Kerala to explore the coastal state.

Every district in Kerala has its own unique culture and characteristics. One aspect of the state’s rich cultural heritage is manifested in its variety of religious architecture; ancient Hindu temples with copper-clad roofs, later Islamic mosques with ‘Malabar gables’, and colonial Portuguese Baroque churches. Splendid paintings, especially murals, exhibit distinct local traditions and styles. The land is also a flourishing centre of the Kathakali dance form.

Kerala has been the playground for numerous travellers interested in its rich culture, exotic cuisine and romantic cruises along its many backwater canals. Visitors can also banish all tension with a relaxing traditional Ayurvedic massage which is based on a natural health science that has been passed down from generations. Visit Kovalam, Kerala’s most famous and picture-perfect beach ringed by groves of coconut trees and bask in the sun while in ‘God’s own country’.

While on your kerala wildlife tour in the wet and verdant Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, monkeys screech and chatter in areas reminiscent of the Amazon. In the Kerala backwaters between Alleppey and Quilon, farmers, mostly women in colourful skirts and blouses, toil gently in emerald fields of paddy among coconut groves and in spice plantations redolent of cardamom and clove. The Alleppey backwaters have already earned the state the nickname ‘Venice of the East’ in International tourist circles.

Kerala offers shades of Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar. But the Nilgiri Hills , with their gentle slopes and tea plantations, are always there to remind you that you are in Kerala, an ancient crossroads of cultures. While on a vacation in Kerala or on a tour of Kerala, you can experience, fishing nets which rest like giant transparent butterflies on sparkling sands; synagogues, forts, churches, temples and palaces carve themselves into the memory; and distinctive customs, art forms and festivals live on, protected by the dense Western Ghats.