Kerala travel guide

Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum)

Situated on a hilltop at the southern end of India is Kerala's capital, Thiruvananthapuram (still commonly known as Trivandrum). For most visitors the capital is simply a transit-point on their way to Kovalam, the popular beach resort a few miles to the south. However, it is worth lingering for a day or so in this easy-going city to explore the narrow backstreets, old gabled houses and expansive parks.

The most fascinating part of Trivandrum is the Fort area, around the Shri Padmanabhaswamy Temple (closed to non-Hindus); and Puttan Malika Palace, seat of the Travancore Rajas. Some of the palace has been turned into a museum, and displays a collection of heirlooms and artefacts. However, the highlight is the building's typically understated, elegant Keralan architecture. Beneath sloping red-tiled roofs, hundreds of wooden pillars carved into the forms of horses prop up the eaves, with airy verandas projecting onto the surrounding lawns.

When it gets too hot at sea level, Ponmudi makes a welcome excursion. This enchanting hill station, tucked away in the Western Ghats 40 miles (64km) to the north of the capital, offers a lot to travellers with a passion for trekking, and just as much to those who'd prefer a gentle wander along narrow, winding pathways, through cool, wooded environs thick with mountain flowers and butterflies. The hill resort is surrounded by tea-estates and mist-covered valleys, and peppered with little stone cottages painted violet, pink and white.

Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary

Situated in the Cardamom Hills region of the Western Ghats, the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the most popular wildlife reserves in India. It is home to a great variety of game, including elephant, sambar, wild pig, mongoose, the Malabar flying squirrel and almost 300 species of bird. Leopards and dwindling numbers of tigers are also here, but are, unfortunately, rarely glimpsed by visitors.

The park lies 75 miles southeast of Cochin at cool altitudes, between about 3,000 and 6,000 feet (900 and 1800 metres). Ironically, the park was created by the royal family of Travancor to preserve their favourite hunting grounds from the encroachment of tea plantations, and is centred around a vast artificial lake that was created by the British in 1895 to supply water to the drier parts of the state.

Most people view Periyar from a boat on the lake; however, many visitors prefer to explore the area on foot. Local guides take small groups on treks of various lengths. Exploring on foot should be avoided in the weeks immediately following monsoon season, when leeches make hiking virtually unbearable. The best time to visit is from December to April, when the dry weather draws animals from the forest to drink at the lakeside. Periyar is also a good base for day trips to visit the local tea and spice plantations, and to explore the waterfalls and appreciate the fine views of the Cardamom Hills.

The Backwaters of Kerala

One of the most memorable experiences for many travellers in Kerala is a boat journey on the state's famous backwaters. The best-known of these areas is Kuttanad, situated between the hills in the west and the Arabian Sea, and stretching for 50 miles south of Kochi (formerly Cochin). This extraordinary maze of rivers, lakes, canals and estuaries is lined with dense tropical greenery and reveals a Keralan lifestyle that is totally hidden from the road. Boats are the only way to explore this area, billed as Kaleidoscope Kerala, where views change around every bend: narrow tree-covered canals open onto dazzling vistas of paddy fields, and through the trees can be glimpsed churches, mosques, temples, and small farms and villages which remain relatively untouched by the modern world. Buffaloes are used for ploughing the fields and women bathe and wash their clothes in the rivers. Roads do cross this area, but are almost entirely linked by manually-operated ferries rather than bridges. Kingfishers, cormorants and fish eagles compete with fisherman in rowing boats for the dwindling fish population. Providing visitors with the chance to just sit back and allow life to unfold around them at its own, slow pace, a trip on the Keralan backwaters is the ideal tonic for travel fatigue - especially if the experience of cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata has tourists feeling a bit strung out.

Varkala

Located on Kerala's southwestern coast, just 32 miles (50km) from the state capital of Trivandrum, Varkala is one of those tourist destinations that gets more and more popular each year, as word of its stunning coastline and lively atmosphere gets out. Varkala is considered a less-crowded, less-commercial alternative to the beautiful Goa; although Varkala's main beach (Papanasam Beach) cannot boast the white sand and towering palm trees of some of its Goan counterparts, it is flanked by a steep and staggeringly beautiful cliff-face. As all the tourist accommodation, restaurants and shops are located on top of this cliff, overlooking the water, it is almost a daily ritual in Varkala for life to come to a stand-still at about sunset, and for everyone just to watch the sun sink into the Arabian Sea. The beaches are less crowded than in Goa and there are still many gems to be discovered in the area. In between relaxing on the beach and shopping at the markets in town, tourists can also take an enjoyable walk to the nearby Janardanaswamy Temple, a 2,000-year-old structure. Varkala is also a great centre for Ayurvedic medicine, and there are numerous treatment and massage centres in the vicinity.