Major attractions
Beaches
Main article: Beaches in Kerala
Flanked on the western coast by theArabian Sea, Kerala has a long coastline of 580 km (360 mi); all of which is virtually dotted with sandy beaches.
Kovalam beach nearThiruvananthapuram was among the first beaches in Kerala to attract tourists. Rediscovered by back-packers and tan-seekers in the 1960s and followed by hordes of hippies in the 1970s, Kovalam is today the most visited beach in the state.[15][16][17]
Other popularly visited beaches in the state include those at Kappad,Alappuzha, Nattika (Thrissur), Vadanappilly beach (Thrissur), Cherai Beach, Beypore beach, Marari beach,Fort Kochi, and Varkala. TheMuzhappilangad Beach beach at Kannuris the only drive-in beach in India.
Backwaters
Main article: Kerala Backwaters
The backwaters in Kerala are a chain ofbrackish lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast (known as theMalabar Coast). Houseboat orKettuvallam rides in the backwaters are a major tourist attraction. Backwater tourism is centered mostly aroundAshtamudi Lake, Kollam. Boat races held during festival seasons are also a major tourist attraction in the backwater regions.
The backwater network includes large lakes such as the Ashtamudi Lake, the largest among them, linked by 1500 km of canals, both man-made and natural and fed by several rivers, and extending virtually the entire length of Kerala state. The backwaters were formed by the action of waves and shore currents creating low barrier islands across the mouths of the many rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range.
Hill stations
Munnar Hillscape
Eastern Kerala consists of land encroached upon by the Western Ghats; the region thus includes high mountains, gorges, and deep-cut valleys. The wildest lands are covered with dense forests, while other regions lie under tea and coffee plantations (established mainly in the 19th and 20th centuries) or other forms of cultivation.
The Western Ghats rise on average to 1500 m elevation above sea level. Some of the popular hill stations in the region are Munnar, Vagamon, Paithalmala,Wayanad, Nelliyampathi, Elapeedika,Peermade , Thekkady and Ponmudi.
Wildlife
Main article: Flora and fauna of Kerala
Silent Valley National Park inPalakkad is home to the largest population of lion-tailed macaque. They are among the world's rarest and most threatened primates.
The Konni Elephant Training Centre near Pathanamthitta
Most of Kerala, whose native habitat consists of wet evergreen rainforests at lower elevations and highland deciduousand semi-evergreen forests in the east, is subject to a humid tropical climate. However, significant variations in terrain and elevation have resulted in a land whose biodiversity registers as among the world’s most significant. Most of Kerala's significantly biodiverse tracts of wilderness lie in the evergreen forests of its easternmost districts. Kerala also hosts two of the world’s Ramsar Convention-listed wetlands: Lake Sasthamkotta and the Vembanad-Kol wetlands are noted as being wetlands of international importance. There are also numerous protected conservation areas, including 1455.4 km2 of the vast Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. In turn, the forests play host to such major fauna as Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), Bengal tiger(Panthera tigris tigris), leopard (Panthera pardus), Nilgiri tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius), and grizzled giant squirrel(Ratufa macroura).[18] More remote preserves, including Silent Valley National Park in the Kundali Hills, harbour endangered species such as thelion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus),Indian sloth bear (Melursus (Ursus) ursinus ursinus), and gaur (the so-called "Indian bison"—Bos gaurus). More common species include Indian porcupine (Hystrix indica), chital (Axis axis), sambar (Cervus unicolor), gray langur, flying squirrel, swamp lynx (Felis chaus kutas), boar (Sus scrofa), a variety of catarrhine Old World monkey species,gray wolf (Canis lupus), and common palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus). Many reptiles, such as king cobra, viper,python, various turtles and crocodiles are to be found in Kerala—again, disproportionately in the east. Kerala'savifauna include endemics like the Sri Lanka frogmouth (Batrachostomus moniliger), Oriental bay owl, large frugivores like the great hornbill (Buceros bicornis) and Indian grey hornbill, as well as the more widespread birds such aspeafowl, Indian cormorant, jungle andhill myna, Oriental darter, black-hooded oriole, greater racket-tailed and blackdrongoes, bulbul (Pycnonotidae), species of kingfisher and woodpecker, jungle fowl, Alexandrine parakeet, and assorted ducks and migratory birds. Additionally, freshwater fish such as kadu (stinging catfish—Heteropneustes fossilis) andbrackishwater species such asChoottachi (orange chromide—Etroplus maculatus, valued as an aquariumspecimen) also are native to Kerala's lakes and waterways.
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