101 Things to do in Kerala

Discover Kerala - Watch a Malayalam movie  
Malayalam movies have excellent story lines and some of them are internationally acclaimed. If you visit the State during a film festival, you'll get to see good movies with English subtitles.

Discover Kerala - Bathe in healing waters  
Don't miss your chance to take a dip in the waters of the Nelliyampathy forests in Palakkad or the mineral springs at Varkala. These waters are known for their medicinal properties. Take a splash, heal yourself.

Discover Kerala - Buy gold for all occasions  
Kerala's gold jewellery, intricately designed and delicate, will steal any woman's heart. Make sure you have enough money on you before you step into a gold shop. Because whatever be your taste, you'll find patterns you'd wish to own.

Discover Kerala - "Mirror,mirror…" 
."Mirror,mirror…" An Aranmula mirror is made of a finely polished alloy of four metals - copper, silver, bronze and lead. Once a closely guarded preserve of royalty, these ornamental mirrors are exceedingly rare-only two master crafts men and their families still make them.

Discover Kerala - Feel the presence of God at Maramon  
Witness the largest Christian convention of Asia at Maramon, near Kozhencherry, Interestingly, the waters of the Pamba River dry up every year to reveal sands that serve as the venue for the event.

Discover Kerala - Ride in an autorickshaw 
Explore the streets of Kerala in an autorickshaw, a three wheeled taxi painted yellow and black. Don't be surprised if you meet a driver who has a degree in English literature or is fairly fluent with the language.

Discover Kerala - Peep into your future  
The fortune teller on the street has your future written on his cards - your career, your life, you life partner and more. Just show him your palm and wait while his parrot picks your card from the pack.

Discover Kerala - Spin coir  
See nimble fingers at work as they spin water treated coconut fibre into long ropes with a traditional hand spindle in the suburbs of Kollam. You can shop at a number of roadside stalls for brightly coloured coir door mats, wall hangings and carpets.

Discover Kerala - Learn exotic art forms  
Watch kathakali, mohiniyattam, theyyam or thiruvathira and pursue one that interests you most. Learn how a story unveils through the eyes, fingers, feet and myriad expressions of the artist.

Discover Kerala - Rock about in a bullock cart  
On a pleasant evening, traverse the scenic mud roads of Kerala at the unhurried pace of a bullock cart. The tinkling bells and roll-over-from-side-to-side motion of the cart will full you into a lazy reverie.

Discover Kerala - Walk the lanes of Fort Kochi  
Put on your hat and sunglasses, wear comfortable sandals and embark on a walking tour of Fort Kochi where bastions, churches and mansions built by the British, Dutch and the Portuguese, 500 years ago will greet you. Interestingly, Vasco da Gama, one of the world's greatest explorers, was buried here.

Discover Kerala - Order a metre of tea 
Stop by a thattukada, a roadside kiosk, for a steaming cup of strong tea. Watch the expert stretch it to a metre while pouring it from glass to glass, blending it well and building up a tempting froth in the process.

Discover Kerala - Climb rugged heights  
Not all places to visit in Kerala are on well travelled roads. Or on roads at all. Hike up rugged terrains at Munnar, Wayanad and Kakkayam (Kozkikkod) for an exhilarating experience. If you haven't tried rock climbing before, our experts will teach you the tricks.

Discover Kerala - Engage in water sports 
An adventure sports lover will rarely find time to stay idle in Kerala. Her beaches provide you with unlimited watersporting options of wind surfing, rafting, sailing, power boating and even that of a simple catamaran ride.

Discover Kerala - Take a train through paradise  
A train journey is an interesting way to experience Kerala. Get a window seat and watch the landscape unfold like pages of a colourful picture book, or acquaint yourself with your fellow travellers who make interesting profiles.

Discover Kerala - Go for a flower show  
Spend a colourful evening with pretty asters, glowing anthuria, exotic orchids, beautiful roses, elegant lilies and a bloom of soft cotton candy at a flower show.

Discover Kerala - Smash the elusive pot 
Uriyadi (smashing the pot) is a spirited sport connected with some of festivals of Kerala. The festive pot colourfully decorated will be hung from a tall pole. All you have to do is try and break it with a stick as the crowd pulls it up and down.

Discover Kerala - Spot a dolphin  
If you 're lucky, you'll get to see the dolphins do their grand act at the Cherai beach. Applaud them as they spring out of the waters magnificent splash only to take a marvelous dive back into it.

Discover Kerala - Buy a Palmyra fan 
In Kerala, you'll find small, handy fans made of medicinal herbal roots, palm fronds, bamboo splits and grass. Get yourself a portable, compact, cute and colourful little fan that comes in handy anytime of the day. When not in use, you could even put it up on the wall as a showpiece.

Discover Kerala - Stay in exotic resorts  
Kerala's innovative hoteliers have amazing experiences in store for you. Some even have Theme evenings when centuries old art forms like Kathakali and Mohiniyattom are performed as well.

Discover Kerala - Savour nectar  
Beat the bees and butterflies to it in a banana plantation. Hold the tip of a banana inflorescence (koombu) to your mouth and suck the sweet nectar.

Discover Kerala - Visit a Snake Park  
The Snake Park at Parassinikadavu, Kannur, is the only one of its kind in the whole of India. There are three snake pits and fifteen glass cases full of various species of snakes, and two large glass houses for King Cobras. The snake demonstration conducted every hour is a major crowd puller.

Discover Kerala - Watch thiruvathira  
Thiruvathira, a traditional dance performed by women, has simple steps and a single rule-performers should be clad in a Kerala saree. Join them as they sing and move elegantly around a ceremonial lamp (vilakku) or a floral decoration (pookalam)

Discover Kerala - Bring swing to your life  
Onam is the season for fun and games. Visit Kerala during August /September and you'll find in every house. The friendly people here will be only too glad to let you join them.

Discover Kerala - Try out new ways to fish 
Dangle a rod and line into the flowing waters. Sweep a towel through it. Feel for fish with your feet in the mud below. Or simply try trapping small fish with your hands. Anyway, you'll never return disappointed.

Discover Kerala - Treat your sweet tooth 
The famous Mithai Street of Kozkikkod has everything to make your mouth water - from heavenly haluvas, juicy jillebies to creamy milk sweets, Relish them as they melt in your mouth.

Discover Kerala - Study rare flora  
Treat your eyes to exotic orchids, anthuria, sandalwood trees etc. in the forests. One of these, the rare Neelakurinji, bathes the mountains of Munnar in blue once every 12 years. It is expected to bloom next in 2006.

Discover Kerala - Romance the spice hills  
Holiday amidst the sprawling tea plantations, picture book towns and winding lanes of Kerala's mist clad hill stations - a world where tranquillity abounds. The dense tropical jungles in these hill stations house some of the exotic bird and wildlife sanctuaries in the country.

Discover Kerala - Go paragliding 
Sweep across the lush green hills of Munnar on a paraglider and enjoy the vantage of an eagle. See the soothing blues and greens of nature. Enjoy the wind beneath your wings. Feel on top of the world.

Discover Kerala - Walk in to a palace  
Besides exquisite wooden architecture, the palaces of Kerala flaunt the finest floors in the world. Floors that, surprisingly, need least maintenance - being made of crushed coconut charcoal, egg whites and the sap of loan plants. You'll also see collections of antique sculptures, paintings and bronzes.

Discover Kerala - Muse in a Museum  
The museums of Kerala, especially the Pazhasiraja Museum at Kozkikkod, pay full tribute to outstanding crafts-historical and contemporary ornaments, temple carts and Ivory carvings of life sized figures of Kathakali in full regalia.

Discover Kerala - Behold the Queen of the Arabian Sea.  
Kochi, also known as the Queen of the Arabian Sea, is breathtakingly beautiful. Apart from being the commercial capital and the most cosmopolitan city of Kerala, Kochi also flaunts one of the finest natural harbours of the world.

Discover Kerala - Discover prehistoric settlements  
The Edakkal caves at Wayanad and the caves at the mouth of the Shenduruny River have interesting pictorial writings and cave drawings from the Stone Age. You'll have to trek at least a kilometer uphill to reach the Edakkal caves. Say a prayer at the old Synagogue

Discover Kerala - Explore Synagogue in Kochi  
83 The 500 years old Synagogue in Kochi is adorned with mid 18th century hand painted Cantonese tiles. Hebrew inscriptions on stone slabs, ancient scripts on copper plates and great scrolls of the Old Testament are preserved here. An age-old clock tower stands nearby.

Discover Kerala - Let a mohini enchant you  
Mohiniyattam or the dance of the enchantress reflects the graceful nature of the land. The sensuous, graceful movements of the dancer, clad in gold and off white costumes, will remind you of palms swaying in the gentle breeze and sweeping waves.

Discover Kerala - Spend the night at a Kathakali concert 
Kathakali, the four centuries old classical art form, is usually staged at night. Elaborate costumes, ornaments and multi-coloured facial make-up give the artistes a super human appearance, which leaves you spellbound.

Discover Kerala - Cook in earthenware 
In most of the traditional homesteads of Kerala, women cook their food in earthenware. For some time-tested reason renders a special taste to the dish prepared.

Discover Kerala - Collect antiques 
Stroll up the Jew Street in Fort Kochi for interesting finds like period furniture, ancient coins, elaborately carved pens, ornamental brass latches, antique jewellery, grandfather clocks and timepieces etc.

Discover Kerala - Cruise the backwaters of Alappuzha  
Alappuzha, embroidered with a labyrinth of waterways, was extolled by travellers as the Venice of the East. Visit this land where the skiff is the family vehicle, the ducks outnumber chicken and children learn to swim perhaps even before the walk.

Discover Kerala - Meet smart fishermen  
It is indeed a spectacular sight to watch Kerala' Smart fishermen outdo the crashing waves by pushing their boats into the sea from a pier beyond the wave point, and simultaneously jumping into it in perfect coordination.

Discover Kerala - See mind-blowing fireworks  
Make a wish under a thousand shooting starts -brilliant firework displays that mark the end of a festival in Kerala. And you'll never miss them as every dawn in Kerala brings yet another festival.

Discover Kerala - Watch a puppet show  
Yakshagana Bombeyattu (puppetry) is the art form of Kasaragod. Colourful puppets in huge headgears, elaborate facial make-up and loud attires dancing to throbbing music will keep you entertained.

Discover Kerala - Watch Theyyam 
Theyyam is the oldest ritual art form of Kerala, Look on in awe as Theyyam performers invoke the temple deity Bhagavathy with their frenzied dancing and throbbing temple music in the courtyards of village temples.

Discover Kerala - Try coconut hair oil  
The secret of a Malayali woman's long, black, lustrous hair could be yours too. Coconut oil is considered the best nutrient for hair and a coolant for the head. In Kerala, both men and women massage oil on their heads before a bath.

Discover Kerala - Explore a tharavad  
Relive the old times in the perfect settings of antique furniture and exquisite woodwork in Kerala's heritage holiday homes and nalukettu (quandrangular mansions with a central countryard), each more than 50 years old.

Discover Kerala - Learn Malayalam  
Malayalam, Kerala's sweet toned language, has 56 letters in its alphabet. Try learning the basics and roll the words off your tongue.

Discover Kerala - Star gaze  
Steeped in astronomy, Kerala's planetariums will show you much more than Mercury, Venus and Mars. But a ticket to the evening star gazing sessions and experience the wonders of the universe.

Discover Kerala - Holiday on an island  
Spend a weekend on Kerala's islands or lagoons, and experience special moments . Spectacular sunset, balmy backwaters succulent seafood at Bolghatty, Pathiramanal, Poovar….These paradises can be reached only by a ferry or boat.

Discover Kerala - Picnic beside virgin lakes  
Pack a picnic basket and spend a romantic evening beside the crystal clear lakes near Munnar. Try your luck at fishing and feast on your fresh catch. Go for a long walk hand-in-hand, undisturbed. Lie down on the most comfortable of grass beds.

Discover Kerala - Watch Thullal  
Thullal, an exotic art form, and the rhythmic sounds of music accompanying it will keep you in a constant stage of merriment. Humour, satire and social criticism are its hallmarks. This art form was formulated overnight by the renowned poet, Kunjan Nambiar.

Discover Kerala - Visit the zoo  
The zoological parks in Kerala have plenty to excite the animal lover in you. The Trivandrum zoo is one among the best designed in Asia and is set amidst a woodland, lakes and lawns.

Discover Kerala - Wash your sins away  
According to a myth, sage Narada was approached by mendicants who confessed to having sinned. The place he created for them to pray for redemption is known as the Papanasham beach (papanasham meaning redemption from sins). Take a dip and come out feeling clean in your heart too.

Discover Kerala - nuts  
You can get raw, fried, grilled, salted and spiced cashews at surprisingly affordable rates from Kollam where cashew plantations and industries abound.

Discover Kerala - Chew into a juicy mussel  
It is indeed fun watching mussel collectors anchor their boats, dive down and bring up basket loads of these fresh water delicacies. The shells are later burnt in kilns to make lime.

Discover Kerala - See wildlife from a boat  
Watch wildlife at close quarters from the safety of a boat at the sanctuaries of Kumarakom, and Periyar. Herds of wild elephants bathing in the lake, the Indian bison digging his horns into an unaffected tree, the cormorant darting into the waters… a treat for an amateur photographer.

Discover Kerala - Rock about in a bullock cart  
. Learn yoga Relax your mind with yoga at the special ashrams in Trivandrum and Nileswaram - the cultural centre of Kasaragod. Sessions are conducted by spiritual gurus and experts in the field.

Discover Kerala - Walk the historic Kappad beach  
This is where Vasco DA Gama landed in 1498 with his men in three vessels. Here, you'll find an interesting landscape of rocks that sprawl right into the sea. An 800 year old temple stands nearby.

Discover Kerala - Order a metre of tea 
Stop by a thattukada, a roadside kiosk, for a steaming cup of strong tea. Watch the expert stretch it to a metre while pouring it from glass to glass, blending it well and building up a tempting froth in the process.

Discover Kerala - Watch the making of an Arabian dhow  
Witness this 1500 year old tradition at Beypore. It takes an expert team of 15-30 strongmen at least two years to shape a vessel in wood. Locally called uru, this Arabian trading vessel is fast fading from the shipping scene.

Discover Kerala - Bathe in waterfalls  
Bathe in waterfalls Nowhere else will you find water so playful, So pure. So pacifying. Crystal clear waters cascade down the mountains of Kerala, gurgling, whispering, laughing and cleansing everything in their way. Watch them wake serene rivers with a magnificent splash.

Discover Kerala - Go arty  
You can browse in the art galleries for hours without track of time. Among them are collections of the world famous works of Raja Ravi Varma, Raja Raja Varma, Svetlova, Nicholas Roerich, rare murals and masterpieces from China, Japan, Tibet, Bali and other parts of India.

Discover Kerala - Visit scenic Kuttanad  
Explore the lush paddy fields of Kuttanad, the rice bow of Kerala - the only place in the world where farming is done 1.5 or 2 m below sea level. Kuttanad is in the interiors of the beautiful backwater district of Alappuzha.

Discover Kerala - Taste Payasam  
The payasam, a rich milk delicacy prepared with vermicili, gram or rice, is a delight for the plate. The most common dessert of Kerala, the payasam is made in scores of flavours and garnished with raisins and nuts fried in ghee. It is usually eaten with salty snacks.

Discover Kerala - Munch on crispy snacks  
Kerala has a wide range of crunchy snacks- ethakka (banana) chips, chakka vattal (jackfruit chips), pappadam, kuzhalappam, achappam, cheeda and churuttu. All worth every penny spend on them.

Discover Kerala - Meet martial art experts 
Kalaripayattu, the martial art form of Kerala, is the oldest and most scientif ic in the world. Watch agile bodies gleaming in oil and armed with weapons practise their feats-chattam (jumping), ottam (running), marichil (somersault)-to stunning perfection. Explore the Bekal Fort

Discover Kerala - Explore the largest and the best-preserved fort of Kerala at Bekal, Kasaragod. 
Explore the largest and the best-preserved fort of Kerala at Bekal, Kasaragod. The imposing laterite structure rising 130 ft. above sea level, stands on a 35 acre headland that runs right into the Arabian Sea.