Kerala is a green strip of land, in the South West corner of Indian peninsula. It has only 1.1 8 per cent of the total area of the country but houses 3.43% of the the country's population. 
  
In 1956, when the states were reorganized, Kerala was formed after tying the princely states of Travancore and Cochin with Malabar, a province under Madras state. 
 
Kerala may be divided into three geographical regions: (1) High lands, (2) Midlands and (3) Lowlands. The Highlands slope down from the Western Ghats which rise to an average height of 900 m, with a number of peaks well over 1,800 m in height. This is the area of major plantations like tea, coffee, rubber, cardamom and other spices. 

The Midlands, lying between the mountains and the lowlands, is made up of undulating hills and valleys. This is an area of intensive cultivation. Cashew, coconut, areca nut, cassava (tapioca), banana, rice, ginger, pepper, sugarcane and vegetables of myriad varieties are grown in this area. 

The Lowlands or the coastal area, made up of river deltas, backwaters and the Arabian coast, is essentially a land of coconuts and rice. Fisheries and coif industry constitute the major industries of this area. 

Kerala is a land of rivers and backwaters. Forty-four rivers (41 west-flowing and 3 east-flowing} criss-cross the state physique along with countless runlets. During summer, these monsoon-fed rivers will turn into rivulets especially in the upper parts of Kerala. 

Backwaters are an attractive, economically valuable feature of Kerala. These include lakes and ocean in lets which stretch irregularly along the Kerala coast. The biggest among these backwaters is the Vembanad lake, with an area of 200 sq km, which opens out into the Arabian Sea at Cochin port. The Periyar, Pamba, Manimala, Achenkovil, Meenachil and Moovattupuzha rivers drain into this lake.
  
The other important backwaters are Veli, Kadhinam kulam, Anjengo (Anju Thengu),Edava, Nadayara, Paravoor. Ashtamudi (Quilon) 
 
It is a purified world in Kerala, the land of trees. A big, spreading tree purifies as much air as a room air-conditioner. And the former is never switched off. The prolific, bustling, vegetation acts like a massive, biological, air-filtration plant working round the clock, round the year. Hence spending days in Kerala countryside is as if spending in an air- purified environ; some times better than it. So is the rejuvenating effect of the lush greenery of the state. 

The wanton growth of trees makes Kerala a herbarium. The four month-long, copious monsoon and recurrent flurry make this land a perfect nursery for all living beings. Loitering under the canopy of the foliage, you will feel blossoming the dreams. 
Thus, on a sojourn in Kerala, away from the rough and tumble of cities, you're breathing freshly purified air all the time.
 
Where you see lush green coconut palms, shimmering lagoons, palm-fringed canals, breaking rarely, only to give way to the serene backwaters and finally to that vast body of endless water, 
the world. 
  
Kerala, the incredibly enchanting God's Own Country is believed to have been created when the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu named Parashurama, bids adieu to his arms, asking ''forgiveness for the Arabian Sea this is how Kerala greets a visitor flying down towards this land of plenty. Kerala soothes a traveler with her, turquoise blue beaches, his sins, threw his axe from heaven which landed on Southern India to form this narrow verdant strip of land surrounded by the rolling soothing shades of palm trees, green lowlands, sky scraping mountains, placid lakes and some of the most picture-perfect natural resources in hills of the Western Ghats from the cardamom, pepper, turmeric and ginger, making Kerala the spice garden of India.

How to reach Kerala

Air : Thiruvananthapuram and Cochin are International Airports and Calicut has international services to several destinations in Gulf. Daily flights are operated from Thiruvananthapuram to Singapore, Colombo, Male, Muscat, Bahrain, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. International airlines operating from Thiruvananthapuram are Gulf Air, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Air Lanka, Air Maldives and Air India. Cochin, is air-connected with Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Mali and Goa. Airports are in the outskirts of the cities. Pre-paid taxi service is available in the airports. 

Road : The state's road network comprises of five National Highways, dozens of state highways, major district roads and thousands of village roads. N H 47 starts from Kanyakumari in Tamilnadu and ends in Coimbathore running through five districts of the state. N H 17 starts from Edappally in Ernakulam, lacerates six districts before entering Karnataka at Mangalore. N H 49 Kochi--Madurai, N H 212 Kozhikode- Kollegal( near Mysore), and NH 213 Kozhikode- Palakkad are the other National Highways in Kerala. 

State owned Road Transport Corporation, KSRTC, runs round- the-clock services to all major destinations in the state besides plying buses to several metros in Karnataka and Tamilnadu. All district headquarters and several other cities have KSRTC bus stations. The Corporation runs super fast, super express and fast passenger services, each with different ticket rates. 

Private passenger bus service is concentrated on village routes and city routes. Bus charge is fixed by the Government from time to time and the rate is similar all over the state. Taxi vehicles( car, jeep, cab) are available round- the- clock near all bus, railway stations. 


Rail : Trains chug off from Kerala to all regions in India including North- East and Jammu Kashmir. Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Shornur and Kozhikode are the major stations in the state. The Konkan Rail line along the Western coast connects Kerala to Mumbai and North- West states. Kollam-Madurai and Shornur-- Erode lines also connect Kerala with other states. Last-minute changes are made to the timings of trains.