Village Tourism

When the world is at our door, we welcome them not only to the much seen, much written about tourist spots but into the interiors of our land to show then life here at first hand. It is the people and how they live that should be more interesting than the empty, regal palaces and forts. What better place to see life move at its slow steady pace, untouched by the din and push of the city than in the panoramic fields, farms, hill sides, rivers and lakes of the Kerala village. As you travel through one of the villages in

Kerala you get the feeling of travelling backwards in time. You see the people engaged in fishing, farming, pottery, jute making and handicrafts. The visitors can go around the village watching them at work. Artisans engaged in stone cutting, carpentry, inlay work, textile block printing and potters at their wheels; the time spent here is an ideal get away from your everyday tensions. You can spend a perfectly relaxed holiday at one of these villages in the lap of nature in an atmosphere of tranquillity. Each

village in Kerala has something to offer. The traditional life of the Keralite is still practiced in most of the villages. The houses , meant for the stay of not a nuclear family but a joint family is a rare sight anywhere else in the world. These houses made mostly with wood with wide varandas, inner courtyards, separate set of rooms for each branch of the family and elaborate kitchen and store structures are still there. The family may have become smaller but the houses continue to attract people from all over the world. Traditional art and culture also flourish in these villages. There are small handicraft industries, handloom and marine products that

support the life in these villages. See the work and enjoy the product at the source. It is a feast for the palate that awaits the visitors to the villages of Kerala. A variety of Kerala specials like Vellappam, Kallappam, Idiyappam, Appam, Theeyal, Avial, Fish moilee, Fish stew and Malabar Porotta leave you in a dilemma what to have and what to leave. Small delicacies served with hot tea in the small thatched shops by the road side, the Kerala Chayakada, offers a unique experience in community life. Plan a trip to Kerala and enjoy the many unexplored places along with the major tourist attractions in this state. It will be an experience with a difference.