History

Earlier the places in and near Maradu were cursed with untouchability. The lower castes had to suffer a lot during those ages. Majority of the land was in the hands of upper castes. They treated the lower castes very badly. To free oneself from the atrociousness of untouchability many of the people of lower caste get converted into Christianity. They were not allowed to study in the schools. About 90% of the land of Maradu was in the hands of few landlords. As a result of modern reforms of the Kerala Government, untouchability was abolished. The social, cultural and economic situation of the lower caste people were finally uplifted due to the reforms of the Kerala government after Independence.

A landmark of the city of Maradu is the Mangayil Government High school. The land for the school was given by the reputed Mangayil family of Maradu and hence the name. The Mangayil family was considered as the quasi chieftains of Maradu and they were conceded the power by the Cochin Royal family. They even maintained a jail house.

The main livelihood of people in the Maradu in the earlier days were paddy farming and prawn rearing. Now it has developed into a bustling city. A few people now take up the age old occupation of farming.

Present day

Two five star luxury hotels which are the best in the state are situated in Maradu. Le Meridian Cochin and Crowne Plaza Cochin are the five star hotels that are situated in Maradu. Lake shore hospital, the super specialty hospital and P S Mission hospital are the high tech hospitals in Maradu. People from all over Kerala come to this hospitals for treatment due to their high class quality. The proposed Kochi metro is passing near Maradu. Abad Nucleus Mall, the meeting place of youngsters and families for shopping is situated here. Maradu is also known for its string of car showrooms.

The main festival of Maradu is the ‘’Thalappoli Maholsavam” also known as the “Maradu Vedikkettu” that is celebrated in the Marattil Kottaram Baghavathy Kshethram.

Proving its popularity as a scenic ancient times, Marayoor retains many pre-historic rock paintings, along with dolmens where sages are believed to be buried. The wildlife sanctuary in Marayoor, named Chinnar, houses the largest number of reptiles in God’s Own country Rare animals like Nilgri Thar-also found in Eravikulam, bonnet macaque and grizzled giant squirrel can be spotted here.

A panoramic view of the forest and its species can be had from the watchtower in Chinnar that is accessible to tourists, but with special permission. Herds of elephants, monkeys and deer, as also parts of the neighboring Tamil Nadu are the spectacular sights offered by the watchtower.

Not many are aware of a place in Kerala where fruits like strawberries, oranges and plums are grown. It is Kanthalloor, in Marayoor. Marayoor sarkkara or Jaggery, produced from the sugarcane grown here, is claimed to be the best in the country.

Seasons appear in Marayoor in great intensity. While winter temperatures can go below 20 degree Celsius, they shoot up to above 36 during the summers. Club it or not along with a trip to Munnar, the place is worth a visit for every nature lover.

An extension of the Idukki Dam’s land scape, Anchuruli, is definitely a picnic spot for those who are looking for a calm and serene atmosphere.

Anchuruli in Idukki district has a charm of its own. An enchanting place forming a part of the Idukki Dam reservoir, you are quick to get a feel of the vastness and coolness of the water-spread, surrounded by forests that are lush green, and spread over a hilly landscape.

The area is, in fact, an extension of the dam’s landscape. When the water level goes down, five hills emerge from the water. They resemble the tops of five round vessels (‘uruli’) placed in the water in an inverted position, and hence the name. If you stay there at night, on top of ones of these hills, it will be a great experience. At night, the water of the reservoir, the expanse of the starlit sky, and the cool breeze will transcend you to a different, exalted level. The hitch, however, is that the dam and forest authorities generally do not give visitors the permission to stay on for the night.

You can sit back and relax there for a day, though. But, do not forget to take some food with you. It is a lonely place, and only a small shop stocks some local snacks and black coffee.

A larger circular tunnel having a length of four km is all too visible. The water from Erattayar is coming through this tunnel to the reservoir. In the rainy season. The quantity of water that flows in will be huge, giving the discharge the appearance of a waterfall. The water literally roars its way into the dam. At that time, it is dangerous to stay near the falls. Such is its ferocity that you might get caught in its grip.

In the summer however, water flow is to the minimum, and we can walk some 50 to 100 meters into the tunnel. It, we are told, is a different experience altogether. Slowly, this is becoming a picnic spot, especially for those who enjoy a calm, serene and lonely atmosphere. They will be satisfied with the panoramic vision of water scapes, hills and the green woods around the water.

How to reach Anchuruli?

• The road that takes you to Anchuruli itself present a fascinating sight. It starts from Kottayam. Drive along the Kottayam-Kumali road to Kuttikkanam, turn left, and proceed through to Elappara. During this journey, you can enjoy the grandeur of the vastly laid rubber plantations spread along Ponkunnam, Kanjirappally and Mundakayam.
• After Kuttikkanam, the enchanting beauty of tea plantation with their cool breeze refreshes your mind and spirit.
• From Elappara, take the road to Kanchiyar, a small hilly village. From here, you can take a deviation of four km to reach Anchuruli.

Thekkady is home to one of the finest wildlife reserves in India. The splendid artificial lake formed by the Mullaperiyar Dam across the Periyar River adds to the charm of the reserve. This is the only sanctuary in India, where you can have the unique experience of viewing wildlife at close quarters from the safety of a boat on the lake.

Across the entire district are lush spice plantations and hill towns that hold immense opportunities for treks and mountain walks. The Periyar Tiger Reserve also offers a fairly good chance of seeing the great Indian tiger in its natural habitat. Kerala Holidays 247 conduct various nature trails in Thekkady.

Nature Walk – The Guided Day Trek
Different nature trails traversing diverse habitats form the trekking routes, generally 4 to 5 km. in length. This is an interpretive programme offering excellent opportunity to watch birds, butterflies and other wildlife. The trails often pass through evergreen and moist deciduous forests interspersed with marshy grasslands.

Visitors should be serious nature lovers willing to sacrifice some of the luxuries and comforts of a hotel.

The Periyar Tiger Trail – Adventure Trekking and camping
In this trail, one may chance to encounter much indigenous wildlife like Nilgiri langur, giant squirrel, elephant and who knows, even the tiger! The trek route passes through hills and valleys with a variety of tropical plants and wide-open. Visitors who are medically fit and aged between 15 – 65 are advised to take the tiger trail. A maximum of 5 persons can go for trekking at a time along each nature trail, accompanied by a trained tribal guide.

The team members are hardy and dependable with an intimate knowledge of the forest terrain. The programmes are 1/2 /3 days. The trek route passes through hills and valleys with a variety of tropical plants and wide-open spaces. Enroute vegetarian meals will be prepared and served and country tents will be pitched for holing up in the night. Trekking groups are accompanied by armed forest guards with good communication equipments, and geared to face any emergency situation. Remember to listen to unusual and strange adventure stories of the former poachers, now your guides and protectors of the forests.

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Idukki Arch Dam

The dam proudly stands between the two mountains – ‘Kuravanmala’ (839 meters) and ‘Kurathimala’ (925 meters ). This prestigeous project is situated in Idukki District and its underground Power House is located at Moolamattom which is about 19 kms from Thodupuzha.

Arching down from all the four sides the dam which was built in late 1960s looks like a dome holding gallons of water. The serene feel of the Periyar River the sight of which can be had from atop the dam is in itself an experience to be had.

Boating is also allowed in the reservoir and a conducted tour of the catchment area itself would offer riches including the sight of the big cats. Tigers and tuskers are a common sight in the area. Situated just 20 km from Idukki town, the place can be reached on road.

Usually dam will be open to public during Onam season (September-October).

Idukki is about 100 Kilometers away from Cochin and is very easy to reach.

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Nadukani

Nadukani means ‘to see the country’ is ideal for one day picnickers offers panoramic view of the blue mountains in northern side and Muvattupuzha River on the other side. Moolamattam town, Malankara Lake and the Malankara reservoir are another attractions close to Nadukani.

The place being one of the boundaries of Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary, one can also get a glimpse of many rare species of fauna such as hornbill, wild rabbits, sambhar, jungle mainah and elephants.

Nadukani offers a panoramic view of a large area of Idukki and nearby districts, suitably located for enjoying the landscape and beauty of nature.

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Painavu

Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary at Kuyilimala and Hill View Park are nearby. Boats are available from here for cruises between Cheruthoni and Kulamavu. In winter and rainy seasons elephants can be spotted moving on the roads. Kallarkutty Dam, Nadukani, Kalliyanathandu, Thommankuthu and Kalvari Mount are the places of interest.

Cheruthoni, the junction where Thodupuzha-Kumily road intersect with Adimali-Kattappana road, is only 5 km from Painavu.

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Kulamavu extends between rocky hills to form the 33 sq km reservoir. Kulamavu is in close proximity to Nadukani, which is about 70 Km from Thodupuzha

Boats are extensively available for the two-hour cruise between Cheruthoni and Kulamavu dams. One can spot wild elephants on the way. Moolamattom underground power station and Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary are the nearby excursions.

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Elaveezha Poonchira

Nestling in the lap of three hillocks – Mankunnu, Kudayathoormala and Thonipara – Poonchira seems to have been referred to in the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. It is said that Panchali used to bathe in the pool at Poonchira.

Elaveezhapoonchira means valley where leaves don’t fall and is names so because the place has no trees. This is also one of the best places in Kerala to witness both the sun rise and sunset. It is ideal for trekking. The beautiful valleys of Poonchira spread across thousands of acres. The verdant land scape punctuated by the gigantic hills , each rising to around 3200 sft. is an ideal place to un wind. During the monsoons when the valley fillup to form a scenic lake, this place unveils yet another beautiful slice of nature.

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Munroe lighthouse

Considered as a wonder of architecture, the light house still stands intact facing the placid backwaters providing an excellent view of the lush green paddy fields and swaying coconut palm. The sunset from the Monroe light area is an unique experience, that one will always cherish. The vast expanse of the blue waters as seen from here, awakes the glorious feelings of awe and love for the mother nature.

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Vaikom is a very beautiful place with backwaters and paddy fields. It is just 30 Kms away from Cochin and 33 Kms from Kottayam.

An ancient temple called Vaikom Mahadeva Temple is the centre of attraction at Vaikom. The Vaikom Shiva Temple, known as Thekkan Kashi, is the heart of the town, and is remarkable for the Vaikom Ashtamicelebrations during November.

The traditional economy has been based on coconut and rice crops, and fishing; more recently, crops like nutmeg, black pepper, and latexhave also been introduced. Tourism and software are also pursued as means to livelihood. Hindustan Newsprint Limited is situated in Velloornear Vaikom.

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Ramakkalmedu

The hilltop also offers a panoramic view of Tamilnadu towns of cumbum, Theni, Kombe, Thevaram, Uthamapalayam, Bodinaykannor and Vaiga. The sight is even wonderful if you could stay there till dusk and see all these towns lighted. Rama – kal – medu literally means “Land of Rama’s Stone” or “Land where rama kept his leg”, as per many interpretations available. One story says that Lord Rama kept his feet at the tip of Ramakkalmedu to search Ravana the King of Lanka who abducted his wife Sita.

The eco system of the area largely comprises of grass land Shola forest type which is laced by sporadic bamboo forests. Speciality of the wind flow is another factor which makes Ramakkalmedu unique. Wind blows at a speed around 35 km per hour at Ramakkalmedu throughout the year irrespective of the Statue of Kuruvan & Kuruthi located at the top of one of the Ramakkalmedu hills is one of the major tourist site in Ramakkalmedu. C.B. Jinan shadod of Balaramapuram is the architecture of this famous statue. It was launched in 1st August of 2005.

Hundreds of tourists visits here daily. From this hill we can see certain portion of Tamil Nadu state. Also you can see here two huge statues of ‘Kuruvan’ and ‘Kurathi’, the two historical characters of the local community who’s name where given to the rocks between which the Idukki Dam was built. It believes that Kuruvan and Kuruthi found the place for the famous Idukki Dam.

Abundant in wind, Ramakkalmedu is the second place in Kerala where a wind energy farm is installed.

Getting there:
Nearest railway station : Changanacherry, about 93 km.
Nearest airport : Madurai (Tamil Nadu) about 140 km.
Cochin International Airport, Nedumbassery, about 190 km.

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Nedumkandam

Nedumkandam lies in between the Periyar wild life reserve in Thekkadyand the hill station of Munnar. This is a land of migratory farmers, most of whom came from Central Travancore, Kottayam, Palai,Kothamangalam and Muvattupuzha in search of better pastures and ended up in the reserve forests, which used to be there in 1960, but now has disappeared into stores, giving way to the modern township. Here cardamom, pepper and coffee are the major crops. Besides these a wide verity of other cash crops are also being cultivated.

Cardamom farms are larger and about half of the owners are Tamilians whose parents ascended the ghats from Cumbam, Bodinaikanur areas of Tamil Nadu to cultivate the forest soils of the Cardamom Hill Reserve areas. Nearest Picnic Spots are Ramakkalmedu,Kailasapara,Thooval fall Kallumekallu, Mankuthimedu and Neyyandimala.

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There are many interesting legends connected to this idol. Some people believe that it is the statue of Jaina but most of the people believe that it is the statue of Buddha.

This was a flourishing Buddhist centre of ancient Kerala (Karumadi Temple), with the Sri Lankan traders and the backwaters connecting it with inland trade with eastern high ranges.

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Pothamed

Pothamedu View Point offers view of Pallivasal Tea Factory and a hydroelectric power plant. The dense vegetation of the area is marked by the criss cross of various plantations which have become a characteristic feature of the tourist attraction in Munnar.

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Kalvari Mount

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Malankara Dam

Kudayathoor Mala, a picturesque hillock 6 kms from Malankara dam site, is ideal for trekking, Elaveezha Poonchira, is another haunt for picnickers. Visitors will be allowed to stroll along the pathway atop the dam which commands an overview of the greenery around.

Location – 6 kms from the Thodupuzha

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Kerala’s sprawling traditional homesteads most of which are fast going to ruins. This proposal will attract new people and encourage to turn these heritage homes to tourist accommodations or homestays. This is also in view of the increasing preference shown by foreign tourists to stay in traditional buildings during their visit.

Kerala State Homestay and Tourism Association (Kerala HATS), a consortium of homestay providers and tourism promoters has recommended the state government to exclude homestays from 7A tariff (commercial power connection) and the 0.5 per cent luxury tax. These taxes have been realised from tourists as a result visitors has to pay huge amount during off season. The imposition of the luxury tax will also mean that tourists will have to pay more. Paying huge tax to the government and the amount would run into lakhs of rupees and many would have to wind up their businesses.

As per the statistics available with the Kerala HATS, the number of authorised and classified homestays in Kochi is just 65 while the number of unauthorised ones runs to more than 300. This causes concern not only to the authorities, but also to genuine and serious entrepreneurs,The industry is also keen on putting in place clear-cut regulations to ensure quality of service delivered which is vital to the growth of tourism. If Government waive the luxury tax, it will boost tourism sector on the whole.

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The surrounding natural beauty is yet another feature bringing people to Kalpetta. The cascading waterfalls of Soochipara, Meenmutty & Kanthapara are all located in close proximity – making it an ideal spiritual – natural beauty combo!

Temples
Sri Maha Vishnu temple -  dedicated to Vishnu

Grammam Devi temple – popular among the local women

The  temple dedicated to the most revered deity of the region Lord Ayappa, the Ayappa Swamy temple located on the outskirts of the city & adding to its diversity is the prevalence of several Jain temples too, makes this place a pilgrimage of sorts.

Attractions in Kalpetta

Chembra peak- At 2100 mts above mean sea level, Chembra is the highest peak in Wayanad and is ideal for trekking. Climbing this peak is a challenging mountaineering endeavour and would take a full day. The scenic beauty of Wayanad, which is visible from the top of Chembra, is very exhilarating

Neelimala View Point- Closer to Vaduvanchal, Neelimala is an excellent venue fro trekking with lots of stimulating trails. The summit of this hill affords a great view of the cascading Meenmutty fallsand the beautiful valley in its foreground.

Meenmutty falls-An interesting 2 km jungle trek off the main Ooty road, Meenmutty is the largest and most spectacular waterfall in Wayanad. A unique feature is that water drops about 300 metres over three stages.

Sentinal Rock Waterfalls- 22 kms south of Kalpetta near Chooralmala. Locally known as Soochippara and is a very popular leisure destination. This is a three step waterfall more than 200 mts in height.

Kanthanpara waterfalls-22 kms south east of Kalpetta and 8 kms east of Meppadi, a beautiful waterfall about 30 mts in height. Relatively smaller than Sentinel Rock falls, and rather less frequented Kanthanpara and its surroundings offer a very pleasant site.

Banasura sagar Dam – 21 kms north east of Kalpetta and Situated at Padinjarathara. A mini hydel project with the largest earth dam in India and the second largest in Asia is being built here.

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The beach is the main attraction in the town and it is one of the most famous tourist destinations in the state. The beach is clean and attracts many locals, especially in the evenings.

Kappad Attractions

The Kappad has a rocky headland which gives great views of the surrounding coast. Walking along the beach either way leads to miles of deserted, yellow-sand beaches

Climb the boulders by the banyan tree in the village to see an 800 year old Hindu temple to the goddess Devi. It is a peaceful place with views of the sea.

Boating, including houseboat trips can be organised at nearby Elathur on the Korapuzha river.

Another attraction for travelers are the many fishing villages that are located along the coast, its recommended that on your visit here try the local cuisine at the little sea side hamlets. Fresh sea food is one of the specialties of the place.

Pazhassirajah Museum is situated between five and eight kilometers from the city of Calicut, in this place you can see amazing collection of ancient coins, bronze sculptures, paintings and murals and ancient models of the temple. The museum also has an art gallery Art Gallery which is located adjacent to museum

Beypore, is an important fishing harbor which is located just outside the city of Calicut towards the south, in this harbor you can see the port and also the boat building place

Kadamundi Bird Sanctuary is a well known sanctuary for birds, where thousands of migratory water birds can be seen. Some of the important birds which could be sighted in Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary include herons, terns, gulls, and sandpipers.

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