God's Own Country: Paradise

Showing posts with label Paradise. Show all posts

Wednesday, 9 April 2014

KOCHI

Fort Kochi is a region in he city of Kochi in the state of Kerala. Walking through the old street of Kochi is the ideal way of discovering historic town brimming with tales of myriad seafaring visitors who came here to trade and then stayed on to cease their work on this wonderful land. ' Walking through Fort Cochin ' is a tour organised as apart of the conservation and development initiatives taken up by the Corporation of Kochi.

The eventful history of the city began when a major flood in AD 1341 threw open the estuary of Kochi, till then a land locked region, turning it into one of the finest natural harbor in the world. Kochi thus become a heaven for seafaring visitors from all over the world and became the first European township in India when the Portuguese settled here in the 15th century.

The Dutch Wrested Fort Kochi from the Portuguese in Ad 1663 and later in the last phase of the colonial saga, The British took over, the town in 1795. During the 1660's, Fort Kochi peaked in stature as a prime commercial center and its fame spread far and wide - variously as a rich trade center, a major military base, a vibrant cultural hub, a great ship building center, a center for Christianity and so on. Today centuries later, the city is home to nearly thirteen communities.

A few interesting sites included in the tour the Chinese fishing net along the Vasco Da Gama Square, Santa Cruz Basilica, St Francis Church, VOC gate, Bastion Bungalow etc. Apart from this architectural splendors, an array of restaurants serving fresh sea food are also popular among the tourists.

The Chinese fishing nets erected on teak wood and bamboo poles work on a principle of balancing. Records say they were first set here between AD 1350 and AD 1450. Vasco Da Gama Square the narrow promenade the parallels the beach, is the best place to watch the nets being lowered and pulled out of sea.

The Santa Cruz Basilica, a church build originally by Portuguese and elevated to cathedral bu Pope Paul IV in 1558, was spared by the Dutch conquerors who destroyed many catholic buildings. Later the British demolished the structure an Bishop Dom Gomez Vereira commissioned new building in 1887. Consecrated in 1905, Santa Cruz was proclaimed as Basilica by the Pope John Paul II in 1984.

Fort Kochi is also home to one of India's oldest churches - The St. Francis Church. This was a Roman Catholic Church during the Portuguese rule from 1503 to 1663, then a Dutch Reformist Church from 1664 to 1804, and Anglican Church from 1804 to 1947. Today it is governed by the Church of South India (CSI). Another important fact about the Church is Vasco Da Gama, who died in 1524, was buried here before his mortal remains were returned to Portugal 14 years later.

Access : About 13 km from Ernakulam Town through road and 20 min by boat.

Saturday, 5 April 2014

PAITHALMALA

Paithalmala (Vaithalmala) is a hill station in the Kannur district of Kerala. It is located near Pottenplave village, at an height of 1371.6 m above sea level, this is the highest geographic peak in Kannur. It is nested in Kerala - Karnataka border near to Kodagu forest, it lies in the Western Ghat's. It has become a favorite spot for the trekkers and photographers.

Trekking In Paithalmala :
There are two trekking seasons in Paithalmala, falling in monsoon and summer. Monsoon (June to October) trekking to Paithalmala is a photographers delight as the mist blankets the hills and forests. One can include to the lush greenery amids, the showers throughout the day, especially in July. Particularly trekking is is not easy as in the summer because of the extreme climate.

Monsoon is followed by the cool climate in Paithalmala and grass surrounding the hill grow to their fullest size, making it difficult to walk through. As they grow above seven feet, finding the regular way becomes a difficult task. By December the forest caretakers set fire to grass, taking care of the rest of the forest, to ease out the trekking experience, soon after this, the hill becomes unsuitable because of black sooth formed but clears away after a couple of weeks. The best time for trek is from January to March though the sun might be harsh.

Access : Airways : Mangalalore - 166 km
Calicut - 150 km

Railway : Kannur Railway Station - 60 km
Payyanur Railway Station - 62 km

Road : from Kannur - 65 km
from Thaliparamba - 44 km

KOVALAM

Kovalam is a internationally renowned beach with three adjacent crescent beaches. It has been a favorite haunt of tourist, especially Europeans, since the 1930's. A massive rocky promontory on the beach have created a beautiful bay of calm waters ideal for sea bathing.

The leisure options at the beach are plenty and diverse. Sun bathing, swimming, herbal body toning massage, special cultural programs and catamaran cruising are some of them.The tropical sun acts so fast that one can see faint blush of coppery tan on the skin in a matter of minutes. Life on the beach begins late in the day and carries well into the night. The beach complex include a string of budget cottages, ayurvedic health resorts, convention facilities, shopping zone, swimming pools, Yoga and ayurvedic massage centers.

A view of sea from LEELA hotel, Kovalam

Access :

Airway : Thiruvanandapuram International Airport - 10 km

Railway : Thiruvanantapuram Central Railway Station - 16 km

Road : Thiruvanathapuram city - 16 km

Thursday, 3 April 2014

THENMALA

Thenmala is a tourist place near Punalur town, Kollam district in Kerala. Thenmala: "Then + Mala" , ie in local parlance "Then" means "honey" and "mala" means hillhock, ie it means Honey Hills. It is about 160 m above sea leval and is first planned Eco-tourism destination in India. Thenmala attracts foreign and domestic tourist with a host of attraction, boating on the lake, trekking, mountaineering, biking and a musical fountain.

Thenmala is a small village at foothills of Western Ghat's and predominantly a forest area. the famous Shenduruney Wildlife Sanctuary is most important eco-tourism resource in Thenmala Eco tourism.The wildlife sanctuary is about 100 sq. km. and harbors large varieties of flora and fauna. The honey collected from Thenmala is of good quality and of high medicinal value because of the unique floristic composition of the forest.

Culture Zone :
These zone accommodates various activities, which favors Ecofriendly General Tourism. Restaurant, Shop court, Amphitheater etc helps the tourist understand the Kerala cuisines, Crafts,natural wealth, art, culture etc. An open air musical dancing fountain which is considered as "Natural dancing" is another major attraction here.

Nakshtravanam :
A garden comprising of 27 trees associated with 27 birth stars. You will be blessed to see all the 27 trees planed in the garden.

Butterfly Safari :
An abode of Butterflies in an open ambiance. A garden of host plants for butterfly has been created enabling the large number of butterfly species of the region to thrive. A guided walk along the nature trail of the garden will provide the visitors an opportunity to site the butterfly and to learn about butterfly.

Musical Dancing Fountain :
The synchronized rhythmic ballet of water, sound and light located in the natural surroundings. Such a natural ambiance is very rare and hence provide unique and authentic experience.