In a special collector's issue released just before the turn of the century,
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER gifted the tourists of the world with a priceless treasure - a well researched compilation of the 50 destinations of a lifetime. The only Indian destination that featured in it was
KERALA other than the Taj Mahal in the World Wonders section.
Kerala was celebrated as a 'Paradise Found' - one of the ten in the world, A perfect description for a land renowned as "God's Own Country". What adds to the charm of its backwaters, beaches, Ayurveda health holidays, hill stations, wildlife, festivals, monuments and vibrant art forms, is its amazing social development indices that are on par with the developed world.
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.
Another piece de resistance of Kerala is the meandering rivers which criss-cross the state physique like blood veins. Besides, water bodies tucked away in thick forests also enhance the amazing beauty of the state. They fertilize the' land, turn waste into the wealth of the rich, black, alluvial soil on which the agrarian state thrive.
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.
