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Destinations · Asia · india · Kerala · Things to do ·

Things To Do

Author: Anothertravelguide.com0 COMMENTS

Things To Do

- DO VISIT THE PERIYAR TIGER RESERVE. Although the reserve - where you, as likely as not, won't meet a single tiger - is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Kerala, it is truly worth travelling the 186 kilometres form Cochin (it is an approximately four-hour drive) just to see the place. The reserve is unique not only with its population of elephants, antelopes, tigers, deer, reptiles, otters, wild boar and countless species of birds, but also famous for the diversity of landscapes: forests, valleys and mountains. The colours vary from silvery to vivid succulent green. The reserve was made a protected area in 1933 by the Maharaja of Travancore. It covers an area of 350 km² and 1982 was awarded the status of a national park. The best way of experiencing the ravishing beauty of the landscape is a boat tour on the Periyar Lake, artificially created by the Brits in the raj era. The lake is the only source of drinking water for some of the animals living in this area. You would do wise to book a private tour, otherwise you will end up in a hundred-seat tourist boat that scares away every living being in the vicinity before even leaving the shore. Motorboats are also far from ideal, although animals have grown used to the hellish rattle and you may catch sight of some of them with your field-glasses. If you would like to get closer, bamboo rafting along the shoreline (inhabited by snakes, otters and turtles among other creatures) is ideal for you.

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- DO PAY A VISIT TO THE SAHYADRI AYURVEDIC PHARMACEUTICAL FACTORY. Kerala is thought of as the birthplace Ayurveda and is one of the most popular destinations for this particular branch of tourism. The Sahyadri factory and the nearby Ayurvedic hospital are famous in the whole state and are definitely worth a visit, if only to see the countless varieties of herbs stored in the factory warehouses are turned into products of Ayurvedic medicine, for instance, by being pounded with a stone pestle on a stone surface. At the entrance you will be asked to remove your shoes and put on rubber flip-flops and cover your hair with a coarse net shower cap, instantly bringing back memories of the long-gone everyday reality of the Soviet era.

Foto: Things To Do

Pallikkunnu P.O., Idukki District, Kerala

www.ayurvedaexcellence.com

- DO VISIT THE SAHYADRI FACTORY OF ORGANIC TEA. Founded in 2001, it is the only organic tea factory in Kerala and is in fact a conglomerate of 1164 small producers of tea. The output is currently 600 tonnes of tea (only black tea as yet) a year, and the quality criteria are very strict.

- DO PLAN A TRIP TO ARANMULA, a small village halfway between Cochin and the mountains. What makes it so special is the single fact that it is the only place in the whole of India where metal mirrors have been produced for centuries. The closely-guarded secret technology is known by only four families and is handed down from fathers to sons. The reflection in a metal mirror - as opposed to a glass one - is as clear and true to life as possible since it is formed directly on the surface.

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