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 environs;
some times better than it. So is the rejuvenating effect of the lush greenery of the state.

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Backwaters of Kerala
Local folklore has it that Kerala was "reclaimed" from the sea by the warrior sage Parasuraman by a throw of his battle-axe. Whatever the truth behind the legend, the fact remains that Kerala is a land with a huge necklace of canals, lagoons, lakes and rivers. These water bodies are loosely known in the local parlance as the backwaters.

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Festivals of Kerala
Kerala is a melting pot where several ethnic and religious groups mingle. A good illustration of the religious tolerance or secularism is found in the heart of Kerala's capital, 'Thiruvananthapuram', where a Hindu temple, a mosque and a cathedral stand side by side. The ancient rulers of Kerala never practiced religious discrimination. Patronage was distributed not only to the Hindus, but also to the Christians, the Jews and the Muslims.

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Kerala Culture and Arts
Kerala culture is a blend of Dravidian and Aryan culture. During 10th century Kerala was a part of great Tamil heritage region known as Tamilakam and was greatly influenced by the Dravidian culture.

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Kettuvallam ( Houseboats)
The Kettuvallam is a large floating structure with high load carrying capacity was a part of Kerala' s culture and heritage over the past years. The advent of road transport and motorisation of waterways saw in steep decline in the significance of Kettuvallam as an effective carrier of bulk cargo. Around six years ago an entrepreneur on the request of tourists remodelled the traditional Kettuvallam to suite the role of a tourist cruise boat.

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Boat Race in Kerala
The Nehru Trophy Boat Race on the Punnamda Lake, near Alappuzha, held on the second Saturday of August every year, is the most competitive and popular of the boat races.

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