Category: Kerala

With an aim to familiarize Abu Dhabi tourism to the travel partners and tour planners in Kerala, the Department of Culture and Tourism has conducted a training workshop in Kerala’s capital city Thiruvananthapuram. The training workshop, conducted in association with Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), was lead by Bejan Dinshaw, Country Manager of DCT Abu Dhabi at Fortune South Park hotel in the city. The training started by showing the official video of Abu Dhabi, which was followed by a detailed description by Dinshaw about the destination, culture, tourism opportunities and packages the country offers. “Within five years Abu ... Read more

If you are anywhere near (or already in) the capital city of Kerala, it would be pretty difficult to reach your destination as the city is flooded by devotees who are heading to Attukal Devi Temple for the much-famed Attukal Pongala. Lakhs of women are expected to attend the ritual in offering pongala, the sweet porridge, to the goddess. Often called women’s Sabarimala, Attukal Devi temple Pongala has found a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as “the largest gathering of women” based on the 2.5 million turnout in 2009. Traffic restrictions have started from 2 pm today and will ... Read more

February 2nd is considered World Wetlands Day. This day marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Each year since 1997, the Ramsar Secretariat has provided materials to help raise public awareness about the importance and value of wetlands. The international theme for World Wetlands Day 2018 is ‘Wetlands for a sustainable urban future’. The Ramsar Convention Secretariat has developed a number of downloadable World Wetlands Day materials for 2018, including posters, infographics, Power Point presentations, fact sheets and a t-shirt ... Read more

Kerala Finance minister Thomas Isaac is presenting the state budget. The minister allocated Rs 82 crore for Kerala Tourism’s marketing activities. It also has allocated Rs 40 crore for the protection of heritage projects of Muziris and Thalassery. The heritage project of Alappuzha will be funded through KIIFB. Approvals have been given to a few museums, informed the minister adding that the rest of the projects will be initiated in 2018-19 period. Once the Spices Routes starts functioning, places like Ponnani and Beppur will also come under the heritage project belt. The construction works of Muzhuppilangad Tourism project included in KIIFB will ... Read more

Photo Courtesy: kumarakom.com Kumarakom, in Kerala, is selected to develop as one of the 10 iconic tourist destinations in India, which is presented in the annual Union Budget for 2018-19, by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. He said this can be achieved by adopting a holistic approach of development with the support of the private sector. During the budget announcement on February 1, the minister said that the Central Government would like to convert 10 popular tourist destinations into iconic and model destinations. These iconic places will be developed as model destinations with the help of private partnership. Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri, ... Read more

Forest fire engulfed 10 hectares of Silent Valley buffer zone, triggering panic and causing extensive damages to trees, shrubs and the animal population. Authorities said the massive fire broke out in the buffer zone was controlled by Wednesday afternoon. Frequent fires during the summers is a common scene in Silent Valley. Though the authorities have taken measures to curb the issue by conducting workshop to control the fire, they couldn’t control the fire from spreading to the interiors of the forest. The fire erupted at the vegetation-rich mountain heads, which will result in soil erosion if it spreads further. The ... Read more

Early drafts of the Doodle Search engine giant Google today honoured Kamala Das with a doodle. The Doodle by artist Manjit Thapp celebrates Kamala Das on the publication date of her autobiography, “My Story,” released in 1976. “Today we celebrate poet and author Kamala Das. “Das’s life and work had a boldness and shape-shifting quality, whether it was the many genres she wrote in or the various languages in which she expressed herself. She was determined to live life on her own terms, resisting labels such as “feminist” and choosing different names for herself over the course of her life,” ... Read more

‘Airpocalypse II,’ a report from Greenpeace India revealed that Kerala has the cleanest air among other states of India, followed by a good ambient quality air. The agency has found out that Kerala kept PM10 (particulate matter in air of 10 microns and smaller) standards, said Sunil Dahiya, senior campaigner, Greenpeace India. Kerala followed a consistency in its pollution level in 2015 and 2016 with a minor variation in number. Cities such as Kochi, Thrissur, Wayanad and Kozhikode showed an increased variation whereas Alappuzha, Kottayam, Malappuram and Palakkad got a slight decrease in variables. Photo Courtesy: Kerala Tourism The authorities ... Read more

Mr. Uddhav Bal Keshav Thackeray, Chief of the Shiv Sena party, and son of Shiv Sena founder Shri. Bal Thackeray on board #SpiceRoutesLuxuryCruises. An avid photographer, Uddhav Thackeray visited the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary today. He has checked-in to the Spice Routes Luxury Cruises today and would be leaving tomorrow. Uddhav said he is holidaying in the backwaters to capture the captivating beauty of this magical land.

The Eravikulam National Park, abode of the highly endangered Nilgiri tahr, will remain closed to visitors till March 31. Chief Wildlife Warden said the two-month closure was an annual affair during the calving season of the tahrs. Online ticket booking will resume after the park reopens. The mating season of the tahrs is between June and August and the gestation period is nearly six months. The tahr population at the park was stable, with the number exceeding 1,000 in Rajamala under the Eravikulam National Par. The Nilgiri Tahr, (Nilgiritragus hylocrius  Ropiquet and Hassanin, 2005) is an endangered caprid listed in Schedule ... Read more

A once in a lifetime lunar event occurs tomorrow – a Super blue blood moon, which means a complete lunar eclipse, during the 2nd full moon of the month, while the moon is on its closest orbit to earth. This rare celestial phenomenon—a super moon, a blue moon and a total lunar eclipse, will all occur at the same time. Are you ready for the treat up the skies on the evening of January 31? People in Siberia, Australia, New Zealand and North Western US and Canada will be lucky to observe the entire event. Major sections of Africa, South ... Read more

In an effort that would push forward long-term sustainability measures in the Kerala tourism scenario, the state’s Responsible Tourism Mission has braced itself to help local communities in setting up as many as 1000 new home stays and 300 farm houses. With potential entrepreneurs from the tiny hamlet of Thiruvarppu in Kottayam (Kerala) having come forward evincing interest in joining hands with the project, the Responsible Tourism Mission organized a meeting with applicants from the region who are keen on setting up home stays and farm houses on January 26 at the Kanjiram Service Cooperative Bank auditorium. The Responsible Mission, ... Read more

Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran meets HE Jamal Hussain Al Zaabi, the Consul General to South India and the head of the mission. The minister visited the Consul General at the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram, representing the state government to offer condolences on the sad demise of  Sheikha Hessa bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, the mother of the ruler of the United Arab Emirates. Sheikha Hessa was the first wife of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the first president of the UAE when the federation of seven sheikhdoms became a country in 1971. She gave birth in 1948 to Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed ... Read more

Acclaimed *Ottanthulal artist Kalamandalam Geethanandan died on Sunday around 8 pm while performing at Avittathur Mahavishnu Temple at Irinjalakuda in Thrissur, Kerala. The 58-year-old, who had performed on more than 5,000 stages in India and abroad, collapsed on the stage and died during a stage performance. He was given first aid and taken to a hospital, but could not be saved. Geethanandan had been a faculty member at the Kalamandalam’s Ottanthulal department for more than 25 years. Geethanandan has also acted in many movies including Kamaladalam, Manasinakkare, Thoovalkottaram and Irattakuttikalude Achan. He won Veerasringala and Thullal Kalanidhi award and was the first artist ... Read more

    After the very successful phase I workshop on underwater photography held at Thiruvananthapuram earlier in January, Bond Safari Kovalam is coming to Ernakulam with their second workshop. Here is your unique chance to meet and interact with the experts. The second workshop on underwater photography conducted by Bond Safari will be an eye opener for you. The workshop will be held on February 22 at Hotel Ibis, Ernakulam. The workshop organized for photographers and enthusiasts will be your first step towards shooting that perfect picture underwater. The speakers include Anup J Kattukaran, Dr. Capt Shanthanu, Subin J Kalarikkal, Shibin Sebastian ... Read more