Kerala, the state which keeps its ever-evolving culture ensconced in its Western Ghats, the Midlands, and valleys that flow down to an unbroken 580 km long coastline dotted with scenic backwaters, has added yet another feather to its cap. New York Times (NYT) has ranked it 13th in a list of 52 places to go to this year. The state has been appreciated for its 'Responsible Tourism' initiatives undertaken by the Department of Tourism of Kerala.
God's Own Country was the only state from India to find a place in the ranking, which featured global hotspots such as London, and Morioka, Japan. According to the survey report, Kerala is a must-travel place for its beaches, backwaters, cuisine, and age-old cultural traditions, such as the Vaikathashtami festival. NYT doled more appreciation for Kerala Tourism's effort, which allows tourists an immersive experience of the village life of Kerala.
In addition to this, NYT also specially mentioned two spots. First was Kumarakom village, the cluster of little islands on the Vembanad Lake, a part of the Kuttanad region, which hosts a bird sanctuary. The Responsible Tourism project was inaugurated in Kumarakom in March 2008. The village won the National Tourism Award for Best Responsible Tourism Project for 2008-2009. The other place NYT mentioned was Maravanthuruthu, located on the banks of the Muvattupuzha River in the Kottayam district. The Responsible Tourism Mission launched its first STREET project to develop theme-based streets here. This is a part of the local community development as water street, art street, flower street, and cuisine street. The water bodies offer kayaking, country boat, coracle boating, and shikara boat tours.
Apart from current global recognition and applause, Kerala has also been in the limelight recently with the launch of the world's first palm leaf manuscript museum in Thiruvananthapuram. You can read all about it, and the sustainability efforts of Kumbalangi village, in the links given below.
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