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Locals' Guide
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Insiders’ guide to Kerala, from ancient rituals to forest walks

There’s much to experience beyond the backwaters in this enchanting Indian state

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Kayaking is a popular way to explore Kerala’s famed backwaters. Photo: Shutterstock
Kalpana Sunder

With the Arabian Sea on one side and the Western Ghats mountain range on the other, Kerala has long cast its spell on travellers, with meandering back­waters, temple rituals and spice ports. Criss-crossed by 44 rivers, this Indian state offers endless possibilities for exploration, perhaps on a houseboat, but scratch the glossy picture-postcard surface and you’ll find a wilder, deeper side, where tribal traditions, sustainable travel and biodiversity take centre stage.

A different kind of sightseeing

“There’s no place like Fort Kochi; history is concentrated in every corner,” says Dr Tanya Abraham, a cookbook author and art curator whose family has lived in the historic neighbourhood within the city of Kochi for more than two centuries. But she also recommends a trip to Muziris, an hour and a half’s drive north from Kochi, Kerala’s commercial capital. Muziris was a port in the 1st century BC and today is a sweeping restoration project. “It has over 52 archaeological sites, monuments and museums like the Paliam Nalukettu Museum, which showcase traditional Kerala architecture, Jewish houses and the Paravur Jewish Synagogue.”
Traditional wooden houses that were transported and set up as guest villas at Coconut Lagoon in Kumarakom. Photo: Kalpana Sunder
Traditional wooden houses that were transported and set up as guest villas at Coconut Lagoon in Kumarakom. Photo: Kalpana Sunder

There’s beauty in Kerala’s traditional architecture, too. “Don’t miss the tharavadus, wooden ancestral homes that can be dismantled and reassembled like puzzles,” says Mridula Jose, a third-generation hotelier at CGH Earth, whose portfolio includes the Coconut Lagoon in Kumarakom, where relocated century-old tharavadus serve as guest villas.

Gopinath Parayil, founder of experiential tourism company The Blue Yonder, recommends visiting the Pokkali paddy fields near Ezhikkara, 30km to the north of Kochi. “These ingenious fields grow saline-tolerant rice in the monsoon, then transform into shrimp farms in summer, a living example of Kerala’s indigenous farming wisdom,” he says. Tour companies such as Cochin Magic take you to these fields with a guide.

Culture and festivals

Kerala’s trance-like ritual theatre of Theyyam combines dance, music and mime. Photo: Shutterstock
Kerala’s trance-like ritual theatre of Theyyam combines dance, music and mime. Photo: Shutterstock

Kerala’s cultural calendar is a vivid tapestry embodied by the trance-like ritual theatre of Theyyam.

“It’s a blend of dance, possession and storytelling with painted faces and brilliant performances,” says Parayil. With their towering headgear and fire dances, performers become gods for a night. Performances are especially raw and electrifying when experienced in temples and old homesteads around Bekal and Kasaragod, in northern Kerala, between October and May. Hotels in the area should be able to provide a calendar of local Theyyam performances.

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