Marayoor - a land of variety

 There are many things about Marayoor. First of all is the scenery.

In fact the drive from Munnar to Marayoor is quite memorable.Tea gardens, water falls, thorny forests, vivid plantations - expect to be delighted.

Here is a photo of Koviloor, how they grow veggies on the slopes is quite interesting. The slopes are cut into flat surfaces where plants are grown. A smart way to store water and to efficiently use the terrains.

 Orchards of Kanthalloor are lush. The land is fertile and you can see it on the trees.

The sandal forests of Marayoor start well before the town.

There is a sandal processing factory run by the Government. Unfortunately, it is closed to visitors.

Another attraction of Maryoor is dolmens, the ancient burial chambers.

Mountains overlooking the valley cast an awesome feel.

A children's park also attracts visitors simply because it is made under the shades of a single tree. Well, the tree is quite large-

Jaggery making is a cottage industry of Marayoor.

The yellow liquid in the photo is boiled sugar cane extract. It is further boiled till it becomes dark brown and solid. They are made into balls.

In Malayalam they are called Undasharkara.

Here is the outside view of the jaggery making place.

Another picture of jaggery making-

In the picture below, people are carrying hay from the harvested farms.

Hay piled up -

What is hard to miss is the sheer beauty of the place. Mountains, valleys and green fields.
Lemon grass fields are common-

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Manual ship making near Beypore beach

Kozhikode has an eventful history of thousands of years. It was the trading hub of Kerala spices to Arabs, Phoenicians, Chinese and others.

Kerala was also the land of Vedic knowledge, eventhough that knowledge was limited to a few people. Riches from trade kept on coming and Kozhikode under the stable rule of Zamorin was affluent.

Kozhikode not only traded spices, but also built ships. They were built at Beypore, a small port town just 10 kms from Kozhikode. 

Through ages, Beypore ship building thrived because the vessels built here were best of the breed.

Beypore ship is called Uru, which is a wooden Arabian ship. Arabs were the main customers. History says they are the ones who passed ship building knowledge to Kerala.  

Manual ship building yard is busy even today. 

Here is a ship being built-

Ships are built under thatched roof, to prevent rain water coming in. 

The exterior-

The ships are mostly wood, except for the necessary support structures. They also use basic tools and bare hands. 

The photo below shows large nails getting hammered  into wood.

And they need a lot of wood, don't they?

And it need a lot of work, as everything has to come out of bare hands.

Another carpenter at work-

Carpenter in picture below is working inside a ship, which is partially built-

See how the wood arches on the side-

 

 Another photo just to show how elaborate the  wood work inside the ship is.

These cotton threads are to seal the gaps between wooden planks-

A carpenter seals the gaps. See the difference -

Nowadays most orders are for private luxury ships for wealthy clients.

Beypore Urus are traditional vessels without machines. However, they can be modernised with engine, interior design etc. That is not done at Beypore.

Clients take the ship from here and do all that where ever they prefer.
The stairs-

You can see more than one ship under construction. At times they have half a dozen ships in various stages of construction.

The ship yard is not far from water.

The Uru yard is not far from Beypore beach. There are several other attractions in the area too.

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Krishnapuram Palace

 Krishnapuram Palace is one of the major tourist attractions of Alappuzha for two reasons - distinct Kerala architecture and the museum inside.

 

 Well there is more to Krishnapuram palace than that. It is the home of Gajendra Moksham, the largest single panel mural painting in Kerala.

This is the painting -

 

 Here is a close up-

 Another interesting object of antiquity is Kayamkulam Vaal (sword), the weapon named after the town of Kayamkulam. By the way, Kayamkulam is only 2 kms from Krishnapuram Palace.

 The museum has several statues and artifacts, that belonged to the Kingdom of Travancore.
 

 This is a hand held carriage (Pallakk) used to carry the royals. 

 The museum has a numismatics section, with a range of old coins.

 There is also a range of interesting historical objects.
Here is a few photos -

 The museum is a good example of Kerala architecture. In this modern times of concrete buildings, purely Kerala styled  structures have become a rare find.
The gate -

Here is where the tortoise is (the picture on our Facebook page).

The garden-

Side view-

Impressive wood work -

 This type of construction keeps in cool inside during hot Kerala weather.

 This is the photo of Krishnapuram Temple, a famous shrine in the region.

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Kerala backwaters

Probably, the most stand out attraction of Kerala is its backwaters.

Kumarakam, a small village, is well known today, thanks to its canals and lakes.

The following is picture shows the vast expanse of Lake Vembanad, not far from Kumarakam.

This is an Island in Vembanad Lake. Tourists visit the Island, Pathiramanal, as the bushes are resting places for plenty of local and migratory birds.

Talking about birds, well, ducks are quite native to the smaller canals. You will find plenty of them.

Not just birds, plenty of flowers too.

 

It is a place where life is simple.

Are you thinking about a backwater tour around Kumarakam? There are different types of boats available. Houseboats, Shikaras and even canoes.

Cherai near Cochin is known for its beach. How ever, the most attractive part of Cherai is its backwaters. A couple of photos below-

How can we talk about Kerala backwaters without mentioning Chinese nets. In Kerala, the net is called Cheenavala - Cheena for Chinese and Vala for net.

Here is a row of them-

Here is fishing nets in action. It needs the collective effort of a few people. These Chinese net photos were taken at Cochin.

 Here is a tiny canal near Eranakulam -

Kerala is traversed by rivers and lakes all around. Scenic backwaters are many, not all of them are well known.

Here is Beeyam Kayal (Lake Beeyam) at Ponnani. Vast, beautiful yet unknown outside the region.

River Kadalundi flows alongside coconut groves. Kadalundi is a bird haven too.
Here is Kadalundi, greenish and charming-

Not far from Kadalundi is Beypore, famous for its beach and manual ship making.

Elathur is a beach - backwater belt only a short drive from Calicut city.
Here is the not-so-well-known Elathur, in its brilliance-

 Korappuzha has potential.   The questions are 'When' and 'How".
Korappuzha, near Kozhikode-

Kabani is the main river of Wayanad. The river looks muddy and red in monsoon. The picture is from Kuruva Islands, one of the best tourist spots in Wayanad-

A picture of a river along Kannur - Mananthavady road. Monsoon has turned the river muddy. The shores are very green and pretty, it is just a matter of putting a few houseboats in. Well.....

A stream running along Kannur - Mananthavadi road. Off the tourism map, so what, second to none in beauty.

There is plenty to talk about Kerala backwaters, so it is going to be an ongoing task. Bye for now.

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