Kerala at a glance
Area - 38,863 Sq.Km
Districts - 14
Talukas - 63
Panchayats - 991
Corporations - 3
Municipalities -54 (incuding townships)
Rivers - 44
Longest River - Bharathapuzha (251.1 Km)
Highest Mountain - Anamudi (2652.3 Metres)
Climate - Summer - 35 to 22.5 degrees C Winter - 32 to 20 degrees
C M.L.A's - 141
M.P's (Lok Sabha) - 20
M.P's (Rajya Sabha) - 9

Tucked away in the south west corner of India, Kerala is a narrow strip of land between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats.

Lined by coconut trees and sinfully beautiful beaches, the coconut palms shade nearly the entire State from the tropical sun.

Visitors can spend time riding small ferries through the backwater lagoons or watching elephants cavort in the wildlife sanctuaries.

 

Kerala boasts of a rich tradition and a deep historical background. Long before Vasco Da Gama discovered India when he landed on the coast of Kerala, the Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, and the Chinese had long since been sailing to Kerala in search of spices, sandalwood and ivory. Since those days there is an undeniable Chinese influence in Kerala right down to the Chinese fishing nets. Its history is the synthesis and assimilation of old tradition and new values.

The state also boasts of political first by being the first place in the world to have elected a Communist Government in 1957. Political scene in Kerala is highly volatile, and the State has seen too many changes of power. In spite of this political hypersensitivity, it remains comparatively calm. All are welcome to the 'Spice Garden of India'.

Being India's most literate state and one of the few to follow the matrilinear familial system, it's a microcosm of multi-religious India, cohabited by Hindu, Christian and Muslims.

Here by whatever great natural agency the break occurred, the mountains appear thrown back and heaped up, as if some overwhelming deluge had burst through, sweeping them left and right. On either hand tower the giant Nilgiris and Anamalas, overtopping the chain of ghats by several thousand feet, while through the gap, the southwest winds bring pleasant moist air and grateful showers to the thirsty plains of Coimbatore, and roads and railways link the Carnatic to Kerala. The unique character ... of this gap ... is only equalled by its great economic value to the countries lying on either hand of it (p.3).

In addition to the Palghat Gap, there are others like the Perambadi Ghat linking Kerala and Coorg, the Perlya and Thamarasseri Gaps linking Wynad and Mysore, and Bodinayikannur, Kambam, Aryankavu, and Aramboli Passes connecting Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Tamil powers often invaded Kerala through the Aramboli Pass.