Kerala, the south-western Indian state, attracts over 10 million tourists a year. It is one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in the world. The National Geographic's Traveller magazine names Kerala as one of the "ten paradises of the world" and "50 must see destinations of a lifetime". Travel and Leisure names Kerala as "One of the 100 great trips for the 21st century". 

We were very fortunate to visit Kerala last year. It was quite an eye-opening experience for me. I never realized such incredible natural beauty existed not too far from where I had been living for years. 

We visited Kochi, Cherai Beach, Munnar, Thekkedy, Komarkum, Alleppy and Kovalam over a period of 8 days. We saw beautiful beaches, roadside waterfalls, amazing spice gardens, beautiful lakes, incredibly picturesque mountain ranges and national parks, and saw mountains and mountains full of tea plantations. We took gorgeous boat rides. We saw Kathakali and a native form of martial art and very old temples.  We wrapped it all up at the incredible Leela beach hotel in Kovalam. The local food was excellent and the hospitality was very good. I definitely rank it very high on the list of places to visit. 

These photos were taken in week #264 of the 300-week photo project for the 2nd born.