Kerala ,Backwaters,india

Kerala (Backwaters)

 The Kerala backwaters are a chain of brackish lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast of Kerala state in southern India.Imagine the creaking sound of the joints in the rice barge's bamboo frame on a moonlit night with the brightly shining stars forming an ethereal canopy overhead as you lie on the upper deck of your houseboat.Envisage a scene where the sound of leaves rustling as the wind blows through the coconut palm and banana trees shading the canal and the early morning chanting that gently fills the air coming over from a far-off Hindu temple wakes you up to a mesmerizing morning view of the misty stretches of backwaters and dim silhouette of the vegetation and surrounding villages.Far from the frenzied atmosphere which is evident in the rest of India, backwaters in Kerala offers unhurried and laid back travel experience along the lush paddy field strewn and coconut grove shaded Malabar Coast.

 

 

 

 What is Kerala Backwaters
A chain of brackish lagoons and canals linking five large lakes, Kerala Backwaters is a maze of water bodies stretching over 900 kilometers. One of the most important aspect of tourism in Kerala, the backwaters were used traditionally as waterways to ferry rice and spices from one places to another in kettuvallams or the traditional rice barges which now forms the major tourist attraction and ferry tourists and visitors from one destination to another.
In the midst of the coconut palm-fringed backwaters are number of tourist destinations, towns and village that serve as the starting and concluding point of the Kerala Backwater tours, cruises and even houses Kerala backwater resorts. Almost all the time, the flotilla of Kerala houseboats and kettuvallams keep gliding through this vast expanse of labyrinth.
 

From tourism point of view, Alappuza (Alleppey)- often compared to Venice shrouded as it is with canals and coconut palm-shaded streets - serves as the gateway to Kerala Backwaters. However, the spellbinding ride from the historical town of Kollam to the Alappuza, which also happens to be the longest, is considered to be as the best aspects of Kerala backwater tourism. The ride not only gives a peek into the soul-quenching greenery that Kerala is blessed with but also a glimpse of the village life and rural economy of the state.
Top Kerala Backwater Destinations
The important Kerala backwater destinations are Alappuza, Kollam, Kasargod, Kozikode(Calicut), Kumarakom, Kuttanad and Thiruvananthpuram. Surrounded by Kallada river, Asthamudi Lake, Sasthamkoda Lake, Munroe Island in Kollam is one of the most popular backwater destinations in Kerala. Vembanad Lake in Kumarakom which also houses Kumarakom Lake Resort, one of the finest luxury hotels in Kerala backwater, is yet another popular backwater destination in Kerala.
 

Kerala Houseboats: Intrinsic Part of Backwaters in Kerala
Kerala houseboats - locally known as kettuvallams - are integral part of the vast expanse of waterways and form the backbone of Kerala backwater tourism. Traditionally these rice barges served the purpose of transportation of locals as well as for ferrying goods like spices and rice from paddy fields to market town and ports. Today these beautiful crafts serve as most popular mode of transportation for tourists and also serve as accommodation in form of Kerala houseboats.

Kerala Backwater Day Tours

Day tours in Kerala backwaters are operated by state tourism department as well as organized privately by tour operators. Full day backwater cruises are available for around INR 1000 per person and lasts for 8-9 hours. The full day Kerala backwater cruise is ideally suited for visitors looking to get a glimpse of the rural village life and local cultural interaction.
Half day cruises as well as sunset cruise are also operated in Kerala backwaters. Most of the houseboat cruises are available from Alappuza, the gateway to Kerala backwaters. Many resorts and hotels also own houseboats and offer sunset cruises as well as overnight trips.

Top Kerala Backwaters Cruise Routes

The most popular and widely used routes for backwater cruises in Kerala are:
Alappuza - Kollam Backwaters Cruise
This is the longest and definitely the best cruise to experience the majestic beauty and charm of the palm-fringed backwaters and rural life of Kerala. The cruise generally last for a day or you could do the overnight cruise from Alapuzza to reach Alumkavadu in Kollam, a manufacturing hub for traditional houseboats made using bamboo, rattan, coir and wood.

Alappuza - Kumarakom Backwaters Cruise
This backwater cruise route features the widest waterways and canals and also takes you to the popular Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary. The concluding destination of this backwater cruise is Vembanad Lake. Most of the luxury resorts and best hotels in Kerala are located by the bank of this lake. With its natural setting and soothing backwaters, Kumarakom also happens to be a popular destination for Ayurveda treatments in Kerala housing a number of Ayurveda Resorts.

Alappuza - Kuttanad Backwaters Cruise
Yet another of the spellbinding Kerala backwaters cruise routes is from Alappuza to Kuttanad. This particular route features some of the best glimpses of the farming and village life of Kerala. Kuttanad, also referred to as the "rice bowl of Kerala" is renowned for its paddy fields which intriguingly lie below the sea level.

Top National Parks In India

Carbett National Park:

This is an unbelievably exciting tour that takes you to two of the most amazing and offbeat tourist's destination of India.

 

 

Jim Corbett National Park, which is a part of the larger Corbett Tiger Reserve, a Project Tiger Reserve lies in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand. The magical landscape of Corbett is well known and fabled for its tiger richness. Established in the year 1936 as Hailey National Park,
 Corbett has the glory of being India's oldest and most prestigious National Park. It is also being honored as the place where Project Tiger was first launched in 1973. This unique tiger territory is best known as the father who gave birth of the Project Tiger in India to protect the most endangered species and the Royal of India called Tigers.

Spans over an extent of 520 square kilometers, its whole area comprises of hills, marshy depressions, riverine belts, grasslands and large lake.
 It is among the few tiger reserves in India that allows overnight stays in the lap of the National Park.
 Nature watch and wildlife viewing in the park is done in an open four wheeler Jeep and on elephant back.

Sheltering a healthy population of tigers and rare species like Otters and the endemic fish eating crocodile,
 the national park is one of the most sought after destinations for the wildlife buffs. Dhikala, situated at the border of the extensive Patil Dun valley, is the most popular destination in Corbett because of its superb location and sheer abundance of wildlife present. 

 

Kanha National Park:

Kanha Tiger Reserve, also called Kanha National Park, is one of the tiger reserves of India and the largest national park of Madhya Pradesh state in India.
Kanha National Park is nestled in the Maikal range of Satpuras in Madhya Pradesh, the heart of India that forms the central Indian highlands.

The lush sal and bamboo forests, grassy meadows and ravines of Kanha providedinspiration to Rudyard Kipling for his famous novel "Jungle Book".The Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh came into being in 1955 and forms the core of the Kanha Tiger Reserve, created in 1974 under Project Tiger.The Park's landmark achievement is the preservation of the rare hardground Swamp Deer (Barasingha), saving it from near extinction. Stringent conservation programs for the overall protection of the Park's fauna and flora, makes Kanha one of the most well maintained National Parks in Asia.

A heightened attraction within the Park is Bamni Dadar,  popularly known as Sunset Point that offers the most awe-inspiring backdrop of the sunset against grazing Sambhars and Gaurs, magnifying the natural splendor of the area. Aside from its diverse wildlife and bird population,
 the frequent sightings of Tigers roaming in the wild at Kanha Wildlife Sanctuary remain the most popular draw.

How many of you have seen a tiger before? Most of the answers will be ambiguous because everyone wants to see a tiger.Then where can one spot TIGER? Well, even if there are circuses and zoo's all over India, there's some kind of a thrill you experiences when all of a sudden you came across a TIGER roaming freely in the wilderness of its natural habitat: the fields and forests of India. There are nucious beast,merous Tiger reserves in India, that are preserving this fero but nowhere can
you see them as often, and as regularly as in Kanha National Park.

The climate of this region is tropical. Summers are hot and humid with a maximum and minimum temperature of 40.6°C and 23.9°C.
 Winters are pleasant with an average maximum and minimum temperature of 23.9°C and 11.1°C, respectively. The annual average rainfall is 152 cm.
The park is closed from July to mid-October during monsoon.

Bandhavgarh National Park:

Bandhavgarh National Park is one of the wild life sanctuaries in the Indian state Madhya Pradesh.  

 

 

 The national park is situated at 197 km away north-east of Jabalpur. This wild life park derived its very name from an ancient fort in the area. Bandhawgarh National Park belongs to the Vindhyan mountain ranges of central India and it boasts to have the highest density of tiger population in the country.Now there are about 46 to 52 tigers one can spot here.

 

 

The forests of Bandhavgarh are the white tiger jungles of the yesteryears. However, no white tigers have been reported from the wild in the last 50 years,
 and it is believed that less than a dozen have been seen in India in about a hundred years. And yet when white tigers were sighted, it was right here in Bandhavgarh.
Once a hunting reserve of the royal family of Rewa in more  recent times, Bandhavgarh was declared a park in 1968. This is also the site where the famous  WHITE TIGERS of Rewa were discovered.
Wandering through the Bandhavgarh national park on an Elephant Back, the chances of seeing a tiger are quite good. Among the other wild attractions include, Nilgai, Chausingha, Chital, Chinkara, Wild Boar and sometimes a Fox or Jackal.In the Bandhavgarh National Park the visitors can be entered on elephant back apart from the four wheelers.

 

 

Once a hunting reserve of the royal family of Rewa in more recent times, Bandhavgarh was declared a park in 1968. This is also the site where the fanmous  WHITE TIGERS of Rewa were discovered.
Wandering through the Bandhavgarh national park on an Elephant Back, the chances of seeing a tiger are quite good. Among the other wild attractions include, Nilgai, Chausingha, Chital, Chinkara, Wild Boar and sometimes a Fox or Jackal.

 

 

In the Bandhavgarh National Park the visitors can be entered on elephant back apart from the four wheelers. In the elephant safaris a forest department guide always accompanies the guests who will direct and tell about the flora and fauna of the park.
The best time to visit the park is early in the morning or after 4 pm to spot the animals. The park is closed from 1st July to 15th October,
 which is the monsoon season.

Ranthambore National Park:

Ranthambore National Park is one of the biggest and most renowned national park in Northern India. The park is most famous for it's diurnal tigers.

 

 

The park is located in the Sawai Madhopur district of southeastern Rajasthan, which is about 130 km from Jaipur.
Being considered as one of the famous and former hunting grounds of the Maharajas of Jaipur,
today the Ranthambore National Park terrain is major wildlife tourist attraction spot that has pulled the attention of many wildlife photographers and lovers in this destination.

 

 

The vegetation of the Ranthambore is the tropical dry deciduous and tropical thorn type due to its hilly track, water is confined from narrow valleys and some lakes. There are several lakes in the park which known as Padam Talab, Raj Bagh Talab and Malik Talab.
Ranthambore National Park is probably the best place in the world to see wild Indian tigers in its only dry deciduous natural habitat.Tigers can be easily spotted even during the day time. Ranthambore is also known for famous heritage site due to ruins and Fort.It is a home for different species of animals and birds.

 

 

The herbivorous population includes chital, sambar, blue bull and chinkara.Samabr deer is the pride of park. There is no park in Asia, where these largest of all Asiatic deer can be seen so frequently during the day time. Wild boars and langurs are common scene , Among the reptiles, crocodiles can be seen basking in the sun near the lake. Other carnivores in the park include leopard, hyena , jackal, caracals, jungle cat ,rattle and the tiger is the biggest attraction of the park. There are more than 300 varieties of birds in Ranthambore National Park.

 

 Timings for entry into, and exit from, the park vary according to the season. In winters, due to the shorter duration of daylight hours, the morning entry time is later and evening exit time is earlier.

Sunderbans National Park:

Sunderbans national park is located at the South Eastern tip of the 24 Paraganas district in the state of West Bengal.

 

 

It got its name from one of the mangrove plants known as Sundari (Heritiera Minor).
The Sundarbans are a part of the world's largest delta formed by the rivers Ganges,Brahmaputra and Meghna. Sundarban is a vast area covering 4262 square kms in India alone, with a larger portion in Bangladesh. 2585 sq. kms of the Indian Sundarban forms the largest Tiger Reserve and National Park in India. The total area of the Indian part of the Sundarban forest, lying within the latitude between 21°13'-22°40' North and longitude 88°05'-89°06' East, is about 4,262 sq km, of which 2,125 sq km is occupied by mangrove forest across 56 islands and the balance is under water.

 

 

The park is surrounded by a buffer zone of 885 square kilometers. This also mainly consists of mangrove forests. The core area of the park has it's own natural boundaries with the river Matla on it's West, the river Haribhanga on it's East, with Netidhopani and Gosba in the North.
The four Sunderbans national parks have been lumped together as they all share common features of the estuarine mangrove ecosystem.

 

 

The main attractions of the Sunderbans are the Tiger, of which the delta harbor large reptiles like the Monitor Lizard, Estuarine Crocodile and the Olive Ridley Turtle, for which there is a conservation programme in the Indian park. The Leopard, Indian Rhinoceros, Javan Rhinoceros, Swamp Deer, Hog Deer and Water Buffalo have all become locally extinct from the delta in recent decades.

 

 

The best time to visit Sunderbans is during winters between December and February.although the park is open for longer from September to March. This is the period when the maximum migratory birds are also present here.