Essential Travel Information
Area :
38,863 sq km, which is 1.27% of India’s total land area and is located at the Southwest tip of the India’s main land
Climate :
Weather – Tropical
Summer – April-June [24 – 33 degree Celsius]
Monsoon – July-September [22 – 27 degree Celsius
Winter – October-March [22 – 32 degree Celsius]
High Season – December-May
Population :
29,032,828 (1991 census)
Capital :
Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum)
Language :
Malayalam; however English is widely spoken and understood by the fully literate populace of Kerala.
Number of Districts :
14 [ a district is equivalent to a county in the US]
Major Cities :
Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi (Cochin) (Ernakulam district) & Kozhikode (Calicut)
Sex ratio :
1036 women to 1000 men
Literacy rate :
100% [ approx.]
Time :
Kerala is 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of GMT , 4 hours and 30 minutes behind Australian Standard Time and 10 hours 30 minutes ahead of American Standard Time.
Access :
By Air :The International airports at Trivandrum (now Thiruvananthapuram) , Kochi (Cochin) (Cochin) & Calicut (now Kozhikode) facilitate easy access by air. Direct flights operate from Singapore, Colombo, Maldives, Kuwait, Muscat, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Doha and Bahrain.
By Rail- All major tourist destinations and important cities of India are well-connected by rail to Kerala.
Currency :
In Kerala, as elsewhere in India, the currency is the Indian Rupee (100 paise). All major credit cards find wide acceptance.
Food :
Most restaurants, coffee shops, eateries or cafes offer a Cosmopolitan fare for Chinese, Continental, Indian or American. You can find many who specialize in Kerala Delicacies.
Clothing :
Ideally light cottons. However the cooler hill stations may warrant woolens
Travel Formalities :
A Visa is a must to enter India. You can contact the Indian Embassy / High Commission in your country for the same. It is best to carry your passport on you all the time. You may also carry a travel insurance.
Communication :
Kerala has a well-knit communications network. With telephone, fax and internet centres in almost every corner. Enabling you to get in touch with any part of the world easily.
Health Centres :
Hospitals and health centres in Kerala offer world-class facilities.
Literacy rate : 100%Religion :
58 % Hindu, 21 % Muslim and 21 % Christians
Kerala is strategically located right in the middle of the travel-trade corridor connecting Europe to the Pacific Rim, at the south-western tip of India. Sandwitched between the Arabian Sea and the forested western ghat mountains, the state of Kerala is blessed with unique geographical and cultural features. Its overpowering tropical greenery with forty one rivers and countless waterways, fed by two annual monsoons, intoxicates every visitor.
Apart from being one of the most sought after tourist destinations in Asia, Kerala can claim some of the most startlingly radical credentials in India. Like being India’s only 100% literate state. Having India’s largest concentration of Science and Technology personnel. India’s highest life expectancy. India’s lowest infant mortality, India’s most balance mix of Hindus, Muslims & Christians. India’s cleanest, most peaceful, pollution free State, India’s highest Physical Quality of Life Index, India’s most advanced society.
” This small state in India has a population as big as California (USA) and a per capita annual income of less than US$ 300. But its infant mortality rate is low, its literacy rate among the highest on Earth, and its birthrate below America’s and falling faster. Kerala’s citizens live nearly as long as Americans and Europeans. Though mostly a lond of paddy-covered plains, statistically Kerala stands out as the Mount Everest of social development.