The Blue water lily is an iconic fresh water plant which is also known as Blue Lotus of India. It is widely seen in Kerala mostly growing in the fresh water ponds and brackish backwaters. The leaves of the water lily are oval shaped with a notch in the leaf stem. The solitary flower blooms in the dawn and withers in the dusk.
Clove buds
Clove is one of the best known spices in the world. The clove tree is an evergreen tree which grows up to 10-12 meters and the spice itself is the flowering bud of the tree. The green, unopened buds grow in a bunch and are harvested when bright red. When dried the buds become dark brown and are used as a spice in numerous cuisines of the world.
We interacted with Mr. Orillard Pascal and Nathalia from France, who visited Gavi on March 29, 2012. They shared some of their photos.
We visited Gavi on Thursday. As it was quite hot, we thought we wouldn’t spot animals. But we were very lucky to see elephants grazing on the mountains. We also saw some birds and a Malabar giant squirrel. We enjoyed the spice tour and tea plantation visit too. We really enjoyed our stay at Cardamom County and activities around Thekkady.
Photo: Mr.Steve, Cardamom County Guest from UK
Thekkady, Kerala
Bharatanatyam originated around 2000 years ago, making it one of the most ancient of all Indian Classical Dances. It is performed along with south Indian vocal songs and with instruments like violin, flute, Mridangam (drums) etc. In the ancient times it was only performed in the temples and courts of South India.
Heliconia pendula are the herbaceous plants that grows up to the height of 0.5 to 4.5 meters. Heliconia are native to Central America and the Caribbean islands. An “exotic” in India, these are mostly found growing in the Western Ghats above 900m. The long leaves of this flower are nearly 15-300cm and grow opposite to one another on a non-woody stalk. Continue reading
In Kerala, almost every village has its own temple with an annual festival. So there is always a local festival happening somewhere or the other, each with its own flavor and color. The 800 year old Mamankam festival is celebrated annually at the Machad Thiruvanikav temple near Trichur, the cultural capital of Kerala. Continue reading
Native to the New World Tropics, allspice is a medium sized tree growing up to 35 to 42 feet in height whose leaves smell like a combination of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. The evergreen tree produces small berries which contains one or two seeds. This seed is priced as the second most expensive spice in the world market after Saffron.
Some of our guests at Cardamom County recently enjoyed the Nature Trail at Periyar. They were happy to share their photos with us.
Photo by Manoj Vasudevan
Mr. Manoj Vasudevan, who is a senior Tour Escort, took a good collection of pictures while on the trek with his group.
Cormorants
Group of Indian Gaur
The fuchsia flower is a beautiful ornamental exotic flower with striking colors which is widely grown in the Western Ghats. The majority of fuchsia species are native to Central and South America. There are almost 110 varieties of this species.
Photo: Mr.Steve, Cardamom County Guest from UK
Native to the New World Tropics, the Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia) is an ornamental tree that grows up to 18 meters. The tree is renowned for its clusters of fragrant purple trumpet shaped blossoms that bloom from March to May.
Ficus religiosa is a semi-evergreen tree that grows up to 30 meters in height with wonderful wide spreading branches. It is commonly known as Peepal tree, but is also known as Bodhi tree, Bo-tree and Holy tree. The fruit of the sacred fig is a favorite food for birds, monkeys, squirrels and fruit bats.
According to Buddhism (one of the religions of India), the Peepal is sacred because it is believed that Lord Buddha found enlightenment beneath this tree. Continue reading
The Country Fig is a moderate sized tree with spreading branches and smooth, reddish brown bark. The most distinctive aspect of this tree are the red, furry figs which grow directly out of its trunk in tight clusters. The tree grows abundantly in the southern parts of India, especially in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, where it is known as Athi.
Photo: Salim E.I
Early this morning my friends and I had a walk in the Periyar Tiger Reserve. My friend Mr. Senthil was looking toward the banks of the Periyar Lake when he found a herd of piglets marching with their mother.
Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) grows on a small evergreen tree that reaches up to 13-26 feet and is native to the forests of Central and South America. Being a tropical crop, Cocoa is mainly grown in the western ghats region of Kerala.
Photo:- Joshi Manjummel
The Tiger Dance is an art form of Kerala in which painted men imitate a tiger and its action. Pulikali is said to have originated in the 18th century when the soldiers belonging to the army of Sakthan Thamburan, who was the King of Cochin, first performed it.
Continue reading
Today we happened to meet Mr. & Mrs. Daya who stayed at Cardamom County from the US. They were happy to share their experience of safari at Periyar Tiger Reserve.
We were very pleased & happy to see the animals at Periyar Tiger Reserve. We had very good sighting of the gentle giant (Elephant), but were a little disappointed due to the distance. We could not spot them very nearly. We’ll go back again and hopefully we’ll see more before we leave tomorrow. We really enjoyed our experience in the Periyar Tiger Reserve.- Mr. Daya
Mr. & Mrs. Kash, our guests at Cardamom County, have shared photos from their jeep safari excursion to Gavi- a widlife sanctuary at the Periyar Tiger Reserve.
We stayed at Cardamom County, Thekkady in Kerala planning to spend our day inside the forest. The staff suggested we go to Gavi. The three hours of open jeep safari along the path situated between the mountains was so exciting. During the jeep safari we had some good mountain views & the driver showed & explained the depth and height of the mountains. Then we trekked inside the forest along with a forest guide. We didn’t have much luck spotting animals but saw some black monkeys (Niligiri Langur), Malabar giant squirrel & some birds. It was a wonderful & unique experience to be in Gavi, one of the beautiful settings of the Western Ghats. – Mr. Kash
Organikos 