If travelling was a last man standing game, the ultimate challenge would be India. It is vast, chaotic and complex like a beehive. And an unlikely introduction to India would be Kerala, a green a salubrious tropical state in the southwestern tip of India.

Kerala is vastly different from the hot weather and humid cities of North India. Artistically tucked inside a pocket of land resembling a bitter gourd, Kerala is protected by the long wall of Western Ghats and warm fleetness of Arabian sea.

To explore India in a path less travelled by, one must choose Kerala. Here you don’t see the holy cows, the inebriated Sadhus, or snake charmers or chained monkeys. This is an India akin to what you have read in Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book, or any Ruskin Bond novels. This is the off-beat India, where colours aren’t as bright as the ones in Jaipur, royalty is revered as much as the Taj Mahal. This is the land of dotting coconut trees, emerald backwaters, slithering vines of black pepper, soothing silence of Ayurveda.

Kerala is blessed with tropical forests, large backwaters, beautiful beaches and hill stations. Literacy rate is the best in the country which means you will always find someone who could speak English. Over one third of the population migrated to the oil-rich middle east making it easy for cultures to blend and hospitality supreme. Best in healthcare and human development index in India, this small state of over 35 million people is the perfect way to begin your Indian odyssey.

Kerala holds its traditions close to its chest. Here you will find god’s walk along the paddy fields, prophecy has a shining reflection in the invaluable Aranmula mirror, elephants bejewelled in golden ornaments stand tall before the century old temples.

For every traveller Kerala is an escape. It has a relaxing vibe, something strange and soothing as compared to the bragging callousness of the other part of India. Before you jump into the pandemonium that India is, visit Kerala, the other side of chaos.