Category: Kottayam / Pala, Kerala

Kottayam is Kerala’s Christian heartland — the high-range district where Syrian Christian culture has been alive for two thousand years, rubber estates carpet the hillsides, and the backwaters of Vembanad Lake lap at the district’s western edge. The literary capital of Kerala, home to the first printed book in the language, Kottayam is a district of ancient churches, family-owned plantations, and the particular quiet of a community that has always known who it is. From the backwaters at Kumarakom to the pilgrim town of Pala to the wildlife of Periyar, Kottayam rewards those who come slowly and stay long.