Some Exotic Locations Of Kerala That Pull Within The Film -Tourism

Kerala, a state on India’s tropical Malabar Coast, with its palm-lined beaches, exotic wildlife, hill stations and backwaters are amongst just a few of the prime locations that serves the purpose to shoot any form of media. Ads, short films or even feature length productions gain a lot from the picturesque locations of this “God’s Own Country”. Film makers go crazy over its glamour and bask in the glory of its heavenly beauty.

Each and every piece of land here is beauteous and irrespective of whether it is captured on canvas, paper or on screen, its beauty sparkles. And the fact is generously elemented in Bollywood movies like Bombay, Dil Se, Mistress of Spices, Nishabdh and many more.

Here we are providing the sneakpeak of some of its exotic locations that attract film producers mostly :

● Athirappally and Vazhachal waterfalls : Located on the edge of the Sholayar forest range in Thrissur district, Athirappally and Vazhachal are two different waterfalls. These are absolutely picturesque. Athirappally’s height is over 80 feet, and its water fall into the Chalakudy River.

 Vazhachal is a bird-lovers’ paradise and is blessed with greenery abounding scenic spots. It is home to exotic fauna and rare species like  hornbill can also be found here.

● Chettuva Backwaters in Thrissur :Known for its placid and serene backwaters, Chettuva is a prime shooting location for many regional films. It is located around 35 km from Thrissur and the nearest railway station is at Guruvayoor, about 8 km away. With a secluded ambiance it is one of the favorite locations of many film crews.

● Munnar the quant town : Being the most sought after tourist destination of South India, Munnar is a hill station located in Idukki district. Large expanse of tea plantations, forests, wild life, valleys and mountains make it an ideal shooting location for movie makers. It is in-situ at the merging point of rivers – Mudrapuzha, Nallathanni and Kundala. Sitting at about 1600 m above sea level, this also happened to be the summer resort of the British during the colonial days. Ram Gopal Varma’s ‘Nishabdh’, Mani Ratnam’s ‘Dil Se’ and Gurinder Chadha’s ‘Mistress of Spices’ were all  shot in Munnar.

● Varkala : With nearly 600km of Arabian Sea shoreline, Kerala is home to many gorgeous beaches and Varkala is one of them, with its own uniqueness of religious value. The beach is also known as the Papanasham beach, so a dip into its holy water and praying at the 1000-year-old Janardhana Swamy Temple is believed to cleanse a person of all sins. Plus, mineral water springs originating from the cliff around is believed to possess medicinal properties.

● Kovalam : Not only as a shooting location, but Kovalam beach has been an international tourist attraction for several decades now. It is sited a few kilometres south of Thiruvananthapuram city where a rock promontory jutting out to the sea has created three crescent shaped beaches. These beaches are perfect locations for sun bathing and surfing.  Additionally tourists can also be availed facilities like rejuvenating ayurvedic massages and treatments, catamaran cruising and special ethnic cultural programmes on the beach side.

● Nelliyampathy : Nelliyampathy is a captivating hilly countryside and is adored by trekkers and picnickers mostly. The interesting part is  its Ghat road that reaches the hill station by taking about 10 hairpin turns through the evergreen forests of the Sahya Ranges. The spot is an ideal retreat for nature and wildlife enthusiasts.

● Vythiri in Wayanad : Wayanad district’s Vythiri is an appealing natural getaway, known for upholding its pristine charm till today. Tourists acknowledge it as a coveted picnic point for its sprawling spice plantations and luxuriant forests. With hills, waterfalls, rivulets, lakes and rare flora interspersed on a green landscape, this place is the first choice of many film makers. The 60 km away Kozhikode is the nearest railway station to it.

This is not all, but this South Indian state encompasses many more stunning locations like, Bekal Fort, Chandragiri Fort, Chinnar, Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Ranipuram Hills and the list simply goes endless.

Not only Kerala, but the whole of Southern India is opulent with enumerable film shooting locations. For instance Andhra pradesh’s Kurnool is an emerging spot in this segment. Being the gateway to Rayalaseema, it offers a wide variety of choice to the film producers. Additionally the proximity to Tollywood and the cost effective locations is the prime reason why producers throng in on Kurnool nowadays.