Cherthala Town -the nerve centre (Click here)

Cherthala (formerly Shertallai) is a small beautiful coastal town 40 kms south of Kochi (Cochin) on the National Highway 47 with its Taluk administrative boundaries extending up to the magnificent beaches at Arthinkal and Thaickal on the west and to the sandy shores of the serene Lake Vembanad on the east. It has the best silica enriched white sands in Asia, similar to that found in Hawaii. The town and its suburbs are well connected by road (right on NH 47) and by rail (a major rail hub on the Alleppey-Ernakulam coastal line). To reach the Kochi International Airport(CIAL), it is 75 minutes drive from the centre of the town.

It is a stop-over hub on the way to Kumarakom, India's finest bird sanctuary and the ultimate backwater tourism destination - Alleppy (once known as Venice of the East). Apart from the lush green palm fringed coastal geography, one will definitely enjoy the good food.(Get off at Cherthala by train or by a state transport bus service and hire a pre-arranged taxi cab to one of the coasts or travel upto Kumarakom economically. Enjoy a house boat ride on lake Vembanad (check for safety precautions and ask for the service of a polite guide).You will find it a culinary excursion as well with varieties of lake fish ,prepared in front of you!

Yet another option is to enjoy the sea coast,staying at a class beach hotel ( Marari beach resort of the Casino group and various backwater resorts are a few kms away from downtown, but need advance reservations).

Historically speaking, St. Thomas, one of the 12 disciples of Jesus Christ travelled through Cherthala, 19 years after the crucifixion and established a church in Kokkothamangalam (a suburb)here. Another mysterious, historical evidence from Cherthala is the recent excavation of ancient ship ruins in Thaickal; the ship-building technology is far superior from that of Europeans or Arabs but the carbon dating dates it beyond 1000 AD! Pre arranged paying guest accommodation is another option travelers can think of if they want to explore more of the historic sites in and around Cherthala.

For light Food and beer, look for Hotel Karthiyayini or Hotel Travancore Palace or Hotel Cherthala House. Keep memories of an auto-Rikshaw ride to any of these eateries.

This is the home-town of Mr. A.K Antony- now, the Defense Minister of INDIA and a three times Chief Minister of Kerala. Vayalar Ravi, Union Cabinet Minister for Non-resident affairs, K R Gouri, former-minister and a veteran communist leader, Vellappalli Natesan (Gen. Secretary of SNDP yogam), S D Shibulal, founder director of Infosys (the second richest Keralite/Malayalee!),Ace Cine Actor Rajan P. Dev,the most-popular song writer Vayalar Sharatchandra Varma, son of late Vayalar Ramavarma ,the emerging playwriter Jayasoma, son of late S.L.Puram Sadanandan (veteran Communist and Cine-Drama writer) et.al.would love Cherthala as their proud home-land,that nurtured their talents and tactics.

For more info visit Wikipedia- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherthala
or World66.com www.world66.com/asia/southasia/india/kerala/cherthala
(if it does not work,copy and paste the link on your browser window)

This information is compiled by Jova (nickname) currently based Toronto,Canada, and is supported and complemented by Cherthalites around the globe. This text is adapted from the aricle written by same author published on www.world66.com and other publications. (Looking for some good pictures of Cherthala landmarks for these web pages).