Kerala: Cultivation of saffron in ‘South Kashmir’ would boost tourism

Thiruvananthapuram: While the azafran blooms, the picturesque Kanthalur near the hill station of Munnar in Kerala, known as the “Cachimeera of the South”, attracts more tourists. Fruits such as mangoes, oranges, morass and strawberries are cultivated in large quantities in this region, which has a climate similar to that of Cashmira. That is why this area has been turned into a center of agritourism. Since azafran is also cultivated successfully in the region (a recent development), tourist interest in Kanthalur is high. Kanthalur recently won the Centre’s “Gold Award” for the Best Rural Tourism Project, which also boosted the tourist potential of this high-end village. “Earlier, most people visiting Munnar used to come only to Kanthallur, which is about 50 kilometers away. But today many tourists, mostly from India, come to visit Kanthallur alone,” the coordinator said. Kerala Tourism Mission in-charge Rupesh Kumar K.D.H. Said that the tourist flow has increased significantly during this Christmas and New Year season. Many tourists visiting Kanthallur, located in Idukki district, visit Azafran Farm out of curiosity these days. However, as soon as the flowers were harvested, he was a bit disappointed. “Many tourists come to my farm to see the azafran, but the flowers are harvested,” says Ramamurthy, a farmer who cultivates azafran in collaboration with the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) in the framework of the Institute for Agricultural Technology Applications. . , I car. He said, since the KVK is planning to cultivate azafran in more fields in Kanthalur as well as nearby places, it will boost tourism in Kanthalur during Kota. PT Mohandas, president of Kanthallur Panchayat, said a large section of tourists visiting Kanthallur are interested in seeing the various fruit and vegetable farms of the area. This is where the Azafran sea definitely added a charm. The area also counts a large number of agritourism centers that offer accommodation on farms. Kanthalur received the ‘ORO’ award in the category of Best Rural Tourism Project by Project Street (Turismo Sustainable, Tangible, Responsible, Experiential, Ethnic, Turistico) of Kerala. Imagine tourist projects that fit the culture and topography of each region. Kanthalur also implemented women-friendly tourism programs and introduced special tourist packages for women to attract solo female travelers and solo female tourist groups.