On the southwestern tip of India lies the verdant paradise of Kerala, a land cross-crossed by magical backwater lagoons and rivers, and guarded by the western Ghat mountain range. It is a land with little or no child mortality and nearly 100% literacy. There are fascinating Hindu elephant festivals and one can explore the fishing communities overlooking the Arabian Sea, as well as the spice, tea and coffee growing regions of the interior and the Cardamom Hills. Ayurvedic medicine and Kar Hastha, the world's earliest martial art was born here.