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Information and tours
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All the
tourist offices
at the
airport
are open during flight times. The Government of India's counter (tel 0471/501498) offers general information regarding Kerala and the adjacent states, while the Government of Kerala has two counters, one at the domestic terminal (tel 0471/501085) and the other at the international terminal (tel 0471/502298), offering Kerala-specific information including, for example, on backwater cruises. The Government of Kerala also has an office in the main block at the
Thampanoor bus stand
(Mon-Sat 10am-5pm; tel 0471/327224) which is good for general information and maps and sells tickets for backwater cruises between Kollam and Alappuzha. They have another counter at the
railway station
(tel 0471/334470).
The
Kerala Tourist Development Corporation
(KTDC), the best organized of all the Indian state tourist corporations, is designed primarily to sell its own products and promote cultural events (check out
www.keralatourism.com
and
www.ktdc.com
). The KTDC's main visitor centre, opposite the Government museum at Park View (tel 0471/321132), can book accommodation in their good-value
hotel
chain, and they sell tickets for various
guided tours
. Most of these, including the city tour (daily 8am-7pm; Rs95), are far too rushed, but if you're pushed for time try the
Cape Comorin
tour (daily 7.30am-9pm; Rs230), which takes in Padmanabhapuram Palace (except Mon), Kovalam, Suchindram temple, and Kanniyakumari. They also offer their own
backwater cruises
with flexible itineraries; for further information contact their head office at Mascot Square (tel 0471/318976, fax 314406,
ktdc@vsnl.com
). Several small companies are also starting backwater cruises within striking distance of Thiruvananthapuram for those without the time to explore the much more rewarding Kuttanad region; try Island Queen at Pazhikkara, Pachalloor (tel 0471/481559). Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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India,
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