THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Aymanam in Kottayam which got famous through Arundhati Roy’s 1997 Booker Prize-winning ‘The God of Small Things’, has been featured in Conde Nast’s 30 best places in the world to visit in 2022.
The village, bordered by Vembanad lake and Meenachil river, is “the stuff that makes people dream of taking a writing retreat to become a published author, or plugging out in a digital detox, or living a simple life close to nature,” points out Conde Nast. It also beckons tourists to visit Aymanam for undertaking bird watching tours, walking in paddy fields, visiting temples and churches and watching the martial art kalaripayattu and the classical dance kathakali.
“Aymanam may be a tiny village, but its pristine charm is spellbinding and its cultural diversity spectacular. Till recently, it was largely an unexplored area for tourists, but its recognition as a model RT Village has changed its profile on the global tourism map. The recognition by Conde Nast is a huge testament to it,” said Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas.
Other destinations
Bhimtal (Uttarakhand), Sikkim, Odisha, Goa, Kolkata, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Sindhudurg (Maharashtra), Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Qatar, Japan, the UAE, Egypt, Oklahoma (USA), Singapore, Sumba (Indonesia), London (UK), Istanbul (Turkey), Sicily (Italy), Serbia, Uzbekistan, and Seoul (South Korea) are also featured in the list.