Kerala's attractions are tucked away in the Cardamom Hills and along the Malabar Coast, laced between 41 rivers and plantations of teak, pepper, and rubber, all kept green by two monsoons each year. Much of the landscape and wealth of Kerala is dominated by tall, elegant coconut palms. No part of this tree is wasted and the state has a flourishing coir (fibre) industry. Coffee plantations spread across the foothills of the Western Ghats, tea grows at higher altitudes and, in southern Kerala, and there are acres of rubber trees. Another important crop, sold to North India, is the areca nut which grows on graceful palms.

The Malabar Coast grows the world's best pepper. Half of Europe engaged in power struggles to command supplies of this small, pungent berry. Cardamom and cashew nuts are other important cash crops and no compound is without a few banana trees. The flatter, fertile land supports two or three annual harvests of rice. Tasty Keralan rice —eaten with practically every meal — is parboiled before dehusking, giving a characteristic fat grain flecked with red, a process that preserves the vitamin D.