Kerala
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Kerala

Backwaters, tea hills and spice-scented coast

Photo: Augustus Binu, CC BY-SA 3.0
Capital

Thiruvananthapuram

Best time to visit

September to March

Getting there

Kerala has four international airports (Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Kannur) and a strong rail network.

Ideal trip

10 to 14 days to cover the highlights

About Kerala

Kerala is lush, green and easy to travel. Houseboats drift through the backwaters, tea carpets the Western Ghats and the coast is lined with cliffs and fishing nets.

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Popular cities in Kerala

Been to any? Mark them on your India travel map.

Alappuzha (Alleppey)AthirappillyBekalGuruvayurKalpetta (Wayanad)Kannur (Cannanore)KasaragodKochi (Cochin)KollamKottayamKovalamKozhikode (Calicut)KumarakomMalappuramMunnarPainavu (Idukki) (Idukki)PalakkadPathanamthittaPonmudiThekkady (Kumily)Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum)Thrissur (Trichur)VagamonVarkala

Top places in Kerala

MunnarPhoto: Kondephy, CC BY-SA 4.0

Munnar

Rolling tea estates, Eravikulam National Park and the Nilgiri tahr.

Best time: September to MayBase: Munnar2 daysMountainsNature
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From Wikipedia

Munnar is a town located in the Idukki district of the southwestern Indian state of Kerala. Munnar is situated at around 1,600 metres above mean sea level, in the Western Ghats mountain range. This ancient plantation settlement, dominated by its tea industry, is also a growing modern hill station.

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Video by Chad and Claire on YouTube

Alappuzha backwatersPhoto: Augustus Binu, CC BY-SA 3.0

Alappuzha backwaters

Overnight houseboat cruises on palm-lined canals and lakes.

Best time: September to MarchBase: Alappuzha2 daysNature
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From Wikipedia

Alappuzha or Alleppey is a city and municipality on the Laccadive Sea in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the headquarters of Alappuzha district, located about 62 km south of the commercial city of Kochi and 152 km northwest of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Alappuzha has a population of 240,991 people, and a population density of 3,675/km2. Alappuzha dates back to the Sangam era, and was mentioned by Pliny the Elder as far back as the 1st century AD as Baraces.

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Video by Shortleft Travels ™ on YouTube

Fort KochiPhoto: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0

Fort Kochi

Chinese fishing nets, colonial streets, Jew Town and the Kochi-Muziris Biennale.

Best time: October to MarchBase: Kochi2 daysHeritageFoodCity
Directions
From Wikipedia

Fort Kochi, formerly also known as Fort Cochin, is a region of Kochi city in Kerala, India. Fort Kochi takes its name from the Fort Manuel of Kochi, the first European fort on Indian soil, controlled by the Portuguese East Indies. This is part of a handful of water-bound islands and islets toward the south-west of the mainland Kochi, and collectively known as Old Kochi or West Kochi. Adjacent to this is the locality of Mattancherry.

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Video by Jen and Stevo ~ Two Can Travel on YouTube

VarkalaPhoto: Kondephy, CC BY-SA 4.0

Varkala

Red laterite cliffs above a long beach, with cafes along the cliff edge.

Best time: October to MarchBase: Varkala2 daysBeach
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From Wikipedia

Varkala is a town and municipality in Thiruvananthapuram district of the Indian state of Kerala. The Varkala cliff formations found along a 7.5 km stretch of the Arabian Sea coast, formed by erosion during the Miocene–Pliocene, has been declared as a National Geological Monument by the Geological Survey of India. The Janardana Swami Temple, dedicated to Hindu god Vishnu, is located at Varkala.

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Video by Grishma Udayawar on YouTube

Thekkady (Periyar)Photo: Wouter Hagens, Public domain

Thekkady (Periyar)

Boat safaris on Periyar Lake, spice plantation walks and bamboo rafting.

Best time: October to MayBase: Kumily2 daysWildlifeNatureFood
Directions
From Wikipedia

Periyar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area located in the districts of Idukki and Pathanamthitta in Kerala, India. It is a renowned elephant and tiger reserve. The protected area encompasses 925 km2, of which 350.54 km2 of the main zone was declared as the Periyar National Park in 1982. The park is a repository of rare, endemic, and endangered flora and fauna and forms the major watershed of two important rivers of Kerala: the Periyar and the Pamba.

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Video by Priya & Prashant Manore on YouTube

WayanadPhoto: Ravi Dwivedi, CC BY-SA 4.0

Wayanad

Green hills with Edakkal caves, Chembra peak, tea estates and wildlife sanctuaries.

Best time: October to MayBase: Kalpetta3 daysMountainsWildlifeAdventure
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From Wikipedia

Wayanad district, or Wynad, is a district in the north-east of the Indian state of Kerala, with its administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, the southern portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is set high in the Western Ghats with altitudes ranging from 700 to 2,100 meters and some areas resemble to Eastern Ghats including Kolagapara, Kurumbalakotta and some parts of Vadakkanad and Chekadi.

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KovalamPhoto: Georgeumartin, CC BY-SA 4.0

Kovalam

Crescent beaches with a red-and-white lighthouse, close to Thiruvananthapuram.

Best time: October to MarchBase: Kovalam2 daysBeach
Directions
From Wikipedia

Kovalam is a beach and seaside resort in the city of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, India. Kovalam is located 12.6 km southeast of the city center. The beaches around Kovalam are popular vacation destinations for both domestic and international travellers.

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KumarakomPhoto: Jigyasu, CC BY-SA 4.0

Kumarakom

Calm Vembanad lake resorts, a bird sanctuary and the best houseboat sunsets.

Best time: September to MarchBase: Kumarakom2 daysNatureFood
Directions
From Wikipedia

Kumarakom is a tourism destination near the city of Kottayam in Kerala, India. It is near the Vembanad Lake, the largest lake in the state of Kerala. In January 2023 The New York Times mentioned Kumarakom's backwater tourism.

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ThiruvananthapuramPhoto: Rahulrnath001, CC BY-SA 4.0

Thiruvananthapuram

The capital, with the Padmanabhaswamy temple, Napier Museum and Kuthiramalika palace.

Best time: October to MarchBase: Thiruvananthapuram1 dayHeritageSpiritualCity
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From Wikipedia

The Padmanabhaswamy Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu in Thiruvananthapuram, Keralam, India. It is one of the 108 Divya Desams which are considered the sacred sites of the Sri Vaishnava tradition. The temple's principal deity is Anantha Padmanabhaswamy, a form of Vishnu depicted in yogic sleep, on his serpent mount named Shesha. Padmanabhaswamy is the tutelary deity of the Travancore royal family. The titular Maharaja of Travancore, Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma, is the current trustee of the temple.

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Athirappilly FallsPhoto: Jan Joseph George, CC BY-SA 4.0

Athirappilly Falls

Kerala's biggest waterfall in the Sholayar forest, a short drive from Kochi.

Best time: June to JanuaryBase: Chalakudy1 dayNature
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From Wikipedia

Athirappilly Falls is situated in Athirappilly Panchayat in Chalakudy Taluk of Thrissur District in Kerala, India on the Chalakudy River, which originates from the upper reaches of the Western Ghats at the entrance to the Sholayar ranges. It is the largest waterfall in Kerala, which stands tall at 81.5 feet. Just a short drive from Athirappilly is the Vazhachal Falls, which is close to dense green forests that are home to many endangered and endemic species of flora and fauna.

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Bekal FortHidden gemPhoto: Vinayaraj, CC BY-SA 3.0

Bekal Fort

A huge keyhole-shaped sea fort in north Kerala with a long, quiet beach.

Best time: October to MarchBase: Kasaragod1 dayHeritageBeach
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From Wikipedia

Bekal Fort is a medieval fort built by Shivappa Nayaka of Keladi in 1650 AD, at Bekal.

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VagamonHidden gemPhoto: Visakh wiki, CC BY-SA 3.0

Vagamon

Rolling meadows, pine forest and paragliding in the Idukki hills.

Best time: September to MayBase: Vagamon1 dayMountainsAdventure
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From Wikipedia

Vagamon is an Indian hill station and a revenue village located in Peerumedu Taluk of Idukki district, and also Meenachil taluk and Kanjirappally taluk of Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India. Located in the Western Ghats 25 kilometres east of Erattupetta on the border of Kottayam-Idukki districts, Vagamon is known for its natural environment. The Vagamon glass bridge is the longest cantilever glass bridge in India.

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Food to try

Kerala sadya on a banana leaf, appam and stew, karimeen pollichathu, puttu and kadala, Malabar biryani

Where to stay

Fort Kochi for heritage, houseboats in Alappuzha and Kumarakom, tea bungalows in Munnar, cliff stays in Varkala

Getting around

Trains run the length of the state; buses and cabs for hills. KSRTC is cheap and frequent

Good to know

Book houseboats with a registered operator. Onam (August to September) is the best festival time.

History of Kerala

Kerala, the narrow strip of land between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The Edakkal Caves in Wayanad contain rock engravings of human figures, animals and symbols that are thousands of years old. Across the state, archaeologists have found megalithic burials from the Iron Age, including rock cut caves and the stone umbrellas known as kudakkallu. Ashoka's edicts in the 3rd century BCE mention a people called the Keralaputras, among the earliest references to the region.

In the early centuries CE, Kerala was part of the Tamil speaking world described in Sangam literature, and the Chera kings ruled much of the coast. The region became famous for its spices, especially black pepper, which drew traders from Arabia, Greece and Rome. The great port of Muziris, believed to have been near present day Kodungallur, was a centre of this trade, and excavations at Pattanam have revealed Roman pottery and other imported goods. Through these sea routes came many faiths. According to long held traditions, Christianity arrived in the 1st century, and Kerala also has some of the oldest Jewish and Muslim communities in India.

From around the 9th century a later line of Chera rulers governed from Mahodayapuram near Kodungallur. The philosopher Adi Shankara, born at Kalady, is traditionally dated to around the 8th century. After the Chera kingdom broke up in the 12th century, Kerala was divided among several kingdoms, the most important being the Zamorins of Kozhikode, the rulers of Kochi and the kingdom of Venad in the south. During this period Malayalam developed as a language distinct from Tamil.

In 1498 the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama landed near Kozhikode, opening a new era of European contact. The Portuguese built forts and trading posts, including at Kochi, and were later replaced by the Dutch. In 1741 Marthanda Varma of Travancore defeated the Dutch at the Battle of Colachel and went on to build a strong kingdom in the south. In the late 18th century Malabar in the north was invaded by Mysore and then came under the British, while Travancore and Kochi became princely states under British protection. Leaders such as Pazhassi Raja and Velu Thampi Dalawa resisted British power in the early 19th century.

The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw powerful movements for social reform led by figures such as Sree Narayana Guru and Ayyankali, who campaigned against caste discrimination. The Vaikom Satyagraha of 1924 to 1925 fought for the right of all people to use the roads near temples, and in 1936 the Temple Entry Proclamation in Travancore opened temples to all Hindus regardless of caste. Kerala also took an active part in the national freedom movement.

After independence, Travancore and Kochi were merged on 1 July 1949 to form the state of Travancore Cochin. On 1 November 1956 the States Reorganisation Act joined this state with the Malabar district and the Kasaragod area, while some southern areas, including Kanyakumari, went to Madras State. The new state of Kerala was born, with Thiruvananthapuram as its capital, and 1 November is still celebrated as Kerala Piravi, the birthday of Kerala. Fort Kochi, the Edakkal Caves and Bekal Fort let visitors explore this layered past today.

Kerala: quick answers

What is the best time to visit Kerala?

September to March

How do I reach Kerala?

Kerala has four international airports (Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Kannur) and a strong rail network.

How many days do I need for Kerala?

Plan 10 to 14 days to see the highlights, such as Munnar, Alappuzha backwaters, Fort Kochi.

What food should I try in Kerala?

Kerala sadya on a banana leaf, appam and stew, karimeen pollichathu, puttu and kadala, Malabar biryani

Where should I stay in Kerala?

Fort Kochi for heritage, houseboats in Alappuzha and Kumarakom, tea bungalows in Munnar, cliff stays in Varkala

Neighbouring states

Timings, fees, permits and road conditions change. Please check official sources before you travel.