Places to Visit in Kerala: A Complete Travel Guide

The backwaters are the postcard image of Kerala, and they earn it. This network of lakes, canals and rivers, fringed by coconut palms and paddy fields, is best explored from Alleppey (Alappuzha) — the houseboat capital — or the quieter, more luxurious Kumarakom on the eastern shore of Vembanad Lake, Kerala’s largest. The classic experience is an overnight on a converted rice-barge kettuvallam: you cruise slowly past villages, share a freshly cooked Kerala meal on deck, and moor for the night under the stars.

• Alleppey (Alappuzha) — the busiest hub, with the widest choice of houseboats and the famous Nehru Trophy snake-boat race in August.
• Kumarakom — calmer and greener, with a bird sanctuary and a cluster of upscale lakeside resorts.
• Vembanad Lake — the vast central lake that ties the region together; sunset here is the trip’s quiet highlight.
• Village canoe tours — for a closer, low-impact look at backwater life than a big houseboat allows.

Climb inland from the coast and Kerala turns cool and green. Munnar, sitting around 1,600 m in the Western Ghats of Idukki district, is a sea of manicured tea gardens that ripple over the hills in every direction. Mornings are misty, afternoons are crisp, and the drive up — past waterfalls and viewpoints — is half the pleasure. Give it at least one full day, and ideally two nights, to slow down and explore.

• Tea gardens and a tea museum — walk the estates and learn how Munnar’s leaf is plucked, withered and rolled.
• Eravikulam National Park — home to the endangered Nilgiri tahr (a wild mountain goat) and, near the rare flowering of the Neelakurinji, a sea of blue blooms.
• Mattupetty Dam — a reservoir with boating and gentle hill scenery just outside town.
• Top Station — the highest viewpoint in the area, looking out over the Tamil Nadu plains when the clouds clear.

A few hours from Munnar, Thekkady is the gateway to the Periyar Tiger Reserve, one of South India’s finest wildlife sanctuaries. The headline experience is a boat safari across Periyar Lake, where elephants, gaur, sambar deer and a great variety of birds come down to the water’s edge — tiger sightings are rare but not impossible. The surrounding hills are also Kerala’s spice heartland, thick with cardamom, pepper, clove and cinnamon.

• Periyar boat safari — the easiest way to spot wildlife from the water; the early-morning slot gives the best chances.
• Spice plantation walk — a guided tour explaining how everyday spices grow, with plenty to taste and buy.
• Guided nature walks and bamboo rafting — for travellers who want to go deeper into the forest on foot or water.
• Tribal heritage and a Kalaripayattu show — a window onto Kerala’s ancient martial art.

Fort Kochi, part of the larger city of Kochi (Cochin), is where Kerala’s layered history is easiest to read. Centuries of Arab, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch and British trade have left behind a wonderfully walkable old town of colonial facades, churches, godowns and spice warehouses. It’s the best place in Kerala to slow down on foot, browse art cafés and antique shops, and catch a traditional performance in the evening.

• Chinese fishing nets — the iconic cantilevered nets along the waterfront, best at sunset.
• Mattancherry Palace — the "Dutch Palace", known for its remarkable Hindu mural panels.
• Jew Town and the Paradesi Synagogue — a lane of antique and spice shops around one of the oldest synagogues in the Commonwealth.
• St Francis Church — once the burial site of Vasco da Gama, among India’s oldest European churches.
• An evening Kathakali show — Kerala’s elaborate classical dance-drama; arrive early to watch the performers apply their make-up.

Kerala’s coastline and far north add the final variety. In the south, beach towns make a relaxed end to a trip; in the north, Wayanad’s plantations and forests are an off-beat alternative to Munnar. Most of these can be added depending on which airport you fly in and out of.

• Kovalam — a trio of curving beaches near Trivandrum, with the Lighthouse Beach as the lively centre.
• Varkala — dramatic red laterite cliffs above a beach, lined with cafés and a string of Ayurveda and yoga spots.
• Wayanad — green hill country in the north famed for the prehistoric carvings of the Edakkal Caves, waterfalls and wildlife.
• Athirappilly Falls — Kerala’s broadest waterfall, an easy day trip inland from Kochi and at its thundering best just after the rains.

The sweet spot for Kerala is September to March: the monsoon has freshly painted everything green, the air is cooler, and December–January brings dry, comfortable days (and peak crowds and prices). The monsoon itself, roughly June to August, is lush and atmospheric — and the traditional season for Ayurveda — but it is genuinely wet, so plan around it rather than fight it.

For a first trip, allow 6–8 days. A clean, well-paced route is: Kochi → Munnar → Thekkady (Periyar) → Alleppey backwaters → coast, finishing at a beach or with an Ayurveda stay. Distances look short on a map but the roads are winding, so a private car-with-driver is by far the most relaxed way to link the regions.

• Flying in: Kochi (COK) is the most convenient base; Trivandrum (TRV) suits a beach-focused south trip, and Calicut (CCJ) is handy for Wayanad and the north.
• Open-jaw it: flying into one airport and out of another saves backtracking on a linear route.
• Pack light layers: the coast is hot and humid while Munnar and Wayanad can be cold after dark.
• Book houseboats and peak-season stays early — December and January fill up well in advance.

• Alappuzha

  Alleppey Backwaters

  A network of lakes, canals and lagoons around Alappuzha, famous for overnight houseboat cruises on Vembanad Lake.

• Idukki

  Munnar

  A high-altitude hill station in the Western Ghats known for sweeping tea gardens, Eravikulam National Park and cool, misty weather.

• Kochi

  Fort Kochi

  A historic harbour quarter of Kochi with Chinese fishing nets, colonial architecture, Mattancherry Palace and evening Kathakali shows.