BackwaterThemes:NatureFoodRomanceFamily
Kerala
Alleppey (Alappuzha)
Kettuvallam nights on Vembanad and paddy below sea level
- Ideal stay
- 2 days
- Best time
- November to March; the snake boat race falls on the second Saturday of August
State · South India
Kerala
राज्यदक्षिण भारत
Backwater houseboats, tea slopes and temple drums at dawn
The place
Travelling in Kerala
परिचय
A green strip between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, Kerala runs on water. Houseboats cross Vembanad Lake, Munnar's tea slopes climb towards Anamudi, Fort Kochi keeps Chinese fishing nets and a sixteenth-century synagogue, and Theyyam, Kathakali and Kalaripayattu keep older knowledge alive.
Kerala is only about 580 kilometres long but stacks four landscapes side by side: coast, backwater, midland paddy and high Ghats. The backwaters are a linked system of lakes and canals behind the coast, and Vembanad, India's longest lake at roughly 96 kilometres, carries the converted rice barges known as kettuvallam past toddy shops and duck herders. Inland, Munnar's Kannan Devan hills are carpeted in tea to about 2,000 metres, with Anamudi, the highest peak in South India at 2,695 metres, rising above Eravikulam National Park and its Nilgiri tahr. Fort Kochi is the historical crossroads: cantilevered Chinese fishing nets on the shore, the Paradesi Synagogue of 1568 with its Cantonese floor tiles, Mattancherry Palace murals and Portuguese, Dutch and British layers on the same street. Culture is performed, not displayed: Theyyam possession rituals in north Malabar between December and April, all-night Kathakali, and the drums of Thrissur Pooram. Signature journeys pair Kochi, Munnar and Alappuzha, or add Wayanad and Varkala for a slower ten days.
What it is famous for
Kerala, in three lists
पहचान
Famous for
- Alappuzha backwaters
- Munnar tea estates
- Fort Kochi
- Periyar Tiger Reserve
- Kathakali and Theyyam
- Ayurveda retreats
- Nehru Trophy Boat Race
On the table
- Kerala sadya
- Appam with stew
- Karimeen pollichathu
- Puttu with kadala curry
- Thalassery biryani
- Fish moilee
- Payasam
Through the year
- Onam
- Thrissur Pooram
- Nehru Trophy Boat Race
- Theyyam season in Malabar
- Vishu
10 places we travel to
Places to visit in Kerala
गंतव्य
Every Kerala destination we plan journeys around, with the best months and the ideal stay for each.
Backwater
FortThemes:HeritageCultureNatureOffbeat
Kerala
Bekal & Kannur
Laterite ramparts over the sea, and Theyyam gods in the groves
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Best time
- November to April; the Theyyam season runs roughly from December to April
CityThemes:HeritageCultureFoodPhotography
Kerala
Kochi
Chinese nets, a Dutch palace and five centuries of harbour trade
- Ideal stay
- 2 days
- Best time
- October to March; the Biennale runs through winter in alternate years
BeachThemes:WellnessFamilyFoodRomance
Kerala
Kovalam
Three crescent bays, a striped lighthouse and serious Ayurveda
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Best time
- October to March; September is quiet and green
BackwaterThemes:NatureWellnessRomanceWildlife
Kerala
Kumarakom
A heronry on Vembanad, and the village of Ayemenem next door
- Ideal stay
- 2 days
- Best time
- November to March for the lake and its migrants; June to August for monsoon Ayurveda
Hill stationThemes:NatureRomanceAdventurePhotography
Kerala
Munnar
Clipped tea hills, Nilgiri tahr and the highest peak down south
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Best time
- September to March; June to August brings heavy monsoon and landslide-prone ghat roads
WildlifeThemes:WildlifeNatureAdventureFamily
Kerala
Thekkady & Periyar
A drowned valley, spice country and guides who were once poachers
- Ideal stay
- 2 days
- Best time
- October to March; April and May are hotter but concentrate wildlife at the lake
CityThemes:CultureSpiritualHeritagePhotography
Kerala
Thrissur
A hill of teak, a ring road and Kerala's loudest festival
- Ideal stay
- 2 days
- Best time
- October to March; the Pooram falls in April or May and Athirappilly is fullest after the rains
BeachThemes:WellnessSpiritualNatureRomance
Kerala
Varkala
Kerala's only sea cliff, with springs, ashes and yoga above it
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Best time
- October to March; the sea is dangerous and most cliff cafes shut in the monsoon
Hill stationThemes:NatureAdventureWildlifeOffbeat
Kerala
Wayanad
Neolithic petroglyphs, coffee slopes and elephants across the border
- Ideal stay
- 3 days
- Best time
- October to May; the June to September monsoon is heavy and the slopes are landslide-prone
Kerala tour packages
Journeys through Kerala
यात्राएँ
2 of our routes pass through Kerala. Each one is a starting point — tell us your days and we reshape it.
8 days · 7 nightsThemes:NatureWellnessFood
Easy · Best Sep–Mar
Kerala Backwaters and Tea Hills
Fort Kochi to a Vembanad houseboat, by way of the high tea country
Route: Kochi → Munnar → Thekkady & Periyar → Alleppey (Alappuzha) +1 more
- Group
- 2–12 (private)
- From
- ₹68,000 pp
21 days · 20 nightsThemes:HeritageCultureFood
Moderate · Best Nov–Feb
Grand India Odyssey: Delhi to the Coromandel Coast
Three weeks down the whole length of India, Delhi to Chennai
Route: Delhi → Agra → Jaipur → Udaipur +6 more
- Group
- 2–8 (private)
- From
- ₹2,45,000 pp
Time it right
Kerala festivals
त्योहार
AprApril or early May, on the Pooram asterism in the Malayalam month of Medam. The sample fireworks run a few nights earlier and the main display begins around three in the morning.
Thrissur Pooram
Kerala's loudest and most disciplined spectacle. Two temple factions, Paramekkavu and Thiruvambadi, face each other across Thekkinkadu Maidan with rows of caparisoned elephants, hundreds of drummers and a silent duel of embroidered parasols. Sakthan Thampuran devised it in 1798 to outdo a rained-out festival.
Kerala
SepLate August or September, ten days ending on Thiruvonam in the Malayalam month of Chingam. Dates follow the Malayalam calendar and shift by two to three weeks each year.
Onam
Kerala's harvest and homecoming festival for the exiled king Mahabali, marked by flower carpets that grow a ring larger each morning, a sadya of two dozen dishes eaten off a banana leaf, and snake boats with a hundred rowers racing at Aranmula and on Punnamada Lake.
Kerala
Eat here
What to eat in Kerala
खानपान
VegetarianKerala
Kerala Sadya
A vegetarian feast of twenty or more dishes served on a plantain leaf in a fixed order, from pickle and pappadam at the tip to rice with parippu, sambar, avial, olan and thoran, ending in payasam. You eat with the right hand and fold the leaf towards you when done. Thrissur does it best at Onam.
VegetarianKerala
Appam and Stew
Fermented rice and coconut batter swirled in a deep appachatti so it sets lacy at the rim and spongy at the centre, served with a pale stew of vegetables or chicken in coconut milk, cinnamon, curry leaf and whole pepper. It is the Syrian Christian breakfast of Fort Kochi and the Kuttanad backwaters.
From the journal
Reading for Kerala
पत्रिका
· Culture · 5 min
Festivals of India: A Month-by-Month Travel Calendar
A year of Indian festivals arranged by month, with where each one is at its most vivid, how far ahead to book, and what actually happens on the ground, from Thrissur Pooram's elephants to Hornbill in Nagaland and Dev Deepawali on the Ganga.
· Tips · 6 min
First Time in India: Practical Travel Tips That Work
Everything we tell first-time travellers before they land: how many places to attempt, what a SIM card and a day of cash actually cost, how to eat street food safely, what to wear into a temple, and the four scams worth recognising.
· Guide · 6 min
Best Time to Visit India: A Month-by-Month Guide
India is not one climate but six, from a Himalayan cold desert at 3,500 metres to hills that take eleven metres of rain a year. Here is the whole calendar, month by month, with the regions, roads and parks that open and close with it.
· Guide · 6 min
Kerala Backwaters Houseboat Guide: Routes, Costs, Best Time
How to book a kettuvallam without regret: which jetty to start from, what a night on board actually costs in rupees, the canals worth asking your crew for, what gets cooked on the stern, and the months when Vembanad looks its best.
5 more in South India
Next door in South India
पड़ोसी राज्य
StateSouth India
Andhra Pradesh
Tirumala pilgrims, Godavari deltas and Rayalaseema's red gorges
- Capital
- Amaravati
- Destinations
- 4
StateSouth India
Karnataka
Hampi's boulders, Hoysala stone and coffee-scented Western Ghats
- Capital
- Bengaluru
- Destinations
- 10
StateSouth India
Tamil Nadu
Chola bronzes, gopuram skylines and filter coffee at six
- Capital
- Chennai
- Destinations
- 10
State
Union territorySouth India
Puducherry
French streets, Tamil temples and Auroville's golden sphere
- Capital
- Puducherry
- Destinations
- 1