Where to go
Destinations
Kerala is not one place — it is a dozen landscapes layered on top of each other. Here are the five that stay with you longest.
Travelling Kerala
A state best taken slowly
Kerala rewards patience. The best moments here are rarely the ones you planned — they are the chai stop that turns into a two-hour conversation, the wrong turn that leads to a temple festival, the morning you wake early on a houseboat and watch the mist lift off the water. This is a guide to the places worth slowing down for.
The Backwaters
Where time moves at the pace of a slow current
A 900-kilometre network of canals, rivers, lagoons, and lakes running parallel to the Arabian Sea coast. The backwaters are Kerala's most iconic landscape — a world of houseboats, coconut palms, and villages that have barely changed in centuries. Alleppey (Alappuzha) is the gateway, but the quieter stretches around Kumarakom and Kuttanad reward those who venture further.
Highlights
- Overnight houseboat stay on the Vembanad Lake
- Sunrise canoe through the narrow village canals
- Nehru Trophy Snake Boat Race (August)
- Kuttanad — the rice bowl of Kerala, below sea level
Best time to visit
November to February
Traveller's tip
Book a smaller, locally-owned kettuvallam rather than a resort houseboat. You will sleep better, eat better, and see more.
Munnar
Tea gardens, mist, and the silence of high altitude
At 1,600 metres above sea level, Munnar sits in the Western Ghats where three mountain streams meet. The hills here are carpeted in tea — row upon row of manicured bushes stretching to every horizon. In the early morning, before the clouds burn off, the whole landscape disappears into white. It is one of the most quietly spectacular places in India.
Highlights
- Top Station — highest point in Munnar with views into Tamil Nadu
- Eravikulam National Park — home of the Nilgiri tahr
- Tea museum at the Tata Tea estate
- Neelakurinji bloom — once every twelve years, the hills turn violet
Best time to visit
September to March
Traveller's tip
Stay at least two nights. The first evening is for arriving; the second morning, when the mist is still low and the tea pickers are out, is when Munnar reveals itself.
Fort Kochi
Five centuries of trade winds written into the streets
Fort Kochi is where Kerala's history is most legible. Portuguese, Dutch, British, Jewish, and Chinese influences have all left their mark on this small peninsula — in the Chinese fishing nets that line the waterfront, the synagogue in Jew Town, the Dutch Palace, and the colonial bungalows converted into cafes and guesthouses. It is a place for walking slowly and reading the walls.
Highlights
- Chinese fishing nets at sunrise and sunset
- Mattancherry Palace (Dutch Palace) and its Kerala murals
- Paradesi Synagogue in Jew Town
- Kathakali and Kalaripayattu performances in the evenings
Best time to visit
October to March
Traveller's tip
Stay on the Fort Kochi peninsula itself, not on the mainland. The early mornings and late evenings — when the day-trippers have gone — belong to a different, quieter city.
Wayanad
Forests, tribes, and the green that has no name
Wayanad sits in the northern reaches of the Western Ghats, a plateau of coffee and spice plantations, ancient forests, and tribal communities who have lived here for thousands of years. It is less visited than Munnar and more wild — the kind of place where you can walk into a forest and feel genuinely far from everything. The Edakkal Caves contain petroglyphs that are over 6,000 years old.
Highlights
- Edakkal Caves — Neolithic rock carvings in a natural cleft
- Chembra Peak trek and the heart-shaped lake
- Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary — elephant and tiger territory
- Soochipara and Meenmutty waterfalls
Best time to visit
October to May
Traveller's tip
Hire a local guide for any forest walk. They know which paths are safe, which trees are which, and stories about the land that no guidebook carries.
Kovalam
Three crescents of sand at the southern tip of India
Kovalam is Kerala's most famous beach — three crescent bays separated by rocky headlands, with a lighthouse standing watch over the southernmost curve. It has been a traveller's destination since the 1970s and wears that history lightly. The Lighthouse Beach is the liveliest; Hawa Beach is quieter; Samudra Beach, to the north, is where the fishing boats still come in at dawn.
Highlights
- Lighthouse Beach at sunset — the lighthouse opens to visitors
- Ayurvedic treatments at the cliff-top resorts
- Vizhinjam fishing harbour — watch the catch come in at dawn
- Day trip to Padmanabhapuram Palace, 50km south
Best time to visit
November to March
Traveller's tip
The sea at Kovalam has strong currents. Swim only between the flags and within the lifeguard zones — the lighthouse end of Lighthouse Beach is the safest stretch.
Ready to go deeper?
Read the stories behind the places
Every destination here has a journal entry behind it — a first-person account of what it actually felt like to be there.
Browse the journal