Must see attractions in Kerala

  • Top Choice
    Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary

    Wayanad's ethereal 345-sq-km sanctuary is accessible only by two-hour jeep safari (₹680), on which you might spot langurs, chital deer, sambar, peacocks,…

  • Top Choice
    Periyar Tiger Reserve

    Bison, sambar, wild boar, langur, around 2000 elephants and 35 to 40 tigers wander the lushly green hills of South India’s most popular wildlife reserve,…

  • Top Choice
    Pardesi Synagogue

    Originally built in 1568, Mattancherry's synagogue was partially destroyed by the Portuguese in 1662, and rebuilt two years later when the Dutch took…

  • Top Choice
    Mattancherry Palace

    Mattancherry Palace was a generous gift presented to the Raja of Kochi, Veera Kerala Varma (1537–65), as a gesture of goodwill by the Portuguese in 1555…

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    Top Choice
    Museum of History & Heritage

    Occupying a handsome 120-year-old heritage building within the Kerala Tourism complex, this intelligently presented museum traces Kerala's history and…

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    Top Choice
    Napier Museum

    Housed in an 1880 wooden building designed by Robert Chisholm (a British architect whose Fair Isle–style version of the Keralite vernacular shows his…

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    Matha Amrithanandamayi Mission

    The incongruously salmon-pink Matha Amrithanandamayi Mission, 30km northwest of Kollam, is the famous ashram of one of India’s few female gurus,…

  • Chinese Fishing Nets

    The unofficial emblems of Kerala’s backwaters, and perhaps the most photographed, are the half-dozen giant cantilevered Chinese fishing nets on Fort…

  • Kerala Folklore Museum

    Created in Kerala style from ancient temples and beautiful old houses collected by its owner, an antique dealer, the family-run folklore museum houses a…

  • Thirunelly Temple

    Thought to be one of the oldest temples on the subcontinent, Thirunelly Temple huddles beneath the Brahmagiri Hills 15km southwest of Tholpetty. Non…

  • Hill Palace Museum

    Around 13km east of Ernakulam, this impressive 49-building palace complex was formerly the residence of the Kochi royal family. It now houses the…

  • Edakkal Caves

    These remote hilltop 'caves' – more accurately a small series of caverns – are celebrated for the ancient collection of petroglyphs in their top chamber,…

  • Fort St Angelo

    One of the earliest Portuguese settlements in India (constructed with permission from Kannur's rulers), the 1505 St Angelo Fort looms tall on a promontory…

  • Wayanad Heritage Museum

    In the village of Ambalavayal, 12km southwest from Sultanbatheri near the Edakkal Caves, this small but fascinating museum exhibits tools, weapons,…

  • Indo-Portuguese Museum

    The heritage of one of India’s earliest Catholic communities – including vestments, silver processional crosses, altarpieces from the Kochi diocese and…

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    Parambikulam Tiger Reserve

    Encompassing 644 sq km of glorious Western Ghats terrain and wildlife, nestled behind three dams in a valley at altitudes of 300m to 1440m, Parambikulam…

  • Bekal Fort

    The huge laterite-brick Bekal Fort, built between 1645 and 1660, is the largest in Kerala and sits on Bekal’s rocky headland with fine views. It passed…

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    Anjengo Fort

    Fringed by colourful fishers' houses, 12km southeast of Varkala, this laterite-and-concrete fort was built by the British East India Company in 1695…

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    Krishnapuram Palace Museum

    Two kilometres south of Kayamkulam (35km north of Kollam), this restored mid-18th-century palace is one of the finest remaining examples of royal Keralan…