Must-see attractions in Northern Kerala

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,…

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

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

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…

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

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…

The location of the eastern entry gate to Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, accessible by two-hour jeep safari only.

The coastal town of Thalasseri (formerly Tellicherry), 20km southeast of Kannur, was a major cardamom and pepper export hub under the British East India…

Around 2km southwest of Mananchira Sq, this 650-year-old mosque is an attractive (mostly) wooden four-storey building supported by impressive wooden…

Housed in part of the royal palace of the Arakkal family, a powerful Kannur dynasty with its roots dating to the 12th century, this harbourfront museum…

Framed by low palm-sprinkled headlands and a shallow lagoon, this beautiful powdery gold-sand expanse, 8km southeast of Kannur centre, is home to the area…

Isolated Kappil Beach, 6km north of Bekal, is a beautiful, lonely stretch of fine gold-hued sand with calm water, but beware of shifting sandbars…

Around 18km southeast of Bekal, Nileshwar's gorgeous beach is a tranquil, palm-bordered expanse of blonde sand that fades into the hazy distance; there…

Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary can only be visited by two-hour jeep safari; this is the location of the reserve's northern gate.

The Kannur region is known for the manufacture of beedis, those tiny Indian cigarettes deftly rolled inside green leaves. This is one of the largest and…

An 11km drive east from Kalpetta, the Uravu nonprofit collective of 200 workers (most of them women) creates all sorts of artefacts from bamboo. You can…

Established in 1955, this is one of the oldest cooperatives in Kannur and occupies a large building where weavers busily work away to the click of looms…

Kannur town's main sandy strand is the blonde, 4km-long Payyambalam Beach, 3km west of the train station, just past the military cantonment.

Seemingly being allowed to collapse into oblivion, this ancient, partly ruined roadside Jain temple displays fine stone carvings backed by lush greenery…

This bright-white church opposite Mananchira Sq was established by Swiss missionaries in 1842; its unique European-Keralan architecture features a three…