Places to Visit in Kerala: Western Ghats, Backwaters and Fort Kochi

The places to visit in Kerala divide between the Western Ghats and the coast, and the two want different months. Eravikulam National Park, which holds Anamudi and a large share of the surviving Nilgiri tahr, shuts through February and March for the calving season and reopens on 1 April. Choose between the high parks, Periyar and its made lake, Silent Valley, Fort Kochi and Mattancherry, and the backwaters.

The Western Ghats were inscribed as a World Heritage site in 2012, as 39 separate component parts grouped in seven clusters across four states. The guide to preparing for travelling in India takes the practical questions, and this takes the places.

Places to visit in Kerala

• Munnar and Eravikulam. The high tea country, with the highest peak in South India above it.
• Thekkady. The town at the gate of Periyar Tiger Reserve, in the Cardamom Hills.
• Silent Valley. The rainforest in Palakkad district that a dam was going to flood.
• Fort Kochi and Mattancherry. The old harbour quarters, with the synagogue and the churches.
• Thrissur and Athirappilly. The Kalamandalam, the Pooram ground and the biggest waterfall in the state.
• Alappuzha and Kumarakom. The backwater towns on Vembanad.
• Wayanad. Hill country in the north, on a different road from everything above.

Eravikulam, Anamudi and the two months the park is shut

Eravikulam closes to visitors through February and March and reopens on 1 April. The closure protects the Nilgiri tahr through its calving season, and it falls inside the months most visitors are told are the best time to come.

• What is inside it. Anamudi, at 2,695 metres, the highest peak in the Western Ghats and in South India.
• The animal it exists for. The Nilgiri tahr, a mountain goat found only in these hills.
• What you actually see. The Rajamala section, reached by park bus, with the tahr often close to the path.
• The flower. Neelakurinji flowers once in twelve years. Kerala Tourism records the last Munnar bloom in 2018 and expects the next in 2030.
• When to go instead. April to June, or September to January.
• Where you stay. Munnar, about forty minutes below the gate.

Periyar, and the lake that was made in 1895

The lake at the centre of Periyar is not natural. It filled in 1895 when the Mullaperiyar Dam was built, and the drowned trees still standing in the water are the forest that was there before.

• The reserve. 925 square kilometres in all, with a core of about 350, high in the Cardamom Hills.
• The dates. Renamed Periyar Tiger Reserve in 1978, with the core declared a national park in 1982.
• The range. From about 100 metres in the Pamba valley to 2,019 metres at Kottamala.
• The lake. About 31 square kilometres, and the boat on it is how most visitors see the reserve.
• What else is on offer. Guided walks and bamboo rafting through the forest department, booked at Thekkady.
• The spice belt around it. Kumily sits at the gate and the cardamom hills begin at the edge of town.

Silent Valley, and the forest that was not flooded

Silent Valley is a rainforest that a hydroelectric project was approved to flood in 1973. The project was abandoned in 1983 after a campaign that began in 1966, and the valley was declared a national park on 15 November 1984.

• Who fought it. The Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad led the campaign, which ran for seventeen years.
• What was at stake. An evergreen forest in Palakkad district and one of the last strongholds of the lion-tailed macaque.
• How it ended. The project was dropped, and Rajiv Gandhi formally inaugurated the park on 7 September 1985.
• What it became. The core area of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve from 1986.
• How you visit. Through the forest department at Mukkali, with numbers capped and vehicles arranged by the park.
• Why it is quiet. Visitor numbers are deliberately small, so this is not a half day stop on a longer drive.

Fort Kochi, Mattancherry and the Thrissur side

Fort Kochi holds four centuries of harbour history inside about two square kilometres. The Paradesi Synagogue at Mattancherry was built in 1568 and is described as the oldest active synagogue in the Commonwealth.

• The synagogue floor. Hundreds of hand painted Chinese porcelain tiles from the eighteenth century, no two the same.
• St Francis Church. Built in 1503. Vasco da Gama died at Kochi in 1524 and was buried here, and his remains went to Lisbon fourteen years later.
• The waterfront. The cantilevered fishing nets, worked by teams of four and five at the harbour mouth.
• Thrissur. The Pooram ground, and the Kerala Kalamandalam at Cheruthuruthy, founded by the poet Vallathol Narayana Menon and inaugurated in November 1930.
• Athirappilly. Eighty feet on the Chalakudy river, the largest waterfall in the state, an hour and a half from Thrissur.
• Palakkad. The fort, the Malampuzha gardens and the Kalpathy heritage streets, on the gap road into Tamil Nadu.

The backwaters and Vembanad

Vembanad is the longest lake in India at 96.5 kilometres, and it is the water that every backwater trip is actually on. It was listed as a wetland of international importance in 2002.

• The size. About 2,033 square kilometres, across Alappuzha, Kottayam and Ernakulam districts.
• The barrier. The Thanneermukkom bund, 1,252 metres long, splits the lake into a salt half and a fresh half.
• Alappuzha. The houseboat town, and the busiest stretch of water in the state.
• Kumarakom. The quieter side, with the bird sanctuary on the eastern shore.
• The quieter option. A country boat on the narrow canals rather than a houseboat on the open lake.
• When to go. November to February, when the water is lowest and the days are dry.

Kerala does not reward a route that tries to take the hills and the backwaters at the same pace. Our eight day journey through the Kerala highlands runs Thekkady, Munnar, Palakkad and the Kochi side. Customised tours is where the parks, their closing months and the driving days get arranged around one another.

Also Read

1. Things to Know Before Planning a Trip to Kerala
2. Cultural Places to Visit in India, and What Most People Miss
3. Ecotourism in India: Do Local Communities Benefit?

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Eravikulam National Park open all year?

No. It closes to visitors through February and March for the Nilgiri tahr calving season and reopens on 1 April. That closure falls inside the months most visitors are told are the best time to come. Anamudi, the highest peak in South India at 2,695 metres, sits inside the park.

What is the highest peak in South India?

Anamudi, at 2,695 metres, inside Eravikulam National Park near Munnar. It is the highest peak in the Western Ghats and the highest in India outside the Himalaya. The park around it is closed to visitors in February and March, so the months you can see it are April to January.

Why is Silent Valley National Park famous?

Because a hydroelectric project approved in 1973 would have flooded it, and a campaign that began in 1966 stopped it. The project was abandoned in 1983 and the valley was declared a national park on 15 November 1984. It is an evergreen rainforest in Palakkad district and a stronghold of the lion-tailed macaque.

Which is the longest lake in India?

Vembanad, at 96.5 kilometres, which is the lake the Kerala backwaters sit on. It covers about 2,033 square kilometres across Alappuzha, Kottayam and Ernakulam districts and was listed as a wetland of international importance in 2002. The Thanneermukkom bund divides it into a salt half and a fresh half.