Kerala
India · South Asia
Backwaters, the old port of Kochi, the tea hills of Munnar and Ayurveda, on the south-west coast of India.
Why visit
Why visit Kerala
Go for the water. The backwaters run parallel to the coast for most of the length of the state, and a night on a kettuvallam houseboat, a converted rice barge, is the classic way to see the villages and paddy fields of Kuttanad, where farming is carried on below sea level.
Go also for Ayurveda. Kerala kept the tradition alive through its physician families and institutions such as the Arya Vaidya Sala at Kottakkal, founded in 1902. A stay of two or three weeks under a doctor's supervision is described in our guide to how a panchakarma stay works.
Explore
What to see
Fort Kochi and Mattancherry. The Portuguese were granted the site in 1503 and built the first European fort in India. The Dutch followed in 1663 and the British in 1795. St Francis Church, where Vasco da Gama was first buried, the cantilevered Chinese fishing nets on the shore, Mattancherry Palace and the Paradesi Synagogue in Jew Town are all within a short distance. The Kochi-Muziris Biennale, held every two years, fills the old warehouses with art; the sixth edition ran from December 2025 to March 2026 and no later edition had been announced when this page was checked.
The backwaters. Vembanad, the largest lake in Kerala, lies between Kochi and Alappuzha. Houseboats leave from Alappuzha and Kumarakom.
Munnar. A hill town at about 1,500 metres, roughly 130 kilometres from Kochi, where three rivers meet among tea estates first planted in the late nineteenth century. Eravikulam National Park, nearby, protects the Nilgiri tahr, a mountain goat. The blue neelakurinji flower blooms on these hills about once every twelve years.
Before you go
Practical information
Best time to visit
December to February is the dry, cooler season and the busiest. The south-west monsoon arrives in June. The monsoon month of Karkidakam, from mid-June to mid-July, is traditionally regarded as the season for Ayurvedic treatment.
Getting around
Cochin International Airport serves Kochi and the centre of the state. Ferries and buses link Fort Kochi with Ernakulam, the modern city on the mainland. Alappuzha and Kumarakom are reached by road from Kochi, and Munnar by a winding mountain road of about 130 kilometres.
Practical notes
Kerala is a state of 900 kilometres of coast, not a single place: a week allows Kochi, a night on the backwaters and two or three days in the hills. An Ayurvedic programme is a separate journey: programmes of one to several weeks are usual, and the regime of diet, rest and early nights does not combine with sightseeing. Seek a qualified practitioner and follow their advice.
Continue exploring
More from India
IndiaDarjeelingTea estates, a World Heritage mountain railway and views of Kangchenjunga from a ridge in northern Bengal.Explore Darjeeling →
IndiaRajasthanForts, palaces and desert cities in north-west India, with fortress hotels, tiger reserves and the Maharajas' Express.Explore Rajasthan →
IndiaRishikeshThe yoga town on the upper Ganges in Uttarakhand, with ashrams, the evening aarti and Himalayan wellness retreats.Explore Rishikesh →