There is a version of Kerala that you find in every travel guide. Munnar, Alleppey, Kochi, Thekkady, and Kovalam. Five names that repeat across hundreds of itineraries from hundreds of operators, all roughly the same shape, all roughly the same five-to-seven days.
This version is real. Those places earned their fame honestly. But it is not the complete picture of Kerala, and after a decade of building tours from Kochi, we have learned that the most rewarding trips are often the ones that include a few places visitors have not heard of before they arrive.
This post is our attempt to be honest about all of it. The famous places worth visiting. The ones we actually send guests to most often. And a handful of offbeat spots that almost no one knows about but that consistently produce the best stories at the end of a tour.
The famous five places- Fort Kochi | Munnar | Thekkady | Alleppey | Kovalam
These are the places nearly every Kerala itinerary includes. We will not pretend they are overrated, because they are not. But the way most operators handle them differs significantly from how we approach them, and that matters.
Munnar
Munnar is the most visited hill station in South India for a reason. The tea plantations at 1,500 metres genuinely look like the photographs. The walks through the estates are unhurried and beautiful. Eravikulam National Park, just outside town, holds the largest population of Nilgiri Tahr in the world and gives you views across the rolling grasslands of the Western Ghats.
What changes Munnar from a good visit to a memorable one is staying long enough to walk. Most itineraries spend a single night in Munnar, which means a long drive in, a quick tea factory visit, and a long drive out. We recommend at least two nights, ideally three. The walks here are some of the best in Kerala, and they need time. Apart from sightseeing visits, Munnar has some very interesting trekking, hiking and camping possibilities.
Best time: October to March. Avoid July and August unless you specifically want to see misty plantations in heavy rain.
Alleppey backwaters
The Alleppey houseboat is iconic for a reason — drifting through narrow canals lined with village houses, paddy fields, and small temples is a particular kind of slow that does not exist in many other places in the world. But Alleppey itself, the town, is busy and not especially scenic. The magic is on the water, not on land.
We typically build houseboat stays as either single overnight cruises (one night on the boat, then move on) or as a two-night booking with a houseboat plus a day at a backwater village resort. The longer option is calmer and lets you experience the rhythm of backwater life rather than just photographing it.
Best time: November to February. Some operators run cheaper monsoon houseboats; the boats are fine, but the experience is dampened by closed windows and reduced visibility.
Fort Kochi
Kochi is divided into several distinct neighbourhoods, and the part worth visiting is Fort Kochi — the old colonial quarter on the western tip of the city. The Chinese fishing nets, the spice market in Mattancherry, the Paradesi Synagogue, the Portuguese-era churches, and the Dutch colonial buildings make this one of the most layered urban experiences in India.
Fort Kochi is also where most international guests arrive into Kerala and where we run our office. We are biased, but we genuinely think two nights here is the right amount of time — enough to see the major sites, eat well at the small fish stalls, and walk the quiet lanes in the early morning before tour buses arrive.
Best time: October to March.
Thekkady (Periyar)
Thekkady is the gateway to Periyar Tiger Reserve, one of India’s oldest protected forests. Tiger sightings are very rare, but elephants, gaur, sambar, and an extraordinary range of birds are common. The bamboo rafting trips, three or four hours moving silently along the lake with a forest guide – produce some of the best wildlife encounters in South India outside of Kabini. There are various forest based activities and you can book boat cruise through the Periyar reservoir offering wildlife sightings
Around Thekkady itself is a network of spice plantations where you can walk and learn about cardamom, pepper, vanilla, and cinnamon as actively cultivated crops rather than supermarket products. Combined with the forest, this makes Thekkady worth two nights.
Best time: October to March, with February-March being the peak wildlife viewing window as water sources dry up.
Kovalam
Kovalam is the famous beach. The crescent of sand, the lighthouse, the line of cafes along the promenade. It is genuinely lovely in the early morning and at sunset. In between, it is crowded.
We rarely send guests to Kovalam any more, mostly because the alternatives (Except for the Leela Raviz Hotel, it offers an amazing ocean view) further South Kovalam and Poovar or up the coast (Marari, Varkala) offer the same beach experience with much less density. If you want a Kerala beach as part of your tour, we usually recommend one of those instead. But Kovalam itself is not bad, it is just no longer the only option, and the others are better.
Best time: October to March.
The places we actually send guests to most
This is where the post becomes useful. These are the destinations that consistently produce the best feedback from our guests and that we genuinely recommend over more famous alternatives in many cases.
Varkala
Varkala has what Kovalam used to have before it became crowded. A long red sandstone cliff edge with cafes and small hotels perched along it, a quiet beach below, and a much more relaxed atmosphere. The cliff walk in the evening, with the sun dropping into the Arabian Sea, is one of the most pleasant things you can do in Kerala.
There is also a slight bohemian quality to Varkala, the cafes lean into long lunches, the music is European, and the pace is unrushed. For travellers who want a coastal stop that does not feel like a packaged beach resort, this is the better choice.
We usually suggest two or three nights for Varkala, often as a relaxed ending to a tour before the flight home. Surfing is an interesting activity hear during the winter.
Best time: November to March.
Kannur
Kannur is north Kerala, less visited by international travellers, and significantly more interesting than its reputation suggests. The long stretches of empty beach, the small Theyyam ritual performances in village shrines (when in season), the Muzhappilangad drive-in beach, and the working fishing harbours create a Kerala that feels closer to how the state was twenty years ago.
This is not a polished tourist destination. It is real Kerala without the tourism overlay. Guests who come here often describe it as the most authentic part of their trip. We recommend two to three nights for travellers willing to slow down and step outside the standard itinerary.
Best time: October to March, with December-January peak for Theyyam season.
Wayanad
Wayanad sits in north Kerala, separated from the rest of the state by the Western Ghats. The landscape is different — wider, drier, with significant tribal populations and a long history of plantation agriculture (coffee, pepper, cardamom). The wildlife sanctuary here borders Karnataka’s Bandipur and Tamil Nadu’s Mudumalai, making it part of one of the most important elephant corridors in India.
Wayanad rewards walkers. Edakkal Caves, the Pakshipathalam trek, the climb up Chembra Peak, and lesser-known forest walks with naturalist guides are all worth time. The plantation stays here are also some of the best in Kerala – quiet, well-maintained, often with their own working coffee plots.
Best time: October to March.
Athirapally
Athirapally is the largest waterfall in Kerala, set in dense rainforest about two hours from Kochi airport. The falls themselves are magnificent in the monsoon and pleasantly impressive in the dry season. But what makes Athirapally special is what is around it, the Sholayar forest, the Vazhachal range, and a handful of small lodges within the forest that give you access to genuine rainforest birdwatching and the occasional Great Hornbill sighting.
We often include Athirapally as a day trip from Kochi or as a one-night stop on the way to or from Munnar. It works well either way. For wildlife-focused guests, two nights here gives time to do guided forest walks at dawn and dusk.
Best time: October to May.
Kumarakom
We mentioned Alleppey already, but the reason Kumarakom appears here is that it is a fundamentally different way to experience the backwaters. Where Alleppey is about being on the houseboat moving through canals, Kumarakom is about staying at a single backwater property and exploring from there. It is calmer, less commercialised, and the bird sanctuary attached to it is genuinely worth a morning’s visit during migration season.
For travellers who find the houseboat experience appealing but do not want to spend a night on a moving boat, Kumarakom is the right answer. We often pair it with a half-day shikara (small traditional boat) outing rather than a full houseboat.
Best time: November to February.
Worth visiting if you have time
These are the offbeat options. None of them are mainstream Kerala. All of them have something specific that the standard itinerary cannot offer.
Vagamon
Vagamon is a small hill station between Munnar and Alleppey that almost no international travellers know about. The meadows here are unlike anywhere else in Kerala, open grasslands rolling between low hills, with paragliding, simple trekking, and one of the most peaceful village atmospheres in the state. The drive from Munnar to Vagamon takes you through some of Kerala’s least-visited cardamom country.
We recommend Vagamon for guests on longer tours (10+ days) who want a quiet day or two between the busier Munnar and Alleppey stops. It is not for everyone, the infrastructure is basic, but for the right traveller, it produces real memories.
Valparai
Valparai is technically in Tamil Nadu, sitting in the Anamalai Hills just over the Kerala border. We include it because for wildlife-focused guests it is one of the most reliable places in South India to see the Lion-tailed Macaque (an endemic, endangered primate), Nilgiri Langur, and significant numbers of Indian Bison. The tea plantations here are quieter than Munnar, and the forest is denser.
For photographers and wildlife travellers willing to add Tamil Nadu to their itinerary, Valparai is worth three days. For mainstream travellers, it is too remote and too specialised.
Munroe Island
Munroe Island is a cluster of small islands in the Ashtamudi backwaters near Kollam, very different from Alleppey. The canals here are narrower, the experience is by kayak or small canoe rather than houseboat, and the village life along the waterways is visible and accessible in a way Alleppey no longer is. Most guests who experience Munroe come away saying it was the highlight of their backwater days.
We usually suggest a half-day or full-day Munroe Island canoe trip combined with a Kollam coastal extension, rather than a multi-night stay. The accommodation here is basic.
Poovar
Poovar is at the very southern tip of Kerala, where the Neyyar River meets the Arabian Sea. The estuary creates a unique landscape, beach, river, mangrove forest, and backwater all overlapping in one small area. Some of the better beach properties in Kerala are located here, with private boat transfers across the river to the resort.
We send guests to Poovar when they want a coastal ending that is neither Kovalam (too busy) nor Varkala (too active). It is genuinely peaceful in a way other Kerala beaches are not.
Mamalakandam
Mamalakandam is the most offbeat entry on this list. A small village in the Western Ghats near the Tamil Nadu border, with a tribal cooperative running a homestay and forest walks. There are no famous landmarks, no big resorts, and no easy way to visit unless you are with an operator who knows the area. What you get is real forest walking with people who have lived in it for generations, simple food cooked over wood, and complete silence at night.
This is for the right kind of traveller only, usually older, well-travelled, comfortable with very basic accommodation in exchange for genuine cultural and ecological depth.
How to combine these places
If you have seven days, focus on the famous five and do them well – Kochi, Munnar, Thekkady, Alleppey, and a coastal ending. This is the standard Kerala tour and works because it works.
If you have ten to twelve days, add two of the second-tier places. Wayanad fits naturally with Kochi at the start of the trip. Varkala or Kumarakom works as an ending. Athirapally as a day trip from Kochi.
If you have fourteen days or more, you can build genuinely distinctive itineraries, Wayanad and Kannur in the north, the standard hill-and-backwater middle section, and a southern coastal ending at Varkala or Poovar. This is where Kerala stops feeling like a tourist destination and starts feeling like a real place.
If you have time for the offbeat places, build them in based on interest. Wildlife photographers should look at Valparai. Wildlife generalists at Mamalakandam. Backwater enthusiasts at Munroe Island. Quiet seekers at Vagamon or Poovar.
What to think about before deciding
A few things worth knowing as you plan:
Kerala is small but not as small as it looks. The drive from Kochi to Munnar takes four hours. Kochi to Varkala takes five. Distances always look shorter on a map than they are in practice. Build in less driving and more time at each place rather than more places and more driving.
The hill stations and the backwaters and the beaches each have a different best season. October-November and February-March are the most reliable months for combining all three. December-January is high season everywhere with the highest prices and the most crowds. April-May is hot but uncrowded. June-September is the monsoon, which is beautiful in its own way but not for everyone.
Most operators will tell you Kerala is a seven-day destination. We disagree. Kerala rewards longer stays. The travellers who come for fourteen days consistently have better trips than those who come for seven. If you have the time, use it here rather than trying to fit in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in the same trip.
Building your own Kerala itinerary
If any of the places in this post interest you, we are happy to help you think through how they might fit together. Green Earth Trails is an owner-operated Kerala tour operator based in Kochi, Ministry of Tourism approved, with more than a decade of experience building tailor-made tours for international travellers.
We are not the cheapest option in Kerala and we do not claim to be. We are honest about what each place offers, including the famous ones, and we build itineraries that match what specific guests actually want rather than what works for everyone.
If you would like to start a conversation about a Kerala holiday options, we welcome enquiries from anywhere in the world. Most guests reach us six to twelve weeks before their travel dates, but earlier is always better for high-season trips.