Explore Kerala by road: every place, region by region

• 38

  Places in this guide

• 38

  Places with measured road distances

• 8

  Ready-made circuits

Road distances come from our route catalog (by road, never straight-line guesses); fares are indicative (Oct 2026) from our published rate method, and every place links its official page.

Ayyappa and Krishna

Sabarimala, Guruvayur

Shiva and Vishnu

Thrissur (Vadakkunnathan), Ettumanoor Mahadeva Temple, Thiruvananthapuram (Padmanabhaswamy)

The goddess

Attukal Bhagavathy Temple, Chottanikkara Temple, Kodungallur & Muziris

Churches and mosques

Malayattoor Church, Kodungallur & Muziris, Kochi (Fort Kochi)

Across the border

Madurai, Rameswaram, Kanyakumari

• Munnar, Thekkady and Alleppey from PalakkadFrom Palakkad: Munnar → Thekkady → Alappuzha (Alleppey)5 days571 km17-seater ₹35,400–43,300Photo: Rainer Halama, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons
• Munnar, Thekkady and Kumarakom from KochiFrom Kochi: Munnar → Thekkady → Kumarakom4–5 days379 km17-seater ₹35,400–43,300Photo: Rainer Halama, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons
• Sabarimala yatra from PalakkadFrom Palakkad: Sabarimala → Ettumanoor2–3 days579 km17-seater ₹21,100–25,800Photo: Dhinakar01, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons
• Ooty and Mysuru from PalakkadFrom Palakkad: Ooty → Mysuru3–4 days564 km17-seater ₹28,200–34,500Photo: Hellowikidoc, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons
• Madurai and Rameswaram from PalakkadFrom Palakkad: Madurai → Rameswaram3–4 days800 km17-seater ₹28,200–34,500Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons
• Kanyakumari, Kovalam and VarkalaFrom Thiruvananthapuram: Kanyakumari → Kovalam → Varkala3 days264 km17-seater ₹21,100–25,800Photo: Shivani, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons
• Wayanad from KozhikodeFrom Kozhikode: Wayanad2–3 days170 km17-seater ₹21,100–25,800Photo: ShilpiC17, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons
• Valparai and Athirappilly from PalakkadFrom Palakkad: Valparai → Athirappilly Falls2 days323 km17-seater ₹14,000–17,100Photo: Ashwin Kumar from Bangalore, India, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons

• Book the darshan slot on the official virtual queue first, then the vehicle.
• In the season private vehicles park at the Nilakkal base camp; pilgrims ride KSRTC buses to Pamba and climb on foot to the shrine.
• Plan by hours, not km: traffic around Erumeli and Nilakkal is heavy at the peak.
• The Travancore Devaswom Board announces the year's opening dates; confirm them before you fix the trip.

Kerala Tourism: Sabarimala pilgrimage guideTravancore Devaswom Board: Sabarimala

• Kovalam, Varkala and Kumarakom have many Ayurveda resorts; a treatment course usually means staying a week or more in one place.
• Choose a centre approved by Kerala Tourism or run by a qualified doctor, and tell them about any medical condition.
• The monsoon months, June to September, are traditionally thought best for treatments.

Kerala Tourism: Ayurveda

• Periyar (Thekkady) and Parambikulam sell boating, safaris and stays on their own official sites; Eravikulam sells tickets online.
• Silent Valley is visited only in the forest department's vehicles from Mukkali.
• The group's tempo traveller drives to the park reception and waits; it does not go on the safari.

Periyar Tiger Reserve (official)Parambikulam Tiger Reserve (official)

1. JanMakaravilakku · SabarimalaThe close of the Sabarimala pilgrimage season in mid-January, the busiest days of the year at the shrine.Kerala Tourism: Sabarimala
2. FebAttukal Pongala · ThiruvananthapuramWomen cook offerings for the goddess along the city's streets, in February or March.Kerala Tourism: Attukal Pongala
3. AprVishu · Every home and temple; Guruvayur is busiestThe Kerala new year in mid-April: the Vishukkani, an arrangement of auspicious things, is the first sight of the morning.Kerala Tourism: Vishu
4. AprThrissur Pooram · ThrissurCaparisoned elephants, percussion and fireworks at the Vadakkunnathan temple in the month of Medam (April or May).Kerala Tourism: Thrissur Pooram
5. AugNehru Trophy Boat Race · Punnamada lake, AlappuzhaSnake boats race on the second Saturday of August.Nehru Trophy Boat Race (official)
6. SepOnam · Every townKerala's harvest festival (August or September): flower carpets, the Onam sadya feast and boat races.Kerala Tourism: Onam
7. NovSabarimala season begins; Theyyam season · Sabarimala; North MalabarThe Mandala–Makaravilakku season opens in mid-November; in the north, Theyyam runs at temples from about October to May.Kerala Tourism: Theyyam calendar
8. DecGuruvayur Ekadasi · GuruvayurThe temple's biggest day falls in the month of Vrishchikam (November or December).Kerala Tourism: Guruvayur Ekadasi

• Sadya: A vegetarian feast served on a banana leaf, at its grandest at Onam.
• Appam and stew: Lacy rice pancakes with a mild coconut stew: a Kochi breakfast.
• Puttu and kadala: Steamed rice cylinders with black-chickpea curry.
• Karimeen pollichathu: Pearl spot fish cooked in a banana leaf, the backwaters' dish.
• Malabar biryani: Kozhikode's fragrant short-grain biryani.
• Kozhikodan halwa: The coloured halwa of SM Street, Kozhikode.

• A family, temple, parish or school group is touring Kerala (Munnar, Thekkady, Alappuzha houseboats, Guruvayur, Sabarimala, Kovalam, Varkala) and needs one tempo traveller, bus or car with a driver for the whole trip.
• An Ayyappa group needs a vehicle for the Sabarimala season (mid-November to mid-January) from Palakkad, Thrissur, Kochi or across the border.
• A visitor from abroad lands at Kochi (COK), Thiruvananthapuram (TRV) or Kozhikode (CCJ) and wants a vehicle with a driver, with itemised quotes from verified operators.
• A Kerala group wants a ready-made circuit (Munnar–Thekkady–Alleppey, Ooty–Mysuru, Madurai–Rameswaram, Kanyakumari) priced on measured road distances.