Kerala, district by district

Cloud-draped plateaus in the Western Ghats, threaded with coffee estates, waterfalls and a 6,000-year-old rock shelter.

Rolling tea estates, shola forest and the rare Neelakurinji bloom, crowned by Anamudi — the highest peak south of the Himalayas.

A lake-filled tiger reserve ringed by cardamom and pepper plantations, where you drift past wild elephants and raft through the jungle.

Kerala's only cliff beach — a ribbon of café-lined laterite bluff above golden sand, mineral springs and a thousand-year-old temple.

A compact hill station of 22 hairpin bends, tea slopes and cool meadows on the edge of the Agasthyamalai biosphere — and a quick escape from the capital.

The 'Niagara of India' — an 80-foot curtain of the Chalakudy river thundering through evergreen forest on the edge of the Western Ghats.

A lattice of palm-shaded canals, paddy fields below sea level and converted rice barges that drift you through village life on Vembanad lake.

A pristine, almost roadless national park of primeval evergreen forest, saved from a dam in the 1980s and home to the rare lion-tailed macaque.

Long dark sands and crumbling century-old piers on the Arabian Sea, where evenings mean Kozhikodan halwa, mussel fry and a slow-dissolving sun.

A multi-tiered waterfall system where two mountain streams meet, reached on a trek through rubber, pepper and arecanut plantations 50 km from the city.

A misty reservoir at 2,450 ft framed by the forested hills of the Malabar Wildlife Sanctuary, with speedboats, waterfalls and a swaying hanging bridge.

A lesser-explored hilltop near Balussery at ~2,000 ft, where the famous Malabar mist rolls in suddenly over sweeping panoramic green.

An offbeat ~2,000 ft hill near Kuttiady, cool even in peak summer, tied to the warrior king Veera Pazhassi Raja and views across two districts.

The Kuttiady Dam reservoir, dotted with tiny uninhabited islands and bordering the Malabar Wildlife Sanctuary, with a crocodile farm and gardens.

Rolling green hills meeting natural rock pools fed by the Kuttiyadi River — a romantic, misty favourite for film shoots, 45 km from the city.

A 32–50 ft cascade into a clear rock pool, hidden in the Vaanimel ranges near Vilangad and reached on a 1 km trek through deciduous forest.

The historic shore where Vasco da Gama landed in 1498 — silvery-golden sand, sea-jutting rocks and swaying coconut groves north of the city.

Untouched Western Ghats forest near Nadapuram, with a trekking hill, a tribal-rich biodiversity and a mini-hydel project woven into the landscape.

Asia's longest drive-in beach — about 4 km of hard-packed golden sand where cars and bikes run right beside the waves, framed by black rocks and calm, swimmable shallows.

A beautifully maintained town beach of golden sand and a cliffside walkway, home to the iconic mother-and-child sculpture and famous Malabar sunsets.

A colonial East India Company fortress on a sea cliff, its 10-metre red laterite walls mortared with quicklime, egg whites and sugar candy.

Kannur's highest peak at 1,372 m — a 6 km trek through Shola forest and alpine grassland to a watchtower with 360-degree views across two states.

A pedestrian suspension bridge swaying over the Anjarakandy River through coconut groves, beside the famous Peralassery Subrahmanya Temple and its great stepwell.

A historic 500-foot British pier from 1910, once loading spices straight onto ships and now a beloved sunset promenade and Malayalam-cinema landmark.

A quiet, almost private beach where the Thottada River forms a natural estuary with the Arabian Sea, ringed by cozy beachside homestays.

A fast-rising hill station at ~3,500 ft, wrapped in mist with trekking trails, an adventure park and sweeping sunrise-to-sunset valley views.

A majestic coastal fortress over 500 years old, with rare triangular laterite architecture, Dutch bastions, a sea wall and hidden dungeons above Mopilla Bay.

Northern Kerala's secret backwaters — a cluster of islands amid five rivers, mangrove kayaking trails and serene village life away from the crowds.