Home › Blog › Offbeat places in Kerala
Where to go · Kerala
Offbeat Places in Kerala: 12 to Visit Instead of Munnar and Alleppey
Munnar and Alleppey are where everyone goes, so they are where Kerala is most crowded and most expensive. Here are twelve places that give you the same tea hills, backwaters and beaches, each with what a day costs and how to get there by train or bus.
Photo: Sivahari, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Text added by Trip Under.
Short answer
For hills instead of Munnar, go to Vagamon, Devikulam, Nelliyampathy or Ponmudi. For backwaters and beaches instead of Alleppey, go to Marari, Kollam or Varkala. For something Kerala's brochures leave out, go north to Kannur and Bekal for theyyam. A day on the ground costs ₹1,500 to ₹2,200 per person at mid-range, and from ₹900 on a shoestring.
Trip Under no longer lists Munnar or Alleppey. Both are so crowded that they break our one rule: underrated places only. That does not mean you skip the tea hills or the backwaters. It means you go to the places next door, which have the same landscape, fewer people and lower prices.
Every route, price and month below comes from each place's Trip Under page. Day costs are per person and cover a bed, three meals, local transport and small fees, but not the journey there. You book every piece yourself: Trip Under is not an agency.
The twelve at a glance
Infographic · a day on the ground, mid-range
What a day costs in each place
Per person, mid-range: a private room, local restaurants, buses and autos, entry fees. Travel to the place not included.
Instead of Munnar: the hills
These six give you tea, forest, grassland or wildlife without Munnar's traffic.
Vagamon
Instead of: Munnar's tea-country crowds. Getting in: train + bus, to Kottayam, then bus up (varies + 2 h, about ₹400). Best months: Jan–Mar, Oct–Dec. Day cost: ₹1,000 shoestring, ₹1,900 mid-range.
Rolling meadows, pine forest and tea estates at 1,100 m, with none of Munnar's queues and a paragliding season most visitors don't know about. Stay on a tea estate for a fraction of what the same thing costs in Munnar. See the Vagamon plan →
Devikulam & Eravikulam
Why go: Munnar's quiet side, and South India's highest peak. Getting in: bus from Munnar, Munnar → Devikulam (20 m, about ₹20). Best months: Jan–Mar, Oct–Dec. Day cost: ₹1,200 shoestring, ₹2,200 mid-range.
A sacred lake said to hold water from the Ganges, and the national park next door where you can walk grassland right up to Anamudi, the highest peak south of the Himalayas. Stay here rather than Munnar town: twenty minutes from the same sights and far quieter. See the Devikulam & Eravikulam plan →
Nelliyampathy
Why go: A hill station without a single big hotel chain. Getting in: bus + taxi, Palakkad → Nemmara → Nelliyampathy (1 h + 45 m, about ₹200). Best months: Jan–Mar, Oct–Dec. Day cost: ₹1,100 shoestring, ₹2,000 mid-range.
Ten hairpin bends into orange and coffee country, a viewpoint locals call 'the Kashmir of Kerala', and almost nowhere to stay — on purpose. Book an estate stay rather than day-tripping; the ghat road alone takes over an hour each way. See the Nelliyampathy plan →
Ponmudi
Why go: A hill station an hour from the capital. Getting in: bus, Thiruvananthapuram → Nedumangad → Ponmudi (2 h, about ₹60). Best months: Jan–Feb, Oct–Dec. Day cost: ₹1,000 shoestring, ₹1,800 mid-range.
Twenty-two hairpin bends above the capital, a 'golden peak' viewpoint, and a forest that's a genuine weekend escape without leaving Thiruvananthapuram district. Go early for a clear Golden Valley view before the mist rolls in. See the Ponmudi plan →
Wayanad
Instead of: Munnar. Getting in: train + bus, Bengaluru/Chennai → Kozhikode, bus up the ghat (9 h + 2 h, about ₹1,100). Best months: Jul–Sep, Nov–Dec. Day cost: ₹1,100 shoestring, ₹1,800 mid-range.
Rainforest, a 3,000-year-old cave, and a heart-shaped lake on top of a peak you need a permit for. Do Chembra Peak on day one: the permit cap is reached by mid-morning in season. See the Wayanad plan →
Thekkady & Periyar
Instead of: a big-name tiger reserve. Getting in: bus, Kochi/Kottayam → Kumily (4–5 h, about ₹300). Best months: Sep–Dec. Day cost: ₹1,100 shoestring, ₹1,900 mid-range.
A flooded forest reserve you enter on a bamboo raft at dawn, with spice plantations at the gate and elephants in the water. Book the forest department's small-group programmes before you travel; they sell out weeks ahead. See the Thekkady & Periyar plan →
Instead of Alleppey: backwaters and beaches
Photo: This Photo was taken by Timothy A. Gonsalves . Feel free to use my photos, but p, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Alleppey is where the houseboat queue is. Marari is a fishing-village beach 15 km away. Kollam is the other end of the same backwaters. Varkala is the cliff beach with a train station.
Marari Beach
Instead of: the Goa beach belt. Getting in: bus, Alleppey / Kochi → Mararikulam (30 m – 1 h 30 m, about ₹40). Best months: Jan–Feb, Nov–Dec. Day cost: ₹1,000 shoestring, ₹2,200 mid-range.
A quiet fishing village beach near Alleppey where the catch comes in by hand-pulled net at dawn, and the loudest thing on the sand is the surf. A homestay behind the beach costs a fraction of the resorts and puts you in the village. See the Marari Beach plan →
Kollam & Ashtamudi
Why go: Where Kerala's backwater houseboats actually started. Getting in: train, Thiruvananthapuram / Ernakulam → Kollam Junction (1–2 h, about ₹150). Best months: Jan–Feb, Nov–Dec. Day cost: ₹900 shoestring, ₹1,700 mid-range.
An eight-armed lake, the country's longest backwater cruise for the price of a bus ticket, and a cashew-and-coir port town most visitors skip on the way to Alleppey. Take the state ferry to Alleppey instead of a private houseboat: the same scenery for a fraction of the price. See the Kollam & Ashtamudi plan →
Varkala
Instead of: Kovalam. Getting in: train, Anywhere in South India → Varkala Sivagiri (varies, about ₹900). Best months: Jan–Feb, Nov–Dec. Day cost: ₹900 shoestring, ₹1,600 mid-range.
A red laterite cliff with cafés along the top, a clean beach below it, and a train station fifteen minutes' walk away. Stay at Odayam, ten minutes north of the cliff: same sea, half the price, no music. See the Varkala plan →
North Kerala: forts, a drive-in beach and theyyam
Most Kerala trips stop at Kochi. North of Kozhikode, the coast gets quieter and older, and from roughly December to April villages perform theyyam, a ritual dance that is not staged for tourists.
Kannur & Muzhappilangad
Instead of: Goa. Getting in: train, Kochi / Kozhikode / Mangaluru → Kannur (3–6 h, about ₹300). Best months: Jan–Feb, Oct–Dec. Day cost: ₹1,000 shoestring, ₹1,900 mid-range.
India's only drive-in beach, a coastline of forts and looms, and Theyyam — a ritual performance that turns ordinary men into gods for a night, still performed for the community, not for tourists. A homestay host is the best source for that week's theyyam schedule. See the Kannur & Muzhappilangad plan →
Bekal & Kasaragod
Instead of: Kovalam or Varkala. Getting in: train, Mangaluru / Kannur → Kanhangad or Bekal Fort (1–2 h, about ₹200). Best months: Jan–Feb, Nov–Dec. Day cost: ₹900 shoestring, ₹1,500 mid-range.
A circular laterite fort on a headland, empty beaches either side of it, and theyyam performed in village shrines from December to April. Theyyam is free to attend from December to April. See the Bekal & Kasaragod plan →
Theyyam is a religious ritual, not a show. Dress modestly, ask before you photograph, and follow the shrine organisers. Schedules are not centrally published, so ask your homestay host.
The rainforest: Silent Valley
Why go: One of India's last untouched tropical rainforests. Getting in: bus + taxi, Palakkad → Mannarkkad → Mukkali (1 h + 1 h, about ₹200). Best months: Jan–Feb, Nov–Dec. Day cost: ₹1,200 shoestring, ₹2,200 mid-range.
A rainforest that survived a 1970s dam controversy and stayed wild enough to be one of the last habitats of the lion-tailed macaque — seen only on a strictly limited forest department visit. Core-zone entry is strictly capped and booked ahead through the Kerala Forest Department. See the Silent Valley National Park plan →
A five-day hill loop from Kottayam
Vagamon's own page suggests pairing it with Thekkady for a low-key loop that skips Munnar's traffic entirely. Both are reached from Kottayam by bus, so you can do it without a car.
Infographic · the route
Kottayam, two hill towns, and back
Bus fares from the Vagamon and Thekkady pages. Get to Kottayam by train; it is the railhead for both.
Infographic · where the money goes
₹8,400 for the five-day loop, one person, from Kottayam
Your train to and from Kottayam is extra. Paid programmes in Periyar, such as bamboo rafting, are extra too.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best offbeat places in Kerala?
Vagamon, Devikulam, Nelliyampathy and Ponmudi for hills; Marari, Kollam and Varkala for beaches and backwaters; Kannur and Bekal for forts and theyyam; Silent Valley for rainforest. Wayanad and Thekkady are busier but still quieter than Munnar.
What can I visit instead of Munnar?
Vagamon, for meadows, pine forest and tea at 1,100 m, or Devikulam, twenty minutes from Munnar and much quieter, next to Eravikulam National Park. A mid-range day costs ₹1,900 in Vagamon and ₹2,200 in Devikulam.
What can I visit instead of Alleppey?
Marari Beach, a fishing village 15 km from Alleppey, or Kollam, where the government ferry to Alleppey gives you the backwaters for a fraction of a houseboat's price.
Is Kerala expensive to travel?
Not if you take trains and buses and stay in homestays. A day on the ground in these places costs ₹1,500 to ₹2,200 per person at mid-range, and from ₹900 on a shoestring.
When can I see theyyam in Kerala?
Roughly November or December to April, in village shrines around Kannur and Kasaragod (Bekal). Dates vary by shrine and year, so ask a local homestay host.
Sources and how we priced this
- Routes, fares, day costs, months and advice: the Trip Under pages for each place, linked above, built on our cost model. Fares are planning figures; check live prices before you book.
Keep reading
Plan your own Kerala trip
Every place here has its own page with routes from its gateway, stays, a day-by-day plan and costs that follow your dates and group.
Browse all destinations →Costs come from Trip Under's place data and our cost model (see methodology). They are indicative ballparks for budget travel and move with season and demand. Check live bus, train and room prices before you book. Trip Under is reader-planned, not an agency, and takes no commission on any booking.