Palakkad · Kerala
The gap, and the rice country
The one break in the Western Ghats, and the paddy that grows because of it.
When to come
November to February. April and May are genuinely hot.
How long
One, usually on the way to or from Tamil Nadu.
Getting there
Two and a half hours from Cochin airport, and the road to Coimbatore runs through it.
The Palakkad gap is a thirty-kilometre hole in a mountain range that otherwise runs a thousand kilometres unbroken, and it explains a great deal about Kerala: the trade came through it, the Tamil influence came through it, and so does the wind. The district is the flattest and the hottest in the state, and the greenest in the growing season — this is where the rice comes from.
Kalpathy, on the edge of Palakkad town, is a Tamil brahmin village of agraharam streets and a chariot festival in November. Nelliyampathy is the hill station above, quieter than Munnar and with oranges instead of tea. Silent Valley, north of it, is one of the last undisturbed tracts of rainforest in India and is entered by permit.
Almost nobody stays here, which is precisely the argument for a night if you like places that are not arranged for you.
Palakkad, in photographs
Worth your time, or not?
Tell us how many days you have and who is coming, and we will tell you whether Palakkad belongs in them — and what to leave out to make room for it.