Your guide to North Malabar
Explore Kannur — the best places to visit
Twenty-three beaches, forts, Theyyam shrines and hill viewpoints, plotted on a real map of the district with the real driving distance from your room at Nesma Palace to each one.
Open the map7.8 km
to Kannur airport
18 km
to the nearest attraction
23
places on the map
56 km
to the furthest — still a day trip
23 places, all mapped
The best places to visit in Kannur.
Beaches, forts, Theyyam shrines, hill viewpoints and river dams — every one with the real driving distance from your room at Nesma Palace. Pick a card to see exactly where it sits on the map.
Interactive map
See how close everything really is.
Tap any marker to trace the road from Nesma Palace to it — and the short hops onward to the places right next door. Drag to pan, scroll or use the buttons to zoom.
Geography & road distances © OpenStreetMap contributors
Your base
Nesma Palace sits in the middle of it all.
Mattannur puts the coast and the Western Ghats within the same day. The beaches and forts are 30 minutes west; the dams, sanctuaries and hill viewpoints are 20–45 minutes east — and the airport is under 8 km away.
- To Kannur International Airport
- 7.8 km · 10 min
- Nearest attraction (Pazhassi Dam)
- 18 km · 19 min
- Kannur town & the coast
- ~30 km · 35 min
- Places on this map
- 23
Pick any marker or card to see the road between it and the hotel, plus the short hops on to whatever is next door.
Plan the day
Four days out, all starting at reception.
Kannur rewards a route rather than a checklist. These four are built around the roads that actually connect the sights — and every one of them begins and ends at Nesma Palace.
Forts & the Coast
Full day · 6 stops
≈ 92 km round trip
Kannur town’s three headline sights in a morning, then south along the coast for the drive-in beach and sunset over Dharmadam.
Start
Nesma Palace, Mattannur
29.8 km · 32 min from Nesma Palace
Arakkal Museum
Kerala's only Muslim royal family · allow 45 minutes
1.8 km · 4 min from Arakkal Museum
St. Angelo Fort
Portuguese laterite over Mappila Bay · allow 1–2 hours
2.6 km · 6 min from St. Angelo Fort
Kannur Lighthouse
The whole coastline from one balcony · allow 30–45 minutes
3.6 km · 6 min from Kannur Lighthouse
Payyambalam Beach
Kannur town's sunset beach · allow 1–2 hours
12.6 km · 17 min from Payyambalam
Thottada Beach
A quiet cove between two headlands · allow 2 hours
9.4 km · 12 min from Thottada
Muzhappilangad Drive-in Beach
Asia's longest drive-in beach · allow 2–3 hours
32.5 km back
Dinner at Nesma Palace
Why base yourself here
The geography does the work.
One base, both halves of Kannur
Kannur splits neatly into a coast and a highland, and most hotels sit firmly in one of them. Mattannur sits between the two — the beaches and forts are roughly 30 km west, the dams, sanctuary and hill viewpoints 18 to 42 km east. Neither is a compromise from here.
7.8 km from the terminal
Kannur International Airport is a ten-minute drive away. Land in the evening, sleep well, and start the first full day on the road rather than in transit — and do the same in reverse on the way out.
Built for long days out
A 4-star property with 50+ rooms, a multi-cuisine restaurant, gym and spa. Early breakfasts before a trek, late dinners after a sunset, and a pool of local drivers who know which hill roads are open.
Before you go
Kannur, answered.
What are the best places to visit in Kannur?
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Kannur’s headline sights are Muzhappilangad — the only drive-in beach in Kerala — St. Angelo Fort and the Arakkal Museum in Kannur town, the Parassinikkadavu Muthappan Temple where Theyyam is performed every single day, Payyambalam Beach at sunset, Thalassery Fort, and the hill viewpoints at Palakkayam Thattu and Paithalmala. Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary and Pazhassi Dam cover the eastern, forested half of the district.
How many days do you need to explore Kannur?
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Three days covers it comfortably: one for the coast and the forts, one for Theyyam and the temples around Parassinikkadavu and Taliparamba, and one for the hills and the dam to the east. With two days, drop the far north — Ezhimala and Madayipara — and keep the rest.
Which is the best hotel to stay in while exploring Kannur?
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Nesma Palace at Mattannur is a 4-star hotel with 50+ rooms, 7.8 km from Kannur International Airport. Because it sits between Kannur town and the Western Ghats rather than in either one, the beaches and forts are about 35 minutes west and the dams, sanctuary and hill viewpoints are 20 to 45 minutes east — so a Kannur itinerary works out of a single base without changing hotels.
How far is Kannur airport from the main tourist places?
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Kannur International Airport is in Mattannur, about 25 to 30 km from Kannur town and its beaches. Nesma Palace is 7.8 km from the terminal, roughly 10 minutes, which makes it a practical first and last night of a Kannur trip as well as a base for the days in between.
When is the best time to visit Kannur?
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October to March is the reliable window — dry, clear and the right season for the beaches and the Theyyam calendar, which runs from roughly December to April. The monsoon months of June to September are the time to see Palakkayam Thattu in cloud and Madayipara in flower, but the hill roads get slippery and beach activities stop.
Ready when you are
Every one of these is a day trip from your room.
Nesma Palace — 50+ luxury rooms and suites, a multi-cuisine restaurant, gym and spa, 7.8 km from Kannur International Airport. Sleep in Mattannur; wake up 30 minutes from the sea and 20 minutes from the Ghats.