Kannur

Getting there

By plane 1 Kannur International Airport (CNN IATA) (is 25 km east of the city centre, near Mattanur). There are international flights from and to Abu Dhabi, Doha, Riyadh, Dubai and Sharjah, while domestically there are flights between Kannur and Bangalore, Chennai , Mumbai, Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram.

By train Direct trains are available from Thiruvananthapuram, Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai and Coimbatore.

2 Kannur railway station (കണ്ണൂർ തീവണ്ടി നിലയം). (updated Jan 2021)

By bus Direct buses are available from Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad and Mangalore.

By road Kannur is on national highway 17 directly connected to Mumbai and Kanyakumari; however, the roads are bad, crowded and traffic jams and very frequent.

Getting around

Autorickshaws charge ₹30 for the first km and then ₹15 per km. Buses charge ₹7 for 3 km. City buses can be boarded from 'Prabhath bus stop' at the end of the Bank Road. This will ensure you a seat. For longer distances you have to go to the Thavakkara Bus Station. Taxi - Taxis are available at reasonable rates. Car - Parking is a serious problem almost everywhere in the town, except the beach side. You have to park the car somewhere and go in an auto rikshaw to cope with the traffic bottlenecks. Walk - Walking is not pleasant in town and city areas, as there are numerous noisy motorcycles, even in the narrow footpaths . Beach side and remote areas are peaceful and quiet and you can enjoy walking.

See

1 Arakkal Palace & Museum, Near the beach (1 km). Samples of pre-colonial art and architecture, Moplah Bay is nearby. (updated Mar 2026) 2 St. Angelo's Fort (3 km). Built in 1505 by the Portuguese. Very good garden and view to the sea. Short footpath into the sea near Malsyafed office. (updated Apr 2015) 3 Snake Park, Parassinikkadavu (18 km). (updated Apr 2015) 4 Valapattanam (7 km). Riverside village. (updated Apr 2015) 5 Science Park, Mele Chovva Road (2 km). The science park is a small facility containing displays of scientific and technological topics meant for school students. (updated Dec 2015)

Beaches 6 Azhikode Chal Beach. (updated Jun 2026) 7 Azhikkal beach (12 km). 2-km long footpath into the sea, fishing village. Beautiful garden and beach at Chalil village. Spectacular beach at Meenkunnu. (updated Apr 2015) 8 Drive in Beach, Muzhappilangad (15 km). 4-km-long beach with strong sand, the longest drive-in-beach in India. The village has about 24,000 people (2011). Another beach is available at Edakkad. (updated Jun 2015) 9 Southern Beaches. Spectacular and private beaches are available at Thayyil, Kizhunna and Thottada. Adi-Kadalayi beach is a very peaceful place. Popular with European visitors. Locals are absent. Direct buses are available from State Bank area. (updated Apr 2015) 10 Payyambalam Beach (2 km). Very crowded place and popular with the locals. There is no esplanade, but there is a pretty little park. You can sit inside the park and watch the sunset. The park is less crowded because there is an entrance ticket. There is a very big statue of a sleeping woman made of grass inside the park. There is a perfectly formed cliff near the beach where you can walk and take photographs and this area is less crowded in spite of being more beautiful than the actual beach. The lighthouse museum has old types of lamps used by lighthouses around the world on display. (updated Jun 2015)

Places of worship Temples

11 Kalari Vathukkal Temple, Valapattanam

Do

1 Birdwatching (8 km). At Munderi Bird Sanctuary, near Varam. Many exotic birds can be spotted at Madayippara near Pashayangadi, 24 km. (updated Apr 2015) City Esplanade @ Caltex. Start walking from Caltex junction. Proceed to the collectorate and turn right to old bus stand. You will pass the police parade ground, exhibition ground and the oval stadium complex building. After the Stadium complex, you can turn left twice and walk in front of the policemen's houses and again turn left to reach Caltex junction. The total distance to walk is 5 km. (updated Jun 2015) Climbing a Hill, Avera Kunnu (6 km). You can start from Thazhe Chovva bus stop and go beyond Chovva Railway Station up the hill. There are paved roads all around the hill, up the hill and down the hill. If you don't like such a steep climb, you can also access the hill from Marakkar Kandy village on the beach side. Please note that the locals here do not know that trekking is a hobby. They might stare at strangers but never attempts to interfere. But they are very helpful if you approach them speaking English. (updated May 2015) Dinner at Seaside, Baby Beach (very peaceful cantonment area). (updated Apr 2015) Hill Walk, S.N. College Hills (7 km). The hills and grounds around Sri Narayana College, Thottada are an ideal place for peaceful walking because there is very little traffic and open spaces are more in this region. You can access Kizhunna beach and Ezhara beach from here. The famous Muzhappilangad drive-in beach is another 3 km from here. (updated May 2015) Island Walk, Kolthuruthy Island, Near Kadambery (20 km). All coconut and areca nut. Beautiful bridge wide enough for a small car. Two more islands called AKG Island and Polthuruthy are nearby. (updated May 2015) Rajayoga Meditation @ Brahmakumaris, Opp. Nithyananda Bhawan School, Puthiyatheru (5 km), ☏ +91 9605993083. 7AM-8PM. Meditation centre. Free Sattvic food, meditation practice and lecture sessions. Beautifully furnished meditation hal

Buy

Muttayappam. Well, some people consider eating the Muttayappam an experience in itself. Muttayappam is a kind of rice preparation in oil without adding any 'mutta' or egg into it. Only the shape resembles a huge fried egg. It goes well with chicken curry. It is not available in standard restaurants and you have to ask at roadside stalls. They have a tendency to disappear in minutes. This preparation originated in Taliparamba town, some 20 km from Kannur. This snack with a very plain taste can become quite addictive. (updated May 2015) Sheen Bakery, Opp. Railway Station. Very reputed confectionery. Very soft and sweet bread is their specialty. But the shop is a little bit crowded and their service is not so poor. Their little branch inside Mele Chovva petrol station is not very crowded. (updated May 2015)

Stadium Complex. An oval shaped buildling near the old bus station. Excellent place to buy clothes and gifts. There are no restaurants here but you can find fine ice cream parlours. (updated May 2015) 1 Thavakkara Busstand Building. Many shops and bakeries in four levels. Several teashops, one vegetarian restaurant on the third level and one upmarket restaurant in a separate building. Paid parking facility. Very good place to walk around, sit and relax as this bus station is built in a spacious design. The reason for the quality of this bus station is that it is run by a private company. All other bus stations in Kerala are dirty and crowded because they are built and managed by the government agencies. (updated May 2