Kerala
Capital · Thiruvananthapuram · a narrow coastal state between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats
Peak elevation
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Rivers mapped
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Capital · Thiruvananthapuram · a narrow coastal state between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats
Peak elevation
—
Rivers mapped
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Protected areas
—
Loading terrain…
Periyar322.4 km
Origin: Sivagiri hills of the Western Ghats, Idukki district
Mouth: Arabian Sea near Kochi
Major dams: Idukki Dam, Mullaperiyar Dam, Idamalayar Dam
The Mullaperiyar Dam on this river, built in 1895 and operated by Tamil Nadu under an old lease, has long been a dam-safety and interstate water dispute between Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Show on map →Bharathapuzha136.8 km
Origin: Anamalai hills (Western Ghats), near the Tamil Nadu border
Mouth: Arabian Sea at Ponnani
Major dams: Malampuzha Dam
Its banks host classical Kerala art and temple traditions, including the Kerala Kalamandalam near Shoranur.
Show on map →Pamba246.8 km
Origin: Peerumedu plateau, Western Ghats, Idukki district
Mouth: Vembanad Lake
The Sabarimala Ayyappa temple pilgrim route runs alongside this river.
Show on map →Chaliyar103.9 km
Origin: Ilambeleri hills near Wayanad, Western Ghats
Mouth: Arabian Sea at Beypore, Kozhikode
Flows through Nilambur, historically a major teak-timber floating route.
Show on map →Chalakudy44.4 km
Origin: Anamalai hills, Western Ghats
Mouth: joins the Periyar near the coast
Home to the Athirappilly Falls, Kerala’s largest waterfall.
Show on map →Achankovil157.6 km
Show on map →Kabani21.3 km
Origin: Wayanad plateau, Western Ghats
Mouth: joins the Kaveri in Karnataka
Show on map →Bhavani52.3 km
Show on map →Valapattanam62.1 km
Show on map →Kallada135.4 km
Show on map →Vembanad-Kol Wetland
Ramsar Site 1214
India's longest lake and largest Ramsar wetland by area; its backwaters and houseboats are central to Kerala's tourism economy.
Show on map →Ashtamudi Wetland
Ramsar Site 1204
An eight-armed ("ashta-mudi") palm-shaped estuarine lagoon, Kerala's second-largest wetland ecosystem and a major clam-fishery.
Show on map →Sasthamkotta Lake
Ramsar Site 1212
Kerala's largest freshwater lake and the main drinking-water source for Kollam town, unusual for lying close to the coast without turning brackish.
Show on map →Agasthyamalai Biosphere
UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (2001), part of the Western Ghats
Shared with: Tamil Nadu
Flagship species: Lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri tahr, Tiger
Named for the Agasthyamalai peak; one of the last strongholds of the lion-tailed macaque and home to the Kani tribal community's traditional forest knowledge.
Show on map →Nilgiri Biosphere
UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, designated 1986
Shared with: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu
Flagship species: Asian elephant, Bengal tiger, Nilgiri tahr
India's first biosphere reserve; its Kerala portion links Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary to the Bandipur-Nagarhole-Mudumalai elephant corridor.
Show on map →Periyar National Park
Tiger reserve centred on Periyar Lake, Idukki district
Flagship species: Bengal tiger, Asian elephant
Periyar Lake, the park's centrepiece, is an artificial lake formed by the 1895 Mullaperiyar Dam; boat safaris here are a major eco-tourism draw.
Show on map →Silent Valley National Park
One of India's last undisturbed tropical evergreen rainforests
Flagship species: Lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri langur
Saved from a hydroelectric project by the 'Save Silent Valley' movement of the late 1970s-80s, a landmark in Indian environmental activism.
Show on map →Eravikulam National Park
Nilgiri tahr stronghold around Anamudi peak
Flagship species: Nilgiri tahr
Home to Anamudi (2,695 m), the highest peak south of the Himalayas, and to neelakurinji shrubs that bloom in mass only once every 12 years.
Show on map →Anamudi Shola National Park
Shola-grassland park adjoining Eravikulam
Show on map →Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary
Part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve elephant corridor
Flagship species: Asian elephant, Bengal tiger
Contiguous with Bandipur (Karnataka) and Mudumalai (Tamil Nadu), forming one of South India's largest connected elephant habitats.
Show on map →Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary
Rain-shadow scrub forest, Idukki district
Flagship species: Grizzled giant squirrel
One of Kerala's driest regions, in the rain shadow of the Western Ghats, with scrub and thorn forest unlike the state's typical wet forests.
Show on map →Thattekad Bird Sanctuary
Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, Ernakulam district
Named in honour of ornithologist Salim Ali, who called it one of the richest bird habitats in peninsular India.
Show on map →Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary
Tiger reserve, Palakkad district
Flagship species: Bengal tiger, Asian elephant
Home to Kannimara, one of the largest and oldest teak trees in Asia, and forms a contiguous tiger landscape with Anamalai (Tamil Nadu).
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