Best Time to Visit Kerala: Month by Month

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) divides Kerala's year into four seasons: winter in January and February, the pre-monsoon months of March to May, the south-west monsoon from June to September, and the north-east monsoon from October to December. Its long-term state averages put the year's rain at about 2,925 mm, nearly 70% of it in the south-west monsoon. Kerala Tourism names the two rainy seasons in Malayalam: Edavappathy, the June rains, and Thulavarsham, the north-east monsoon that arrives in mid-October. Kerala Tourism adds that the rain rarely stops everything: it usually falls for a few hours, with sunny spells between.

The figures below are IMD's monthly rainfall normals for the state and for its observatories, and its seasonal temperature normals for 1981 to 2010.

January

The driest month of the year, at about 8 mm of rain across the state, and almost rainless in the north: Kannur averages under 3 mm. On the coast, IMD's winter normals put days at about 32 to 33°C and nights at about 23°C, so the hills are where you will want a warm layer after dark. Eravikulam National Park in Munnar is open, migrant birds are at Kumarakom, and on our routes the houseboats are at their busiest, so book early.

February

Still dry, at about 14 mm. This is the month Eravikulam National Park closes, from 1 February to 1 April, for the Nilgiri tahr's calving season; Munnar's tea estates, viewpoints and lakes stay open. The Theyyam season continues in the shrines of Kannur and Kasaragod, and the migrant birds that reach Kumarakom in November stay until February.

March

About 33 mm of rain, and the heat building. IMD's pre-monsoon normals, for March to May, are the highest maximum temperatures of the year at every Kerala observatory: about 33°C by day on the coast and 35 to 36°C inland at Punalur and Palakkad. In Thiruvananthapuram, the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple's ten-day Painkuni festival falls in the Malayalam month of Meenam, mid-March to mid-April. Eravikulam stays shut until 1 April.

April

The first showers return, about 105 mm across the state, more in the south: Thiruvananthapuram averages about 118 mm. Eravikulam reopens on 1 April, and the cooler air of Munnar, at about 1,600 metres, is the usual escape from the heat of the plains. Days stay hot and humid on the coast.

May

Wetter than many expect: about 224 mm across Kerala and about 319 mm at Kochi, before the monsoon has even arrived. It is still part of IMD's hottest season. The Theyyam season ends in late May. If you travel now, keep afternoons free for the showers and plan beach days for the mornings.

June

The south-west monsoon normally sets in over Kerala around 1 June, and June averages 643 mm across the state. The north takes the heaviest rain: Kannur averages about 991 mm, against about 303 mm at Thiruvananthapuram. Kerala Tourism names the monsoon as the season for Ayurvedic rejuvenation treatments, the resident birds at Kumarakom are easiest to watch from June to August, and high water can change a houseboat's route.

July

The wettest month, at 720 mm across the state. The hills are at their greenest and mist often hides the views; the sea is no place for swimming. It is a month for an Ayurveda course rather than a beach holiday: our Kerala Panchakarma retreat is a doctor-led programme of a week or more, run as a therapeutic tradition, not a medical cure.

August

The rain eases to about 427 mm. Onam's ten days of festivities begin at the star of Atham in the Malayalam month of Chingam, so the dates move each year, in August or September; our Onam in Kerala experience adds flower markets, an Onasadya and, where dates align, a boat race. The snake-boat season opens with the Nehru Trophy on Punnamada Lake at Alleppey, usually in August.

September

About 260 mm, still the south-west monsoon. Onam can fall in September, and the Champions Boat League races continue across the backwaters until November. The paddy fields of Kuttanad and the tea slopes are green, and the hill roads can still be slow after heavy rain.

October

The north-east monsoon arrives, and October, at 303 mm, is wetter than September. IMD notes that October brings the most rain of the north-east monsoon season. The south feels it most: Thiruvananthapuram averages about 282 mm, almost as much as its June. In the first three weeks of October, Idukki district, where Munnar and Thekkady lie, has the highest normal rainfall of any Kerala district. The Theyyam season opens in mid-October, and the Padmanabhaswamy Temple's Alpasi festival falls in Thulam, mid-October to mid-November.

November

Rain falls back to about 153 mm across the state, though the south stays wetter: Thiruvananthapuram averages about 198 mm. Migrant birds begin to arrive at Kumarakom, and the boat-race season closes during the month. Leave spare time in your plans for wet afternoons.

December

The dry season begins: about 35 mm across the state, about 63 mm at Thiruvananthapuram in the far south. The houseboats fill up through December and January. On New Year's Eve, the Fort Kochi carnival draws thousands into the old quarter of Kochi.

• Backwaters and the central coast: Alappuzha averages about 20 to 55 mm a month from December to March, against about 350 mm in October, more than September's 302 mm. Our Alleppey travel guide and Kumarakom travel guide cover the lake.
• The hills: Munnar shares the state's dry December to March, but Eravikulam is shut in February and March, so December and January give dry weather with the park open. See our Munnar travel guide.
• The north: Kannur and Kozhikode are almost rainless in January and February, under 4 mm a month, but take the heaviest monsoon, with about 800 to 1,000 mm in June.
• The far south: Thiruvananthapuram gets about 1,784 mm a year, against about 3,053 mm at Kochi, with two peaks of similar size, in June and October.