16 Best Places to Visit in Peermade, Kerala (2026 Guide)

Parunthumpara is the view that sells Peermade. It is a bare sheet of rock more than half a kilometre across at about 3,800 ft. Kerala Tourism says its edge looks like an eagle’s head from below, and that’s where the name comes from (parunthu means eagle, para means rock). Walk to the lip and the ground drops into deep ravines of forest. On a clear morning you look south across the Sabarimala forests, with thin waterfalls cutting down the far slopes.

Time it for the evening. From Peermade it’s an 8 km drive on a narrow estate road. Tea stalls near the parking area open around sunrise. The rock is exposed, with no railings on most of it, so keep children close and stay off the edges when it’s wet. The evening light is usually better than sunrise here, and a weekday visit avoids the tour jeeps.

Kuttikkanam is the cooler, higher town 3 km up the road from Peermade, at about 3,500 ft. It’s where NH183 meets the road to Kattappana, and for most travellers it’s the real base of the area. The resorts, homestays and cafes cluster here, and Marian College sits by the junction. Most of the sights in this guide are closer to Kuttikkanam junction than to Peermade itself.

Walk the side roads rather than just driving through. Estate lanes lead off in every direction, lined with tea bushes and silver oak. Mornings are often foggy enough that you can barely see the next bend. Kerala Tourism lists Kuttikkanam as an adventure base, and local operators run guided treks, cycling routes and short horse rides from here.

Ammachi Kottaram is the old Travancore royal summer house at Kuttikkanam, and the most asked-about building in the area. Kerala Tourism records it as the summer residence of Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bai, who ruled Travancore as Regent from 1924 to 1931. Other accounts, including Atlas Obscura, credit Maharaja Moolam Thirunal with building it in the late 19th century as a retreat for the royal consort. “Ammachi” was the title given to the Maharaja’s wife.

The palace sits on roughly 25 acres of hilltop. It has a wrap-around verandah, three rooms, two large halls for receiving guests, kitchens and, according to local stories, two secret passages. It is now private property. You can see the exterior from the gate, and the caretaker sometimes shows visitors inside, so ask politely and don’t count on it. Kerala Tourism also notes that the separate Travancore Summer Palace became a government guest house.

Panchalimedu is a grassy hilltop at about 2,500 ft, and it’s the only sight near Peermade with a proper ticket counter, benches and toilets. That makes it the easiest stop for families and older travellers. Local legend says the Pandavas and their wife Panchali sheltered here during their exile. You can still see Panchalikulam, the pond said to be where Panchali bathed, and the Pandava Guha caves. A Hindu temple and a group of Christian crosses share the summit.

Paved rock walkways run up the slope, and Kerala Tourism notes that ramps and wheelchairs are available. In mid-January, crowds gather here to watch the Makara Jyothi light on the Sabarimala hills during Makara Sankranti. Unless that’s why you’re coming, avoid 14 and 15 January.

Thrissanku Hills are a set of low, grassy ridges about 2 km from Kuttikkanam junction and 4 km from Peermade. There is no climb and no ticket. You park, walk out onto open grass, and within ten minutes you have a wide view of the rolling hills to the east. The wind here is steady enough that people fly kites.

Come at sunrise, and bring a flask of tea from a Kuttikkanam stall. The early light on the tea valleys below is the reason to be here. The walks are gentle enough for children and older travellers.

Peeru Hills, 4 km from Peermade, are the hills the town is named after. The partly damaged mausoleum at their base is linked to the Sufi saint Peer Mohammed and is a quiet stop for anyone interested in the area’s history. Head up the trail and the slopes open into views of the valley. Kerala Tourism notes you can see the Valanjanganam waterfall from these slopes.

It’s a short, easy walk that fits well between Kuttikkanam and a lunch stop. The paths are unmarked in places, so ask at the base.

Valanjanganam Falls drop about 75 ft right beside NH183, around 1 km from Murinjapuzha and 5 km from Kuttikkanam. You can see them from your car window. Tea shops line the lay-by, and most buses and taxis heading up to Thekkady stop here for a break. From June to November the falls run full and throw spray across the road. By April they thin to a few strands.

Don’t try to climb the wet rocks for a closer photo. The stone is slippery all year, and the traffic on NH183 is fast.

Pattumala means “hill draped in silk”, and on a misty morning the tea slopes really do look like folded cloth. Kerala Tourism puts it 7 km from Peermade. The tea estates here are run by Harrisons Malayalam and A.V. Thomas & Co. In the middle of them stands the Pattumala Velankanni Matha Church, dedicated to Our Lady of Good Health. It is built entirely of granite, designed by the Thiruvananthapuram architect J.P. Bright, and was blessed in its present form in 1998.

Go for the church and stay for the estate roads around it, which are some of the most photogenic tea country near Peermade. Keep to the roads, because the plantations are working estates.

Grampi is the tea-estate hillside on the road to Parunthumpara, about 5 km from Peermade. Many sources, including Wikipedia, treat it as another name for the Parunthumpara area. What you come for here is the walk, not one fixed viewpoint. Estate paths climb through tea and scrub to open ridges with long views over the valleys, and on a clear day you can pick out the Sabarimala hills to the south.

Treat Grampi as the trekking half of a Parunthumpara morning. Park at the rock, then walk the estate roads down for an hour.

This small stone church near Kuttikkanam has the strangest grave in Idukki. Rev. Henry Baker of the Church Missionary Society built St George’s in 1869. Its cemetery holds the planters who opened up these hills. The best known is John Daniel Munro (1833 to 1895), who cut the first paths for moving coffee and cardamom downhill. Next to his grave is a memorial to his white mare, Downy, who is said to be buried beside him. The British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia (BACSA) documents the site.

It takes 30 minutes and pairs naturally with Ammachi Kottaram.

Amrithamedu, also called Kurisumala, is the highest point in the Kuttikkanam area. A path marked by 14 Stations of the Cross leads to the top. It’s busiest at Easter, when pilgrims walk it. The rest of the year you’ll mostly have it to yourself. The climb takes you through tea, and the view from the top takes in Peermade town and the Kokkad hills.

Wear proper shoes. The last section is rocky, and it turns slick after rain.

Madammakkulam is a forest pool beneath a waterfall, reached by a rough track off the Kattappana road from Kuttikkanam. The name comes from the colonial planters’ wives, the “madams”, who are said to have bathed here. Kerala Tourism also points out Irumulachipara, a rock formation nearby. Most visitors hire a jeep in Kuttikkanam. The off-road drive takes about 45 minutes, and then you walk down about 200 m to the water.

This is the least visited place on the list and the best one in the monsoon. Skip swimming when the water is high and brown.

Peermade’s plantation history, coffee first and then tea and cardamom, is still visible on every hillside. The easiest way in is a guided estate walk, which most Kuttikkanam and Peermade homestays can arrange. You’ll see how the leaf is plucked and how cardamom grows under forest shade. Some estates also show visitors their factories.

Buy tea and cardamom in Peermade and Kuttikkanam shops rather than roadside stalls, and ask for the current season’s stock.

Vagamon is the next hill station north, about 25 to 30 km from Peermade via Kuttikkanam and Elappara, roughly an hour’s drive. It has what Peermade lacks: wide, open meadows at Mottakunnu, a planted pine forest and Kerala’s best-known paragliding. DTPC Idukki runs two parks on the Elappara to Vagamon road. Mottakunnu is 14 km along it, and the Adventure Park, with paragliding, boating and a watchtower, is 11 km along. Both charge ₹25 for adults and ₹15 for children. For the full list of stops, see our guide to places to visit in Vagamon.

Thekkady is about 40 km from Peermade via Vandiperiyar and Kumily, and many travellers treat Peermade as the quiet stop on the way. The draws are the boat ride on Periyar Lake, the guided nature walks inside the tiger reserve and the spice plantations around Kumily. Periyar tickets sell out in peak season, so book on the reserve’s official site before you set off. Our list of things to do in Thekkady covers the timings. If you’d rather hand the logistics to someone else, look at these Thekkady tour packages.

Gavi is a forest eco-tourism area in Pathanamthitta district, reached from Peermade through Vandiperiyar (about 8 km) and the Vallakadavu forest check post (about 8 km further). It is not a free drive-in sight. Entry past the check post is controlled, and the easiest way in is the KFDC Gavi day programme. It runs from about 8 am to 4 pm, with meals, boating on Gavi lake, a guided walk and a vehicle tour, and it must be booked in advance on the KFDC eco-tourism portal. Elephants, gaur and sambar are regular sightings on the drive. If you want Gavi bundled into a trip, compare these Gavi tour packages