Spring Season in Kerala: When It Is, the Weather and Where to Go (2027)

Not in the official sense. Kerala’s tourism guides split the year into three seasons, and the India Meteorological Department uses four for the whole country: winter (January-February), pre-monsoon or hot weather (March-May), the southwest monsoon (June-September) and the post-monsoon or northeast monsoon (October-December). Neither list has a spring.

What Kerala does have is a clear change of gear between mid-February and mid-April. The cool, dry nights of winter end, humidity starts climbing, and the land heats up ahead of the monsoon. Travellers, and a lot of Indians planning a trip from the north, call that window spring. It lines up almost exactly with two Malayalam months, Kumbham (mid-February to mid-March) and Meenam (mid-March to mid-April). The traditional marker of the new cycle is Vishu, the Malayalam New Year on 1 Medam, which falls around 14 April and closes the window.

So if you are asking when spring season in Kerala is, the practical answer is February, March and the first half of April. For the full year view, our best time to visit Kerala guide covers every month in detail.

Kerala sits 8-12° north of the equator, so the seasons are defined by rain and humidity far more than by cold. Here is how the year breaks down, with the spring window in context.

Spring in Kerala is the dry, warm transition from mid-February to mid-April, between the cool winter and the humid pre-monsoon summer.

Coastal ranges are IMD 1971-2000 normals for Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. Munnar figures are from Climate-Data.org. 

Spring weather in Kerala is sunny, dry and warm, and it gets steadily stickier as the weeks pass. The numbers explain the shift better than any adjective.

Source: India Meteorological Department climate normals via Wikipedia (Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram) and Climate-Data.org (Munnar, 1,461 m).  

Two things stand out. Daytime highs barely move across the three months, so February is not much cooler than April at 2 pm. What changes is the night and the air. February nights drop to about 22°C with 55% humidity, which is why it feels fresh. By April the nights stay at 25°C, humidity is near 70%, and rain arrives in short, loud afternoon bursts that Keralites call mango showers because they ripen the crop.

That is also why older write-ups contradict each other. Spring is not a rainy season (February and March are two of the three driest months of the year), and it is not cool either. Plan outdoor sightseeing before 11 am and after 4 pm, and put the midday hours on a houseboat deck, in a pool or up in the hills.

Kerala in February

February is the most comfortable spring month and one of the best months of the year for Kerala. It is the tail of the winter high season, so the weather is dry (about 15-22 mm of rain in total), mornings are clear enough for Munnar viewpoints, and the backwaters are glassy. Kumarakom still has the last of its migratory birds. The catch is price and demand. February is part of peak season, so book houseboats and Munnar stays three to four weeks ahead. Festivals to look for are Attukal Pongala in Thiruvananthapuram, Chettikulangara Bharani near Mavelikkara and Maha Shivaratri on the Aluva Manappuram, which fall in February or early March depending on the lunar calendar. If you are weighing late January against February, our Kerala in January guide covers the cooler end of the season.

Kerala in March

March is warmer and a little more humid (nights rise to 24°C), but it is still dry, with around 30-40 mm of rain for the month. It is the value month of spring. Crowds thin once school exams start, and many resorts and houseboat operators move to shoulder rates. Varkala and Kovalam are calm and swimmable. Uthralikavu Pooram at Wadakkanchery and the Arattupuzha Pooram near Thrissur fall in this stretch, and Theyyam is still running in Kannur. For day-by-day ideas, prices and what to book, see the full Kerala in March guide, and Alleppey in March if the backwaters are the point of the trip.

Kerala in April

April is the hottest-feeling month of spring. Highs sit at 33-34°C, nights stay near 25°C, and the first pre-monsoon storms roll in, mostly in the second half of the month (Kochi averages 116 mm in April). It is the month for the hills. Munnar tops out around 26°C and Vagamon is cooler still. It is also Kerala’s biggest festival month. Vishu falls on 1 Medam (around 14 April), and Thrissur Pooram follows in Medam, in late April or early May. If your dates slide past mid-April, read our Kerala in summer guide next.

In Malayalam, spring is വസന്തം (vasantham) and spring season is വസന്തകാലം (vasanthakalam). The word comes from the Sanskrit Vasanta, the first of the six ritus (seasons) of the traditional Indian calendar. In the Sanskrit scheme Vasanta covers the months of Chaitra and Vaishakha, roughly mid-March to mid-May. 

Kerala’s own calendar, the Kollam Era, uses solar months instead, and the spring window maps onto Kumbham and Meenam. Its signature is the kanikkonna (golden shower tree, Cassia fistula), Kerala’s state flower. It bursts into yellow across the state in March and April, and on Vishu morning families wake to the Vishukkani, an arrangement of konna flowers, rice, a golden cucumber, fruit, a mirror and a lit lamp that is meant to be the first thing seen in the new year. Elders then hand out Vishukkaineettam, a small gift of money, to the children. If you see konna in bloom, spring has arrived in Kerala.

The table below covers the season names people search for most, including the Malayalam names for the two monsoons.

Spring is Kerala’s temple-festival season. The harvest is in, the weather is dry, and the calendar fills with poorams, pongalas and Theyyam nights. Dates follow the Malayalam lunar-solar calendar, so they move by a week or two each year. Confirm the exact day with the temple before you book.

Attukal Pongala is the one to plan around if you are in the south. Guinness World Records has listed it as the largest annual gathering of women, and on the day the roads around the Attukal temple are lined for kilometres with makeshift hearths. Hotels in Thiruvananthapuram fill up, so book early or stay in Kovalam.

Theyyam is north Kerala’s great spring experience and still underrated. Performances happen in small village shrines (kavus), often through the night, and the season runs from late October to May. In spring, base yourself in Kannur and ask your homestay which kavus have a kaliyattam that week. Most performances are free to watch. Dress modestly and never step into the performance space.

Spring rewards early starts and slow middays. These are the experiences that work best in the February-to-April weather.

• Take an overnight houseboat in February. Calm water, clear sunsets and cool nights make it the best month for Vembanad and Kuttanad. In April, pick an air-conditioned boat.
• Catch the first Periyar boat. Dry-season animal sightings on the lake edge are at their best in March and April.
• Go birding at Kumarakom at dawn. The migratory birds are still around in February.
• See Theyyam in Kannur. Spring is the back half of the season, with performances most nights somewhere in the district.
• Watch Kathakali in Fort Kochi. Arrive early for the make-up session, which shows how the elaborate green pacha faces are painted.
• Trek before the heat. Chembra in Wayanad, Kolukkumalai near Munnar and the Vagamon meadows all work best between 6 and 10 am.
• Book an Ayurveda treatment. Kovalam and Varkala resorts run 7- to 14-day programmes, and March rates are lower than in winter.
• Eat for the season. Spring is mango and jackfruit season. Try raw-mango curry, chakka (jackfruit) dishes and, on Vishu, the Vishu kanji and a full sadya.

If you are choosing between travel windows, this is how spring compares on the things that shape the trip. Winter has the edge on comfort. Spring wins on value and festivals.

For a deeper look at the cooler months, read winter in Kerala.

how our planners build February-to-April itineraries.

1. Fix the month. Choose February for the most comfortable weather, March for lower rates, or April if you want Vishu, Thrissur Pooram and the hills.
2. Check festival dates. Look up the current year’s Attukal Pongala, Vishu and Thrissur Pooram dates, then decide whether to build around them or avoid the crowds.
3. Pick a route that ends cool. Start on the coast (Kochi, Alleppey, Kumarakom) and finish in Munnar, Vagamon or Thekkady, so the hottest days are spent in the hills.
4. Allow 6 to 8 days. Six days covers Kochi, Munnar, Thekkady and Alleppey. Eight adds Varkala or Kovalam.
5. Book the scarce things first. Houseboats, Periyar eco-tourism slots and Pooram-week hotels sell out before flights do. Book them 3 to 4 weeks ahead.
6. Plan each day around the heat. Sightsee from 7 to 11 am and after 4 pm. Keep noon to 3 pm for travel between towns, lunch or a pool.

A sample 6-day spring route looks like this: Kochi (1 night), Munnar (2 nights), Thekkady (1 night), Alleppey houseboat (1 night), then back to Kochi airport. Our Kerala tour packages follow this pattern and can be adjusted around festival dates

• Light cotton or linen clothes, loose enough for 34°C afternoons
• A light fleece or full-sleeve layer for Munnar and Vagamon evenings (12-16°C)
• SPF 50 sunscreen, a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses
• A compact umbrella if you travel after mid-April, when the mango showers start
• A modest outfit that covers shoulders and knees for temples (men are asked to remove shirts in many Kerala temples)
• Insect repellent for houseboat evenings and forest walks
• A refillable bottle, since you will want about 3 litres of water a day in March and April

Spring in Kerala is the window between the winter rush and the monsoon. It is dry, warm, full of festivals and cheaper from March onwards. Start on the coast, finish in the hills, and time at least one day around a pooram or Vishu. When you are ready to turn the route into a trip, browse our Kerala tour packages and ask a local planner to shape them around your spring dates. For everything else, the Kerala travel guide is the place to start.