8 Top Places to Visit In Wayanad

The lake is open on all seven days, Mondays and public holidays included. Entry is Rs 40 for adults and Rs 30 for children, paid at the gate (there is no online booking). The one thing that shuts it is weather. On red-alert rain days the district can suspend boating or close the lake altogether. If you can choose your hour, come at 9. The mist is still on the water and there is no boat queue yet.

Pookode Lake Timings at a Glance

Is Pookode Lake Open Today?

Almost certainly, yes. Pookode Lake has no weekly holiday, so it opens at 9 am on Sunday and Monday exactly as it does midweek. It also stays open on Onam, Vishu, Christmas and long weekends. Those are the days you will wait longest for a boat.

Rain is the exception. Between June and September, the Wayanad district administration can order tourist spots, boating and trekking to close for the day when the IMD issues an orange or red alert. These orders often come out the evening before, and sometimes the same morning. If you are driving up the Thamarassery ghat from Kozhikode in the monsoon, call the DTPC counter on +91 75938 92951 before you leave. A two-minute call can save you a four-hour round trip.

A note on the 2024 landslide. The July 2024 landslides hit Mundakkai and Chooralmala, in the Meppadi hills well away from the lake. Pookode sits on NH 766 near Lakkidi and has kept normal hours since.

Pookode Lake Opening and Closing Time: 5 PM or 6 PM?

Pookode Lake opens at 9:00 AM and the grounds close at 6:00 PM. Boating closes earlier, at 5:00 PM. DTPC Wayanad, which manages the lake, lists both times on its official page.

So why do so many travel sites, and until now this page, say the lake shuts at 5? Because for most visitors it effectively does. The boats, the ticket rush and most of the stalls wind down by 5, and older guides quoted that time as the lake's closing time. The walkway and the grounds stay open for another hour.

In practice, it works like this. If boating is the reason you are coming, buy your ticket by 4:30 pm. If you only want the walk around the water, you can arrive later, but give yourself at least 40 minutes before 6. In December and January the forest canopy makes the lakeside dark earlier than you expect.

Pookode Lake Boating Timings and Charges

Boats leave from the jetty just inside the entrance between 9 am and 5 pm. A ride lasts about 20 minutes, which is enough to go round the lake once and drift past the lily patches on the far bank. Life jackets are compulsory and handed out at the jetty. Fares are per boat, not per person, so a family of four pays the same Rs 450 whether it fills the boat or not.

On weekends between October and January, the boat queue builds after 11 am and can run 30 to 45 minutes by early afternoon. A professional photo or video shoot at the lake needs a separate Rs 1,000 permit from the counter.

What's Open Inside the Grounds, and When

The entry ticket covers more than the lake. Everything below sits within a short walk of the gate.

Best Time to Visit Pookode Lake

The best hour is the first one. At 9 am the mist is only just lifting off the water and the boats are still tied up in a row at the jetty. The surface is flat enough to hold the reflection of the trees. By 11, buses from Kozhikode, Mysuru and Bengaluru have reached the lakeside car park, and the light has gone flat and white.

By season, October to February is the sweet spot. The lake is full after the monsoon, the forest is at its greenest and mornings are cool. December and January weekends are the busiest days of the year. March to May stays pleasant in the morning and warm by afternoon, with school-holiday crowds in April and May. June to September is lush and quiet, but boating is the first thing to be suspended on heavy-rain days.

For the month-by-month picture across the district, see our guide to the best time to visit Wayanad.

How Much Time Do You Need at Pookode Lake?

Plan on 1.5 to 2 hours. That covers a 20-minute boat ride, one loop of the walkway, a look into the aquarium and a stop at the spice shop. Add half an hour on a weekend for the boat queue. If you skip the boat, an hour is plenty.

Because the lake is only about 3 km from Vythiri and roughly 12 km from Kalpetta, it slots neatly into a half-day loop with Lakkidi rather than needing a day of its own.

Pookode Lake Entry Fee in Brief

Entry is Rs 40 for adults and Rs 30 for children. Tickets are sold only at the gate counter, so there is nothing to book in advance. Carry some cash even if you plan to pay by UPI, since the network near the lake can be patchy on a busy day. For every charge in one place, including boats and the photo-shoot permit, see the Pookode Lake entry fee page.

Nearby Attractions and Their Timings: A Half-Day Plan

Pookode sits on the stretch of NH 766 where most Wayanad trips begin, so its hours matter mainly for how they fit with the stops around it. Here is a plan that starts early and puts the lake in its best hour.

One catch to plan around. Edakkal Caves shut on Mondays, while Pookode Lake does not. If Monday is your only free day in Wayanad, make it a lake and waterfall day.

If you would rather have the driving and timings handled for you, our Wayanad tour packages include Pookode Lake as a standard stop, and the 2N/3D Wayanad tour from Bangalore covers it in the first morning. Couples can look at the Wayanad honeymoon packages, and families at the Wayanad family packages.

Getting There and Parking

Pookode Lake is on the Vythiri side of the Kozhikode to Kalpetta road (NH 766), about 3 km from Vythiri town and 12 km from Kalpetta bus stand. From Kozhikode railway station it is about 62 km, and Calicut airport is about 71 km away, with the Thamarassery ghat's nine hairpin bends in between. Allow two hours from Kozhikode in dry weather and more in the rain. Parking is a few hundred metres from the lake gate. Route options by bus, taxi and self-drive are on our how to reach Pookode Lake page.

Before You Go

• Plastic is restricted inside the grounds and littering is fined. Bring a steel or reusable bottle.

• Don't feed the fish without asking the staff. The lake is home to Pethia pookodensis, a small barb found nowhere else in the world.

• In the monsoon, wear closed shoes with grip. The walkway gets slippery and leeches are common on the forest edge.

• Keep a light layer handy. At 770 m, the lake is noticeably cooler than Kozhikode, especially before 10 am.

• For more on-the-ground advice, read our Pookode Lake travel tips, the full things to do in Wayanad list, or how Pookode compares with other lakes in Kerala.