1. Athirapally (Waterfalls)

Athirapally waterfalls is located 78 kms from Kochi (Cochin), at the entrance to Sholayar ranges. Athirapally falls joins the Chalakkudy River after plummeting to a drop of 80 feet.

2. Edakkal (Caves)

Edakkal Caves are two natural caves located 1000 metres high on Ambutty Mala 25 km from Kalpetta in Wayanad district in western ghats. Inside the caves are pictorical writings believed to be from neolithic man, evidence of the presence of a prehistoric civilisation existing in this region. Such stone age carvings are very rare and these are the only known examples in southern India Agasthyarkoodam a spectacular peak in the Western Ghats rises to a majestic 1890 m in the form of a sharp cone.

3. Agasthyarkoodam (Peak)

The Agasthya forest is believed to have been the abode of sage Agasthya, a character from mythology. Agasthyarkoodam, the spectacular peak in the Western Ghats rises to a majestic 1890 m in the form of a sharp cone. A haven of rare herbs and medicinal plants, its slopes are a breathtaking sight when they transform into colourful glades of the 'Neelakurinji', a flower which blooms only once in 12 years.

4. Chadayamangalam Para (Rock)

Chadayamangalam Para is a 1000-feet tall rock at Chadayamangalam, 52 Km from Trivandrum and 37 Km from Kollam. The nearest town is Ayur, 5 Km away. According to the Ramayana, when demon king Ravana was on his way to Lanka on Pushpak Vimana (flying chariot) after abducting Lord Rama's wife Sita, he encountered Jatayu. On seeing Sita cry for help, Jatayu got into a fight with Demon King Ravana and collapsed on this "para" (rock) after failing in his attempts to thwart Ravana's kidnapping of Sita, during which Ravana cut-off the fabled bird's wings. Chadayamangalam, which was known as "Jatayumangalam" in local parlance, was the place where Jatayu fell after losing to Ravana, according to legend.

5. Vembanattu Kayal (Lake)

Vembanattu Kayal covers an area of over 1512 km². The lake is bordered by Alappuzha, Kottayam and Ernakulam districts. It lies at mean sea level, and is separated from the Arabian sea by a narrow barrier Island. Canals link the lake to other coastal lakes to the north and south. Several rivers flow into the lake, including the Achenkovil, Manimala, Meenachil, Muvattupuzha, Pamba and Periyar. The lake surrounds the islands of Pathiramanl, Perumbalam and Pallippuram. Vembanattu Kayal morr famously known as Vembanad Lake is approximately 14 kilometres wide at its widest point. With about 1,700 km of inland waterways, Kerala has nearly 12 per cent of the country's total. The West Coast Canal alone, connecting Hosdurg in the north and Poovar, near Thiruvananthapuram in the south, is 560 km long.

6. Queen of the Arabian sea (Natural Harbour)

Cochin, known as the Queen of the Arabian sea, was a lagoon until an eponymous flood which occurred in the year 1341 forced itself into the sea at Cochin and opened a capacious estuary, converting the land locked Cochin into a natural harbour, one of the finest in the world. The soil of the low lying lands on the seacoast, consisting of sea sand and calcareous matter combined with various kinds of earth and clay, attests to the nature of the formation.

7. Silent Valley (Rainforest)

Silent Valley National Park (Core zone: 89.52 square kilometres (35 sq mi)) is located in the Nilgiri Hills, Palakkad district. The local names of the valley and the river that flows through it, resurrect the grand tale of the Mahabharata. In local lingo, Silent Valley is called Sai-randhiri-vanam literally meaning Sairandhri's forest in Malayalam (synonymous with Draupadi, wife of the Pandavas) and the river is called Kunthipuzha (synonymous with Kunti, mother of the Pandavas).

The first English exploration of the watersheds of the Silent Valley area was in 1847 by the botanist Robert Wight. The British named the area Silent Valley because of a perceived absence of noisy insect Cicadas that are generally abundant in tropical rain forests (although, cicadas form an integral part of this forest now).

The flora of the valley include about a 1000 species of flowering plants, 108 species of orchids, 100 ferns and fern allies, 200 liverworts, 75 lichens and about 200 algae. A majority Of these plants are endemic to the Western Ghats. Rare bird species found here include Ceylon Frogmouth and Great Indian Hornbill. Birdlife International lists 16 bird species in Silent Valley as threatened or restricted: Nilgiri Wood-pigeon, Malabar Parakeet, Malabar Grey Hornbill, White-bellied Treepie, Grey-headed Bulbul, Broad-tailed Grassbird, Rufous Babbler, Wynaad Laughing Thrush, Nilgiri Laughing Thrush, White-bellied Shortwing, Black-and-rufous Flycatcher, Nilgiri Flycatcher, White-bellied Blue-flycatcher, Crimson-backed Sunbird and Nilgiri pipit. And there are at least 34 species of mammals at Silent Valley including the threatened Lion-tailed Macaque, Niligiri Langur, Malabar Giant Squirrel, Nilgiri Tahr, Peshwa’s Bat (Myotis peshwa) and Hairy-winged Bat.

Silent Valley gets copious amounts of rainfall during the monsoons, but the actual amount varies within the region due the varied topography. The mean annual rainfall ranges from over 5000 mm in the Neelikal area in the west to around 3200 mm on the eastern side of the park. The park being completely enclosed within a ring of hills, has its own micro-climate and probably receives some convectional rainfall, in addition to rain from two monsoons. Kuntipuzha River divides the park into a narrow eastern sector of width 2 kilometers and a wide western sector of 5 kilometers. The river is characterized by its crystal clear and perennial nature. The Kuntipuzha River drains the entire 15 km length of the park from north to south into the Bharathapuzha River.