City: Kerala
Top Things to do in Kerala
What to do and see in Kerala, India: The Best History Museums
Kerala (/ˈkɛrələ/), called Keralam in Malayalam (where Kerala is the adjectival form), is a state in South India on the Malabar Coast. It was formed on 1 November 1956 following the States Reorganisation Act by combining Malayalam-speaking regions. Spread over 38,863 km (15,005 sq mi), it is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Lakshadweep Sea to the west. With 33,387,677 inhabitants as per the 2011 Census, Kerala is the thirteenth-largest Indian state by population. It is divided into 14 districts with the capital being Thiruvananthapuram. Thiruvananthapuram is the largest city in the state. Malayalam is the most widely spoken language and is also the official language of the state.
Restaurants in Kerala
1. Kerala Folklore Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,093 reviews
Folklore Museum aims to provide art education to the students and helping to provide visual and academic knowledge to the art lovers, researchers and travelers from all over the world. Folklore museum is the only architectural museum in Kerala and the treasure trove of stone, wood and bronze sculptures, ancient terracotta, stone Age objects, jewellery, paintings, oil lamps, musical instruments, tribal and folk art, wood works, utensils, masks and traditional art forms etc. these are around 4000 artifacts from tiny to large size on display. This ethnic museum is the essence of the life and culture of the common man over the past 1000 years.
Reviewed By EGL0
An almost bewildering private collection of (in the main) high end cultural artefacts from musical instruments to Theyyam masks and costumes to oil paintings to puppets to antique Keralan front doors, well displayed and maintained over 3 floors in a glorious traditional Keralan teak building. Courteous, knowledgeable staff. 100R entrance + 100R for use of a snapshot camera. Slightly haphazard labelling of exhibits but fine for me - would have been overwhelming otherwise Glorious theatre on the top floor with a coffered wooden ceiling embellished with beautifully detailed paintings depicting Hindu deities and scenes from the Hindu epics. Small cafe adjoining. A "must see" for anyone interested in the culture / ethnography of Kerala. There is a shop but the sales staff are not pushy in any way.
2. Kerala Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 93 reviews
Reviewed By RatheeshRNath - Kochi (Cochin), India
Kerala Museum My visit to Madavan Nayyar Museum Edappally Cochin We always like something far away from us and never see what is near to you. This is what I felt when I visited Madavan Nayyar museum last day with family. I was on a vacation mood and wanted to show something new to my 6 year old child and was not in a mood to drive too long. After all research I decided to take him to the Kerala museum which is just 10km from my home, though I never visited. I always thought its just an art gallery. On visiting the museum I felt guilty about myself for not visiting this place during these years especially when am a cochin based tour operator. I shall pen down what I felt in this serene place. My and my wife with our 6 year old son went to this place where we purchased ticket for Rs. 150 per adult. The person at counter explained us to visit art doll gallery, art gallery and then to the audio visual studio to understand the history of Kerala. We though it would take just half hour to finish the visit and planned to visit an authentic in cochin for lunch, it was 12 noon. On entering the museum we were guided towards doll museum which was one of the main attractions. This doll museum has many dolls show cased with dolls of 2 feet height wearing ethnical dress of most of the states in India as well with main art form of that state. This small museum was enough for us to explain our son that we have 29 states in India and all states follow different culture, art forms and the authentic dress they wear. He was so amazed to see this vast culture and heritage of our nation. It was very easy for us to explain as all these were displayed with proper illustration and the way it was placed really require appreciation. Though he hesitated to come out we then went to the art gallery where original pictures of Raja Ravi Verma and many artists were displayed in proper order which are kept the way it should be. This is a place any artist should visit and is memorable to have good time at this place. The staff were courtesy enough to explain and is very well maintained. The third and last to visit is the gem in this museum, the audio visual of history of Kerala. At this place entire Kerala history was sculptured and a live demonstration was made using recorded audio in English or in Malayalam. From the era of Raja rule to democracy was portrayed in an order any one can understand easily. This half hour show gave lights on the history of Kerala with names of rulers and main legends behind the history of Kerala. Even though we were hungry we spent almost 1 and half hour in this place and is inspired by the way knowledge is arranged in this place. I would recommend all to visit this place atleast once and educate your children on what has been portrayed.
3. Kunjali Marakkar Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3 reviews
Reviewed By Virgomans - Kozhikode, India
Kunhali Marakkar Memorial museum is in Iringal around 31 Kilometers from Calicut .This is open on all days except Monday.you can see the vestiges of heroic history of Kunhali Marakkars Naval Commandant of Zamorins (Samoothiris) Erstwhile rulers of Calicut .The last Marakkar of four marakkars- Mohammed Ali Marakkar was treacherously captured by Portuguese when he surrendered to Zamorins and was sentenced to death by them around 1600 AD and his body parts were kept for public display in kannur.This put an end to Marakkar Era who were known for their valour and grit in thrwating colonial powers in the Malabar Coast.
4. Antique Museum Kochi
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 15 reviews
Being in the Antique business, we have, over time, procured and restored many rare and priceless artifacts from the bygone era. Since 2006, we have collected and maintained over a 1000 items of immense value and history.
Reviewed By HarryHSR - New Delhi, India
located in Jew town area, this is a small museum and you might even miss it as the entry is very small. But they house a good collection of artifacts and old articles which are worth a watch, old gramophones, weighing machines, typewriters, music instruments etc etc. Worth a watch ... son had fun playing the drums on the way out!
5. Kumarakom Craft Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 9 reviews
Explore the tradition of Kerala through Kumarakom Craft Museum. More than 2000 items which represents the Tradition and Antiques of Kerala
Reviewed By bhavanak2021 - Hyderabad District, India
“The best introduction to art is to stroll through a museum. The more art you see, the more you’ll learn to define your own taste.” Nicely arranged museum with Good Collection. Nice staff.
6. Wayanad Tea Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 41 reviews
Wayanad a hill town in the Western Ghats mountain ranges is called as the Hub of Tea Plantations. If you are a tea connoisseur and if you love Tea, the Wayanad Tea Museum is a must visit place for you. Wayanad Tea Museum by Harrisons Malayalam Limited (HML) is a 100 year old Tea factory \ converted into a Tea Museum for the tourist to experience. The Museum exhibits the history of Tea,etc..
Reviewed By 537ganeshv - Thariyode, India
Wayanad tea museum is an awesome place.... If you are in wayanad you don't miss this tea museum.the tea museum is situated in Achoor. An old factory converted as a museum.The building was constructed in 1911.You can get all the information about tea. There are lots of tea like, green tea, ctc tea, orthodox tea, and white tea. And there is a tea tasting center you can taste all the tea.... And there is a cafeteria in the tea museum , if you are a good tea lover...you can taste masala tea, cardomam tea, chocolate tea, ice tea, butter tea, and especially the honey lemon tea..... And the staffs are too friendly.
7. Thrissur District Heritage Museum
8. Arakkal Museum
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 71 reviews
Reviewed By Naj_Rinaf - Chennai (Madras), India
Arakkal Museum is a section of the Arakkal palace dedicated to the only Muslim royal family in Kerala, India. This place is a real testimony of impressive architectural design that withholds the impeccable history of many powerful women in the Arakkal Royal family. It was definitely worth paying a nominal fee to explore this heritage grandeur.
9. Wayanad Heritage Museum (Ambalavayal Heritage Museum)
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 87 reviews
Reviewed By gujutraveller
very near to edakkal caves. this place houses historical relics of this area and gives us a glimpse of the past civilisations of the area. a good effort and nicely maintained museum.
