Experience the best of Kannur

Kannur lies on the Malabar coast of northern Kerala, between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats. St Angelo Fort, a laterite fortress built by the Portuguese in 1505 on a headland, later passed to the Dutch and the British, and overlooks the sea. The Arakkal Museum recalls the Arakkal royal house, a Muslim ruling family of the region.

Muzhappilangad is a firm-sand beach where cars can be driven along the shore, and Payyambalam Beach is a long, quiet sweep of sand backed by trees. In the cooler months many villages hold Theyyam, ritual performances in which dancers in towering costumes and face paint become deities. Thalassery, to the south, has another sea fort, and the backwaters of Valiyaparamba lie to the north.

Thalassery biryani, made with small fragrant rice, stuffed mussels, pathiri flatbreads and banana chips are the local flavours. Handloom cloth is woven in the district. The monsoon from June to September is heavy, and the Theyyam season runs after it through to spring.