Mahe (India)

Mahe is a little beach town near Kannur in Kerala state. For administrative purpose, Mahe is part of Pondicherry in India.

Catholic Church, Mahe

Map of Mahé

Understand

Mahe can easily disappoint visitors because the whole area is less than 4 km² and an extremely crowded National Highway intersects the village. The French character of the village has almost vanished and it looks like any other plain vanilla Kerala village.

Get in

Mahe is easily accessible from Kannur airport and by railway. Buses are available in plenty from Thalassery and Kannur.

• 1 Mahe railway station (മയ്യഴി തീവണ്ടി നിലയം). (updated Jul 2022)

Get around

Mahe cannot be explored in a vehicle because the total area is only four square kilometers. Walking is also impossible because of heavy highway traffic and too many noisy motorcycles. No visitor is likely to want to spend more than one day in Mahe because it has been overdeveloped into another Kerala town without a character (in spite of being officially not part of Kerala).

See

Mahe is a former French colony, so there are many French-style buildings and place names. The people of Mahe are all Indians who speak Malayalam.

• 1 Boat House, Manjakkal. (updated Apr 2015)
• 2 Fishing Harbour, At the end of Mahe walkway with provision for walking into the sea.. (updated Apr 2015)
• 3 Kallappalli Mosque (Kalla Palli), New Mahe. Very photogenic steps (updated Apr 2015)
• 4 Koyyodan Koroth Temple, Palloor. (updated Apr 2015)
• 5 Light House, Near the beach. (updated Apr 2015)
• 6 Mahe Walkway, Starts from the National Highway. One km long. Near Riverside Walkway. (updated Apr 2015)
• Pandokooloth Temple, Pandakkal. (updated Apr 2015)
• Sree Krishna Temple, Choodikotta.. (updated Apr 2015)
• Sree Kurumba Bagavathi Temple, Parakkal. (updated Apr 2015)
• Tagore Park, Near the river. (updated Apr 2015)

Do

• Find the French Buildings. There are a small number of government offices that occupy colonial buildings. Visitors are not entertained. (updated May 2015)

Buy

• Tax free shopping. All consumer goods and alcoholic beverages are cheaper in Mahe because it is not part of Kerala state. (updated Jun 2015)
• Ammayi Snack Shop, Kunhipally. Unnakkaya, Filled Bananas, Bread Pocket, Kaypola, Chattipathiri, Kumbalanga Pathil and Kilikkood. (updated Jan 2021)

Eat

• Azadi Restaurant, Opp. Indian Bank ATM, Maidhan Road. (updated Apr 2015)
• Dhanya Hotel, Mukkali, Mahe Vadagara Road. Ethnic lunch with fried mussels. (updated Sep 2015)
• New Plaza Restaurant, New Mahe. (updated Jun 2015)
• Riverview Restaurant, New Mahe.. (updated Jun 2015)
• Sas Restaurant, New Mahe. (updated Jun 2015)
• Seagull Restaurant, Near St. Teresas Church. (updated Jun 2015)

Drink

• . Alcohol is cheaper in Mahe than Kerala because of a different tax structure. (updated Apr 2015)

Manjakkal Boat House

Sleep

• Ashwathy Guest House, Near Hospital, ☏ +91 4902334475. Good rooms ₹700. (updated Apr 2015)
• Hotel Arena, Near Sports Ground, ☏ +91 4902337084, hotelarena@hotmail.com. ₹500. (updated Apr 2015)
• Hotel French Avenue, Near Mahe Walk, ☏ +91 9895155028, +91 4902334330. Good ambience, boutique hotel, spacious ground in front. Steps on the back of the hotel lead to the beach. ₹2,000. (updated Apr 2015)
• Mahe Residency, Near Sports Ground, ☏ +91 490 233 6838. ₹800. (updated Dec 2016)
• Athithi Lodge, Near Sports Ground, ☏ +91 94950 67819. (updated Dec 2016)
• Hotel Jaypees, New Mahe, across the bridge. ₹700. (updated Dec 2016)
• Riverview Lodge, New Mahe, across the bridge. ₹600. (updated Dec 2016)

Go next

• Kannur
• Kozhikode
• Thalassery