Kerala · India
August
Onam and the Nehru Trophy Boat Race — the backwaters at their most festive.
Worth considering
#8 of 12 months
There are better months for Kerala — see the full ranking below.
See when to go instead →Climate
High
29°C
Low
24°C
Rain
430mm
Sun
2.9hrs/day
30-year climate normals · Open Meteo ERA5
How August scores in Kerala
Weather
Below average
Value
Outstanding
Crowds
Excellent
Events
Excellent
Atmosphere
Good
What you gain in August
- ↑The Nehru Trophy Snake Boat Race on Punnamada Lake near Alleppey (second Saturday of August) is one of India's most spectacular sporting events: 100-oar snake boats (chundan vallam) powered by 100 rowers apiece race through cheering crowds lining the lakeshore. Tickets sell out months in advance but the atmosphere on the shores and bridges is free and electric.
- ↑Onam — Kerala's harvest festival — falls in August or September depending on the Malayalam calendar. The festival brings the state's entire cultural vocabulary together: elaborate pookalam flower carpets, the 26-course Onam Sadya feast served on banana leaves, Thiruvathira dance, and Pulikali (tiger dance) in Thrissur. It is the single best festival through which to understand Kerala's identity.
- ↑August sees the monsoon beginning to ease — 430mm compared to July's 580mm — and brief sunny windows open. The landscape is at its lushest possible state.
What you sacrifice
- ↓Rain remains heavy and disruptive through August. Outdoor sightseeing is restricted to weather windows, and the Onam festival week (which drives enormous domestic tourism) fills buses and trains.
- ↓Flood risk remains real in low-lying areas around Alleppey and the backwater region — the 2018 Kerala floods occurred in August and caused catastrophic disruption. Modern flood-management has improved but the risk is structural, not historical.
How August compares to December (best month)
| Factor | August | December ★ |
|---|---|---|
| Weather | 3 | 9 |
| Value | 9 | 4 |
| Crowds | 8 | 3 |
August in other destinations
Lisbon (26.5°C)Barcelona (28.6°C)Tokyo (32.1°C)Bali (29.9°C)Santorini (26°C)Paris (24.3°C)New York (27.7°C)Marrakech (35.8°C)Amsterdam (21.4°C)Maldives (30.3°C)Rome (30.4°C)Bangkok (31.5°C)Istanbul (28°C)Vienna (25.9°C)Seoul (29°C)Dubrovnik (28.5°C)Rio de Janeiro (25.9°C)Kyoto (33.7°C)Phuket (31.3°C)Cape Town (17.2°C)Prague (26°C)Amalfi Coast (31°C)Mexico City (23°C)Medellín (29°C)Fiji (26°C)London (24°C)Sydney (18°C)Iceland (14°C)Tulum (33°C)Dubai (42°C)Singapore (32°C)Hoi An (33°C)Chiang Mai (31°C)Miami (33.3°C)Florence (31.8°C)Queenstown (9°C)Madrid (35.2°C)Porto (27°C)Edinburgh (19°C)Copenhagen (22°C)Budapest (28°C)Kraków (24°C)Tbilisi (31°C)Palawan (30°C)Hanoi (32°C)Osaka (34°C)Goa (30°C)Cusco (20°C)Buenos Aires (15°C)Mykonos (30°C)Zanzibar (26°C)Sri Lanka (30°C)Costa Rica (25°C)Cancun (32°C)Krabi (32°C)Athens (33°C)Seville (36°C)Cartagena (31°C)Siem Reap (31°C)Havana (32°C)Split (30°C)Taipei (34°C)Kuala Lumpur (32°C)Valletta (32°C)Ho Chi Minh City (32°C)Hawaii (31°C)Cappadocia (32°C)Dominican Republic (32°C)Jamaica (33°C)Tanzania (23°C)Seychelles (26°C)Nepal (27°C)Jordan (36°C)Azores (27°C)Bora Bora (26°C)Los Angeles (28.5°C)Cairo (38.2°C)Kenya (24°C)Jaipur (32.8°C)Las Vegas (40.1°C)San Francisco (18°C)Madeira (28°C)Vancouver (23.3°C)Muscat (38.5°C)Lima (17.2°C)Cinque Terre (29°C)Kotor (32°C)Tel Aviv (32°C)Santiago (15°C)Bogotá (19°C)Bruges (22.4°C)Penang (32.3°C)Lombok (30.4°C)Cape Verde (29.5°C)Fez (37.2°C)Kigali (26°C)Hong Kong (31°C)Oslo (23°C)Auckland (14°C)
Climate data: 30-year normals (1991–2020) from Open Meteo ERA5 reanalysis. Scores compare months within Kerala, not across destinations. Methodology →