Palakkad Fort – It is located in the middle of Palakkad town. It was built by Hyder Ali, Sultan of Mysore in 1766. When he decided to conquer Malabar and cochin areas he considered this place as a midpoint to both locations. It would be easier for him to plan and move his men and equipments to both places easily.There is a big open area near this known as Kottamaithanam. Now for tourism promotion a good garden is created near this. Also there is a traffic park for children. Lot of people comes for morning walk and exercise in the fort. There is a canal around the fort where it is said that crocodiles where there to attack enemies falling in it. There is an Hanuman Temple inside the fort. Still worship is going on there and lot of people visit daily to see hanuman moorthy.
Malampuzha Dam – Malampuzha dam is 13 Kilo meters from Palakkad town. It is built in 1955 and since then it is being used for tourism promotion. There is a very good garden , an aquarium, Japanese garden, the big Malampuzha Yakshi made out of rock, fountains, boating and cable car service which gives a beautiful aerial view of the garden. This is located in a beautiful location surrounded by hills. This dam supplies water for irrigation purpose of the entire district.
Dhoni waterfalls – Dhoni is 2 kilo meters from malampuzha and 15 kilo meters from Palakkad town. This place is a forest area where there is a steep hill . people used to come here for trekking . There is a beautiful waterfalls running down from the hill.
Kalpathy Temple – The lord Viswanatha temple in kalpathy is 3 kilo meters from Palakkad town. The festival here ie; Ratholsavam is very famous which attracts a lot of tourists. The festival is for seven days. There is agrahara of Brahmins which is now treated as a heritage and conserved.
Silent Valley – This is situated at an altitude of 2000 meters in the Nilgiri hills. It is a national park. The river kunthi runs down the hill. This place is known for its tribal population. Around 120 tribal groups are there. These groups are called Ooru. There is a Shiva temple on the hill.
Nelliampathy – It is the Orange town of Kerala. Lot of orange and tea estates are operating here. There is a beautiful waterfalls called Seetharkundu around 800-1000 meters above sea level. There is a story behind its name. It is believed that during vanavasa Ram, laxman and Seetha devi lived here. The waterfalls got its name because Settha Devi has taken bath in it. This place is just around 70 Kilo meters from Palakkad. Pothundi Dam is on the way and one will get a beautiful aerial view of it while going upwards to Nelliampathy. There is a beautiful garden in Pothundi dam also.
Parambikulam wild Life Sanctuary – This place is situated around 120 kilometers from Palakkad in the western Ghats. Though this place is situated in palakkad, its entry is through Tamilnadu. One has to travel via pollachi to reach here. You can find the oldest teak tree kannimaree here. Wild buffaloes and deer can be seen in a lot. There is a bird observatory also there.
Kottayi – This place is situated 15 kilometers from Palakkad. This is the last resting place of karnatic music maestro Shree Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavather and hence a place of interest for music lovers.
Killikurussi mangalam – This is the birth place of popular Malayalam poet Kunjan Ezhuthassan. He is known as the father of ottam thullal , a traditional art of kerala. May fifth is observed as Kunchan day.
Anangan Hills – This is a beautiful upcoming tourist spot known for its scenic beauty. It is situated near Ottapalam town. Muncipality has submitted a tourism project which includes cottages in the hill, cable car an garden. You can get the view of entire Ottapalam town and bharathapuzha river which is one of the longest river in kerala running through Ottapalam.
The Major places for stay are Hotel Fort Palace (3 star), Hotel Indraprastha (3 star), Hotel Shri Chakra (3 star). Government travelers bunglows are also available for stay.