No Road Rules, But Learn Driving Here.
Muzhappilangad is considered to be the longest drive-in beach in Asia. This beach is about 12 km south of Thottada, where we were staying, and about 15 km south of Kannur. It took about 15 minutes to drive down via NH66, the Panvel Kochi National Highway, till Edakkad, then we took a right turn at the Muzhappilangad Post Office to reach the beach. We had to pay an entry fee of ₹40 for the car. The ticket had a message from the Kerala Police which said that the speed limit on the beach is 20 kmph.
There were all kinds of vehicles on the beach; buses, jeeps, cars, SUVs, motorcycles, vans, scooters, bicycles, tuk-tuks with passengers as well as tuk-tuks selling ice-creams and snacks. Still the beach did not look crowded and there was ample space for people to test their driving skills. Families were playing games like cricket and football and others having a swim in the sea.
We had a cup of coffee at a nearby restaurant and drove down on the beach for about 3 km till we reached a break in the beach due to channel of flowing rain water from inland. There was a group of rocky islands further south, and an island known as the Dharmadam Island, which we could see in the distance. We could have gone further but that would mean driving into the seawater shallows. So we turned back in time to watch the sunset before driving back to Kannur. The total length of the drivable part of the beach must be between 5 to 6 km.
The drive was very smooth and the sand was firm, but there were some undulations in the sand which acted as mild natural speed breakers as our car sailed over them quite gently. However, one must be careful not to keep the car stationary in the shallow water for too long as the receding waves wash the sand away under the tires and the vehicle may get stuck. And drive safe, as everyone thinks that they own the beach!
There were all kinds of vehicles on the beach; buses, jeeps, cars, SUVs, motorcycles, vans, scooters, bicycles, tuk-tuks with passengers as well as tuk-tuks selling ice-creams and snacks. Still the beach did not look crowded and there was ample space for people to test their driving skills. Families were playing games like cricket and football and others having a swim in the sea.
We had a cup of coffee at a nearby restaurant and drove down on the beach for about 3 km till we reached a break in the beach due to channel of flowing rain water from inland. There was a group of rocky islands further south, and an island known as the Dharmadam Island, which we could see in the distance. We could have gone further but that would mean driving into the seawater shallows. So we turned back in time to watch the sunset before driving back to Kannur. The total length of the drivable part of the beach must be between 5 to 6 km.
The drive was very smooth and the sand was firm, but there were some undulations in the sand which acted as mild natural speed breakers as our car sailed over them quite gently. However, one must be careful not to keep the car stationary in the shallow water for too long as the receding waves wash the sand away under the tires and the vehicle may get stuck. And drive safe, as everyone thinks that they own the beach!
Date of experience: December 2019
Ask EkMusafir about Muzhappilangad Drive-in Beach
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
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