The Juma Masjid at Thazhathangady, on the bank of the Meenachil in Kottayam, is believed to be around a thousand years old and is one of the oldest mosques in India. What makes it remarkable is that it is built entirely in the Kerala style, in timber and laterite, with a sloping tiled roof, gabled ends and carved wooden panels rather than domes and minarets. The interior woodwork, with its lattices, beams and Quranic calligraphy cut into the wood, is among the finest of its kind anywhere. It stands in an old trading quarter beside the river, where merchant houses from the same period survive. Non-Muslim visitors are usually allowed to see the exterior and parts of the interior outside prayer times, and women are not permitted inside.

The Cheraman Juma Masjid at Methala, near Kodungallur, is held by tradition to be the first mosque built in India. The building has been rebuilt over the centuries, and its older core follows Kerala temple architecture rather than the domed style.

The Ponnani Valiya Juma Masjid was built in the 16th century and made Ponnani a centre of Islamic learning in Kerala, earning it the name Little Mecca. The building is entirely of timber and laterite in the Kerala style, with no dome or minaret.

Padinharekara Beach sits where the Bharathapuzha, the Tirur river and the Arabian Sea meet, near Ponnani. There is a park along the shore and the confluence makes the water unusually calm.

The Malik Deenar Juma Masjid at Thalangara is one of the oldest mosques in India, traditionally founded by Malik Deenar in the 7th century. The present building keeps the Kerala timber style, with tiered roofs rather than domes, and holds the tomb of Malik Ibn Mohammed.

Chandragiri Fort stands on a hill where the Chandragiri river meets the sea, built in the 17th century by Shivappa Nayaka of Bednore. Much of the laterite wall survives and the site looks out over the river mouth, the backwaters and the coconut groves.