Muzhappilangad Drive In Beach

This beach is the longest Drive-In Beach in Asia and is featured among the top 6 best beaches for driving in the world in BBC article for Autos Muzhappilangad is the only Asian beach featured in the list. Even though Goa has many beautiful beaches, it does not have a Drive-in beach. It is considered as the longest drive-in beach in Asia.

There is an unpaved road winding through coconut groves leading to the beach. To get to this road, if you are driving from Tellicherry towards Kannur, take the left turn just before the first railway crossing you encounter after crossing the Moidu bridge. The beach is about 5 km long and curves in a wide area providing a good view of Kannur on the north. Local laws allow beachgoers to drive for a full 4 km directly on the sands of the beach. The beach is bordered by black rocks, which also protect it from the stronger currents of the ocean. These rocks provide habitat for Blue mussel, a delicious seafood. Beach attracts bird-watchers from far off places as hundreds of birds flock here during various seasons.

Approximately 100–200 m south of the beach there is a private island called Dharmadam Island (Pacha Thuruthu in Malayalam, which translates to Green Island in English). It is possible to walk to the island during low tide from the nearby Dharmadam beach.

Despite a tourist destination the beach is a bird watching hotspot too. More than thirty species of migratory birds visit here in the winter. Among them Pectoral sandpiper and Caspian plover, sighted here in 2013 were reported for the first time in Kerala. Long, broad shore and rocky formations on the either side of the beach provide a safe place for migration.