What to expect
Highlights
- Reservoir and dam views at Pothundi Dam
- Engineering landmark or garden/viewpoint stop
- Pair with nearby hill, forest or town routes
Pothundi Dam
A 19th-century irrigation dam near Nemmara — one of the oldest in India, its core wall built with a jaggery-and-lime mix — with a scenic reservoir, gardens and boating. This dam guide is organized from Palakkad town in Palakkad district, with practical planning for routes, timing, nearby stays, food, operators and direct local inventory. Use it to compare what to see, how long to spend, when to go and which verified stays, local guides, jeep or taxi operators, food stops, permits and safety-aware activity providers should be verified around Pothundi Dam.
Practical guide
Plan Pothundi Dam
Who's going?Tailor Pothundi Dam to your trip
Typedam
Nearest basePalakkad town
DistrictPalakkad
Best timePost-monsoon and winter for scenery
Time needed1 to 2 hours
Entry₹20
Places to visit4→Listed businesses27→Pothundi Dam belongs under Palakkad town, one of the practical travel bases in Palakkad district. Use Palakkad town for stays, food, local transport and operators, then plan this place as a focused stop rather than an isolated pin.
Getting there
How to visit
- Base yourself in Palakkad town or a nearby town in Palakkad, then confirm the last-mile route locally before leaving.
- Check public access status before travel; dam areas often have security rules and seasonal entry limits.
- If the visit depends on forest, temple, boat, ferry, weather or seasonal access, check the official/local rule on the day before travel.
Distance by road
- Coimbatore54 km
- Kozhikode127 km
- Kochi143 km
- Madurai224 km
- Mysuru251 km
Road km to Palakkad; ghat roads and traffic vary — allow extra.
Timing
Best time
Post-monsoon and winter for scenery; monsoon access may change.
Weather in Pothundi DamSeasonal guide
Live forecast loads in your browser.
Today at Pothundi Dam
Sunrise6:14 am
Sunset6:36 pm
Golden hour best light5:36 pm–6:36 pm
Blue hour after sunset6:36 pm–7:01 pm
Sun sets toward compass bearingW · 281°
Moon tonight🌔 Waxing gibbous · 99%
South-west monsoon. June to September brings heavy rain to Kerala. Trails, falls and ghat roads can be slippery, swollen or closed at short notice, and forest departments sometimes suspend access. Check locally on the day before you travel.
Check the official alert before you travel. Kerala’s beaches, waterfalls and trekking routes close at short notice during heavy rain, and district alert levels change day to day. We do not publish an alert level of our own — read it from the state authority: Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, or the district control room on 1077.
Sun and moon are calculated for this location and shown in IST. Photography windows are the hour around sunrise and sunset; the sunset bearing is degrees clockwise from true north. Moon phase is accurate to about half a day.
Visitor notes
- Photography may be restricted in some dam/security zones.
- Carry ID if required.
Safety
Good to know
- Do not cross barriers or restricted zones.
- Follow release-warning and security instructions.
Photos
Pothundi Dam in pictures
Photographs: Shijan Kaakkara (CC BY-SA 4.0), Veera.sj (CC0). Wikimedia Commons.
Official eco & forest programmes
Forest stays, camping and guided activities linked to Pothundi Dam
These are official or public-sector eco offerings that match this place, town or forest destination. Confirm availability, permits, tariffs and reporting times with the official operator before travel.
Dhoni Waterfalls guided trek
Popular guided waterfall trek near Palakkad, listed by Kerala Tourism’s ecotourism programme pages.
Official source →Stay · eat · do · rent · see · shop
Stays, food & things to do near Pothundi Dam
Verified hotels, homestays, restaurants, experiences, sights, shops and rentals around Pothundi Dam — commission-free, with direct contact. Filter by what you need.
14 places to stay near Pothundi Dam
6 places to eat near Pothundi Dam
7 things to do near Pothundi Dam
Verified
Vegetarian restaurant · Palakkad town
Kapilavasthu Restaurant PalakkadPure vegetarian restaurant near KSRTC Bus Stand with direct hotel contact evidence. Contact direct · Vegetarian, KSRTC Bus Stand, Palakkad meals.
Verified
Restaurant · Palakkad town
Dnine by Monarch PalakkadWest Yakkara multicuisine restaurant with direct contact evidence. Contact direct · Palakkad food, West Yakkara, Family restaurant.
K
Kapilavasthu
Where to eat
Restaurant · Palakkad town
KapilavasthuA long-running pure-veg multi-cuisine restaurant beside the KSRTC bus stand in Palakkad. It serves South Indian meals and fast food, with rooms also on site.
N
NMR Biriyani
Where to eat
Restaurant · Palakkad town
NMR BiriyaniA Palakkad favourite since 2010 known for Rawuthur-style dum biryani and kebabs. Its outlet near the stadium bus stand also serves Kerala sadya.
M
Malabar Restaurant
Where to eat
Restaurant · Palakkad town
Malabar RestaurantA multi-cuisine family restaurant with a branch on Coimbatore Road in Palakkad town. The menu spans Kerala breakfasts, North Indian, Arabian and Chinese.
A
Aadhi Bhavan Palakkad
Where to eat
Verified
Vegetarian restaurant · Palakkad town
Aadhi Bhavan PalakkadPure vegetarian restaurant on Stadium Bypass Road with direct contact evidence. Contact direct · Vegetarian, Stadium Bypass Road, Breakfast.
Book with the place itself. India’s cyber-crime coordination centre warned in April 2025 that convincing copies of hotel and pilgrimage booking sites are being pushed through sponsored search and social ads, taking payment for rooms the property never hears about. Every listing here links to the business’s own contact details and its own Google or Bing profile — we take no commission and sit in nobody’s payment path. If a booking page reached you through an ad, check the address bar against the property’s own site before you pay. Fraud can be reported on cybercrime.gov.in or on 1930.
Ranked
The best of Palakkad town, ranked
Pothundi Dam sits in Palakkad town, and these rank everything verified across the town rather than this one spot — built from the same listings shown above, ordered by the strength of the source evidence behind each entry rather than by anyone's star score. Every card shows how many places are really on it. Nobody pays to appear.
Across the whole of Palakkad town
Food6
Restaurants in Palakkad town
Ranked shortlistHotels10
Hotels in Palakkad town
Ranked shortlistHomestays3
Homestays in Palakkad town
Ranked shortlistResorts1
Resorts in Palakkad town
All verified matchesWellness4
Ayurveda and wellness places in Palakkad town
Ranked shortlistTransport3
Taxi and transport providers in Palakkad town
Ranked shortlistBudget stays2
Cheap places to stay in Palakkad town
All verified matchesMid-range stays3
Mid-range stays in Palakkad town
Ranked shortlistRanked guides
Top experiences around Palakkad town
2 more Palakkad town experiences worth building a day around, each with a full guide, how to reach it and what sits next to it. Pothundi Dam is left off — you are already on it — and so is anything already shown in the nearby list further down, so nothing here repeats.
damKanjirapuzha Dam
A calm reservoir and garden set among hills in the Mannarkkad side of Palakkad, a quieter alternative to Malampuzha.
templeThiruvegappura Temple
The Thiruvegappura Sankaranarayana Temple near Ottapalam, admired for its Kerala architecture, a fine 15th–16th-century Koothambalam (temple theatre) and three sreekovils with separate flag masts.
Roampedia is commission-free — own or know a stay, eatery, guide or shop near Pothundi Dam? List it and it appears here once verified.
Add a nearby businessBefore you go
Pothundi Dam — at a glance
Timings10:00–17:00 daily.
Best timeOctober to February.
Entry price
- Indian adult
- ₹20
Fees change without notice — treat this as indicative and confirm at the counter.
Entry: Small ticket (around ₹20 adult, ₹10 child); confirm on site.
Getting here
How to reach Pothundi Dam
Near Nemmara, about 30 km south-east of Palakkad town on the road toward Nelliyampathy.
Getting back
Work out your return before you settle in for the sunset. Public transport here thins out sharply in the evening, and Pothundi Dam is easier to reach than to leave. We do not publish departure times: there is no official live feed we are permitted to republish, and a wrong time here would strand you. Check the operator directly on the day.
- KSRTC — state bus operator; route and schedule enquiries. Online booking.
Ask at the bus stand for the time of the last service back, not the next one. If you miss it, an auto or app cab is the fallback — agree the fare before you get in.
Getting around Pothundi Dam
We have not assessed physical access at this place yet. Across India, step-free routes, handrails and accessible toilets are the exception rather than the rule, and pavements are often interrupted — if step-free access matters to you, contact the site or a local operator before committing to the trip.
If you need help at Pothundi Dam
112All emergencies (police · fire · medical)The single number to call in any emergency (ERSS).100Police101Fire108Ambulance (emergency / EMS)1091Women’s helpline (distress)1098Child helpline1363Tourist helpline (India, 24×7, multilingual)1515Pink Police Patrol (women & child safety)
Emergency numbers are verified against official government and state tourism sources. 112 works anywhere in India.
Nearby
What’s near Pothundi Dam
On the map
Where Pothundi Dam is
Good to know
Pothundi Dam — frequently asked
When is the best time to visit Pothundi Dam?
Post-monsoon and winter for scenery; monsoon access may change.
What are the entry fee and timings at Pothundi Dam?
Entry: Small ticket (around ₹20 adult, ₹10 child); confirm on site.. Timings: 10:00–17:00 daily.. The rupee figure quoted is the Indian adult rate. Fees and timings are indicative — confirm on site before you travel.
How do I reach Pothundi Dam?
Base yourself in Palakkad town or a nearby town in Palakkad, then confirm the last-mile route locally before leaving. Check public access status before travel; dam areas often have security rules and seasonal entry limits. If the visit depends on forest, temple, boat, ferry, weather or seasonal access, check the official/local rule on the day before travel.
How much time do I need for Pothundi Dam?
1 to 2 hours.
What else is near Pothundi Dam?
Nearby you can pair Nelliyampathy (5.5 km), Kollengode (10.3 km), Mangalam Dam (12.0 km), Parambikulam Tiger Reserve (19.4 km).
What should I know before visiting Pothundi Dam?
Do not cross barriers or restricted zones. Follow release-warning and security instructions.
Read before you go
Pothundi Dam guides, stories & itineraries
We have not published a story about Pothundi Dam itself yet. These cover Palakkad town, the town it sits in, and the wider district.
Kerala-wide guides & itineraries
Route-level itineraries and practical guides for the rest of Kerala.
Palakkad · district guide
Palakkad travel guide: the gateway and rice bowl of Kerala
7 min read · Read →
Palakkad · heritage
Kalpathy: Kerala’s first heritage village and its chariot festival
5 min read · Read →
Palakkad · story
The Palakkad Gap: the break in the mountains that shaped Kerala
6 min read · Read →
Palakkad · wildlife
Silent Valley and Parambikulam: Palakkad’s great forests
7 min read · Read →
Palakkad · legend
The Kannimara teak: the tree that bled
4 min read · Read →
Story
Nelliyampathy: ten hairpin bends to the poor man’s Ooty
9 min read · Read →
Image credits
- Pothundi Dam:LIC Habeeb · CC BY-SA 3.0