its east and northeast, Kerala borders Tamil Nadu and Karnataka respectively; to its west and south lie Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean with the islands of Lakshadweep and the Maldives, respectively. Kerala envelops Mahé, a coastal exclave of Pondicherry.

Kerala is one of the four states in South India. During Neolithic times, humans largely avoided Kerala's malarial rainforests and wetlands; though, earliest specific mention of the Kerala is in Sanskrit epic Aitareya Aranyaka. Katayana (4th cent. BC) & Patanjali (2nd cent. BC) also show; thus, the first evidence of habitation—potsherds and dolmens—dates to the 10th century BC.Kerala’s 38,863 km² landmass (1.18% of India) is wedged between the Arabian Sea to the west and the Western Ghats—identified as one of the world's twenty-five biodiversity hotspots to the east. Lying between north latitudes 8°18' and 12°48' and east longitudes 74°52' and 72°22', Kerala is well within the humid equatorial tropics.

Kerala’s coast runs for some 580 km (360.4 miles), while the state itself varies between 35–120 km (21.74 - 74.56 miles) in width.Much of Kerala's notable biodiversity is concentrated and protected in Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve in the eastern hills. Almost a fourth of India's 10,000 plant species are found in the state.