Kerala > Palakkad
Palakkad or Palghat is one of the 14 districts of Kerala state in South India. It has Thrissur and Malappuram district of Kerala and Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu as boundaries. It is a predominantly rural district. Palakkad is the gateway to Kerala due to the presence of Palakkad Gap, in the Western Ghats.Palakkad is believed to derive its name from pala (tree) and kadu (forest). When the Zamorin of Kozhikode invaded Palakkad, the Raja of Palakkad sought the help of Hyder Ali of Mysore and forced Zamorin to retreat. Later Hyder Ali annexed all the Malabar region with his kingdom. The Hyder Ali Fort in the centre of Palakkad Town is the proof of their dominance. In the year 1872 the defeat of Tipu Sultan, son of Hyder Ali faced defeat in the hands of East Indian Company, all the territories were ceded to British. After Indian Independence, the Palakkad administrative unit was formed on January 1st 1957. Palakkad has the best irrigation system in Kerala. The irrigation projects & dams are at Malampuzha, Walayar, Chittur, and Pothundi
The district of palakkad known as the granary of kerala, is a land of valleys, hillocks, rivers, forests, mountain streams, dams and irrigation projects. Situated at the foot of the western ghats, this is the gateway to kerala from The north. Palakkad derives its name from the malayalam words pala (alsteria scholaris) and kadu (forest) which goes to prove that this place was once a beautiful stretch of forests covered with the sweet scented flowers of the pala tree.
Transportion of PalakkadThe nearest international airport is Coimbatore Airport, which is about 52 km from Palakkad. Coimbatore airport has connecting flights to Singapore, Sharjah, Colombo, apart from major Indian cities.
Palakkad is well connected by roads. The National Highway (NH) 47 from Salem to Kanyakumari and the Palakkad-Kozhikode National Highway 213 pass through the district. Another important road is the Palakkad-Ponnani which connects NH 47 and NH 17.
Palakkad is a railway junction on India's Southern Railway. The cities of Pollachi, Dindigul and Madurai are connected by the meter-gauge line starting from here. Trains on this line bring vegetables, fish and dairy products from other cities. The nearest city is Coimbatore in Tamilnadu which is well connected to Palakkad with broad gauge trains and buses. How to reach Palakkad - Air : Bearest Airport: Coimbatore (55km)
- Rail : Palakkad Junction Railway Station ( 5 km from the city) is a major railhead of the Southern Railways.
- Road : Palakkad is connected by an excellent network of roads to all the major cities in India.
ExcursionsParambikulam wildlife Sanctuary - 110 kms from palakkad : sprawled across 285 sq. Km the parambikulam wildlife sanctuary is home to rare wild animals. The rest houses of the state forest department at thoonakkadavu, thellikkal and anappady offer accommodation. A tree house in the reserve forest area in thoonakkadavu has to be booked in advance. The oldest teak tree, kannimari is found here.
Nelliyampathy - 40 kms from south of nenmara: this fascinating hill station is at a height of 467 to 1572 m above sea level. At least 10 hair pin bends have to negotiated on the ghat road that passes through the breathtaking evergreen forests of the sahya ranges. Seethakundu at nelliyampathy offers a panoramic view of about one third of palakkad. This hill country is the delight of trekkers.
Mangalam dam (50 km)
Thrithala (75 kms)
Siruvani (48 kms north of palakkad)
Ottappalam (35 kms)
Lakkidi (30 kms)
Kollengode (19 kms). |
