PALAKKAD

Area: 4480Aq ft

Population:2382235

Altitude: above sea level

Access: 
Air: Coimbatore airport (60Km)

Rail: Palakkad junction

Palakkad is a border district. Before entering Tamil Nadu Palakkad is the last stop. As every border district Palakkad is also a perfect blend of the finest from keralite and Tamilian ethnicities.

Palakkad is spread over an area of 26 square Km. Palakkad is a natural depression in the Western Ghats, with its strategic positioning Palakkad was historically such important that, the sultan of Mysore Hyder Ali built a large imposing fort around it in 1766. And as with most historic monuments, all that remains functional about it today is a jail and a Hanuman temple. The fort makes for pleasant evening walks with its majestic literate walls that whisper tales of velour and courage interspersed with laughter from the present day children’s park and games of cricket.

Kalpathy Agraharam (Bhramin Village) in the heart of Palakkad town is another major attraction in the district which is recently declared as “Heritage Village”. It is famous for is its architecture and chariot festival (usually held in November) in which all the temples in the area participate.

This part of the Palakkad also has the quadrangular shiva temple on the banks of the river Kalpathy, it is supposedly a replica of the Kashi Teple in Benares dating back to 1425 AD. Old traditions though seems to have endured the test of time: intricate kolam (rengoli ) designs at each doorsteps, young Bhramin boys with sandalwood paste smeared foreheads on their way to school and strains of prayer recitals from the temples wafting through the agraharam are still a common sight here.

Palakkad is also known as the rice bowl of Kerala. The lush green paddy fields, clear skies and coconut trees that gently sway in the early morning breeze are reason enough to want to spend a couple of days in palakkad town itself.

The name Palakkadu is derived from 2 malayalam words Pala –  it is a tree with sweet smelling flowers and kadu means forest. So the name indicates the forest of sweet smelling flowers.

• Silent vally National Park :

Silent vally has a legasy of an unbroken ecological history dating bac to millions of years. The bio diversity of this tropical rain forest attracts environmentalist from across the world as it is still an undisturbed “environmental island”. The genetic and biological welth of the zone was under a huge threat when the state government had decided to build a hydroelectric project here in the banks of the river Kunthi. An unprecedented popular protest which marked the first major green movement in the country made the government drop the plan and declared it as a protected national park which forms the core of Nilgiri biosphere.

• Parambikkulam Wild life Sanctuary:

Parambikkulam is one of the best sanctuaries in the south india . the 258 acre parambikkulam abound in a rich wildlife which includes sambar, langur and barking deer and a diverse fauna consisting of 125 rare and endangered species. Sanctuary also holds the first scientifically managed teak plantations. The must do thing in Parambikkulam us to visit the world’s tallest Teak tree about 48.5 m tall.

• Tipu’s Fort:

Another major attraction in Palakkad is Tipu’s fort built in 1766 by Hyder Ali, father of Tipu,the Mysore sultan , who entered through  Palakkad Gap to conquer the the British – ruled Malabar. The granite fort is one of the best protected monuments of the country and is in the midst of the town.

Other Places to visit in Palakkad:

• The Malampuzha Garden:
• The Kollengodu Palace:
• The elephant care centre:
• The Thiruwillamala Sri Rama Temple:
• Nelliampathy Hill Station:
• Attapadi:
• Thrithala:

Tourist information centre:

District Tourism Promotion Council(DTPC),

Near children’s park

Palakkad.

Telephone: 04912538996

Email: info@dtpcpalakkad.com

Website: www.dtpcpalakkad.com