Palakkad

Palakkad (Malayalam: [pɐːlɐkːɐːɖɨ̆] (audio speaker iconlisten)), also known as Palghat, is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is spread over an area of 26.60 square kilometres (10.27 sq mi). It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. The city is situated about 146 kilometres (91 mi) northeast of Kochi, 50 kilometres (31 mi) southwest of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, 66 kilometres (41 mi) northeast of Thrissur, and 127 kilometres (79 mi) southeast of Kozhikode, on the meeting point of two National Highways namely, Salem-Kochi National Highway NH 544, and Kozhikode-Malappuram-Palakkad National Highway NH 966. Palakkad is also known as the rice bowl of Kerala. The 18th-century Palakkad Fort has sturdy battlements, a moat, and a Hanuman temple on its grounds. North on the Kalpathy River, the 15th-century Viswanatha Swamy Temple is the main venue of the Ratholsavam chariot festival. Northeast, near Malampuzha Dam, the town of Malampuzha has a rock garden created from recycled materials. The river Bharathappuzha (River Ponnani) flows through Palakkad.[3] Palakkad is located on the northern bank of Bharathappuzha River.[3]

Tourist Destinations

Nelliyampathy Hills

Nelliyampathy is a virgin hill station located in Palakkad district of Kerala. Nelliyampathy is blessed with lush dense rain-forests with number of wild animals like elephants, hill squirrels, deers and bison. Located above 467 m above sea-level, it is well known for its sprawling tea gardens, coffee, cardamom and orange plantations. The largest perennial multi crop organic farm in the world owned by Poabs-India has given this sleepy hill station, international repute. Several small waterfalls, streams and rocky hill ranges also add beauty to this wonderful summer destination.

Malampuzha

Malampuzha Dam is the largest dam and reservoirs in Kerala,[2] located near Palakkad, in the state of Kerala in South India, built post independence by the then Madras state. Situated in the scenic hills of the Western Ghats in the background it is a combination of a masonry dam with a length of 1,849 metres and an earthen dam with a length of 220 metres making it the longest dam in the state.[3] The dam is 355 feet high and crosses the Malampuzha River, a tributary of Bharathappuzha, Kerala's second longest river. There is a network of two canal systems that serve the dam's reservoir of 42,090 hectares.[4]

Parambikulam Tiger Reserve

Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, which also includes the erstwhile Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, is a 643.66 square kilometres (248.5 sq mi)[2] protected area lying in Palakkad district and Thrissur district of Kerala state, South India. The Wildlife Sanctuary, which had an area of 285 square kilometres (110 sq mi) was established in part in 1973 and 1984. It is in the Sungam range of hills between the Anaimalai Hills and Nelliampathy Hills.[3][4][5] Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary was declared as part of the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve on 19 February 2010.[6][7][8] Including the buffer zone, the tiger reserve has a span of 643.66 km2. The Western Ghats, Anamalai Sub-Cluster, including all of Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, has been declared by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee as a World Heritage Site.[9]