HISTORY
There are many views on how Palakkad (or "Palghat" the anglicised version) got its
name. One view is that the word 'Pala' (barren land) together with 'Kadu' (jungle) gave the land its name. Yet others believe that it is connected with the ancient Jain temple in the town: 'Pali' being the sacred language of the Jains, giving the land its name as 'Palighat', which over the years changed to Palakkad. However, most believe that Palakkad is derived from 'Pala', an indigenous tree which once densely occupied the land, and hence Palakkad or "the forest of Pala trees."
Not much is known about Palakkad's ancient history. It dates back to the Paleolithic period, and several megalithic relics have been found in the region. At the turn of the first millenium AD, for several hundred years the Perumals ruled the land. Later their governors called Utayavars took possession of this land and divided it among themselves. William Logan, the Scottish author of the celebrated Malabar Manual, suggests that one of the hubs of the Pallavas of Kanchi who invaded Malabar in the second and third centuries was Palakkad.
One of the earliest records about Palakkad has a chronicle of a war victory in A.D 988 when the king of Palakkad, Nedumpurayur Nadudayavar, stopped an invasion by the forces of the King of Kongunadu at Chittur. Even today, a festival is celebrated in memory of this victory at Chittur. The Nedumpurayur royal family was later known as Tarur Swaroopam and finally as Palakkad Raja Swaroopam.
In 1757, to check the invasion of the Zamorin of Calicut, the Raja of Palakkad sought the help of Hyder Ali of Mysore, who freed all parts of Palakkad invaded by the Zamorin. Eventually, Haider helped himself to Palakkad and later his son Tipu Sultan was the unquestioned ruler of this region. But after his defeat to the British, Tipu ceded all his Malabar territories to the British following the treaty with the English East India Company in 1872. Palakkad formed part of the Malabar District of the Madras Presidency thereafter.
Area 4,480sq km
Population (2001 census) 2,617,072
Male Population 1,265,794
Female Population 1,351,278
Language Malayalam. English
Religion Hinduism, Christianity, Islam
Rainfall (Annual) 240 cm
Time GMT + 5:30
Currency Indian Rupees
Climate Tropical
Std Code 0491
ISD Code + 91
Tourist Season September to February
Located between north latitude 10° 46' and 10° 59' and East longitude 76° 28'and 76° 39', Palakkad district shares borders with Malappuram district in the North and Northwest, Trichur in the South and Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu in the East. Sprawling over the midland-plains and mountainous highlands, the district does not have a coastline. The midland plains are at an altitude of 10 m to 80 m above sea level and highlands are 914 m to 2133 m above sea level. The 32 to 40 km wide Palakkad pass in the 960 km long Western Ghats is of immense geographic importance. On either side of this natural gap are the vast Nilgiri Hills and the colossal Anamalai ranges. Dense reserve forests are found in the Palakkad and Chittur taluks of the district. Palakkad division is further divided into Mannarkkad East Range, Mannarkkad West Range, Olavakkode Range and Palakkad Range. The highest peak is the 2386.14 m high Anjinad. The other major peaks include Karimala, Karimala Gopuram, Kalladikkode, Nellikkotta or Padagiri and Vellachimudi.
The major rivers are Bharathapuzha (Nila), Kollengode, Kannadi, Kalpathy, Chitturpuzha, Bhavani, Shiruvani, Thuthapuzha and Gayatri. The district has some key irrigation projects and dams at Malampuzha, Walayar, Mangalam, Gayatri, Chittur, Meenkara, Pothundi and Kanhirapuzha. Malampuzha Dam irrigates over 20,000 hectares of farming land while Chittur Irrigation Project covers over 18,000 hectares and Kanhirapuzha project waters over 10,000 hectares.
Palakkad, branded as the rice-bowl of Kerala, has fertile plains where substantial quantities of rice are produced by scientific cultivation methods. Groundnut, black gram, coconut, cotton, ragi, pepper, banana, cashew, sugarcane and pea add in to the roll of other major crops. Sugar Cane is grown extensively in the Chittur taluk. Around 284 lakh hectares of the district (64 % of geographical area) is used for farming and some key agricultural institutions of Kerala including Regional Agricultural Research Station, Soil Testing Laboratory, Fertilizer Quality Control Laboratory, Mushroom Laboratory and Agricultural Engineering Workshop are located at Palakkad.
There are many tourist spots to visit in and around Palakkad. The natural green surroundings add to the beauty of the tourist spots.
Palakkad Fort
Chittur Gurumadam
Attappady
Dhoni
Kalapathy Temple
Mangalam Dam
Nelliyam Pathy
Pattambi Nercha
Silent Valley
Thrithala
Other Tourist Places
Festivals
Palakkad has a vivid cultural tradition. Thunjathu Ramanujam Ezhuthachan, widely accepted as the father of Malayalam literature spent his last days at Chittur in this district. Kunjan Nambiar the most famous of all Malayalm poets and the founder of thullal , a purely Kerala art form, was born in a small village in this district. Many other noted exponents of varied art forms like Chakkiar Koothu, Kathakali, Thullal etc.. which are intrinsically Kerala art forms, found encouragement and inspiration at Palakkad. Most noted of all perhaps is the exponent of Carnatic Music late Sri Chembai vaidyanatha Bhagawathar. Likewise Palakkad Mani Iyer was known the world over for his mastery over the mridangam, the drum so central to Carnatic music. Kalpathy Car Festival (Kalpathy Ratholsavam)
Kalpathy Viswanatha swamy temple is the oldest Siva temple in Malabar. It was build around 1425 AD. by Kombi Achan, the then Raja of Palakkad. Kalpathy Car Festival is based on vedic Tamil Brahmin culture. The main centre of the festival is Kalpathy Sree Viswanathaswamy temple. Manappullikavu Vela
Manappullikavu Vela is a major festival held every year at the Manappullikkavu Bhagavathy Temple. It is believed that the temple is about 1200 years old. It is different from other Bhagavathy Temples by way of rites and rituals. Namboodiries, that is, the Kerala Brahmins perform the daily rituals according to tantric traditions. Both Saiva and Vaishnava traditions are observed in the poojas. Nenmara-Vallengi Vela
Nenmara-Vallengi Vela is a renowned festival of Palakkad attracting people from far and wide. It is held annually on the Pooram day of the Malayalam month Meenam. The Festival starts with the hoisting the sacred flag. Chittur Kongan Pada
Tradition says that one 'Singamanan' the ruler of Ramapattinam Zamin, West of Pollachi, waged war on Chittur on the pretension that the people of Chittur and Pattanchery had stolen like silver, muslin etc .from Tamil merchants. In the war, people of Chittur who were not familiar with the warfare were faced with defeat and finally with the help of the Bhagavathy, the female deity of the place, were able to inflict a crushing defeat. The leader of the Kongu army was slain in the battle. As a gratitude to the Bhagavathy, the people decided to celebrate the victorious day every year in the name at this temple and the festival was born. Jain Temple Festivals
One of the few existing Jain temples in Kerala is the Jain temple at Jainmedu, near Palakkad town. According to legend, one sutar (head of the Jains) built this temple 500 years ago for the Jain sage, Chandranathaswami. The Jain who came here from Mysore fled from this place during the invasion of Tipu Sultan. This temple comprises four divisions and is 32 feet high and 20 feet wide Ottappalam Nercha Festival
Ottappalam Nercha Festival held in the month of January - February and is celebrated to commemorate the death of saint Uthaman Auliya. An important ritual of this Festival is the distribution of food prepared during the festival to the poor. Kunnathurmedu Sri Krishna Temple
Kunnathurmedu Sreekrishna Temple is located at the heart of the Palakkad Town. A beautiful Vigraha, (idol) depicting Sreekrishna as a child is an attraction of this temple. The main festival of the temple is Ashtami Rohini (Sreekrishna Jayanthi). It is the only Sreekrishna Temple in Palakkad Town.
Palappuram Chinakkathoor Kavupooram
Pooram at Sree Chenakkathoor Bhagavathy temple. Grand procession of caparisoned elephants. Panchavadyam, lot of village folk forms - Poothan, Thira, Andivedan, Kumbhamkali, Kavadiyattom etc.- are performed. Kuthiravela and Kaalavela - processions of decorated motifs of Kuthira (horse) and Kaala (bull) by devotees and brought to the temple ceremoniously - are also be held. Magnificent fire works in the evening and mid-night is another attraction. Tholppavakoothu, the shadow puppet play is presented here as a ritual on everyday for seventeen days preceding to the festival. At Palappurum, 5kms from Ottappalam in Palakkad district.
Thirumandhamkunnu Bhagavathy Kshethram Pooram
The main event of this festivals is Aarattu. The same is performed 21 times, in a sequence of one in the morning and one in the evening, for ten days and the final Aarattu on the eleventh day. Tenth day (26th) night is Pallivetta. On the pooram day mid night there is a ceremonial meeting between Valluvakkonathiri, the king of the earst while kingdom, and Malayankutty, the head of Pana community who comes to the pooram ground on a palanquin. It is known as Panante Varavu. This commemorates the religious harmony and the help rendered by the tribal headman to the Raja in by gone days. The twelfth day, from morning to evening there will be a performance of folk from chavittukali. Ottanthullal, Paadhakom, Chakyarkouth, Nagyarkouth, Kathakali, Thayambaka, Melam, cultural programmes etc. are performed during the festival days. Kalamezhuthum Pattum a ritual folk from of drawing Badrakali using natural colours accompanied by songs, is offered by the devotees every day till pooram being. Located at Angadippuram on Kozhikode - Palakkad highway and very near to Perinthalmanna. From Shornur Nilambur local train stops at Angadippuram railway station. 27kms from Pattambi railway station.
Hospitals Name
Phone Numbers (0491)
Palakkad District Hospital
2534524
Fort Hospital
2520171
Lakshmi Nursing Home
2539999
Palakkad Medical and Research Center
2521751
Palakkad Poly Clinic
2534192
Palat Memorial Hospital
2533869
Sai Nursing Home
2555525
Venkatesa Hospital
2535797
Assisi Hospital
2536379
Karuna Hospital
2538320
Balaji Hospital
2522879
City Hospital
2520235
Ayurvedic Resorts and Health Care Centre
Care Resort international
2367346
Kodumbu Santhigiri Health
Care Centre
2523874
Clinical Laboratories
Dane Diagnostics
2539366
Early Cancer Detection Centre
2566124
Kamala Clinical Laboratories
2535274
Modern Clinical Laboratory
2533891
Sudharma Clinical Laboratory
2536484
X- Ray and CT Scan Centres
Juno X-Ray & Lab
2535057
Kerala X-Ray Institute
2533159
Neo-Modern X-Ray Lab
2534310
PMRC Diagnostics Centre
2522297
Vithayathil X-Ray & ECG Lab
2539698
Pharmacies
Adithya Medicals
2555543
Aiswarya Medicals
2534046
Ananad Medicals
2533311
Koilath Medicals
2538192
Kumar Drug House
2533263
Pharma Trade
2534762
Yenyes Key Pharma
2533979
Parasuram
2539319
Pee Vee Aar Agencies
2539357
Ayyappa Agencies
2534751
Ayyappa Enterprises
2535237
D.T.Associates
2532133
Nedson Agencies
2533441
V.J.Associates
2536344
Pechiyappa Medical Agencies
2534073
Dorai Agencies
2539138
Pharma Agencies
2532961
Phone Numbers (0491)
Dr.U.Ramesh Menon MBBS, DLO, DNB (ENT)
Consultant ENT Surgeon
Thangam Hospital Of PMRC,
West Yakkara,
Palakkad, Kerala, India
14/462 A R Nair Colony,
Kunnathurmedu
Palakkad, Kerala, India
2515717 to 2515726
Fax : (0491) 2539269
Dr.P.Venkateswaralu MBBS,
MD, PDCC
Consultant Anaesthesiologist
Thangam Hospital Of PMRC,
West Yakkara,
Palakkad, Kerala, India
2515717 to 215726
Fax : (0491) 2539269
Dr.V.Veeraraghavan MBBS, MD
General Medicine
Thangam Hospital Of PMRC,
West Yakkara,
Palakkad, Kerala, India
0491 - 2515717 to 2515726
Fax : (0491) 2539269
Dr.P.Raghavan MBBS, M.S
Consultant Surgeon
Thangam Hospital Of PMRC,
West Yakkara,
Palakkad, Kerala, India
2515717 to 2515726
Fax : (0491) 2539269
Dr.K.G.Kamath B.Sc., MBBS. DGO
Civil Surgeon & Gynecologist
Fort Hospital Ltd,
NH 47, West Yakkara,
Palakkad, Kerala, India
15/86, Ganesh Kripa,
Court Road, Sulthanpet,
Palakkad, Kerala, India
(H) : 0491 - 2520171
(R) : 0491 -2539629
Dr.Anantha Babu P.S MS(General Surgeon), M.Ch.(Neuro), (SCTIMST)
Consultant Neuro Surgeon
Fort Hospital Ltd,
NH 47, West Yakkara
Palakkad, Kerala, India
2528200/ 2528201
Mobile: 98470 67263
Dr.Denny Anto M.D., D.M. Neuro(AIIMS)
Consultant Neurologist
Fort Hospital Ltd,
NH 47, West Yakkara
Palakkad, Kerala, India
( 2520171
(R) 2537111/2534067
Dr.P.Rajagopalan Nair MBBS,D.O,M.S
Consultant Ophthalmologist
Thangam Hospital Of PMRC,
West Yakkara,
Palakkad, Kerala, India
(H) 2515717 to 2515726
Fax : (0491) 2539269
Dr. S.Prakash Nayar (Retd.SURG.LT.CDR)
MBBS, MS (Ortho), DNB (Ortho),MNAMS
Consultant Orthopaedic & Spine Surgeon
Thangam Hospital Of PMRC,
West Yakkara,
Palakkad, Kerala, India
Srivalsam
East Vennakkara,
Nurani P.O,
Palakkad, Kerala, India
2515718 to 2515720
(R) 2520983
Fax : (0491) 2539269
Dr.C.R.Ramaswamy MBBS, DCH
Consultant Paediatrician
Thangam Hospital Of PMRC,
West Yakkara,
Palakkad, Kerala, India
(H)2515717 to 2515726
Fax : (0491) 2539269
Dr.V.Vijayalakshmi MBBS DMCW.DCH (London) DCH(Dublin)
Consultant Paediatrician
Sree Vijay, Parmesh Nagar,
Olavakkot, Palakkad, Kerala, India
2555353 /2555063
Dr.K.E.Mammen, MBBS,M.S,MCH
Visiting Consultant Paediatric Surgeon
Thangam Hospital Of PMRC,
West Yakkara,
Palakkad, Kerala, India
(H) 2515717 to 2515726
Fax : (0491) 2539269
Dr.N.Reju Royce MBBS, MD
(General Medicine)
Consultant Physician
Fort Hospital Ltd,
NH 47, West Yakkara
Palakkad, Kerala, India
2520171
Dr.A.K.Sreedharan MBBS, M.S, FICS (USA), FRSH (London)
Vijaya Mandir,
College Road,
Palakkad, Kerala, India
(H) : 0491 - 2528200/2528201/2528202
(R) : 0491 - 2533666/2535666/2500555
Dr.M.Sivathanupillai, MBBS,DPM
Visiting Consultant Psychiatrist
Thangam Hospital Of PMRC,
West Yakkara,
Palakkad, Kerala, India
(H) 2515717 to 2515726
Fax : (0491) 2539269
Kairali Ayurvedic Resort
Kodumbu, Kerala India
0492-322553
Food and Accomodation
Sree Chakra International
Chandrannagar, Palakkad, Kerala, India
0491 - 2570901 /02/03
Hotel Indraprastha,
English Church Road, Palakkad, Kerala, India
0491 - 2534641
Valayar Motels (P) Ltd
Palakkad, Kerala, India
0491 - 2566101
Fort Palace
West Fort , Kerala, India
0491 - 2534621
East Fort Resort
Palakkad, Kerala, India
0491 - 2532507
Hotel Rajadhani
Shornur Road,Palakkad, Kerala, India
0491 - 2521314
Marhaba Residency
Palakkad, Kerala, India
0491 - 2525262
Hotel Green Park
Palakkad, Kerala, India
0491 - 2540912
Champion Luxury Annex
Palakkad, Kerala, India
0491 - 2539791
Surya Tourist Home
Palakkad, Kerala, India
0491 - 2538338
Hotel Hilux
Opp. KSRTC Palakkad, Kerala, India
0491 - 2539433
ATS Residency
Palakkad, Kerala, India
0491 - 2537477
Hotel Ambady
Palakkad, Kerala, India
0491 - 2531244
K.P.M. International
Press Club Road. Palakkad,
Kerala, India
0491 - 2534601
Rajah Healthy Acres
Koottanad,Kerala, India
0492 - 256305
Hotel Rajaprastham
Pattambi,Kerala, India
0492 - 2613537
Gazala Inn
Palakkad, Kerala, India
0491 - 2529344
Hotel Chanakya
Palakkad, Kerala, India
0491 - 2537573
Royal Tourist Home
College Road ,Palakkad, Kerala, India
0491 - 2527093
Hotel Kairali,
Shornur Road, Palakkad, Kerala, India
0491 - 2534611
Ashok Tourist Home
G.B.Road Palakkad, Kerala, India
0491 - 2500661
Kalpaka Hotel & Tourist Home
G.B.Road Palakkad, Kerala, India
0491 - 2534631
Hotel Tripenta Malampuzha, Palakkad, Kerala, India 0491 - 2815210 / 20,
My Tourist Home
Palakkad, Kerala, India
0491 - 2531803
Media
Phone Numbers (0491)
Press Club
2536821
Chandrika
2535165
Daily Thanthi
2534178
Deepika
2535246
Indian Express
2538612
Kerala Koumudi
2535146
Madhyamam
2538074
Malayala Manorama
2538808
Mangalam
2521679
Mathrubhumi
2534446
The Hindu
2534070
UNI
2537700
All India Radio
2537700
Television
Asianet
2525273
Surya TV
2523548
Banks
Address
Phone Numbers (0491)
Andhra Bank
Market Road Palakkad Kerala, India
2535081
Bank of Baroda
VH Road Palakkad Kerala, India
2527102
Canara Bank,
Sultanpet ,Palakkad Kerala, India
2535197
Catholic Syrian Bank
GB Road Palakkad Kerala, India
2535406
Dhanalakshmi Bank Ltd
Big Bazar Palakkad Kerala, India
2522653
Indian Bank
Court Road,Palakkad Kerala, India
2522709
Indian Overseas Bank
GB Road Palakkad Kerala, India
2527631
State Bank of India
GB Road Palakkad Kerala, India
2522809
State Bank of Travancore
TB Road Palakkad Kerala, India
2527728
